Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Easily the most popular recipe on my blog, this baked sweet and sour chicken is a miracle of a dish. Baked, not fried, it has been a family favorite for over a decade!
Invented on a college budget almost 20 years ago, this baked sweet and sour chicken is the most popular recipe on my blog. And even better, it still remains one of our family favorites.
You may have seen this recipe floating around the internet; it’s everywhere! And for good reason. It’s crazy delicious.
I’m happy (and yes, a little proud) to acknowledge that the delectable sweet and sour chicken recipe originated here (posted way back in 2008, it was one of the first recipes I ever shared on my blog!).
With over 800 comments, 50+ 5-star reviews, and almost half a million pins/shares, that quick glance will tell you there is something special about this recipe.
How to Make Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
The chicken for this recipe is flash-fried in a little bit of oil before going into a pan and into the oven to be baked fully.
There’s a good reason for this process:
- It gives a delicious browned “crust” on the chicken pieces
- The sweet and sour sauce is poured onto the par-baked chicken and everything bakes together in the oven – this fully cooks the chicken AND thickens and develops the flavors of the sauce
I have streamlined the chicken coating-and-cooking process to make it ultra-simple.
First, place the chicken pieces in a ziploc-style bag and toss with a bit of salt and pepper.
Second, add the cornstarch, seal the bag, and shake until the chicken pieces are evenly coated.
It might seem strange to coat the chicken pieces in cornstarch before dipping in egg, but it’s the preferred method here, and it works – I promise!
Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces into the egg mixture.
Instead of doing this one little piece at a time, I dump several pieces of chicken in at once, toss around with a fork until the egg mixture fully coats the chicken and then replenish with more chicken as they go into the hot pan.
A Key to Making Sweet and Sour Chicken
Remember that the chicken pieces are just getting a quick minute in the hot pan so they are golden on the outside.
You don’t need very much oil, but you DO need to make sure the pan is hot and rippling before adding the chicken.
Here are a few things that will help:
- Use a nonstick pan – this means you can use less oil and still get beautifully golden chicken pieces.
- Heat the oil in the pan until it is hot enough that the chicken sizzles immediately when added to the pan.
- Cook for just a few seconds on each side until the “crust” is golden brown – you don’t want to cook the chicken completely in this step!
Sweet and Sour Sauce
The sauce for this baked sweet and sour chicken consists of:
- sugar
- ketchup
- vinegar
- soy sauce
- garlic powder
There is just the right amount of sauce for the breaded chicken pieces to bake in without becoming saturated and soggy. As the sauce simmers in the oven with the chicken, it thickens and coats the chicken with a caramelized sweet and sour glaze.
If you like extra sauce, simply whisk together another batch of sauce and simmer it on the stovetop for 8 to 10 minutes to serve alongside the baked sweet and chicken.
A Very Popular Recipe
There are over 500 5-star reviews for this amazing recipe; I’ll highlight just a few:
Stephanie: Amazing! My whole family loved this recipe! Tasted like it was from a restaurant and it was SO easy to make! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Erin: First time poster – this was FANTASTIC. I doubled the sauce, threw in a can of pineapple chunks and used rice vinegar. Thank you – this is going in the rotation. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kimberly: I was worried about the one hour cooking time drying out the chicken but every bite was tender. Will make again. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vicki: Oh my- officially a fav in our house. It’s been requested 3 times in as many weeks. I add peppers and onion to mine over rice. So good! Thanks for sharing it!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Below is a list of the most frequently asked questions for this recipe – and if you scroll through the comments, you can see many, many variations!
Sweet and Sour FAQ:
Many people have commented that they have reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup and I’ve done the same (if not more) over the years, too.
Yes. Vinegar, while baking, gives off a strong aroma, but the strong aroma/taste bakes off during the recommended time in the recipe leaving a delicious sweet and sour taste.
That’s up to you. Many people in the comments have adapted the recipe ingredients; however, other than sometimes reducing the sugar to 1/2 cup and using a different type of vinegar (see the question below), I make the recipe as written and can’t vouch for results for other adaptations. I have made this sweet and sour chicken recipe at least 50 times (probably more) and even though the vinegar seems overpowering, the recipe works. Promise. If you are determined to adapt the vinegar, several others have used half vinegar and half pineapple juice for a milder taste (but you’ll lose a bit of the sweet and sour punch).
Why yes! I often substitute rice vinegar which has a slightly milder/sweeter taste and many others in the comments have substituted the same or even used white vinegar. Feel free to experiment.
All-purpose flour will not give the same light coating as the cornstarch. The only decent substitute I’ve found is tapioca flour/starch. Works great!
I encourage you to make the recipe as written. Like I said above, I’ve made this recipe many times and the hour baking time is not a typo. Keep in mind that you don’t want to cook the chicken through while browning it. That step should be a quick flash in the pan in hot oil in order to give the chicken a crispy outer layer, but the pieces should still be raw in the center. Many have commented that they have cut the baking time down to 30 minutes. You can try that; the sauce won’t thicken as much as if baking for the full hour.
I’m not often right, but in the case of cornstarch and egg, I am. The chicken is coated with cornstarch and then dipped in egg.
I don’t see why not! Many commenters have tried that with good results.
I prefer the Heinz Natural brand (without HCFS) but when I can’t find it, I go with regular Heinz.
What to Serve With This:
Baked Brown Rice
Steamed Broccoli
Creamy 5-Cup Fruit Salad or fresh, seasonal fruit
Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup canola, vegetable or coconut oil
Sauce:
- ½ to ¾ cup granulated sugar, depending on how sweet you want the sauce
- 4 tablespoons ketchup
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar (see note)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch or slightly larger pieces. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken.
- Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot and rippling. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet.
- Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side until the crust is golden but the chicken is not all the way cooked through (this is where it’s really important to have a hot skillet/oil). Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a 9X13-inch baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken. Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe original recipe
Recipe originally published July 2008; updated Sept 2018 with new pictures, recipe notes, etc.
I just made this and it is fabulous. I have been looking for the right batter to use for my sweet and sour pork and I couldn’t believe how lovely the coating was with the cornflour and then egg and how quickly it turned golden without cooking it all the way through. i was concerned that the chicken would be dry by the time i fried then baked it. It was just like in the restaurant. The sauce, i doubled the recipe and I’m glad I did. When it was cooking it still had the vinegar smell a bit too strong and also in the extra sauce I had simmered was smelling just a bit too much like vinegar so I added a little pineapple juice and some pineapple pieces. Not pineapple in syrup, in natural juice. I had been reading about this recipe but hadn’t made it before because i thought it couldn’t possibly turn out cooking the breast pieces for an hour but it did. My husband loved it and he only eats sweet and sour at this one particular restaurant because it’s his favourite dish and they do an amazing version but he ate it all up and said he would eat it any time i cooked it. I was so happy. I served it with fried rice. I will absolutely make this again and again. I’ll try it with pork next time.
Thanks so much Mel. I have made heaps of your recipes and they all turn out great. The apple crumble pie is now the only pie my husband wants me to make he loved it so much. I look forward to cooking more of your amazing recipes.
Hi Mel, when I was making my shopping list recently, I decided that I couldn’t call myself a true MKC fan if I hadn’t at least tried this recipe! 😉 So I made it tonight… the first word uttered after we had taken our first bites was “Wow!” I am astonished at how good this is! I served it with brown rice & steamed broccoli, and cut the sugar in half. It was so incredibly delicious!!!
And the kicker? My (very, very) picky 7 year old son declared this better than chicken nuggets! His all-time favorite food! He said “This is 22% better than nuggets. They’re 78% good, this is 100% good.” Those words almost made me cry. I found a healthy dinner that we ALL like! Thank you!!
I recently made the S/S chicken for a dinner party of 8. It’s the best!! I made egg roles and fried rice to accompany the dish. I’ve made this 4 times and it keeps getting better. Thanks for sharing.
I just made this recipe, but I was extremely skeptical so I decided to read probably 300 reviews and not all on this site but all over the web. I am still mad at myself for not following my own instinct! It is a real good basic recipe but I just don’t get the oven part! I ended up with soggy chicken and quite frankly, why wouldn’t I? Seriously, you go to all the extreme to dredge the chicken in the cornstarch then in the egg….not so fun, and then fry the chicken to a crispy crust so why the heck would you soak it in the non cooked sweet and sour sauce at a very low temp in the oven for no less than 1 hour!! Why wouldn’t you end up with a soggy mess? OMG! Please people save yourself an hour!! After frying the chicken then toss it in a big bowl of the cooked down version of the sauce. If you want veggies like onion, peppers and pineapple then just stir fry that on the stove top and add to chicken and sauce then toss, toss, toss!
Oh My Goodness!!! This is sooooo good! Even though I tripled this, because of our large family, there’s just enough left-over for My Love’s lunch tomorrow! Yum!!!
Wow, this was so delicious! My entire family absolutely loved it.
As a side note, after spending the last couple of days drooling over and pinning your archives, I noticed that you live near my hometown. Small world 🙂
I had some rice and chicken to use up and wanted to make something my kids would actually eat before going out trick-or-treating. My whole family liked this! Particularly since it was Halloween, I decided to cut down the sugar to a scant 1/2 cup, and I still thought it was plenty sweet. Thanks for another winner!
I’ve been making a version of this for years, but deep-fried my chicken. This is much, much better! I do like to add sliced red peppers and pineapple chunks to mine, though. 🙂 Thanks for another fantastic recipe, Mel!
Love this! Great recipe!
Oh wow, sooooo so good. Did not expect a lot…don’t know why…but this was great!
I had a chinese food craving last week and decided to try this and it was great! I love your recipes and have a whole bunch book marked as “must try”. A question though…if I cook the chicken in the skillet and place in a baking dish as directed, but didn’t sauce it until the chicken was done (all while reducing the sauce on the stove) then tossed it together at the end, would that result in crispier chicken? would that even work?! I love a good crunch 🙂
Hi Katie – you’ll have to experiment with that since I haven’t tried it and have no idea how it would affect the crunchiness. Good luck!
Not sure if you are still wondering 🙂 But I made a small alteration to increase crunchiness, as I generally avoid the texture that is created when fried foods are covered in a sauce. I made everything exactly as instructed, but poured the sauce in the dish first, then put the chicken on top (so only the bottom of the chicken was touching the sauce, instead of being covered in sauce) I cooked 1 hour as directed, and then tossed immediately before serving. It was AWESOME and pretty crunchy. Everyone in our family loved it!
yup– just made this & there were no leftovers!
One more comment! For some reason, I thought your photo of this included the finished product sprinkled with sliced scallions. Now I see those are not in the photo! I did serve it with the scallions and they were a tasty addition — a nice contrast to the sweetness of the sauce.
Immediately after posting my question about adding peppers, I read some other comments about adding veggies. Those comments are helpful, but if you have any specific recommendations, Mel, I would appreciate those!
I made this chicken tonight — YUMMY!! I did decrease the sugar to 2/3 cup, which was good for our taste. I will DEFINITELY make it again. I did wonder about adding sweet pepper chunks to it the next time. Have you ever done that? If so, for how long do you think they should roast? You should know, I have made several of your recipes and they are ALL terrific! SO nice to be able to have reliability with internet-obtained recipes!
This recipe is great! I like to add some carrots, peppers, and onions after its been cooking for about 45 minutes. It cooks them just enough not to be mushy and I get my veggies!
Found this recipe via Pinterest. I made it tonight with a couple variations and it was delicious. I used Arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch to coat the meat and coconut oil to lightly brown the chicken before baking. I also served it over Miracle Noodles which I flavored with about 1/4 C of the sauce which I saved out from the chicken. Tossed in some carrots, bell pepper and broccoli and it was a great sweet/sour stir fry.
Can this recipe be made ahead and stored in the freezer? Thanks
Amy – I haven’t tried freezing this so you’ll have to experiment. Good luck!
OMGeeeeeez – this was YUM!!! My family thanks you. This is DEFINITELY a keeper!!!!
Awesome awesome recipe…kids can’t get enough! I actually made 2 sauces – 1 the way in the recipe and my sauce separate since I added chili paste and some chipolte peppers (put in blender to puree all together). So freaking good! Also added some bell peppers into the sauce. It tastes 10x better than going to a restaurant. Thank you for the wonderful recipe! 🙂
Made this last week and it was very good. Was a little nervous when it was baking since the vinegar smell seemed a bit overpowering but the meal came together great with a perfect combination of sweet and sour. My husband loved it! If forced to choose I liked the firecracker chicken better but only because I love spicy. I’ve printed up so many of your recipes and can’t wait to keep trying them. Great website!
I made this for my family (3 children who are picky eaters!!) tonight and it was a hit!! Not too hard to make either, though a bit messy! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hey Mel! My mom was just telling me about a bad experience with her last Chinese food experiment and to give her a pick-me-up I told her about your DELICIOUS Sweet and Sour chicken that she should try and that it wouldn’t disappoint. When I got to the website I noticed that for this dish you had a wildly, amazing 599 comments and I knew it must be fate that led me to see that I could be your 600th comment. I feel elated and like a superstar! Thanks for all of your awesome recipes that make me feel like I am the Queen of the Kitchen!
I made this dish last night to rave reviews. It was more time-consuming than I thought it would be: I think it took me about 8 batches of frying, and I had to replenish the egg wash with 2 more eggs halfway through the process. (It didn’t help that my 1-year-old was hollering in his highchair and throwing things on the floor the whole time.) But my husband said the chicken was better than any Chinese food dish he’s had at a restaurant…ever. I’ll definitely be making it again, hopefully with baby in a better mood.
Well, made this tonight and as predicted absolutely bloody lovely. I don’t think one of your recipes has ever steered me wrong 🙂
Hi Mel, love your recipes. your spaghetti sauce recipie is quite rightly the best spaghetti sauce i have ever tasted. What kind of Ketchup are you using in this recipe ?
Best,
Lewis
Hi Lewis – I use the Heinz Natural ketchup (the one without HFCS).
Have you tried this in the slow cooker?
Vanessa – I haven’t tried this in the slow cooker.
Hi Melanie! I found your blog by accident and so happy I did! I made this recipe last night for my family and mother in law. It was so easy . I had all the ingredients except for the chicken. It was absolutely crazy good. Everyone loved it and my mother in law wanted the recipe. It’s also very inexpensive to make. Thank you so much! I love your site and look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Kimberly
I’ve never posted on someone’s site before but this is one of the best recipes I’ve ever found online and I wanted you to know. It has that comfort food taste that Chinese take-out gives you but without the chewy chicken, heavy breading, or overly-sweet sauce. I put some sliced carrots and sweet onions with the chicken and will probably be making this at least once a month from now on. I can’t wait to test out some of your other recipes!
I just have to add a comment. I made this last night and it was so good. It was certainly a meal I will make again. I wish I had made enough to freeze some. Well I did, but we ate it. Thanks!!
Have made this twice now and it is a hit! Definitely going in the repertoire of family dinners. I may even cook this when company comes (and believe me with a husband with a culinary degree whom I can easily pass off culinary entertainment, that is saying a lot!) I’m gaining more confidence in my cooking skills thanks to my results from your blog Mel!!! I hope this blog and all the (obvious) work you do for it is helping you and your family…you are amazing and you need to write a book and get your own cooking show!!! 🙂
I was hesitant to try this recipe because the ingredients just seemed so simple- boy, was I wrong to wait! My teenage son LOVED it! I asked if there was anything I needed to add or change and he said it was PERFECT- better than his favorite Chinese restaurant. He took the few leftovers this morning to school for lunch. I know this is years later than when you posted the recipe but , what can I say, I just now tried it.
YUM! This was soooo good. (Of course you already know that). Seriously. It was delicious.
Im going to try this out today! Ive been craving all sorts of unhealthy foods in my pregnancy and was searching for a healthier homemade option (now that i can get away from throwing up and actually cook!!) This looks perfect i hope its as tasty as it looks!! (as all ur recipes are) 🙂
This was so heavenly Delicious that I just HAD to leave a reply! This recipe came out perfect on the very first try and was a huge success in my family. This wasn’t just a perfect dish, but a masterpiece! Absolutely Delicious! Therefore my search is over and that is thanks to you Mel!:))
Are you supposed to cover the dish with foil?/when should you and should you not cover with foil?
Jay – the recipe instructions don’t indicate covering with foil – I leave it uncovered the entire baking time.
This is so super delicious!!! I made this for my second time tonight, and because we are currently trying to cut out processed sugar, I substituted honey for the white sugar. It worked great!!! So yummy! Thanks so much for your awesome recipes! I am making your decadent chocolate that you just posted today for my husband’s birthday tomorrow.
I had let it simmer for a long time because I wondered if that was the problem, but it didn’t help too much. I understand that the way I’m making it (sans oven) is going to alter how it tastes, but I try not to use the oven in the summer time, so until autumn….
I made it again, doubled the recipe like last time (big family!) and used half the vinegar, plus the juice from the canned pineapples, and it was amaaazing.
I guess I was the only one with an issue of all these commenters. :/ I made the sauce by itself because I didn’t want to bake it, but it was waaay vinegary. I was about to toss it until my sister suggested adding a can of pineapples w/ the juice. Saved the poor sauce. Next time I’m adding half the apple cider vinegar!
Alicia – I’d recommend making the recipe according to the instructions if you want the stellar results everyone else reports. It makes a big difference when the sauce bakes – the vinegar isn’t overpowering. If you are going to make the sauce alone (I often make an extra batch on the stove), it needs to simmer for a while to meld all the ingredients.
This is one of our favorites! I made it for the missionaries recently and I actually quadrupled the batch… It’s a good thing too because there were NO leftovers. I always add diced carrots and a diced green pepper to it. Anything to sneak in a few extra veggies.
Awesome recipe. My whole family loved it.
I made this the other day and it was to die for.
Mary – you’ll have to read through the comments for other reviews of altering baking time but I always bake it per the recipe.
im in the process of making this. it looks good in the oven and im making extra sauce in case the hubby wants more. cooking the chicken pieces is a little time consuming but overall the recipe is easy cant wait to eat it. thanks
I will try this recipe next week but I have a quick question please. Bake for an HOUR?? The chicken isn’t dry? Thanks!
FAB-U-LOUS!! All that was left was an empty 9×13 dish!!! All of my 3 kids plus my husband LOVED it!! Even my ultra picky 5 year old ate it!! I did substitute boneless, skinless thighs but that was it. Thank you again for sharing the recipe!!
are you kiddin’ me! This is DEFINITELY a keeper. I double the sauce now when i make it as suggested, and everyone lovesss it! Thank you!
Planning to try this and just realized the ingredients list 3-4 boneless chicken. I am bit confused did you forgot to write lbs? What is the approximate weight of the chicken for this recipe?
Thanks
Sue – Novice cook
Hi Sue – the recipe says 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. That’s probably right around 2 pounds.
I lovve all your recipes that I have tried so far and I am so excited to make this one tonight! Thank you so much for sharing your talent! You are amazing!!!
I found your recipe after making a variation that gave credit (Essentially it was doubled with Worcestershire instead of soy). Even the man who claims not to like sweet and sour chicken LOVED this, everyone did. Thankyou