I love homemade Chinese food! It just tastes so much better than going out! We consider this a family favorite dish. There is a perfect balance of sweet and sour from the sauce mixed with pineapple and bell pepper that just makes it delish!
This recipe has 50% less sugar and saturated fat than Panda Express’s Sweetfire chicken breast dish which makes it a nutrition winner in my book.
Plus, it’s actually really pretty easy to make and isn’t going to leave you feeling like you are on a salt overload!
You can easily make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free soy sauce.
Healthier Sweet ‘n Sour Chicken
This recipe has 50% less sugar and saturated fat than the similar Panda Express dish but it still tastes delish! It is also gluten free if you use GF soy sauce. Definitely a family favorite!
Servings: 7 servings
Calories: 540kcal
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2, (6-8 oz) chicken breasts, boneless, skinless ,thawed
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 extra large egg, beaten (more if needed)
- 1 cup cornstarch (more if needed)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
Sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce, no added salt or sugar
- 1 cup orange juice, no added sugar
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Other
- 2 cups red bell pepper, diced into bite size pieces
- 2 cups green bell pepper, diced into bite size pieces
- 8 oz can pineapple tidbits, packed in 100% juice, drained
- 1/4 cup green onion, chopped ,optional
- light cooking spray
Instructions
- Trim excess fat off of chicken breasts. Cut into bite size pieces (I prefer thin strips). Sprinkle garlic powder and salt over chicken breasts and mix to evenly spread seasoning over chicken breasts. Set aside. Place oil in frying pan and turn to medium heat.
- Place beaten egg in a glass bowl. Place cornstarch in a separate bowl. Dip chicken pieces into egg, coat in cornstarch, and then place pieces into hot pan (you want the oil to be hot enough that you hear a soft sizzle sound when you place chicken pieces in the pan.) I usually work with about 1/4 of the chicken pieces during this breading process at a time. In my experience, you can put several pieces of chicken into the egg at one time but it is best to coat the chicken pieces individually in the corn starch mixture.
- Brown breaded chicken in frying pan for until the first side is lightly brown and crisp (~5 minutes). Then flip pieces to crisp other side until lightly brown and crisp (~another 5 minutes). The chicken does not need to be fully cooked at this step.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place browned/crisp chicken pieces into a lightly oiled 9×13 glass baking dish. Top chicken with bell pepper pieces and pineapple.
- Combine all sauce ingredients into a saucepan. Heat through on medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Evenly pour sauce over chicken mixture. Place uncovered in oven for 35-40 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and chicken has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Serve with rice and top with any garnishes you would like.
Notes
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