Sweet and Sour Chicken With Pineapple and Peppers
Sweet and sour chicken may be a take out staple, but now that you have this recipe, it can be a quick homemade dinner option, and, in my humble opinion, taste a million times better too. One of my favorite things about cooking things at home is that you can adjust the ingredients to suit your own taste buds and also cook each of the ingredients exactly how you like them.
With our very busy lives, quick dinner options are a blessing. Another great thing about this particular recipe is that you can prep most of the ingredients in advance and when dinnertime rolls around, it will be ready in no time. For me, that is a big plus, since I do most dinner prep while my son is napping. The chicken is crisp and golden but so juicy and tender, you will be amazed that you’re eating chicken breast. The bell peppers and onions give so much crisp texture and flavor to the dish, while the pineapple, of course, adds sweetness. The sweet and sour sauce is so velvety and perfectly coats the chicken and vegetables. My one year old couldn’t get enough of it, so I can happily tell you that this Sweet and Sour Chicken dish was a hit with my whole family. I’ve never seen him eat so much chicken, begging for me, while still chomping down on a mouthful.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast halves, cut into 3/4 – 1 inch pieces
3 Tablespoons  high smoke point oil, divided (I used avocado oil, but you can use canola, vegetable, grapeseed, coconut oil, etc.)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 large onion, cut into large chunks
1 1/2 bell peppers (I used 1 red and 1/2 yellow bell peppers), cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
salt, to taste
1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice
2-4 Tablespoons soy sauce (I used 3 Tablespoons)
1/4 cup brown sugar (or honey)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions:
Prep all the ingredients ahead of time, because once you start cooking, it will go very fast. I also like serving this dish with rice, so I start the rice first, before I start making this dish, so that it’s all ready to be served together.
Combine the chicken, 2 Tablespoons oil, soy sauce and cornstarch in a medium bowl and allow it to stand for about 10 minutes, while you chop the rest of the vegetables.
Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a large liquid measuring cup until thoroughly combined. 
The sauce is very adjustable. I made it according to my own taste preferences, but you can add more brown sugar if you want it sweeter, or more vinegar if you want it to have a more “sour” flavor.
Heat 1/2 a Tablespoon of oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet to medium heat to medium high heat and then cook the chicken in two batches, about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Set the chicken aside.
In the same skillet, add the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of oil and add the onions, cooking for 2-4 minutes, on medium high heat, until the onions are just starting to turn golden.
Add the bell peppers, jalapeño and garlic. Season with salt to taste. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, until the peppers soften.
Add the pineapple and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the sauce into the skillet. 
Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cooking the sauce until it thickens, just 3-5 minutes.
Add the chicken to the skillet, mixing to combine, so that the sauce coats the chicken and keep it on the heat for just a few minutes until the chicken warms through. 
Serve over rice. Garnish with green onions.
- 2 chicken breast halves, cut into ¾ - 1 inch pieces
- 3 Tablespoons high smoke point oil, divided (I used avocado oil, but you can use canola, vegetable, grapeseed, coconut oil, etc.)
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 large onion, cut into large chunks
- 1½ bell peppers (I used 1 red and ½ yellow bell peppers), cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- salt, to taste
- 1½ cups fresh pineapple, cut into ½ inch chunks
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tablespoon scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2-4 Tablespoons soy sauce (I used 3 Tablespoons)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (or honey)
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- Prep all the ingredients ahead of time, because once you start cooking, it will go very fast. I also like serving this dish with rice, so I start the rice first, before I start making this dish, so that it's all ready to be served together.
- Combine the chicken, 2 Tablespoons oil, soy sauce and cornstarch in a medium bowl and allow it to stand for about 10 minutes, while you chop the rest of the vegetables.
- Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a large liquid measuring cup until thoroughly combined. The sauce is very adjustable. I made it according to my own taste preferences, but you can add more brown sugar if you want it sweeter, or more vinegar if you want it to have a more "sour" flavor.
- Heat ½ a Tablespoon of oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet to medium heat to medium high heat and then cook the chicken in two batches, about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Set the chicken aside.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining ½ Tablespoon of oil and add the onions, cooking for 2-4 minutes, on medium high heat, until the onions are just starting to turn golden.
- Add the bell peppers, jalapeño and garlic. Season with salt to taste. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, until the peppers soften.
- Add the pineapple and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in the sauce into the skillet. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cooking the sauce until it thickens, just 3-5 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the skillet, mixing to combine, so that the sauce coats the chicken and keep it on the heat for just a few minutes until the chicken warms through. Serve over rice. Garnish with green onions.
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20 Comments
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The best part is no bottled unhealthy sauces are involved. As so common with Asian recipes. Looks very very good! Good job, mama.
olgak7
I absolutely agree about the bottled sauces, Olena. That’s one of the reasons that I prefer making sauces from scratch, besides adjusting the flavor, you know exactly what is going in the dish.
Judy Taylor
I love that both orange and pineapple juices are included. Sounds much better than the sweet and sour recipe I have used for over 20 years. Will try it this week.
olgak7
Yes, I think the combination of both flavors works really well together and adds a lot of natural sweetness to the sauce so that we don’t have to add a lot of extra sugar to make it sweet. I hope you enjoy it, Judy.
Aly
I made this last night and served with white rice: I have to admit that it turned out very delicious! Thank you, Olga, for another excellent recipe!
olgak7
That’s awesome, Aly! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to write.
Alina
Awesome!! Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Diana
Olga, I tried this recipe yesterday, and let me tell you my boys loved it. Too bad I wasn’t prepared to take a picture to have a proof😊😊😊
olgak7
That’s awesome, Diana! I’m so happy to hear that.
natasha
Sorry, I must be blonde or something; I prepped the garlic but COULDN’T find where to add in the recipe, checked it over twice and didn’t find anything. So I added it with the peppers & pineapple step.. I will have to do some more adjusting to the sauce as mine turned out way too sour tangy (I just did 1/4c apple vinegar). Thanks.
olgak7
You can add the garlic at many different steps, it won’t really make much of a difference. I add it with the peppers.
You must be like me since it don’t like sweet and sour sauce to be too sour:). Most recipes use way more vinegar than this one, in most cases at least twice the amount. That’s one of the reasons that I like making homemade sauces, because you can adjust it to your taste preferences.
Barbara Rita
Dear Olga
I have friends for dinner tonight – I will be making this dish! I am sure it will be wonderful!
Thank you
Regards
Barbara
olgak7
I hope you all enjoyed it, Barbara:).
Brigitte
This was fantastic! I don’t know how I found your recipe while googling chicken and pineapple, but I’m so glad I did. (I was trying to find a recipe to use canned pineapple before it gets bad.)
I made this a couple of nights ago. Sadly, I didn’t have any fresh garlic so made it without. Also, I used canned crushed pineapple rather than fresh pineapple. Everything else was exactly as written. This tasted better than anything we’ve had in a restaurant. This is being added to our favorite recipe list. Next time we’ll make it with fresh garlic and fresh pineapple 🙂
Bernadette
I made this tonight with the exclusion of the peppers. It is absolutely fabulous thank you for the continued recipes
olgak7
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Bernadette. Thank you for taking time to write.
Danielle
I make this twice a month. Sometimes I do pork, sometimes tofu, sometimes eggplant for a all vegetarian option. Sometimes I add rice noodles, sometimes korean rice cakes… this recipe is just an absolute winner.
olgak7
That’s awesome, Danielle. Thanks for sharing your feedback. I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy this recipe.
Nadia
Hi Olga. Can I substitute pineapple with something? If I dont use pineapple, what juice can I add instead? I would like to make this dish but I really dont like pineapples.. thanks:)
olgak7
Hi Nadia.
The pineapple juice is pretty important for the flavor in the sauce. You can just omit the actual pineapple from the recipe. You probably won’t taste it in the sauce. The sweet and tart combination helps to create the correct flavor for the sauce. You can also try orange juice, although I haven’t done it myself, so I can’t be sure how it will turn out.