Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken is a quick and easy weeknight dinner you can get on the table in under 25 minutes.  This dish has thick, rich, sweet and tangy sauce that's sugar free and generously coats colourful tender vegetables,  thinly sliced chicken breast, and chunks of juicy pineapple. 

Ingredients

What makes this recipe healthier than regular sweet and sour chicken? 

• There's no breading of the chicken, and no frying
• No oil needed if using a non stick pan or wok
• There's no added sugar, and instead uses sugar free ketchup and pineapple juice for sweetness
• Its packed with veges

If you've ever eaten sweet and sour chicken in the past, you know how addictive it can be.  One of the things I love about sweet and sour are the big flavours, but what I didn't like was all the sugar that came with it. 

Many sweet and sour recipes I've seen in the past use loads of sugar to balance the tartness, however there is no added sugar in the recipe.  Instead there are a few basic ingredients that be combined to give you that same sweet and sour experience without the sugar or the calories.

Check out this low calorie Garlic Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry for another quick and easy midweek recipe in under 30 minutes!

Why Make This Recipe

• Its not overly sweet, and its not shockingly sour, just well balanced, yet punchy
• Simple and easy to make in under 25 minutes and perfect for low calorie meal prep
• This is a healthier take on a traditionally sugar laden sweet and sour dish and is under 500 calories per serve
• It has the right amount of sauce, enough that it thoroughly coats the chicken and veges, but doesn't leave them drowning
• You can use whatever veges you have on hand - add lots of colour, or use up your greens
• Its kid friendly, and great for people who like big flavours without the spice
• It travels well and makes great leftovers for lunch to next day, like this Lemon Chicken Stir Fry
• Easy to make with many variations of sweet and sour (ideas below!)

Ingredient Notes

1. Chicken:  I used skinless chicken breast for this recipe, however you could also use skinless and boneless chicken thigh, chopped into shall chunks.  Just make sure to trim off any excess fat.  Check out my healthy sweet and sour fish recipe here
2. Ketchup: there are a number of low sugar and no added sugar ketchups available in mainstream supermarkets these days.  Check the sauce aisle and the health food aisle as well.  Alternatively, I have a recipe for making your own low sugar ketchup.
3. Ketchup Alternative - Tomato Passata may be used in place of store bought low sugar tomato sauce/tomato ketchup, however you'll need to add extra salt and a little natural sweetenner - such as granulated stevia or monkfruit.
4. Vinegar: I love to use apple cider vinegar, but you can substitute with white vinegar as well.
5. Pineapple: I used canned pineapple and cut it into chunks, but if fresh pineapple is in season, feel free to use that. Just make sure to cut off all the skin so its smooth with no roughness.  Although if using fresh, you'll need to purchase pineapple juice as this is an essential part of the sauce.
6. Capsicum: also called peppers. I love using a combination of red, green and yellow, but really you can just use whatever colours you can get your hands on.

How To Make Step by Step

Cook Chicken

1. Chop chicken into 1 inch chunks. Season fish lightly with salt and pepper, tossing lightly to coat.
2. Heat a non-stick wok over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, moving round the pan until its cooked through. Remove chicken from wok and set aside in a bowl.

Make Sauce

3. Add soy sauce, vinegar, pineapple juice and tomato sauce/tomato ketchup, cornflour and water. Whisk and set aside.

Stir Fry Vegetables

4. Add onion, capsicum, snow peas and zucchini to wok on high heat with 2 tablespoons tap water. Move about in the wok for 3 minutes or until vegetables are almost tender.

Bring it all Together

5. Add chicken back into pan. Give the sauce another whisk, then pour over chicken/vegetables whilst still on high heat. Stir to combine. Sauce will thicken quickly.
6. Remove from heat, add pineapple chunks and stir through
7. Serve equally into 4 bowls with rice or noodles and enjoy.

Expert Tips

• Use a good quality pineapple:  the pineapple is one of the base ingredients in this recipe so choosing a good quality one will give you better result.  Make sure to buy canned pineapple in natural juice not syrup as it will be sickly sweet.
• Don't skip or skimp on the onion:  the onion provides a savoury balance to the dish and counteracts the sweetness from the pineapple and sugar free ketchup.  Red, Brown or White onion are all fine to use, however red onion is sweeter than brown ad white onion.
• Vegetable Alternatives:  I find broccoli cut up into small pieces, diced green beens, diced, and Asian green like bok choy, pak choy and choy sum a roughly chopped work well as they cook quickly.
• Short on Time?  If you're in a pinch you could easily make this with a store bought rotisserie chicken.  Remove the skin, and roughly shred the breast meat with two forks.  You'll need around 3 cups.

Serving Suggestions

• Rice:  Jasmine Rice or Brown Rice work well.  Pre-cooked minute rice that reheats in the microwave is a convenient shortcut if you don't want to worry about cooking rice from scratch.
• Noodles:  Add pre-cooked Wokka noodles before you add the sauce so the noodles can soften and separate. 
• Low Carb Suggestions:  Zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice (frozen or made from scratch), or even steamed cabbage are great options for keeping it low carb.

Additional Addins

• Extra Zing:   add in 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger to the sauce mixture before pouring in
• Extra Sweetness:  add half a cup of halved cherry tomatoes, or regular tomatoes chopped
• Flavour Booster:  add in an 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic to sauce mixture before pouring in
• A Little Kick:  add in ½ a teaspoon of chilli paste to the sauce
• A Little More Kick:  One finely diced long red chilli in with the vegetables

Recipe Variations

• Seafood:  This recipe works beautifully with seafood.  All you need to do is swap out the chicken for a firm white fish, skinless salmon chunks or even calamari rings.  If you love the idea of a seafood sweet and sour, check out my Healthy Sweet and Sour Fish Recipe.
• Meatballs:  If you have an air fryer, homemade meatballs are so easy to make from scratch.  I love to use this sauce with my Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
• Vegetarian:  Instead of using chicken, add a can of drained chickpeas or lentils instead.  Alternatively, you may like to check out my stand alone Sugar Free Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe which it a little bit different to this one with even more kick and boldness

More Quick Weeknight Dinner Ideas

I've been making this recipe for healthy sweet and sour chicken for years, and I love cooking it up for family because it suits everybodys tastebuds all at the same time.  Its a low calorie chicken recipe that has big full flavours but its not spicy however feel free to add a little chilli if you like!  It's the perfect blend of sweet, sour, tang and savoury, just like my healthy Chinese Garlic Chicken.

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken

Kim MorrisKim

A quick and easy healthier Sweet and Sour Chicken thats big on flavour and low on sugar. No breading of chicken and no oil needed.

4.67 from 6 votes

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Course Dinner

Servings 4 people

Calories 317 kcal

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

½x1x2x3x

• ▢ 500 grams chicken breast - See Note 1
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 450 gram canned pineapple chunks - (in juice)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons low sugar tomato sauce/tomato ketchup
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornflour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tap water
• ▢ ½ small red onion cut into thin wedges
• ▢ ½ red capsicum cut into 2cm pieces
• ▢ ½ green capsicum cut into 2cm pieces
• ▢ 1 cup snow peas (chopped into chunks)
• ▢ 1 cup zucchini (chopped into chunks)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cooking oil

To Serve

• ▢ Steamed jasmine rice cauliflower rice - or your favourite noodles

Metric - US Customary

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Instructions

 

Cook Chicken

• Chop 500 grams chicken breast into 2½cm chunks (1 inch chunks). Season fish lightly with ¼ teaspoon Salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper, tossing lightly to coat.
• Heat a non-stick wok over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, moving round the pan until its cooked through. Remove chicken from wok and set aside in a bowl.

Make Sauce

• Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons low sugar tomato sauce/tomato ketchup, and the juice from the pineapple can. Whisk until combined. Add cornflour slurry to thicken the sauce by mixing 1 tablespoon cornflour with 2 tablespoons tap water. Once combined, stir through the sauce and set aside.

Stir Fry Vegetables

• Add ½ small red onion cut into thin wedges, ½ red capsicum cut into 2cm pieces, ½ green capsicum cut into 2cm pieces, 1 cup snow peas (chopped into chunks) and 1 cup zucchini (chopped into chunks) to wok on high heat with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Move about in the wok for 3 minutes or until vegetables are almost tender.

Bring it all Together

• Add chicken back into pan. Give the sauce another whisk, then pour over chicken/vegetables whilst still on high heat. Stir to combine. Sauce will thicken quickly.
• Remove from heat, add drained 450 gram canned pineapple chunks and stir through.
• Serve equally into 4 bowls with Steamed jasmine rice cauliflower rice or noodles and enjoy.

Notes

1. Chicken:  I used skinless chicken breast for this recipe, however you could also use skinless and boneless chicken thigh, chopped into shall chunks.  Just make sure to trim off any excess fat.  Check out my healthy sweet and sour fish recipe here
2. Ketchup: there are a number of low sugar and no added sugar ketchups available in mainstream supermarkets these days.  Check the sauce aisle and the health food aisle as well.  Alternatively, I have a recipe for making your own low sugar ketchup.
3. Ketchup Alternative - Tomato Passata may be used in place of store bought low sugar tomato sauce/tomato ketchup, however you'll need to add extra salt and a little natural sweetenner - such as granulated stevia or monkfruit.
4. Vinegar: I love to use apple cider vinegar, but you can substitute with white vinegar as well.
5. Pineapple: I used canned pineapple and cut it into chunks, but if fresh pineapple is in season, feel free to use that. Just make sure to cut off all the skin so its smooth with no roughness.  Although if using fresh, you'll need to purchase pineapple juice as this is an essential part of the sauce.
6. Capsicum: also called peppers. I love using a combination of red, green and yellow, but really you can just use whatever colours you can get your hands on.
7. Calories for this recipe don't include the rice or noodles.  That would be additional.

Nutrition

Calories: 317kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 25gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gFiber: 3gSugar: 4g

Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.

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