Missing take-out Chinese food since you are gluten-free? Make your own gluten-free Sweet and Sour Chicken at home with this family-friendly recipe!
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that while some recipes are brand new creations, the majority of the recipes I post are ones I’ve been making for my family for years. Some of them are favorites of my kids, some are hubby’s favorites, and some are my favorites (ahem, all the brownies)!
This sweet and sour chicken is one of my absolute favorite meals! I so miss being able to go to a good Chinese restaurant and order Sweet and Sour Chicken and Broccoli Beef- my two favorite Chinese menu items. So, now I make them both at home! I love this gluten-free sweet and sour chicken recipe so much that I overeat every time I make it! You’d think I’d learn. It is very rare for me to eat any meal to the point of being uncomfortably stuffed, but this is the one that I do. If I had my own personal chef, I’d have him make this for me every week.
I tried many, many versions of sweet and sour chicken recipes, never liking any of them. A number of years ago, I stumbled on this Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. As I made this recipe over and over, I started making various tweaks to it, for ease, taste, and to make it gluten-free.
Chicken pieces are easily coated with cornstarch, salt, and pepper by shaking them in a sealed ziploc bag, for easy clean-up. After browning the pieces, but not cooking fully, the chicken is transferred to an aluminum foil lined baking dish. Again, lining the pan is just for easy clean-up. I’m all about finding ways to make clean-up easier!
A delicious sweet and sour sauce is made on the stove and poured over the chicken, and a can of pineapple chunks is added to the mix. One hour in the oven, and you’ve got this amazing American Chinese style Sweet and Sour Chicken ready to serve your family!
You can serve with the more traditional white rice or sticky rice, but I always opt to serve with my baked brown rice. The rice bakes while I cut the chicken and assemble the sweet and sour recipe, and is ready to pull out at close to the same time that I put the sweet and sour chicken in the oven. After fluffing the rice, it can can just sit, covered until ready to serve.
Ingredient Notes:
- Make sure you drain the pineapple chunks. You can just drink the juice, you won’t be using it in the recipe.
- If you are using a fresh, strong smelling apple cider vinegar, I would recommend cutting the amount slightly so it isn’t overpowering. When I use store-bought apple cider vinegar, the 1/2 cup called for is perfect. When I use the freshly made, local apple cider vinegar that I get from an orchard, I definitely need to decrease it to 1/3 cup.
- The soy sauce I prefer to use is San-J Tamari gluten-free soy sauce.
- If you don’t like your meals so sweet, feel free to cut the amount of sugar a bit. I like mine more on the sweet side than the sour side.
I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine does!
Gluten-free Sweet and Sour Chicken
Missing take-out Chinese food since you are gluten-free? Make your own gluten-free Sweet and Sour Chicken at home with this family-friendly recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken tenders (or chicken breasts)
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
- 1/4 cup oil (your choice)
- 1 can (20 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained
Sauce
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (use slightly less if using fresh, strong cider)
- 1 Tbsp. gluten-free soy sauce (I use San-J gf Tamari)
- 1 tsp. garlic salt
Directions
- Using kitchen shears, trim off any excess skin, then cut the chicken breasts or tenders into chunks. I cut mine in chunks that are around 1.5" to 2" in size.
- Set a gallon sized Ziploc bag in a bowl and fold over the top to hold in place. Add cornstarch, pepper and garlic salt. Seal and shake bag to mix together.
- Place the bag back in the bowl and fold over the top to hold in place again.
- Add the chicken chunks. Seal and shake the bag to mix together.
- In a large, non-stick skillet, add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add half of the chicken pieces and cook just until brown, but not cooked through, flipping pieces to brown two sides.
- Remove chicken from pan and place into a 9x13 baking dish. I use a 9x13 glass Pyrex that I line with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Repeat with rest of chicken.
- Add one can of pineapple chunks (be sure to drain first) to the chicken in the 9x13 baking dish. Set dish of chicken/pineapple aside while you make the sauce.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, gluten-free soy sauce, and garlic salt. Pour over the chicken and pineapple.
- Bake for one hour at 325°. Every 15 minutes, remove from oven and stir, flipping chicken pieces.
- Remove from oven and serve over white or brown rice.
- Feel free to add green onions after baking if you like those!
- Bonus: If you want extra sauce for drizzling, make a second batch of sauce and add to a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Whisk constantly and let it cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced, about 7 minutes.
Recipe Notes
If using a fresh, strong apple cider vinegar, you may want to cut the amount slightly, to 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup.
Beth says
Since going Gluten Free about 5 months ago, I had avoided my fave Asian restaurants, over fears of being “gluten-ed.” I especially missed sweet and sour chicken. Well, I made your sweet and sour chicken with your baked rice last night, and it was amazing! I kept commenting to my husband how good it was, and he agreed! Thank you SO much for sharing it. I cant wait to make it for my college kids when they come home for spring break! Because since mama is gluten free, the whole family is gluten free when they eat at home. And great recipes like yours, makes it so easy! Thanks!
Judy says
Looking for directions for this recipe
Lindsay says
I made this tonight and it was FANTASTIC. I was actually blown away at how much it tasted like my favorite takeout, except better! thanks so much for sharing!
Heather says
Hello. Thanks for this delicious looking recipe. By chance, do you have a suggestion for someone who is allergic to pineapples? Is there something else I could add to the chicken that would give a similar flavor? Thanks.
steve says
Never tried myself, but i would of thought orange/satsuma segment would worl well
Michelle says
I have several kids that are sensitive to corn. What kind of starch should I use instead of cornstarch? Arrowroot? Tapioca Starch? Potato Starch?
Jennifer H says
Amazing as good as anything found in a restaurant!
Heather B says
My husband and I made this tonight. It is delicious! This will be a weekly dinner for us. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Jordi says
Could I use honey instead of the sugar?
Mandy says
I used honey instead and it turned out fantastic! It also seems to make the sauce a little more sticky which makes it stick to the chicken a little better. It was great!
Andrew says
Made this tonight and it was EXCELLENT. I added some green and yellow peppers and some red onion to the chicken and pineapple. I also added about a 1/4 tsp of ground ginger to the breading. My daughter with celiac was very happy. She misses a lot of asian food.
This is definitely a keeper.
Veronica Niechajczyk says
OH MY GOD. This is so good, I wish I never got full. I added red bell peppers and cooked it in the pan all together to thicken the sauce, and it is just fantastic.
Mallory says
I loved this recipe so much I made it twice in less than a week, and my husband, who isn’t gluten free, didn’t complain. We deep fried our chicken instead to speed up the cooking time and cooked the sauce in a pan on the stove. I tried it with a 1/2 cup and a 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar. We thought the 1/3 cup was much better, although, it was great either way it just cleared your sinuses a little more. We also decided to pre season the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder before coating it in the shaker mix. I cooked a red pepper, bean sprouts, mushrooms, carrots, pineapple, and a green onion to add to the chicken and rice. This will definitely be a recipe I use again and again and will share with my friends and family!!!
Megan says
Do you have the carb amount per serving and how much a serving is(eg. 1/2 cup)?
Joan Martin says
I’m going to try this recipe with chicken thighs from my freezer. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Alex says
This recipe was BOMB. Tastes exactly like any sweet and sour that contains gluten. 10/10 would definitely make again!
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
This gave me a big smile! I’m so glad you thought it was BOMB! That’s quite the compliment!! Enjoy!!
Nancy says
Have you tried this with pork?