Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken (Paleo, Whole30)
Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe with Paleo sweet and sour sauce that’s made with pineapple juice and apricots. It tastes just like your favorite Chinese restaurants but much healthier!
This sweet and sour chicken stir-fry comes together in 30 minutes and is Paleo Whole30 friendly. This is a must-have stir-fry dish for chicken lovers! Get your chopsticks ready!
The original recipe was published in March 2017 and updated in August 2019 for housekeeping matters, no change to recipe.
Is Sweet and Sour Chicken Chinese?
The popular American Chinese dish – Sweet and sour chicken – is closely related to sweet and sour pork 糖醋咕咾肉 or sweet and sour fish 糖醋鱼 in Chinese cuisine. The most popular version that we know in the west is from the Canton province. The Mandarin characters of Sweet 甜 [Tián] or 糖 [Táng] means sugary and Sour 酸 [Suān] or 醋 [cù] means vinegary, so hence some people call this dish sweet and sour 甜酸 and others describe it as sugary and vinegary 糖醋.
I don’t recall that my family makes sweet and sour chicken at home because most of the time we only see people enjoy it (often in a whole fish form) in Chinese weddings and celebratory banquet occasions. A whole deep fried sea bass, coated in sweet and sour sauce, is considered a fancy and lucky dish that will bring fortune into the family, especially during Chinese New Year’s.
What is Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken Made Of?
Be that as it may, I’m very happy to see that sweet and sour chicken becomes so popular in the west and there’s a reason why. Besides the sweet and tart flavor that we all love, the homemade Chinese sweet and sour chicken is much easier to make. It’s less elaborate, compared to the banquet version and with common ingredients – chicken, onions, bell peppers – that we can find easily.
My Paleo take on Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken is made with chicken breasts, onions, and bell peppers, and the sweet and sour sauce (Paleo and Whole30) is made with pineapple juice, dry apricots, tomato paste, cider or rice vinegar, and coconut aminos.
The pineapple juice and apricots are the perfect combination for sweet and sour sauce to replace added sugar and starch thickeners. And you know what? You can use the same sweet and sour sauce to make sweet and sour fish, pork, or even veggie stir-fries. How cool is that?
Is sweet and sour chicken the same as Orange Chicken?
In my opinion, sweet and sour chicken is different from orange chicken. In my baked crispy orange chicken recipe, I incorporate fresh orange juice and orange slices in the sauce so it tastes fruity and citrusy. On the other hand, my Chinese sweet and sour chicken recipe is made with pineapple juice and apricot sauce. The flavorful profile is sweeter and more tart than orange chicken.
How to make Healthy Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken
1. Dice the chicken breasts to 1-inch cubes and add salt, pepper, arrowroot, and ginger powder.
2. Dice the bell peppers and onions to cubes and prepare ginger slices.
3. Make the sweet and sour sauce (Paleo Whole30)
4. Stir fry the chicken with vegetables, and toss with the sauce.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Sauce
You can make the sweet and sour chicken sauce ahead to save time. Since there are no additives and preservatives, I recommend storing it in the fridge and finishing it in 1 week.
The sweet sour chicken sauce is easy to make – blend dry apricots with pineapple juice, coconut aminos, rice or cider vinegar, tomato paste, and a little salt. Puree with chicken stock or water to thin the texture.
MORE Chinese Recipes (Paleo, Whole30, and Low Carb!)
- Chinese Sesame Chicken
- Paleo Beef With Broccoli
- Paleo Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
- Stir-Fried Beef In Oyster Sauce
- Chinese Pepper Steak
- Low Carb Seafood Dim Sum
- Paleo Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Paleo Kung Pao Chicken
- More stir-fry recipe here
- Chinese new year recipes
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Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken (Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
Sweet and Sour Chicken:
- 1 1/4 lbs Chicken breasts or thighs, , skinless boneless
- 1 1/4 tsp Coarse sea salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp Coconut Aminos
- 1/4 tsp White pepper
- 1/2 tsp Ground ginger powder
- 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp Arrowroot starch
Stir-Fry:
- 3 tbsp Avocado oil
- Quarter one whole Yellow onion, diced
- 1 bulb Scallion, chopped
- 2-3 slice ginger, roughly chopped
- Half one whole green bell pepper, cut into bite size cubes
- Half one whole red bell pepper, cut into bite size cubes
Sweet and sour chicken sauce:
- 1/4 cup Dry apricots, or figs, or pitted prunes
- 1/3 cup Pineapple juice, fresh or from a can, not in heavy syrup
- 2 tbsp Coconut aminos
- 1 1/2 tbsp Rice vinegar, ,or 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp Tomato paste
- 1 small Pinch of sea salt
- 3-4 tbsp Chicken stock or water
Instructions
Season the chicken:
- Thinly slice the chicken breasts or dice the chicken thighs. Mix well in a medium bowl with the remaining chicken ingredients. Marinate in the refrigerator while preparing the stir-fry ingredients.
Stir-Fry:
- Preheat a wok or large skillet over medium heat until it's too hot to place your palm nearby, about 2-3 inches away. Add 1.5 tbsp of the avocado oil. Add the chicken in the skillet in one shallow layer and panfry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, flipping once to cook the other side for an additional 1 minute. Set aside along with the chicken juice.
- Heat the remaining 1.5 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat in the same skillet, then lower the heat to medium. Add the onion, scallion, and ginger. Season with a small pinch of salt. Stir-fry for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the bell peppers. Season with another small pinch of salt and stir-fry for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the chicken back to the skillet. Add 3 to 4 heaping tablespoons of the sweet-and-sour sauce. Keep stir-frying until the chicken is completely cooked through. Serve hot and immediately.
Video
Notes
- Thinly slice and season the chicken. Store in the refrigerator if using the next day, or otherwise in the freezer. defrost overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.
- Pre-make the sweet and sour chicken sauce. Store it in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Complete the meal with –
- Easy Chinese Broccoli Stir Fry with Garlic Sauce
- Snow Pea Leaves Stir-Fry
- Paleo Asian Coleslaw
- Easy Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad
- Mung Bean Sprouts Recipe
- Chinese Mustard Green Recipe
- More vegetable recipes here
I bought your cookbook and made this tonight as my first dish with the cauliflower rice (I added peas and onions to the rice) and both were out of this world! I’m making the velvet cashew chicken next and am excited to see how it turns out. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to make a cookbook for those of us who can’t tolerate grains or dairy. You’ve brought back one of my favorite food genre’s and I couldn’t be more grateful. Your sweet and sour sauce is scrumptious! Thanks again!!!
Thank you so much. I so appreciate it 🙂
I’m making this today for the third week in a row!
Last week I made lots of sauce so that part is taken care of. We have been having either this, or the chicken broccoli stir fry every Monday for awhile now. Yum yum. I am thinking of making an ever bigger batch of the sauce and seeing how it freezes.
Thanks again!
So very welcome!
Hi again! I just wanted to let you know that I made a bigger batch of the sauce and froze it in small portions and it works great!
Also – and this is so not paleo you might not even allow this comment : ) – I made the recipe with tofu. My kids love tofu. I used the same chicken marinade and and they were nice looking crispy squares. I didn’t have any but the kids hoovered it up. (I had some shrimp with mine)
Hi Squeaky! That sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing :))
Hi! Do you think I could substitute tofu for the chicken?
The sauce works for Tofu, too. You will want to use firm tofu though. :))
If you marinade the tofu in the ingerdients outlined in step one you get great crispy squares!
Made this today, it was great! We all loved it. I am glad I watched the video or I would have made the sauce wrong.
Making the sauce was a bit time consuming on top of all the prep. I think I’ll make it in advance next time. Do you think you could double or triple the sauce recipe and freeze it in small amounts? I might try that !
I made this tonight! It was so good and really east to make! I poured it over califlower rice to complete the meal. So YUMMY! thank you! I love your recipes and I’m looking forward to the fish sauce arriving. I ordered your all purpose stir fry rice too! I’m hispanic and make lots of Mexican dishes. But, Asian food is my first love. Your recipes are awesome and I’m buying the book too!!
Gloria
Thank you so much! Appreciate it. 🙂
I LOVE homemade Chinese food…so much better than most restaurants!!
This is a perfect recipe! Adding this to my meal plan this week!
I have always loved to order those. But never tried it myself at home. With your full instructions, this looks really perfect and pretty easy.
I can’t believe I get to eat one of my favorite dishes AND it’s Whole30! This is so great and the sauce is amazing!
I love how you have made a healthier version of this Chinese classic. The flavours all worked perfectly together!
I’ve always loved sweet and sour chicken and I can’t wait to try this Whole30 version! The sauce sounds amazing.
So healthy and yummy. Love the dried fruit in the sauce!!
I love sweet and sour chicken – especially homemade. It’s total comfort food. Can’t wait to try this!
So good and much better than what you’d get at restaurants or as takeout. I hate all the added sugar and stuff. This tastes so much fresher and healthier (which it is, obviously). Thanks for sharing your version.
I just loved the flavor, it was pretty simple to throw together, and completely delicious!
I cannot wait to try this!! It looks simply divine! I’m so thrilled that it’s paleo! Whoo!
This comment is for the crispy shredded chicken stir fry! I don’t know that it is on your website even though it is your recipe. It is hands down my favorite Whole 30 recipe and I love it. Make it with pork and chicken!
What a hit! This was great. We added more liquid (chicken bone broth for added health benefits) and cayenne and chili flakes (we like things more Szechwan than Guangzhou ;). This is our new “go to”. Oh, and we made it with pork…yummy.
Thank you so much!!!
Thats so great to hear !
I just gave this recipe a go and it was incredible! I used chicken stock to thin put the sauce a bit. Because I have only a large food processor, I doubled the recipe so there was enough to catch te blades. I let the chicken sit for about an hour and it still fried up crispy.
That sounds amazing ! Thanks for sharing ! :))
THIS WAS awesome!! So flavorful and easy to pull together! I put it on top of an Asian slaw, the rest of the family had it with rice! Will definitely make this again, thank you!
Loved this delicious recipe. The sauce is great, and the chicken was so tender. We will definitely make again.
That’s so lovely to hear. Thank you Terri !
This was so good!!!! Sauce was the perfect balance, will definitely make again!
Yay ! So happy to hear !
I can instantly tell by the ingredients list that your sweet and sour sauce will taste insanely good!
So many delicious flavours, this sounds incredible it’s making my mouth water..
I want to make a triple batch of this ASAP! Takeout is so gross by my boyfriend loves sweet and sour chicken so this looks like the perfect solution!
Holy wow this sounds so good! Love the combination of pineapple, apricot and tomato paste for the sauce!
Thanks so much Dana !
The texture here looks so amazing. Cannot wait to try this!
Wow! This looks amazing! And so easy!!
Using dried apricots for the sauce sounds so good! That chicken looks absolutely perfect! What a great dinner that I know my family would love 🙂
Thanks, Jessica !
Yum!Love the use of pineapple juice and apricots on the sauce. So good!
I cannot wait to make this!!! Sweet and sour chicken was my mom’s favorite and it always makes me think of her. I wish she was here so I could make her this beautiful, healthier version. I know my family is going to love this.
This sounds much better than any sweet and sour you’d get in a restaurant! I love that there’s balance with the sweetness!
I just love all your yummy, healthy, easy to make paleo meals. Great work 🙂
This looks like a lovely recipe, hun. I love the idea about storing the sauce in the fridge and using as you need it.
Thanks so much !
I find it very interesting that white vinegar differs so much between the two cultures. Learn something new every day.
Thank you, Hannah !
Sweet and sour chicken is one of my favorites, thanks for sharing!
Oh geez, I already have chicken in the crockpot for tonight’s dinner but now I’m regretting that and wishing I had seen this sooner! Gonna have to go to the store to get more chicken now 🙂
Oh gosh that sauce though! This looks amazing! Thank you for this great dinner idea!
I have a question about the 2 week challenge that starts Monday. Is it only for people who are on Facebook. I do not do Facebook. Do I have another option if I sign up
Hi Josephine, Yes you could still join the challenge even if you don’t have a facebook account. :))
Loved this recipe! Was so tasty and filling ????????????
So happy to hear you like the recipe Renae !