The other day I got a message on Facebook from Tiffany exclaiming how much she liked my Easy Oven Fajitas and Oven Roasted Greek Stuffed Pitas and she asked if I could create a similar recipe, but with Asian flavors. Challenge accepted!! My mind quickly recognized how the same chicken, bell peppers, and onions that are used in the Easy Oven Fajitas are also used in many stir fry dishes. So, it was really easy to convert a simple stir fry into an oven-roasted Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour Chicken.
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Sheet Pans for the Win!
The concept for this recipe is simple. Toss your chicken and diced vegetables on a large sheet pan with a little oil and spices, then let them roast while you throw together a simple sweet and sour sauce. When they come out of the oven, simply pour on the sauce, stir it up, and serve over warm rice! It really couldn’t be easier.
Stove Top Option:
If you prefer to cook on the stove top instead of the oven, you can still make this recipe! Simply toss your cubed chicken in the spices and quickly stir fry in a skillet until cooked through. Then remove the chicken from the skillet and stir fry the vegetables in the same skillet. Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet, pour over the mixed sauce, and heat through. Finished! I like it when I have options. ;)
Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour Chicken
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 large onion ($0.35)
- 2 green bell peppers ($1.50)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.69)
- 20 oz can pineapple chunks ($1.59)
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.25 lb.) ($2.53*)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger ($0.05)
- Salt and Pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1/4 cup ketchup ($0.20)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 1/3 cup rice or apple cider vinegar ($0.16)
- 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.14)
- 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.06)
- 3 green onions, sliced ($0.21)
- 6 cups cooked rice ($1.13)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut the onion, bell peppers, and chicken breasts into one-inch pieces. Drain the pineapple well, reserving the juice for the sauce. Place the onion, bell pepper, chicken, and pineapple chunks on a large sheet pan in a single layer. Use two sheets, if needed, to prevent the chicken and vegetables from piling on top of each other. They need a little room to brown correctly.
- Drizzle the cooking oil over the ingredients on the sheet pan, followed by the garlic powder, ground ginger, and a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Toss the chicken, bell peppers, onions, and pineapple until they are evenly coated in oil and spices.
- Bake the chicken and vegetables in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until they are slightly browned on the edges. Stir half way through the baking time to redistribute the heat and allow excess moisture to evaporate.
- While the chicken and vegetables are baking, prepare the sauce. In a small sauce pot whisk together the reserved pineapple juice (about 1 cup), ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Heat the mixture over medium flame, stirring often, until it begins to simmer. When it begins to simmer the cornstarch will begin to gel and thicken the sauce. Once the sauce has thickened to a glaze, remove it from the heat and set it aside until ready to use.
- When the chicken and vegetables have finished baking, remove them from the oven and pour the prepared sauce over top. Stir until everything is coated in sauce.
- Serve the sweet and sour chicken over cooked rice with sliced green onions sprinkled over top.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!This one works great for Meal Prep!
How to Make Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour Chicken – Step by Step Photos
Begin by draining a 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks, saving the juice for the sweet and sour sauce. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Cut one large onion, 2 green bell peppers, 1 red bell pepper, and two boneless, skinless chicken breasts into one-inch pieces. Place them all on a large baking sheet with the pineapple chunks and spread them into a single layer. Divide them into two baking sheets if needed, to make sure they’re not piled on top of each other. Drizzle 2 Tbsp cooking oil over top, followed by 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients until they are all coated in oil and spices. Bake the chicken and vegetables in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until they are slightly brown on the edges. Stir them once half way through the baking time.
While the chicken and vegetables are baking, prepare the simple sweet and sour sauce. In a small sauce pot, combine 1 cup of the reserved pineapple juice with 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup rice or apple cider vinegar, 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch. Whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Heat the sauce over medium heat until it begins to simmer, at which point the cornstarch will begin to gel and thicken the sauce into a glaze. Stir the sauce often as it heats.
After 40 minutes the chicken, bell peppers, onions, and pineapple should have slightly browned edges. The more room there is around the pieces the better they’ll brown. When they’re crowded, they trap steam and tend to stew in their own juices, so you want to make sure there is space (mine could have benefitted a bit from a little more room). Remove the baked chicken and vegetables from the oven.
Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and vegetables…
Stir until everything is coated in the sweet and sour sauce. Sprinkle sliced green onions over top.
Serve over warm rice and enjoy your super simple and tasty Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour Chicken!
Hi Beth. I love your blog. Perhaps this is obvious to others, because sheet pan recipes have become trendy, but can’t tell myself: What size sheet pan will I need for your sheet pan recipes? Will they fit in a half sheet? Will I need two?
My family of two does a lot of this style recipe in a jelly roll pan or in a 9×13 casserole if we need more space, but even that is a bit crowded sometimes. If I knew this was meant to be a full sheet (along with all your other ones) then I could easily halve the recipe and have a size that suits us better. I realize I could just wing it but on occasions when you’re trying to feed more people or cook several things, it helps a lot to know which pans will already be spoken for.
Thanks a bunch! You feed my household just about every single night and we appreciate you.
Hi Aimee, great question! I use a 9×13 sheet pan as well. :) The most important thing is that everything isn’t too crowded (otherwise steam gets trapped and everything gets soggy), so depending on how big your vegetables are you may sometimes need to use two. I hope that helps!
Ok recipe. The ketchup in the sauce gave it a strange flavor.
I made this stovetop in a dutch oven per the blog post above. I used chicken thighs because they don’t dry out like breasts do, and only had to use 1 tbsp of oil to get a nice crust on them. I also used frozen (thawed) pineapple chunks and fresh garlic/ginger. Reducing to 2 tbsp of brown sugar in the sauce per the other commenters was perfect. I highly recommend!
Also, I marinated the chicken in a little white pepper, Chinese cooking wine, and soy sauce beforehand to add some flavor.
WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! So good, so very good.
Made it exactly as written. It was fan-flipping-tastic. Thanks Beth!
I’m not going to rate this now because it came out unsatisfactory for me on the first try. It is a great base idea, which I shall pursue. The results were partially my fault. First, the result was very stewed, rather than baked, even though I used two cookie sheets. The pineapple was way too juicy even though I had poured off the juice. For the second batch, I put my fist in the can and squeezed the fruit and got more juice out but still wasn’t dry enough. Part of the juiciness could have been from the chicken which also didn’t get much color on it because everything was so moist. I didn’t want to dilute the sauce so I made it and put it on the servings as I reheated the meat and vegetables. The sauce was too strong the day I made it but tasted much better the next day. I made it with the cider vinegar because that’s what I had but I’ll use rice vinegar the next time. The next time, I make this (and I will!) I’ll experiment with cooking the vegetables and chicken separately or perhaps on the stove top.
I’m sorry to hear this Marion! But sounds like you’re working through it. Let me know if we can help in any way next time.
I made this last night and the recipe was yummy and so easy!
I read the reviews and adjusted the cooking time down to 35 minutes, as well as only using 2 tablespoons of brown sugar as other reviewers suggested. The chicken turned out well, although the peppers were a bit mushier than I usually eat them. I don’t like green peppers, so I omitted them and used one red, one yellow, and some broccoli. Also, I panicked a bit while making the sauce because it smelled overwhelmingly of vinegar, so I added some chicken stock and another squirt of ketchup. It worked and I really liked the finished product!
Very tangy but delicious and super easy to make! Recommend.
What a great, easy meal!
We put the vegetables in for the full 40 minutes, and when we stirred them at 20 minutes, we put in the cubed chicken. The sauce was very easy to make, but we only included two tablespoons of brown sugar, as advised by previous comments. It was sweet and tangy. We had edamame as an appetizer and served the dish over brown rice.
How do I prevent the chicken from drying out? I followed the directions pretty thoroughly but it came out very dry.
Mine wasn’t dry, but it may be a difference between how some brands of chicken are brined. You could try starting the vegetables first and then adding the chicken after the vegetables have already been cooking a while.
Great recipe! Next time I will probably top it with some cashews. This recipe will be a repeat for our family.
This was great! I used chicken thighs to save some money. I agree with a previous reviewer that at first, the sauce tasted way too tangy, but it was good once on the veggies/chicken. I checked on the sheet pans 15 minutes in and I’m glad I did – the veggies and chicken in the pan on the bottom shelf were all charred and almost burnt, while the pan in the middle was still all liquidy. I switched them, and turned the heat down to 350. I guess my oven runs hotter than others? After another 15 minutes everything was browned and ready to go. Thanks again!
Made this again! This time I think I will elevate it to burrito status, meaning it’s a favorite and will be on every monthly menu from now on. This time I left out one of the green bell peppers and all of the brown sugar. It was so good (but I was also able to add a bit of sweet chili sauce, yum!) I had also started dinner a little late so after 20 minutes I kicked the oven up to 425 and cooked another 12 minutes. The chicken was so moist! Even my super picky (for the moment) toddler ate it up and asked for more. She, of course, loves the pineapple the best. Oh, and this time I reserved some of the sauce since in the past I’ve thought it was a bit too much. Thanks again so much!
Just made last night! Subbed in fresh garlic and ginger, cut the brown sugar down a bit and added some chili infused honey. Chicken was a bit dry, so I’m thinking of foil cooking it separately next time. Great flavor with the oven roasting.
I tried to print the recipe but all I got was a lot of promotional crap. Thanks a lotl
If you click the “print” button on the recipe card, it opens the recipe only in a separate browser tab so you don’t have to print any of the ads or images.
I made it tonight and it was delicious. My husband could not believe the amount of flavor that it had! Thank you!
It smelled AMAZING while it baked and tasted just as amazing when it was finished! This will be a regular! Thank you!
I found the sauce too sweet for my taste using the pineapple juice and the quarter cup brown sugar. Next time, I’ll try two tablespoons of brown sugar and see how I like that. By and large, I find pineapple pretty sweet already. Otherwise, the sauce is very good. I haven’t tried the cooking method yet but it’s on my list.
Made this for a second date last night and she was super impressed at the concept of making sauce from scratch (we’re in college). Cooked on stovetop instead of in the oven and it turned out great! I’ll be eating leftovers all week. Thanks :)
Oh my goodness! We made this tonight but without the chicken. In its place i pan fried tofu coated in cornstarch to help make it crunchy. It is the best meal I’ve had in a long long time !!!
I have made this a few times now. I love the sheet pan method! Really lets you caramelize the veggies and chicken. If I were to do a stir fry on the stove, I just can’t get my skillet that hot without causing my whole house to get smoky. This is so much easier. I tried it last night and omitted the pineapple and used the sauce from your sesame chicken recipe (x2). I LOVED it! I also always use broccoli. There are lots of variations you can do with this.
Sounds delicious! I’m going to try your variation tonight and use the sesame sauce recipe!
I tried making this last night however the 40 min 400 degree cook seems too high. I ended up burning everything and the chicken came out dry/burnt. I’ll try on a lower temp and less time if I try this again, maybe my oven just run hot?
Yes, unfortunately ovens vary quite a bit so you really need to get to know your oven and keep an eye on things as they cook. Sometimes it also has to do with the size of the pieces of food and how much room there is on the baking sheet (When the food is packed closer together, they’ll cook more slowly. Spaced far apart and they’ll burn faster.)
Can you substitute chicken drumsticks in place of breasts for any chicken recipe?
This recipe is amazing! Super easy and better than take out. This is definitely going in our dinner rotation.
I’ve been using this blog for recipes for the last few years, and have never posted a review. Everything has been wonderful, but I usually use the recipes when I need to mix things up a bit during dinner. This recipe is by far the best one I have made off this website. Sweet and sour is my favorite dish at any oriental restaurant and I will say, this was better.
Thanks for sharing, I can only give 5 stars, but It’s a 5+++ in my book.
Even following directions exactly the vegetables were undercooked and the chicken overcooked, everything was also swimming in juices toward the end.
Made your Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour chicken last night. So easy and delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
I love your site/blog. I’ve found so many fantastic recipes here. Made the sheet pan sweet and sour chicken for dinner tonight and got raves. 😄 Only thing I would do differently is double the sauce recipe, because we all like to spoon the sauce over our rice. Thanks for all your efforts. Wonderful, good food, good recipes, easy on the wallet!
Beth, I’m cooking this as I type. I just finished the sauce and it’s a little bit too tangy for my likes. I can tell it’s too much acv. I checked the recipe again to make sure I put in the right amount. You have 1/3 cup in the recipe but 1/4 cup in the picture instructions. I think 1/4 would taste better and will use that if I make it again.
Omg! I take it back! Shouldn’t have been eating sauce by itself. It tastes AMAZING together! Thanks for another great recipe.
Thanks for catching that! I’m going to go check my notes and fix whichever one is the typo (I’m pretty sure 1/3 cup is correct).
Just wanted to say that my husband and I both really liked this. I used one green, one yellow, and one red bell pepper but kept everything else the same. Ended up pulling it out at 30 minutes – it was starting to smell like burning. Delicious! Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe! I’m not a big fan of pineapple but tried it anyway and it is ahhhh-mazing! I froze in individual servings and it is still very good reheated. Definitely a keeper!
Thanks for sharing about the freezing! I wasn’t sure if this one would hold up to freezing.
I was unsure of the sauce but I was curious and decided to give it a try…Good thing because it is AMAZING!!! I did it on the stovetop and added celery. So glad that there is some leftovers even though it was really hard to stop eating it…You did it again!!😊
Personally, I’m not a big fan of sweet and sour, but the hubs never misses the opportunity to order it when we’re at the local Asian spot. However, I know homemade is always better in this house, so I thought I’d give it a go. I was encouraged to see that the sauce was not fluorescent, glow-in-the-dark pink, and lo! Awesome meal – the sauce is tangy with some sour to it, not that sickening sweet business they serve at the restaurant. I loved it and the hubs was reminded of they way it used to be.
I used fresh pineapple and blended a few spears to make some juice for the sauce. Holy moly – so good! I’m trying not to get up and fork a few more bites so that I can have some left-overs. This is a keeper.
Looks so good, gotta try it soon
I made this, and it was REALLY good! Definitely recommend the rice vinegar for the sauce, though. Great recipe, thank you!
The Sheet Pan Sweet and Sour Chicken is so good!!! I cooked the sweet and sour chicken on the stove instead of the oven and used two green bell peppers instead of a combination of red and green. I used three chicken breasts to stretch out the left overs, which will last for a few days. Thank you for this awesome recipe, Beth!!!! :-)
If the sauce had stayed its original consistency, this would have been pretty unappetizing, but instead it was delicious! How do you know when a sauce is going to thicken like this? Is it all in the corn starch?
While I did really enjoy this recipe and I got multiple compliments from jealous coworkers who could smell my amazing lunch, I found the chicken to be quite dry. Next time, I think I’ll make extra sauce and cook the chicken separately in a pan.
Yep, that’s the magic of cornstarch! :) It gels up when mixed with liquid and heated to boiling.
I made this last night and it was a big hit. Thank you!
Made this tonight for dinner, and it was family approved. :) I used sesame oil as my cooking oil, and it definitely added yummy flavor. I added mushrooms, seeing that someone in the comments had done so with good results, and I also prepared broccoli that I added for the last 20 minutes because I LOVE broccoli with my sweet and sour. It was great! I served the sauce on the side, since in my family we all have different feelings about how much sauce should go on things. I was amazed that I was able to make sweet and sour sauce myself, and that it was so easy! I will be recommending this recipe to friends.
I made this with crushed pineapple and on the stove top. It was so good I was asked if I made it :-)
Oh my word, so delicious! I couldn’t help myself, I ate the leftovers from my kids’ plates as well! My husband loved sweet and sour chicken as a kid but is now a pescetarian. I baked a piece of cod and tossed it in the veggies, rice, and sauce. Home run!!
So I baked the chicken, fish, and veggies separately to accommodate my husband, it was a win win in our family, and fairly healthy as well.
I’ll definitely make this again!
I haven’t made this dish yet (printing it as we speak), but I did want to let you know how much I enjoy your blog and your recipes. I have not make one yet that we didn’t like. I am not even necessarily trying to save a ton of money, I just think your recipes are tasty, use less meat (which is my main eating goal) and are easy to make! Thanks for your hard work!
*made* :)
Very good. I used only red and yellow peppers as that’s all I had on hand. I also think it would taste even better with fresh pineapple yum!! This made a large sheet pan and enough for plenty of leftovers. I wonder how it would freeze if you were to make individual meal containers and freeze for later? Another great recipe this is going into my recipe book as a “keeper” :) !
I’m not sure how this one will freeze. Sometimes sauces that are thickened with cornstarch tend to break down after freezing and thawing. :(
I made this and froze it in individual servings and it seems fine to me when I thaw and reheat.
Tastes just like my favorite Thai restaurant, and for WAY less money than going out to eat.
This was so good!!! I made it for dinner last night and it was easy, required minimal touching of the raw chicken (hello kitchen scissors), and tasted phenomenal. It was a major feat of self control to save some for lunch today. In fact, I thought about making it for dinner again tonight. Reason prevailed, but man was it tasty.
It would be good with the pan fried tofu, as well, added with the sauce. I will be making this again soon!
This is sooooo good! I substituted shrimp for the chicken and added in for the last 8 minutes of the veggies cooking. I will definitely make this again!
Terrible…We really didn’t like it and just ended up throwing it…
Hi Beth:
I made this last night and it was amazing. I included red, yellow & orange peppers along with a white onion & the pineapple junks. It was so delicious! I highly recommend it. Thanks for all your recipes.
I would think this would be freezable in a kind of freezer-pack, the chicken + veggies frozen uncooked and then the sauce frozen already made?
This is crazy good!!! Made it for dinner and I spaced the easy part..which was sticking it in the oven and went ahead and did it on the stove top..lol I added in mushrooms and beansprouts..Gosh is this good! going to add it to my monthly menu..Thank you so much!
Yay! Those Easy Oven Fajitas have been loved and repeatedly requested by anyone I made them for, and they’re the simplest things ever. Winning formula, for sure.
I made this last night and really enjoyed the recipe. Followed exactly according to the instructions, but turned my oven up for the last 10 minutes because the chicken and vegetables weren’t browning.
My only comment is that even with the sauce, the chicken was not extremely flavorful. I would consider marinating the chicken in some of the pineapple juice and soy sauce for a bit before putting it in the oven next time.
Overall, a great take on sweet and sour chicken, and very easy to prepare. Thanks for the recipe.
Looks delicious! Going on our menu very soon – my husband especially loves sweet and sour chicken. 😊
I tried this recipe last night as I had everything on hand already. It was great! I’m usually not a fan of sweet and sour (I know, blasphemy…) but this was definitely well received by both my husband and myself. It made great lunch leftovers, too.
Where on earth do you live with those prices? $1.69 for a bell pepper? Outrageous! I looking forward to trying out this recipe.
I live in Louisiana. Red bell peppers are usually more expensive than green, which often go for 2/$1. Sometimes I’m lucky and the red peppers are only $1, but not that day. :)
Haha! And I think $1.69 for a red pepper is extremely cheap….more like $2-something each here in Canada. Or $3 in the winter!
That’s about what I pay in Oregon for all but green bells. That’s why I grow mine when the weather allows!
this looks amazing and I can’t wait to try this!
This is a revelation to me. I love sweet and sour chicken but hate the breading/frying process and I have NO idea why my brain just never thought ‘hey-stir fry.’ I like this oven version even better, though I like having the stovetop option too. Yay for more (and better) MYOTO recipes!
We’re not able to use pineapple due to allergies. Could I use orange juice in place of the pineapple juice for the sauce?
Hmm, probably! I’ve never tried that but I don’t see why it would be a problem. :)
I made this tonight, it was really great. Don’t be tempted to short the veggies in this recipe, they do cook down and you’ll really like all the peppers with the tangy sauce.
If I used a frozen stir fry mix of vegetables, would I want to thaw and drain them first?
This looks awfully good. I’m sure I’ll try it. It looks flexible and I’ll probably add more seasoning, to suit my taste. Looks easier than stove top for me since I’m not so quick with a skillet.
Oh, my God. I LOVE sweet and sour chicken. I’m looking forward to making this recipe for dinner next week. Super excited!!!! :-)
looks delicious. Making it tonight.
Made it and it was perfect. I Upped the chicken a bit and added about 8oz of mushrooms. They soaked up the sauce and were amazing, I highly recommend it. Thanks for the recipe Beth
Beeeethh, I miss your weekly recap posts! Don’t get me wrong, your content gets better and better but somehow it was nice to have a glimpse in your personal “home economics”. Those posts really inspired me to plan my meals so that I would waste less valuable food and produce. What I am trying to tell you is that we need some posts like that again. Not once a week, I know that’s an extreme amount of work, but maybe one week per month?
Uf…thank you for all the wonderful recipes, you really taught me how to be more daring and creative in the kitchen (and how to cook, doing that) .
Bests from a Romanian living in Germany!
They inspired me as well! I’ll have to figure out something to do that is similar. The biggest issue is that because blogging is my “job” I often have to buy more food than I’d normally just eat on my own (like supplies for garnishes, freelance projects, etc.), so my weekly grocery bills aren’t exactly normal. :P
I loved the weekly recaps too! Even if you just shared what you ended up eating (and not the receipts since you have blogger grocery bills) that was wonderful. Also, it’s great to see how you store leftovers, stock your freezer, and use up the leftovers of things! I love all of your content – recipes and weekly recaps! – I always share your blog and my husband laughs because I always say “Budgetbytes.com – that’s bytes as in b y t e s” haha :)
Wanted to pop in and mention that I loved reading the recaps also and seeing how you balanced out the meals. Maybe I am just nosey, but it was great seeing a little snap shot of your life and encouraged me to consider my over all planning so that I can buy ingredients that are good for more than one recipe and not just eat whatever all the time, creating waste. Also skills posts are always welcome. I make so many things from your blog regularly and have used skills from your recipes into making my own variants.
Me too! I really miss these posts. I was really bummed when Beth didn’t do her recaps in September as planned. If the receipts/spending aspect is the only blocker I say ditch that, and just focus on the overall recap. Even only dinners would be awesome!
But whatever suits you Beth, i’ll come back regardless :) have loved your blog for years.
This looks delicious! I love making Asian food at home
Looks yummy! Thoughts on using broccoli in place of some of the peppers?
You can definitely do that. I love roasted broccoli! :)