I was skeptical as to whether or not you could make sweet and sour chicken in the crock pot, but it totally works. Now, this slow cooker sweet and sour chicken does not include that crispy breaded coating. However, it really is healthier for you to not have that crispy coating. Don’t be scared off by the long list of ingredients. The bulk of the ingredients make the sauce and are regular pantry items.
You add the fresh veggies at the end to keep them nice and crisp. I like mine crisp but tender and cooking it 45 minutes was perfect. If you like your veggies with more crunch, just cook it less. It will be an nice addition to this slow cooker sweet and sour chicken.
Here is what you need to make the
Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken
- WATER
- BROWN SUGAR
- WHITE SUGAR
- WHITE VINEGAR
- LEMON JUICE
- SOY SAUCE
- TOMATO PASTE
- GARLIC POWDER
- GROUND GINGER
- BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS
- WATER
- CORNSTARCH
- PINEAPPLE CHUNKS (USE FRESH OR CANNED CHUNKS)
- ONION
- GREEN PEPPER
- COOKED RICE
Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup diced pineapple chunks (use fresh or canned chunks)
- 1/4 medium onion cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 green pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- cooked rice
Instructions
- Add the 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce, tomato paste, garlic powder, and ginger to the slow cooker and whisk until combined.
- Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat. Cook on low for 5 hours.
- In a small bowl combine the 1/3 cup water with the cornstarch. Add to the slow cooker and carefully stir to combine. The chicken will be tender so you want to keep the pieces to stay in pieces.
- Add the pineapple, onion, and bell pepper and carefully fold into the mixture. Cover and cook on low for another 45 minutes.
- Serve over cooked rice. Makes 4-5 servings.
Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy.
29 comments
I’ve been wanting to try a sweet and sour recipe for a long time, but each time I’ve searched I’ve given up as the recipes I’ve looked at seem quite complicated and have so many ingredients. Having recently bought a slow cooker (crockpot) I searched again and eventually found this recipe. Great, I’ve got all the ingredients in my kitchen! I made this yesterday and wow, wow, wow! This tastes amazing! Took a little time converting the cup measurements to grams and millilitres but I’ve got it all down on paper now and this will be my go to recipe every time. For anyone who wants this recipe in gr/ml here you go. The only thing I changed was that I used fresh garlic and root ginger instead of powder and reduced the amount of cornflour as I thought it was quite a lot and could always add more if it wasn’t thick enough. It was just fine. I also intended to add some sliced carrots but forgot. This made 5 small portions (about the size of a bought readymeal), which I’ve put in containers and frozen for meals to take to work and microwave. Left one out to have Monday…can’t wait!
Ingredients
100ml Water
90g Brown Sugar
90g Granulated Sugar
50ml White Vinegar
40ml Lemon Juice
40ml Dark Soy Sauce
30g Tomato Puree
2 Garlic Cloves
1 inch Fresh Ginger, grated
500g Chicken Breast Fillets, cut into cubes
140g Peppers
110g Onion, sliced
2 Pineappple Slices, tinned or fresh (approx 85g)
30ml Water
20g Cornflour
Cooked Rice
[…] Sweet and Sour Chicken from Real Mom Kitchen […]
making this recipe for the first time, do I wait to add the cornstarch after the 5 hours of cooking the chicken or do you add the cornstarch at the beginning?
thanks,
I made this today. My husband and I loved it.I added a little sweet chilli sauce to mine Really good. Plus I added the whole can of pineapple, juice and all. It thickens nicely.
Nice easy recipe to follow. Thanks
★★★★★
Thanks for the recipe! This was really delicious and easy too! Even my 6yo picky eater liked it! I ended up cooking it on high b/c I didn’t get it started soon enough. It took about 3 hours on high.
Oops, I forgot to rate it last time!
★★★★
This was pretty good. The only thing I would probably do different was add the juice from the pineapple because I found I could taste the cornstarch! I also added a few chili flakes and some carrots. Thanks for the recipe!
Can you double this recipe? in a 5 quart pot?
Anyone know how many pounds of chicken the three chicken breasts should add out to be? I mean their can be a lot of variance there.
★★★★
Does the sauce and chicken freeze well prior to cooking by chance? Has anyone tried that yet with this recipe?
This is sooo good! I added some red pepper flakes for a little kick, and I didn’t have tomato paste, so I used ketchup. I love how adaptable it is and that I had everything (or an acceptable substitute) in my pantry or fridge. Two thumbs up!
Is the sauce suppose to be brownish looking instead of red?
Did anyone cook this recipe on high? If so, how long did you cook it for?
Thanks!
Re: Pineapple chunks
Juice and all?
No juice, just the pineapple.
The question about cooking the meay first is absolutely not dumb. first of all you see many recipes where you cook the ground beef before adding to the rest of the recipe. secondly, chicken has a reputation sor going bacterially bad and making people sick. thirdly…This recipe is fine because it contains vinegar and lemon juice which half cooks and keeps bacteria at bay. Great question.
hi there – going to make this – looks tasty! you’ve put white vinegar twice. which measurement is white and which for wine please? many thanks and regards
Sorry, I am not sure where you are seeing this.
I’m not sure what you’re seeing either, perhaps the white sugar and the white vinegar? Sometimes we read too fast and don’t pay attention and things run together. Anyway this is AMAZING. My slowcooker seems to run a little hot so it took 3 hours on low and then I added the vegetables. I might reduce the cornstarch slightly as the sauce is a little thick, and you could probably get away with adding thinly sliced carrots if you wanted to for colour and flavour. I’d call this easily a 9.5 out of 10 the first try. 🙂
Made this today. Very, very good sweet and sour sauce. I added about 2 Tbsp. Mae Toy sweet chili sauce, not necessary, but another good addition. I have been looking for a good sweet and sour sauce. I have never added the lemon juice. Again, very good. Thank you for sharing this.
★★★★★
Hello just made this and I love it as so does the rest of my family. Thanks, this is a keeper 🙂
★★★★★
So, so yummy! Loved this recipe! Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
No, you can even put it in frozen 😉
Going to try this later this week!
Not to be dumb (I am new to the slow cooker club), but do you have to cook the chicken before you put it in the slow cooker? I can never find information on that bit!
Thanks!
C
No you do not cook them before you put them in. I had the same question when I first started crock potting and a very rude woman told me how dumb I was to think that you would have to cook something before you “cooked” it, I thought it was a good question since I didnt have a clue either. Welcome to the wonderful world of crock potting it will make you life so much simpler!
Never a dumb question – sorry someone answered you that way – most recipes for stews require browning the chuck before adding to crock pot so that is a way off base answer ! just saying – I think I will brown the chicken and then add to rest.
Slow cooker sweet and sour chicken is AWESOME! Quick, easy, and tastes better than our local chinese food restaurants. Will now be a staple in my cooking repertoire!
★★★★★
[…] Slow cooker sweet and sour- This turned out delicious, and it was surprising I even picked it as a recipe to make… As a kid there was one meal that I HATED, I would sit at the table for up to an hour after everyone was finished, because I refused to eat it, and it was my mom’s sweet and sour. Now my mom is a fabulous cook, but when she made it, it was revolting to me (I can’t speak for myself now, since I haven’t had my mom’s sweet and sour in a very long time). This recipe turned out great. Again since it was slow cooker, and chicken that cooks a lot faster, I didn’t even thaw my chicken breasts and just put them in on warm all day, and then when Isaac got home I had him cut the chicken and add the pineapple, onion, and bell. It turned out great! Highly recommend it! […]
Thank you for this recipe! I have a ‘go-to’ sweet and sour chicken recipe that my family loves but that uses some bottled sauces and packaged seasoning mixes. I love that this version uses all ingredients found in my panty.