Sweet & sour chicken or Sweet and sour chicken is a popular dish from the Chinese cuisine. This recipe consists of stir-fried diced meat, vegetables and pineapple in a sweet chili based sauce. This dish is always served with steamed rice on the side.
This crazy easy meal can be made in very little effort in a slow cooker or super fast in an Instant Pot.
How to Make Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Chicken
Place chicken and veggies in slow cooker. In a small bowl whisk together sauce ingredients and pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 4 hours. Remove chicken and cut into chunks or shred.
Whisk ¼ cup pineapple juice (from chunks) with cornstarch and stir into slow cooker.
Cook on high for 30 minutes to thicken sauce. Return chicken to slow cooker along with drained pineapple chunks, stir until combined.
Serve over rice if desired, garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.
How to Make Instant Pot Sweet & Sour Chicken
Press Saute on instant pot. Add about 1tbsp of oil and add chicken, cook until browned on both sides (~5 minutes).
Press Cancel/Off to turn instant pot off. Add remaining ingredients to the instant pot. Stir until combined then close lid. Turn instant pot on manual setting with high pressure for 5 minutes. When instant pot beeps, allow natural release for ~10 minutes. Stir instant pot sweet & sour sauce well before serving and serve over rice.
Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breast
- 2 carrots chunks
- 1 red pepper chunks
- 1 yellow pepper chunks
- 1 onion chunks
- 8 oz pineapple chunks
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Garnish:
- 2 tablespoons green onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- Sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili paste
Instructions
- Place chicken and veggies in slow cooker
- In a small bowl whisk together sauce ingredients and pour over chicken
- Cook on low for 4 hours
- Remove chicken and cut into chunks or shred
- Whisk ¼ cup pineapple juice (from chunks) with cornstarch and stir into slow cooker
- Cook on high for 30 minutes to thicken sauce
- Return chicken to slow cooker along with drained pineapple chunks, stir until combined
- Serve over rice if desired, garnish with green onion and sesame seeds