Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken
This easy Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe is made with diced chicken breasts and a simple, homemade sweet and sour sauce!
A CHINESE TAKEOUT COPYCAT RECIPE
I love sweet and sour recipes so much that I have several variations here on my site. One of my most popular requests is for a slow cooker version. This recipe for Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken has the most flavorful homemade sauce. I think it’s my new favorite!
TIPS FOR MAKING SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN:
- Want a bit more heat? Add some red chili flakes or a bit of sriracha sauce to the sauce mixture.
- This can also be made in the oven. Follow directions as shown below but instead of popping everything in the slow cooker, place it in a 9″x 13″ baking dish and bake at 350f degrees for 45 minutes (stirring the mixture gently every 15 minutes for even coating.)
- If you love a lot of sauce, feel free to double the sauce recipe.
- Obviously when cooking in a crock pot, you aren’t going to get crunchy chicken. This ends up being a deliciously tender, glazed chicken.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- soy sauce
- honey
- ketchup
- apple cider vinegar
- garlic powder
- ground ginger
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- cornstarch
- oil
- red, orange & yellow bell peppers
- pineapple chunks
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN:
In a medium bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
Place the chicken pieces into a large ziploc bag with the cornstarch; seal and shake until the chicken is evenly coated.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain on paper towels. Add the diced bell peppers and pineapple chunks (with juice) into the bottom of a 5 quart (or larger) oval slow cooker. Place chicken into the slow cooker.
Pour the mixed sauce over the top of the chicken and vegetables; stir gently and cover.
Cook on low for about 3-4 hours (or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F degrees.)
Sprinkle with sesame seeds once the sweet and sour chicken has finished cooking.
Serve over cooked rice and garnish with sliced green onions.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
For the chicken:
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1" chunks
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 15 ounce can pineapple chunks in 100% juice (do not drain)
For serving:
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds for garnish
- 2 green onions, sliced for garnish
- cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and drain on paper towels.
- Add the diced bell peppers and pineapple chunks (with juice) into the bottom of a 5 quart (or larger) oval slow cooker.
- Serve over cooked rice and garnish with sliced green onions.
Notes
- This can also be made in the oven. Follow directions as shown below but instead of popping everything in the slow cooker, place it in a 9″x 13″ baking dish and bake at 350F degrees for 45 minutes (stirring the mixture gently every 15 minutes for even coating.)
- If you love a lot of sauce, feel free to double the sauce recipe.
- Obviously when cooking in a crock pot, you aren’t going to get crunchy chicken. This ends up being a deliciously tender, glazed chicken.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
If I wanted to bake this recipe in the oven, do I still need to lightly cook the chicken beforehand or can I skip this step?
I made this and it’s it turned out really good, although a bit mushy. Have you adapted this for the air fryer? Maybe just the chicken in the air fryer ?
It is so freaking good. Everyone loved it and great recipe for the crock pot. Easy to make. I loved it.
Very good. Can I freeze leftovers?
You should be able to. I haven’t tried reheating from frozen though so I can’t say from personal experience how well it would reheat.
Hi Brandie! I made this tonight for my husband and I.
Super delicious! He had a heart attack last year so everything I use is low or no sodium and low-fat or fat free. I’ve made several of your recipes (with my own tweaks for him) and they’re always a hit with us.
Thanks so much!
idk if my previous comment sent sorry. I have an allergy to corn, sesame and soy. Could I use flour instead and coconut animos. Also what would be a good substitute for sesame oil and can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts
Hi Sydney! I’m so sorry about that! I honestly don’t know enough about your allergies and making those adjustments so I really can’t say with any certainty & I would hate for you to waste ingredients!
Coconut aminos are a yes. Check out no soy tamari (closest to soy sauce). Fish sauce has no soy (would have to use less). Dependent where you are in the world Worcestershire sauce can be found soy free. Also some oyster sauces are soy free. I actually used bacon grease not sesame oil. I also had purchased chicken thighs very cheap and did use them. They worked fine.
What would this taste like without the pineapple (am allergic to pineapple)? Any sort of substitute I could try? Thanks!
Honestly, I haven’t tried it without pineapple and I’m not familiar with a good substitute. It does add a bit of sweetness to the sweet and sour. I’d hate to make a suggestion then it doesn’t turn out well and you’ve wasted ingredients. I suppose you could just leave it out.
Try the equivalent amount of canned mandarin oranges.
I have substituted mandarin oranges for pineapple when making Sweet and Sour Chicken which is my other half’s favorite Chinese food. They work great.
Is it possible to make this recipe ahead of time and reheat the next day?
Mine came out really good!
Yay! Thanks so much Elaine!!
Would this recipe work to substitute the honey for brown sugar? We love honey but my youngest child is still under 1 so we are avoiding honey.
I haven’t tried that, I am sorry. I think it might work but can’t say for absolutely sure. If you give it a try, please let me know how it turns out!
Speaking from the view of a single guy, this is an easy recipe for me to make one of my favorites. Keep these coming and “thanks”!
That really made my day to read, Ed! Thanks so much!
I have made this recipe several times – it is delicious! I have substituted a green pepper once for one of the peppers as I had it on hand. Still delicious. The coating on the chicken is not too heavy and the sauce is nice and tangy, and with the addition of the pineapple – gives that great sweet and sour taste. It has become part of our regular rotation as I love the ease of crock pot cooking.
Thank you so much Linda! I loved reading your comment and appreciate you taking the time to come back and let me know!
Made this last night. I only made one small change . I used one green bellpepper and one red . I added one small onion large chopped. My sweet and sour chicken was done in three hours in the crockpot. I served this over plain white rice. My husband and I liked this recipe and will add it to our recipe collection. Thank You so much for this recipe.
RE: Nutrition information. How many servings?
6 servings
I used to be able to pin and print recipes from this sight. Why doesn’t it allow me to. Print and pin anymore?
Hi Linda! Hmmm, I’m not sure what’s going on. I have a printable recipe card at the end of the post & there are Pinterest buttons at the top & bottom of the post. I’m sorry it’s giving you trouble!