Skip the Chinese takeout and settle in for a homemade, keto sweet and sour chicken! Fresh green/yellow bell peppers, savory chicken, covered in keto friendly sweet and sour sauce! Serve over steamed cauliflower rice to make this an over-the-top Chinese keto creation! No frying, super easy and under 30 minutes... you'll be glad you ordered in your keto kitchen instead!
I love Chinese food! Especially a good stir-fry. A lot of stir-fry recipes, though, cover your protein in flour or cornstarch. My Keto Sweet and Sour Chicken is the Chinese takeout you crave without all the carbs! No frying and under 30 minutes...Definitely a must have in your keto recipe box!
If you are like me and also craving the fried rice...you can make my delicious cauliflower fried rice!
The sauce for this recipe is really simple and only includes 5 ingredients. It is the perfect sweet and sour sauce!
HOW TO MAKE KETO SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN (NO FRYING!)
You will be surprised how easy this packed full of flavor keto sweet and sour chicken is! With these simple ingredients you can now have that favorite Chinese take-out, now with a homemade, low carb twist!
First, let's heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over high heat. I like to use avocado oil because it has a high smoke point. You could also use coconut oil.
Add in the chicken breast and cook until brown on all sides and cooked through. This keto sweet and sour chicken recipe is unbelievably light so if you want to use boneless skinless chicken thighs, please do!
The meat only takes about 5 minutes to cook. You want to check with a meat thermometer to be sure the meat is not over or under cooked.
Now we need to reduce the heat to medium and add in the green and yellow bell peppers.
We are only going to cook them for a couple of minutes so they keep their nice color and a little crispness.
Now we add in the apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, soy sauce, sweetener and xanthan gum.
My favorite low carb sweetener is Lakanto. They have a brown sugar version that works well in this recipe!
HOW TO THICKEN KETO SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
Cornstarch is traditionally used, but most keto recipes use xanthan gum as a thickener. I wrote a post all about this amazing ingredient here: What is Xanthan gum?
Turn the heat back up to high just until the liquid starts to bubble.
Remove from the heat and let sit for a few minutes to thicken. The sauce will coat the chicken and it looks amazing!
Serve with steamed cauliflower rice to make this an over-the-top keto bowl! Yummy
Like this low carb, keto friendly recipe? Check out my recipes for Keto Beef Bulgogi, One Pot Keto Butter Chicken or Easy Keto Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry!
Keto Sweet and Sour Chicken (No Frying!)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon avocado oil or coconut oil
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes (24 ounces raw)
- ½ green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
- ½ yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
- ¾ cup sugar free granulated sweetener
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
Method
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Add in the chicken thighs and cook until brown on all sides and cooked through. Should take about 5 minutes. Check for doneness with a meat thermometer (165F)
- Reduce the heat to medium and add in the green and yellow bell peppers. Cook for about 2 minutes just to soften them up a bit.
- Add in the apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, soy sauce, sweetener and xanthan gum. Stir well to incorporate the xanthan gum.
- Turn the heat back up to high just until the liquid starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and let sit for a few minutes to thicken.
- Serve with steamed cauliflower rice.
Notes
- Chicken breast or chicken thighs: You can you either for this recipe. This is really light with the use of chicken breast. Boneless skinless chicken thighs will add some calories but will add more flavor as well.
- Vinegar: If you are low on apple cider vinegar, white vinegar works well in a pinch.
- Soy Sauce: Coconut aminos can be used as well as Tamari
- Xanthan Gum: This is a replacement for the common cornstarch ingredient in most Chinese recipes. A thickening agent that only requires ½ a teaspoon. This means less carbs!
- Serve with steamed cauliflower rice. I like to buy the already riced cauliflower in the freezer section of the grocery store.
Margaret Parrett says
Made this last night. You were right. Easy and tasted so good.
Michelle says
This taste just like takeout! So good I will be making this often! ????????
Bj says
Wow...just wow. Perfect in every way.
Haley says
This was loved by my entire family, and I'm the only one following a keto lifestyle! I used chicken breasts since I had some on hand, and I did season the chicken with some salt & pepper before the additions. I will probably double the recipe next time and use it for some meal prep.
Robert says
How do you deal with not using Pineapple in your Sweet & Sour Chicken?
I recently make a batch (someone else's recipe), and the sauce, while good for a first attempt, seemed "flat" because it didn't have that spark from Pineapple Juice and chunks of Pineapple.
Sweet & Sour is one of my favorite go-tos at the local takeout place (before I went KETO), so would love to figure something out as a replacement.
jenniferbanz says
I would just add the pineapple. A few pieces of pineapple aren't going to add too many carbs
Renee says
This is delicious!! We eat it once a week!! I use THM Gentle Sweet so cut back to under a 1/2 cup of that to sweeten. I use green and red peppers and it's very colorful. And an onion chopped in larger pieces. I do add a bit of canned pineapple as that's what we always liked in it. Sooo good! So happy to find this recipe!!
Lori says
Was so good! My non-keto fam loved it too. I was nervous about the sauce with all that vinegar but it came out great! I mixed in broccoli ????????
Michelle Poore says
I was craving sweet and sour chicken from the local Chinese restaurant. I've tried several of your keto recipes and loved them, so I was excited when my google search for a keto version of sweet and sour chicken led me to this recipe. This recipe is amazing!!! I admit I had my doubts about the sauce while I was cooking it, but it tastes so good and so close to the sugar-laden takeout version. Thank you!
Roseanna says
Thanks,i have this twice a month,,yummy.
Hannah Edgell says
Absolutely Gorgeous, this is my Husbands favourite keto meal, he doesn't feel quite so hard done by when everyone else has chinese takeaway as he has this instead (I make it with Jennifers egg fried cauliflower rice minus the bacon and prawns)
Cindy says
Hi, I was wondering could pork be used instead of chicken? I use chicken so much & looking for ways to add other proteins. Thank yous
jenniferbanz says
Definitely!
Carol says
What a wonderful recipe! It is delicious. This is the best one I have tried. Now it will be the only one I will use. I did use white vinegar half and half with water as vinegar is too strong for me. Thank you for such a great recipe.
toni martin says
This recipe was awesome! Very tasty. Thanks
Lauren Sirola says
Amazing. Thank you for creating this recipe!
Attevia says
I’m allergic to tomatoes. What can I use to substitute or can I just leave it out?
jenniferbanz says
You could leave it out
Kelly Bradford says
This was awesome!!! i used chicken breast as i didnt have any thighs in the house, but it was delish.
Love your receipes Jen
Vicky says
This is amazing!
Jennifer says
Is there another thickening agent that could be used besides xanthan gum? Almond flour perhaps? ?
jenniferbanz says
Almond flour would be gritty. You could lat the sauce simmer until it reduces
Christina says
You could use glucomannan (konjac root) powder. It thickens like cornstarch without the gooeyness of xantham gum.
Robert says
I use Agar Agar Powder as a thickener in my Chaffles. It's based on seaweed so it's vegan. Use it at the same amount as you would Xanthan Gum.
Amy says
I made this tonight for my non-keto, Chinese take-out loving husband and we both loved it! He said he’s rather have this than his normal go-to take-out! Thanks for a simple and great “keeper” recipe!
Tricia says
Just made it!! It. Was. So. Good. Thank you!!
MAC says
Excellent recipe...easy to make and a hit with my low carb husband!
Carolyn says
Anxious to try this. Have to cut back serving size am just one person. I miss Chinese food the most.
Sheri L Best says
Thank you so much for the receipe. It was delicious.
Sheri
Arena says
Can't wait to try this. Is the cauliflower rice included in the nutritional breakdown?
jenniferbanz says
No, it's not included. I'll make a note of that
Robert says
Quick and Easy! I loved the flavors!
jenniferbanz says
Thank you!
Noelle says
A healthy version of take out! Great flavors too, love this!
Beth says
This looks fabulous and so flavorful!! I love making recipes like this one that I know will be gobbled up by my whole family!