*First things first… happy birthday to my sweet baby boy! Who’s not a baby anymore… J turns 5 today and I am just amazed by that. Amazed that it’s been 5 years since he was born, amazed that I’ve watched him grow into the wonderful, sweet, adorable kid that he is today, and amazed that my youngest is now 5. How in the world?! It’s definitely bringing a tear to my eyes… but also a smile to my heart. ❤️ We’ll celebrate this weekend with a superhero party at our house. The birthday boy has requested a strawberry cake with chocolate frosting, so that’s what I’ll be making. Moving on… earlier this week I shared my homemade sweet and sour sauce, which is just 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to make. Talk about a great takeout fakeout!
And now we’re putting it to good use with this healthy, easy sweet and sour chicken with vegetables recipe. This restaurant classic is super easy to make at home. It’s just one pan and ready in 25 minutes! It’s great for an easy weeknight dinner that’s got major flavor and all kinds of pretty, colorful veggies! Plus, you can customize this stir fry to use the veggies your family loves best. (You might also like this sweet and sour pork recipe for a slight variation.)
OK, let’s get cooking. Now, I’ve got some notes and substitutions coming up on how to make easy sweet and sour chicken. Just tryin’ to be helpful. If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on making easy sweet and sour chicken:
I of course use my homemade sweet and sour sauce — it just takes 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to make! — but you could substitute a store-bought version. (I won’t tell.) You’ll need to make the sauce ahead or work on it while the veggies are sautéing. Feel free to substitute in any of your favorite veggies that you love in a stir fry. Mushrooms, carrots, water chestnuts and those cute little baby corn ears would all be great here too. You’ll want about 3 total cups of veggies. I haven’t included it in the recipe below but you can certainly make this sweet and sour chicken with pineapple. Just add some cut fresh pineapple chunks at the very end to get them mixed in with the sauce.
As for serving… We love this served over steamed brown rice or cauliflower rice. Classic and delicious. You could also stir in some cooked noodles (such as spaghetti or rice noodles) and maybe some extra sauce or pasta water to make a sweet and sour chicken pasta dish. Ta-da, dinner is done! So put down the takeout menu, break out your wok or skillet and get to cooking tonight. Enjoy! XO, Kathryn Psst… Don’t miss my other chicken recipes in under 30 minutes and my whole collection of easy chicken dinner recipes.
I use this homemade sweet and sour sauce — it just takes 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to make! You could also substitute a store-bought version. You’ll need to make the sauce ahead or work on it while the veggies are sautéing. Feel free to substitute any of your favorite stir fry veggies. Mushrooms, carrots, water chestnuts and those cute little baby corn ears would all be great here too. You’ll want about 3 total cups of veggies. You can also add cut fresh pineapple to this recipe at the very end to get them mixed in with the sauce. We love this served over steamed brown rice or cauliflower rice. You could also stir in some cooked noodles (such as spaghetti or rice noodles) and maybe some extra sauce or pasta water to bring it all together.
