Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken

A plate of sweet and sour chicken features pieces of chicken, red and yellow bell peppers, and green onions, sprinkled with sesame seeds. Served alongside white rice. Another plate and a small bowl of green onions are in the background.

5 from 2 votes

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken

This Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken has all the great flavor of takeout in a lightened up version. Tender chicken, flavorful veggies, and juicy chunks of pineapple combine in a simple sauce for a taste that is out of this world.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Course: dinner, lunch

Cuisine: American, Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 279kcal

Author: Agnieszka

Ingredients

For the chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon flour all-purpose
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon avocado oil or vegetable oil

For the veggies

2 bell peppers red, yellow or orange, cut into strips or squares
2 carrots sliced thinly or julienned
½ onion large, or 1 small onion, cut into slices or strips
8 oz canned pineapple chunks 1 can, juice drained and reserved
2 teaspoon avocado oil or vegetable oil

Sweet and sour sauce

reserved pineapple juice about ½ cup
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari or coconut aminos
⅓ cup no sugar added ketchup (or any ketchup)
3 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon corn starch or arrowroot powder or tapioca powder
1 garlic clove minced
½ teaspoon dried ginger

Garnish

2 scallions or green onions, sliced diagonally
sesame seeds

Instructions

Prepare the sauce: whisk together soy sauce (or coconut aminos), ketchup, rice vinegar, garlic, dried ginger, reserved pineapple juice and corn starch until smooth. Set aside.
In a medium bowl add diced chicken, salt and 1 tablespoon flour. Mix thoroughly to coat.
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces in one layer so that they don't touch each other. Sautee over medium heat for 4-5 minutes without turning, then flip to the other side and cook for 3-4 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
Add 2 additional teaspoons of oil to the empty skillet (brown bits on the bottom are ok). Add carrots and onions and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, making sure not to brown the onions. Then add bell peppers and cook together until fork tender, 3-4 minutes more, stirring often.
Now add the cooked chicken and drained pineapple chunks. Pour in the sauce you prepared earlier. Stir together and keep cooking over medium-low heat a few more minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Serve immediately over rice, garnished with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

Video

Notes

If you want to use fresh pineapple, make sure it's ripe. In that case just use canned pineapple juice for the sauce.

If you want more veggies, you can also like broccoli, snow peas and/ or mushrooms.

To make it gluten free, use gluten free flour to coat the chicken pieces.

Nutrition