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
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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!
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!