This keto sweet and sour chicken (complete with sauce!) transforms a takeout favorite into a lighter meal you can enjoy any night of the week! I’ll show you how to make healthy sweet and sour chicken — and the best keto sugar-free sweet and sour sauce — using real food ingredients, so you never have to miss out on this classic dish again. Serve it over cauliflower rice for a complete healthy meal. This healthier sweet and sour chicken has a similar crispy breading and sweetened sauce like my keto orange chicken recipe, but with a subtle tang and addition of veggies in the sauce. It’s a delicious crowd pleaser you’ll want to add to your healthy Asian recipes collection!
Is Sweet And Sour Chicken Healthy?
Given that mainstream sweet and sour chicken recipes usually include deep fried chicken and sauces with added sugar, it is not a traditionally healthy dish. However, it’s easy to make a sweet and sour chicken recipe healthy with the right ingredient swaps.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for healthy sweet and sour chicken, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Breaded Chicken:
Chicken Breasts – I use boneless skinless chicken breasts here. Feel free to substitute with chicken thighs if you prefer, or even pre-sliced chicken tenders to cut down a few minutes of prep time.Crushed Pork Rinds – This ingredient replaces cornstarch in the traditional recipe and makes healthy crispy sweet and sour chicken. If you have leftover homemade pork rinds, this is the perfect use for them! Otherwise any plain variety of rinds (not cracklings) will work. For a paleo or whole30 option, you can use a different cornstarch substitute, such as arrowroot powder.Eggs – Helps the breading adhere to the chicken. Use whole, large eggs.Avocado Oil – For shallow frying. Feel free to substitute any neutral cooking oil.Sea Salt & Black Pepper – For easy seasoning.
Sugar-Free Sweet And Sour Sauce:
Avocado Oil – For sauteing the pepper and garlic.Bell Peppers – Other healthy sweet and sour chicken recipes may also use yellow onion and pineapple chunks in their sauces (and you can too), but I kept it simple with just bell peppers. I use yellow and red peppers here, but use your favorite color!Garlic – It tastes best fresh, you can also use jarred minced garlic to save time.Ketchup – I make my own sugar-free ketchup recipe to keep it keto friendly, but use whatever tomato ketchup you like.Water – Thins out the sauce to the perfect consistency.Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – My favorite sugar-free and keto sweetener that tastes and dissolved just like powdered sugar! The flavor of this one is the absolute best, but you can swap it with a different powdered sweetener if you prefer (use my sweeteners conversion chart for exact amounts). Just keep in mind that other powdered sugar replacements (and definitely granulated ones) will make the sauce more gritty or give it an aftertaste. Sugar-free honey substitute (or regular honey if that fits your lifestyle) would be a better alternative if you need one.Apple Cider Vinegar – Adds a subtle tang to the keto sweet and sour sauce. White vinegar or rice vinegar would also work.Coconut Aminos – A delicious and soy-free alternative to soy sauce. You can use conventional soy sauce if it fits your lifestyle.Sea Salt & Black Pepper
How To Make Healthy Sweet And Sour Chicken
This section shows how to make healthier sweet and sour chicken, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below. If you want to do this, you’ll just need the chicken, salt, pepper, and oil for frying.
Storage Instructions
Store: Cover and store any leftover sweet and sour chicken in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.Reheat: For best results, reheat in a hot skillet until heated through. The microwave will work, but the breading would be more soggy.Freeze: Flash freeze chicken separately from the sauce, in a single layer on parchment in the freezer. Once solid, transfer to a freezer bag for long-term storage. Freeze sauce separately.
More Healthy Asian Recipes
These Asian inspired recipes come together quickly with easy ingredients, so you can skip the takeout! This step will help the pork rinds coat the chicken better. Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram, or in our Facebook support group, too – I’d love to see it!
