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 gluten-free brownies)!
This gluten-free 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, Broccoli Beef, or Lo Mein- my favorite Chinese menu items. So, now I make them all at home! I’ve posted my gluten-free chicken lo mein recipe already and will have to post my broccoli beef soon!
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, preference and to make it gluten-free.
How to make gluten-free sweet and sour chicken:
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 in a skillet with oil, but not cooking fully, the chicken is transferred to an aluminum foil lined baking dish. Lining the pan is just for easy clean-up. I’m all about finding ways to make clean-up easier!
A delicious gluten-free sweet and sour sauce is made on the stove and poured over the browned 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 gluten-free 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.
Notes on ingredients for this gluten-free sweet and sour chicken recipe:
- Make sure you drain the can of 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 total.
- Soy sauce usually has wheat in it, so be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce. The gluten-free 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.
If you like this gluten-free sweet and sour chicken recipe, I think you’ll also like my easy, 5 ingredient gluten-free sweet chicken recipe.
Gluten-free Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe:
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! I like to start my baked brown rice recipe and get it in the oven before starting this recipe. The rice will finish baking at close to the same time that you are ready to put the chicken in the oven. *Feel free to cut the amount of sugar called for if you like your meals a little less sweet. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Gluten-free Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
Sauce:
Instructions
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.Recommended Products
I hope your family enjoys this gf sweet and sour chicken as much as mine does!
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?
Karen Farnham says
I tried this recipe for sweet and sour meatballs…. I added the pineapple juice to the sauce ingredients and a tablespoon of corn starch… followed the instruction for the stove top cooking (in your recipe’s second batch suggestion). It is yummy! Thanks so much for your recipes and GF cooking tips! I love your website/recipes.
Julie says
I’m VERY excited to make this!!! I’ve been GF for 10 years!!!! Most restaurants have made eating GF easy, but Chinese? Nope!! Especially crispy Chinese! I have missed Chinese food very much!
I found some frozen GF egg rolls. They are absolutely delicious!! Not quite as good as deep fried, but very enjoyable!