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 made this last night and it was a hit. I didn’t make any extra sauce, but I should have, because everybody wanted extra. I didn’t change a thing in the recipe. This is destined to become a family favorite.
First of all, I love love your website!! Whenever we are looking for new ideas for dinner I always tell my husband “let me check and see what’s on Mel’s website.”
Secondly, just wondering if you’ve ever tried to make your sweet and sour chicken with shrimp?
Thanks for all of the wonderful recipes you’ve shared with me and my family!
I have literally made this like 3 times in the span of 2 weeks. I try to make it for anybody & everybody who will eat it lol…and who wouldn’t want to eat this deliciousness?!
Just an idea that makes the coating of the chicken easier. I just put the egg in with the cornstarch and chicken and it makes it go by way faster!! Plus, it coats the whole thing!
I just had to write a comment! I’ve made a handful of your recipe’s (just discovered your page about a month ago), and I’m amazed! This recipe is so delicious, there are almost no words. As I was making it, I couldn’t help but think..’this is going to be one of those pinterest fails’. But when I took my first bite… Woah! Needless to say, this is going into my routine recipe box! I’m thinking… six days a week? 🙂 keep up the delicious posts!
Excellent recipe – my family loved it. Thanks!
Sabrina – uncovered.
Do you put this in the oven covered or uncovered?
Made tonight, I had to see what the fuss is about. So good! Double batch of chicken and triple the sauce.
I don’t know how I managed to come to your site but I am SO glad that I did. We did the sweet and sour chicken last night for dinner. It was the MOST delicious I’ve ever had. I really loved that all the ingredients were staples I had in the house. The hubby enjoyed it as well, he had 3 servings! Thanks so much! P.S.- I am trying out your mini meat loafs tonight!
In the oven as we speak excited to try this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Excited to try this! You should advertise that this can easily be prepared gluten free since it uses cornstarch. The only substitution would need to be GF soy sauce!
OH MY GOODNESS. I’m dubious at best with recipes involving anything that’s supposed to be magically crispy while deliciously saucy and moist, especially when it involves food that are my favorites. So I procrastinated making this until I finally bit the bullet and cooked it all up for dinner. And good grief! It was AMAZING. It tasted like our favorite sweet and sour chicken (but BETTER) and, it was already gluten free so everyone in our family could enjoy it! (my youngest brother, Samuel, has CD) We could not believe how good it was. Seriously. I made a double batch for eight of us and we ate it all up…because it was JUST THAT DELICIOUS. This is going into our favorite recipes — in fact, the littles have all requested it as a weekly Monday night dinner! I told them maybe every other week, otherwise I run the risk of eating it all myself. Hee hee. Fabulous fabulous recipe! Thank you oh-so much!
From a never-doubting-the-tastiness-of-homemade-sweet-and-sour-chicken-again-new-reader —
Hannah
This was really good!!!! The sauce was VERY vinegar tasting, so I added pineapple juice! SOSOSO much better!!
Tried this. Deeeeeeeelishes! Tonight, am trying it again, but I doubled the recipe for the sauce. Really, really good! Thanks.
Just made this…..can you say DE-VINE? I nearly ate until I was sick and the kids have asked that I add this to our rotation. Thank You!!!!
I just made this for lunch using chicken thighs and your Baked Brown Rice! I loved it and I will making it again for sure. I have been ill for six years with undiagnosed B12 Deficiency and fatigue kept me from cooking homemade meals so I lived off take-out, frozen and prepared foods. For the last six weeks I have felt like a human again and look forward to finding recipes and preparing healthy, tasty food so I am really glad to have found your blog. I made your Homemade Spaghetti Sauce last week and my friends and I loved it! I am looking forward to trying lots more of your recipes 🙂
Hi I wanna try making this dish but I don’t have garlic salt. Do you have any suggestions for a replacement or perhaps a DIY for garlic salt?
Stephanie – try googling and see what you come up with. I’m guessing it’s a simple combination of garlic powder and salt.
I just found your blog through Pinterest and tried this recipe. Incredible! Even better than I was hoping for. Thanks for sharing!
Yikes! Mine didn’t turn out and I followed the recipe exactly. It ended up exactly how reviewer: Michelle said with the whole house smelling like vinegar, the chicken tasting like vinegar. The sauce had the consistency of a pool of water even after an hour in the oven. I used the apple cider vinegar kind too. I wish I had more luck with it!
WOW!!! I have to say I was a little worried if my family would like this, BUT OMG!!! We loved it!! I have tried to make food taste like take out for years and this is BY far the BEST ever!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!!! The Leftovers are amazing too!! Yummy!!!
I made this for dinner tonight and my seven yr old told me it was so good it made his heart stop beating! This was so yummy and so easy … didn’t even require a trip to the store. Thank you for all of your great recipes – my family thinks I am a great cook thanks to you!
I stumbled upon this on Pinterest and tried it tonight. Wow! My very picky family loved it and said it was better than our beloved take out place! Thanks for posting!
I finally caved and made this recipe this weekend and oh my goodness, it was amazing!!!! Better than any take out I have ever had. It is definitely a meal that I only have time to cook on the weekend because it is pretty time consuming, but it is worth every single grease splatter!! We loved it and I will keep this recipe near and dear to my heart forever! Can’t wait to pass this down to my daughter some day when she is old enough to cook. Thank you for another great recipe Mel. I LOVE your blog and make at least 2 recipes a week from it!
Made this tonight (kids are eating while I type this). It is very quiet so that is a great sign! I served it with left over baked brown rice and it is very good! I am thinking of a couple of variations for future use. Thank you!
Made this last night and cannot say enough good things about it!! It was SO delicious and my whole family loved it too! Thanks for a new family favorite recipe! 🙂
I made this for the first time last night, with mixed reviews. While I love how the chicken cooks up with the cornstarch/egg combo, the house just reeked of vinegar as it cooked, which was very unappealing to all. Fortunately most of us still liked the meal, but I think next time I’ll have to tweak the sauce a bit…perhaps less vinegar and a bit more soy sauce? But, I can say that my chicken looked just like your picture, which for some reason is very exciting when trying a new recipe! 🙂
Thanks!
This was incredibly good! My 4 year old couldn’t stop eating it and she is picky. It completely satisfied my chinese food craving for a whole lot less calories!!
I made sweet and sour chicken last night for my husband he lovedddd it.
Thanks. Great recipe, pretty easy to make.
Made this with chunks of pork tenderloin and sprinkled with sliced green onion at the end of cooking; it was sooooooooooooooo good! This is going to a be a staple in my house!
Il now Mel’s super busy and may not get to this right away so I thought I’d put my 2 cents. Regarding how long it takes for the chicken to be done, if you’re cooking the chicken pieces (about inch sized pieces) until they’re crispy, they’re probably pretty much done right then. Cooking the chicken in the oven is allowing the that little bit to get cooked through plus help the sauce thicken and adhere to the pieces. Also, Make sure your skillet when browning the pieces is high enough so that the outside just browns and doesn’t cook the chicken too much in just a few seconds (about 10-15 seconds). And don’t worry about not getting the chicken cooked through, it takes just a few minutes to cook bite size pieces of chicken breast. Just watch your sauce and how its reducing. Another thing to try would be using boneless, skinless chicken thighs as they are more forgiving In terms of tenderness. Hope your next batch turns out! Keep trying, it’s so worth it.
I’ve tried this recipe 3x’s now, and I really love it…but I keep overcooking it. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong? I cook the chicken in the skillet for just a few minutes…long enough for it to get crispy. Then I cook it at 325* for an hour (flipping halfway)….my oven does sometimes cook a little fast, but I usually only have to take it out about 5 minutes earlier than directed. How long do you think the chicken should stay in the overn at 325* before its cooked inside? I’m wondering if I can try it again and take it out at 30-40 minutes instead…but want to be sure the chicken is fully cooked (also- would that make the sauce less thick)? Any help would be so appreciated! I love this recipe but want to perfect it 🙂
Hi Kristin – Jnl2211 is exactly right (thanks!). The chicken should just be barely cooked in the skillet. What you are going for is a golden brown coating but not fully cooked chicken or you will have dry chicken at the end of baking. Many people are afraid to crank up the heat but you need really hot oil to brown those chicken pieces quickly. I like the whole hour of cooking because it thickens the sauce perfectly but if you are still having issues, you could cut the baking time down, it will just result in a thinner sauce that doesn’t coat the chicken quite as well. Good luck!
Tried this today & it was absolutely delicious! Literally the best home-made sweet & sour sauce I’ve ever had! I added about half a tablespoon of pure honey & used a little less than required on the vinegar, & it made it just a little on the sweeter side. It’s just so delicious, I’m beside myself about it!
Made this tonight– It was delicious! The chicken was cooked perfectly. I think I’m going to add some chili sauce or another Asian condiment to jazz up the sauce a bit. Thanks for the recipe!!
This is my families favorite dinner. My kids, and husband, devour it every time! I made it for company once and I received the best compliment EVER while he was stuffing his face, “man, this is good! Where did you buy it from?” Thanks for sharing and teaching me how to make the best homemade sweet and sour chicken! Love ALL your recipes!
This recipe looks amazing and I have been wanting to try it – even purchased the apple cider vinegar. After coating the chicken in cornstarch and dipping into the egg mixture, do you then dip it into bread crumbs or panko before frying?!
Can you put the chicken in a fry daddy with canola oil instead? I always get burned with spitting oil in a skillet! Lol
Valerie – I’ve never used an electric fryer so use your judgment. Good luck!
I made this recipe with pork instead of chicken and it was fabulous!!! This is definitely going in my permanent recipe book, and it’s so easy!’ Thank you for sharing!
Super duper D-lish !!!! My whole family loved it. Which doesn’t happen all that often 🙂
I have made this recipe a couple of times now and it is soooooo amazing! Super easy and tastes great! Thanks for the great recipe!
Kathi – I like the texture of the cornstarch but if it was off to you then you could try flour. The coating wouldn’t be quite as light as the cornstarch.
Hi the sauce was delicious however dipped in cornstarch the chicken took on a very an not edible flavor. Did I do something wrong? Would dipped in flour be better? Thank yoy
I made the sweet and sour chicken tonight. It was so dilious and quick to make. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Just made (and ate) this! SO good!!! Thank you! 🙂
http://megzmessymealz.blogspot.com/2012/09/sweet-and-sour-chicken-first-attempt-d.html Hey Mel, this is how my chicken turned out. I played with the recipe a bit but it was so delicious!! I loved the sweet and sour sauce. Big hit in my house 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing it!
THANK YOU so much for this recipe. I have never ever been able to make “ORANGE CHICKEN” that tasted like the restaurants….until NOW. I made it tonight and my family LOVED LOVED LOVED it.
Thinking about making this tomorrow (it has the perfect combo of ingredients – I have EVERYTHING in my pantry already – yay! hate it when a recipe calls for some very specific thing that only goes with a handful of dishes). But I have 1 question – isn’t 1 hour a little long, given that pieces are rather small and have already been cooked some? I know 3-4 breasts is a lot of chicken, and if they were a whole piece, I’d definitely cook them an hour, but with this method, I’d expect it to me closer to 30 min. It’s not going to dry out?
Nathalie – the one hour helps reduce and thicken the sauce, otherwise the sauce is too thin and vinegary. My chicken has never been dry because of the 1 hour baking time – I think all the other ingredients help keep it moist.
FABULOUS!!! Sooo good! My son hates chicken and he had two helpings and told me I could make this everyday!
Must try
I had never made sweet and sour chicken and was not sure if this would taste good with ketchup and vinegar BUT I can honestly say I was very surprised and it was great, thanks for posting it I will defiantly make this recipe again.
Oh my gosh! This is gluten-free!! (well, if you get the gluten-free soy sauce, which I happen to have!) I absolutely love sweet and sour chicken but my husband and I are gluten-free so we can’t have the coated chicken. I am so excited to have found your site and this recipe! I have most ingredients on hand right now so will definitely be making this for him tonight! Thank you so much 🙂