Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry is a quick and easy dinner the whole family will love! Crispy pieces of chicken are coated in an irresistible sweet and sour sauce and stir fried with vegetables and pineapple.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
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Recreating classic Asian takeout dishes at home is one of our favorite things to do! We love making a quick and easy stir fry for dinner. Not only can they be made in under 30 minutes, they are flavor packed and always a family favorite!
What is Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
This stir fry features a combination of onions, bell peppers, pineapple, and crispy pieces of fried chicken. Coated in a sweet and sour sauce that is perfect poured over rice! The crispy chicken soaks up the flavor packed sauce and the pineapple adds a sweetness to the stir fry. It's one of the most popular Chinese takeout dishes!
Perfect Pairings
Ingredients
- Chicken - to keep the recipe healthier we like to use boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small bite sized pieces. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Onion - regular white or yellow cooking onions work great. Or you can use red onions if that is what you have on hand.
- Bell Peppers - any combination of bell peppers works for this recipe - green, red, yellow, or orange.
- Pineapple - for a quick recipe we like to use a can of pineapple rings cut into chunks. You can also use a fresh pineapple that is peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces.
- Tomato Paste - for a healthy recipe we use tomato paste, rather than ketchup which is often use in takeout dishes. Ketchup is packed with sugar so we swap for a combination of tomato paste and honey.
- Honey - gives the sauce it's sweet component.
- Soy Sauce - used to marinate the chicken and give the sauce an umami flavor.
- Ginger and Garlic - two staples in Asian cooking they add a beautiful aromatic flavor to the dish.
- Flour - to coat the chicken before frying.
- Cornstarch - the combination of both flour and cornstarch gives the pieces of chicken a perfectly crispy coating.
- Rice Vinegar - this gives the sauce it's signature sour flavor. This can be found in the international aisle of most grocery stores, or you can swap for white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead.
- Sesame Oil - to marinate the chicken.
- Chili Flakes - a pinch of chili flakes adds a great flavor to the sauce.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of page
- In a large bowl add the chicken and all of the marinade ingredients. Set aside and let marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a shallow dish combine the flour and cornstarch.
- In batches, toss the cubed chicken in the flour and cornstarch.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (or pan fry the chicken in batches).
- Generously spray each piece of chicken with cooking spray or drizzle with oil and place in the air fryer. Cook at 400°F for approximately 5 minutes per side or until golden brown, crispy, and cooked through (internal temperature 165°F).
- Cook in batches until all the chicken is cooked and set aside.
- Add oil to a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add in all of the stir fry ingredients for 2-3 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger and sauté for another minute.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add in the tomato paste and cook for another minute.
- Add in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and honey. Stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Add the cooked chicken and mix until evenly combined. The coating from the chicken will thicken the sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce is thickened, glossy, and coats the chicken and vegetables well.
- Serve the stir fry over a bowl of rice and garnish with sliced green onion and sesame seeds (optional). Enjoy!
Tips for the Best Stir Fry
- Chicken - we love to use boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe as it is the leanest option, making this an even healthier high protein dinner! However, you can also swap for boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer. If you don't like chicken you can also use shrimp.
- Vegetables - a stir fry is the best way to use up any leftover veggies you have in the fridge. Stir fries are also completely customizable to your personal preference. You can use any combination of vegetables you like, including carrots, zucchini, water chestnuts, asparagus, bok choy, mushrooms, snap peas, the list goes on and on!
- Stir Fry - when making a stir fry things move quick! To make sure nothing gets over cooked, be sure to prep all the ingredients before you start cooking. Make sure all your veggies are washed and chopped, chicken is cut, and the sauce ingredients are measured out. Making a stir fry requires you to quickly pan fry each ingredient and move on to the next step. So be sure you have everything prepped.
FAQ
Microwave the stir fry in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until warm or reheat in a non-stick pan on medium heat until warmed through.
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.
Place the cooked and cooled stir fry in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can freeze individual servings of the stir fry with a serving of rice or noodles in a freezer safe container. Then simply reheat in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or until warmed through.
Yes, you can meal prep this and keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze following the above directions.
You can swap the chicken for tofu. Cut the tofu into square pieces and press out as much water as you can. Then coat the pieces in the flour and cornstarch mixture.
You can swap the chicken for tofu. Cut the tofu into square pieces and press out as much water as you can. Then coat the pieces in the flour and cornstarch mixture. Swap the honey for agave.
For a gluten free recipe you can swap the flour for gluten free flour, or cornstarch.
This is a dairy free recipe.
More Easy Stir Fry Recipes
Enjoy!
- Sab
Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
Equipment
- Air Fryer or frying pan
Ingredients
- ¾ cup flour
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- cooking spray (or cooking oil of choice)
Chicken Marinade
- 1 ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into 1-inch cubes, or boneless skinless chicken thighs)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
Stir Fry
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup onion (cut into ¾-inch sized pieces)
- 1 red bell pepper (cut into ¾-inch sized pieces)
- 1 green bell pepper (cut into ¾-inch sized pieces)
- 1 can pineapple chunks (or ½ pineapple cut into ¾-inch sized pieces)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 6 tablespoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar)
- 4 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ cup honey
Garnish
- 2 tablespoon green onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the 1 ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breast and all of the marinade ingredients (1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional) and ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)). Set aside and let marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a shallow dish combine the ¾ cup flour and ⅓ cup cornstarch.
- In batches, toss the cubed chicken in the flour and cornstarch.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (or pan fry the chicken in batches).
- Generously spray each piece of chicken with cooking spray or drizzle with oil and place in the air fryer. Cook at 400°F for approximately 5 minutes per side or until golden brown, crispy, and cooked through (internal temperature 165°F).
- Cook in batches until all the chicken is cooked and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil to a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add in all of the stir fry ingredients (1 cup onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 1 can pineapple chunks) for 2-3 minutes. Add in the 1 teaspoon garlic and 1 teaspoon ginger and sauté for another minute.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add in the 3 tablespoon tomato paste and cook for another minute.
- Add in the 6 tablespoon rice vinegar, 4 teaspoon soy sauce, and ½ cup honey. Stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Add the cooked chicken and mix until evenly combined. The coating from the chicken will thicken the sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce is thickened, glossy, and coats the chicken and vegetables well.
- Serve the stir fry over a bowl of rice and garnish with sliced 2 tablespoon green onion and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional). Enjoy!
Nutrition
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