Gluten Free Sweet and Sour Chicken
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The flavor of PF Changs Sweet and Sour Chicken is recreated in this healthy, gluten free recipe that’s easy to make in 29 minutes!
Chicken, bell peppers and pineapple are stir fried on the stove in a mouth watering sweet and sour sauce to create this epic Chinese dish. This recipe is delicious served over rice or scrumptious served in lettuce wraps for a lower carb option.
If you love my Gluten Free Chinese Honey Chicken or Gluten Free Orange Chicken, then you’re really going to love this Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe!
The first Chinese restaurant I ever visited was PF Chang’s. And the first dish I ever ordered was Sweet and Sour Chicken. Growing up in a small town in Oklahoma, I had never experienced Chinese food until I moved to California. Now I can’t get enough of it!
Over the years, I’ve recreated tons of my favorite Chinese recipes at home. They’re really easy to make and so much healthier than Chinese restaurants!
Some of my favorites are:
- Kung Pao Beef – with my super awesome meat tenderizer secret!
- General Tso’s Chicken – gluten free and made in just 20 minutes!
- Healthy Turkey Lettuce Wraps – another PF Chang’s favorite, made healthier with extra lean ground turkey!
- Grilled Vegetable Lo Mein – a delicious 29 minute meal, perfect for when you want a big bowl of noodles for dinner!
When I’m craving the dish that made me fall in love with Chinese food, I make this Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe. It only takes 29 minutes to make and everyone loves it!
Sometimes I serve the sweet and sour chicken over rice and sometimes I serve it in lettuce wraps for a lower carb option. You can’t go wrong with either of these options as the sweet and sour chicken really is the star of the show!
How to make Sweet and Sour Chicken
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Prepare the sweet and sour sauce.
- Add sugar, gluten free soy sauce, ketchup, white wine vinegar, sweet chili sauce and honey to a small bowl.
- Add red pepper flakes, fresh grated ginger, crushed garlic cloves and pineapple juice.
- Whisk all of the ingredients together and set the sauce aside.
- Quick tip! You can double the sauce recipe and it will stay good in the fridge for 7-10 days. This makes it easy to prepare the recipe again a week later. I promise, it’s that good, you’re going to want it again next week! 😉
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Batter the chicken.
- Place a whisked egg in a shallow dish.
- Add corn starch and brown sugar to another shallow dish and stir to combine.
- Coat cubes of chicken breast in the egg, then lightly coat the chicken in the corn starch mixture.
- Quick Tip! Whenever battering chicken, always use one hand for the wet mixture (the egg) and one hand for the dry mixture (the corn starch). This prevents the wet and dry ingredients from combining and making both the batter (and your hands) a clumpy mess!
- Set the battered chicken aside on a clean cutting board.
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Cook the veggies and chicken.
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- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the battered chicken pieces.
- Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes, or until all sides are lightly browned.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the diced bell peppers and onions to the skillet, saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, along with pineapple chunks.
- Note: I like to use diced fresh pineapple, but you can also use canned pineapple chunks in this recipe.
- Pour the prepared sweet and sour sauce over the chicken.
- Toss to cover the chicken and vegetables in sauce.
- Cover and reduce heat to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes.
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How to serve Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Over rice – cook white, brown or jasmine rice on the stove, in a rice cooker or in an Instant pot while preparing the chicken, then serve the chicken over the prepared rice.
- With rice noodles – boil 8 oz rice noodles on the stove for 3-4 minutes, then toss the noodles with the sweet and sour chicken to turn this recipe into a delicious noodle bowl!
- Lettuce wrapped – fill leaves of iceberg or butter lettuce with the sweet and sour chicken for a lower carb option.
- With zucchini noodles – serve the chicken over zucchini noodles for a healthy and low carb option.
How many calories are in sweet and sour chicken?
This recipe for gluten free sweet and sour chicken is only 463 calories per serving.
It also provides 28 grams of protein per serving and 48% of your daily vitamin C needs!
Looking for more easy Chinese chicken recipes? Try these 5 favorites!
- Chicken Potsticker Stir Fry
- 20 Minute Kung Pao Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Chicken Fried Rice
- Easy Chicken Lo Mein
- Gluten Free Chinese Honey Chicken
Gluten Free Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- 1 egg, whisked
- ½ cup corn starch
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into cubes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup onion, large dice
- ½ green bell pepper, large dice
- ½ red bell pepper, large dice
- ½ cup pineapple chunks, fresh or canned
Instructions
- Whisk the sugar, gluten free soy sauce, ketchup, white wine vinegar, sweet chili sauce, honey, red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic and pineapple juice together in a small bowl, set aside.
- Place the whisked egg in a shallow dish.
- In another shallow dish, add the corn starch and brown sugar and stir to combine.
- Coat the cubes of chicken in the whisked egg, then lightly coat them in the corn starch mixture.
- Set the battered chicken aside on a clean cutting board.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the battered chicken pieces.
- Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes, or until all sides are lightly browned.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the onions and diced bell peppers to the skillet, saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, along with the pineapple chunks.
- Pour the prepared sweet and sour sauce over the chicken.
- Toss to cover the chicken and vegetables in sauce.
- Cover and reduce heat to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Over cooked rice
- Tossed with cooked rice noodles
- In lettuce wraps
- Over zucchini noodles
Nutrition Facts
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17 Comments on “Gluten Free Sweet and Sour Chicken”
I made this for dinner tonight and served it over rice instead of lettuce wraps. Delicious. My husband has not had Chinese since being diagnosed with celiac. Very happy hubby.
Aw I love to hear that Yvonne! Happy that your husband could enjoy Chinese food again!
We have an egg allergy in addition to the dairy – will this recipe work if I skip the egg bit? Or do you know of a replacement? thanks!
Hi Dana! I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but in other recipes I’ve used a flaxseed substitution for eggs. Use 1 tbsp milled flaxseed + 3 tbsp water for each large egg. Hope this helps 🙂 Enjoy!
yum!! what a delicious dinner – absolutely love lettuce wraps!
Thank you! It’s one of my favorites!
Looking forward to making this!