No need for Chinese food takeout when you have the best easy Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe. The flavor combines both sweetness from the sugar and tanginess from the vinegar. One thing I love is that you can easily adjust the measurements to taste exactly how you want it.
Most people don’t think about this condiment until it’s in your takeout bag, but it’s actually really versatile and can be used in a ton of different dishes. The home made version tastes way better in my opinion and you don’t have to worry about extra preservatives and unnatural ingredients that are found in store-bought sauces.
Can you believe that some put drops of red food coloring (for that bright red color) into the sweet and sour sauce just for aesthetics? Yuck. No dyes are needed in this recipe. The sauce gets its beautiful color from the ketchup.
We love this on regular white rice but also on our Panda Express Fried Rice!
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🥢 Ingredients:
- Pineapple juice – adds that great sweetness to this sauce
- Ketchup – gives this a yummy tomato sweet flavor
- Apple cider vinegar – The vinegar adds that great tangy flavor – apple cider vinegar is perfect in this recipe, but you can also use rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Soy sauce – well rounds the sauce
- Light brown sugar – you can substitute granulated white sugar if needed
- Cornstarch – thickens the sauce
- Water – thins the sauce
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable easy recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- To spice this up, add in some red pepper flakes.
- I’ve tried this with finely diced pineapple chunks in the sauce. It adds a nice texture to the sauce.
- We also tried to use half pineapple juice and half orange juice, and the outcome was quite delicious.
- Fresh ginger grated also adds a bit of heat and warmth to this sauce.
- Adjust the sugar to your own personal taste: If you like a sauce a bit less sweet, just add a little less sugar.
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: Whisk together the pineapple fruit juice, ketchup, soy, vinegar, and sugar in a small saucepan.
Step 2: Heat over medium heat until it’s simmering and the ingredients are combined.
Step 3: Stir together the water and cornstarch mixture in a small bowl to make the slurry, then pour it into the sauce. Whisk while the sauce continues cooking and thickening.
Step 4: Once the sauce is at the right consistency, remove from heat and enjoy.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Spoon sauce over your favorite rice or noodle recipe!
Recipe FAQs
The corn starch mixture thickens up the sauce to a great dipping consistency. Whisk in additional cornstarch slurry while simmering for a thicker sauce.
This sauce usually comes as a condiment from Chinese restaurants with sweet and sour chicken or sweet and sour pork but it’s so delicious we want you to experiment! Some other ways to use this versatile sauce are – on pork chops, as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, spring rolls, or wontons, drizzle over rice, vegetables, or noodles, with chicken nuggets (your kids may like that!), as a glaze on sweet and sour meatballs or ribs, in a stir fry, for a marinade, etc.
Usually, cornstarch is gluten-free as long as it’s 100% natural, so be sure to check the label. You can swap the soy sauce for coconut aminos to make the recipe gluten-free.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container or mason jar.
More Homemade Sauces That Are Delicious
If you tried this easy Home Made Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 oz. can pineapple juice
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk together pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, and light brown sugar.
- Heat sauce over medium heat until it comes to a simmer and all of the ingredients are combined.
- Stir together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the simmering sweet and sour sauce, whisking until the sauce thickens.
- Remove from heat.
Notes
Nutrition
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