I really do realize that this week is Thanksgiving. Promise.
And I should have probably posted a last-minute Thanksgiving round-up of recipes. But I didn’t. And I’m probably not going to.
Instead, I’m giving you a recipe you can use post-Thanksgiving when you need something that isn’t a casserole or pie or made with cream and butter. When your taste buds need a quick break before the holiday baking begins.
I give you sweet and sour chicken. This is an absolutely basic recipe that I’ve updated from the archives. Sometimes, I’ll change things up and add a clove of garlic and a bit of fresh ginger, but this recipe works out in a very family-friendly way as is.
I don’t deep-fry my chicken (I use cooked, cubed chicken breast), but if you wanted to, you certainly could.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast, cooked and cubed
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large (20oz) can pineapple chunks, drained and JUICE RESERVED
- 1 green pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 red pepper, cut unto chunks
- 1 small onion, cut into chunks
- 1/4 c white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce or gluten free tamari*
- 2 Tbsp ketchup*
- 1/3 c packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- In a large pan, cook onion and peppers in olive oil over medium-high heat until crisp-tender.
- While peppers and onions are cooking, make sauce by draining the pineapple juice into a liquid measuring cup and adding enough water to the pineapple juice to make 1 1/3c. Stir in vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Whisk until well combined.
- Add chicken and pineapple to skillet with peppers and onions. Add sauce to pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir and cook until sauce has thickened to your desired consistency.
- Serve with rice.
Notes
*Gluten/Dairy free notes: Be sure your ketchup is gluten free (most are). We like Hunt’s with no high fructose corn syrup. Also, be sure to use gluten free tamari. San-J make a great one.
This sounds delicious! I have seen enough Thanksgiving recipes 😉 I loved the Chinese break!
This is one of my favorite dishes. And trust me, I don’t blame you for the lack of Thanksgiving recipes. After all, all of us make the feast the day-of, as far as I remember! Though, I guess it doesn’t help my case that I have a turkey breast post up today :/ I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Emily! You’re eating for two now, so you can eat extra of everything, lucky girl!
Finally! I’ve tried a few recipes for sweet and sour chicken, but all of them were….um, how do you put this lightly….gross and I wanted to throw the pan out everytime. But this comes pretty darn close to the one at my local Chinese place. I did fry the chicken though. Who needs take-out? Thanks so much!
This was really tasty – and easy! Great recipe!
We just made this tonight. Super yummy recipe!
Made this tonight and everyone loved it! I actually reduced the brown sugar to 1/4 cup and thought it had a perfect balance of sweet/sour. Thanks for the recipe and for helping me become a better cook and mama!
★★★★★
Shauna – I’m so glad you liked it! It’s funny you made it yesterday! I’m filming a new version today! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I appreciate it so much 🙂
How funny! I’m excited to see your new version as well!