Get ready for a fast, simple, and deeeelicious Sweet & Sour Sauce!
This sweet and sour sauce is perfect as a dipping sauce for potstickers, egg rolls, chicken nuggets and anything else your heart desires. Use also to incorporate into your favorite Chinese dishes like sweet & sour chicken, pork or shrimp, sweet & sour meatballs, Asian salad dressings, and as a glaze for grilled chicken and pork, etc.
There are so many ways to enjoy this popular Chinese sauce. And with only 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep/cook time, this classic Sweet & Sour sauce couldn’t be simpler!
And don’t forget to try our recipes for the Best Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, Best Homemade Hoisin Sauce and Best Homemade Chinese Black Bean Sauce!
Ready to make some Sweet & Sour Sauce?
Let’s get started!
Add all of the ingredients except for the cornstarch slurry in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer for another minute until thickened.
You can stop at this point or, if you want, you can add 2-3 drops of food coloring to make your sweet and sour sauce look the way it does at the Chinese takeout. Check out this all-natural food coloring.
Let the sauce cool completely.
Enjoy!
Making your own couldn't be any easier! Plus it's free of junk ingredients and tastes MUCH better than store-bought!
- 1 cup canned pineapple juice ,see note
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- OR sugar-free brown sugar substitute
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar ,found in the Asian or general vinegar section of any grocery store, or you can substitute apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari (GF)
- For the Cornstarch Slurry: 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
- Optional: 2-3 drops all-natural red food coloring (the one I've linked to is natural, colored with beets. It's in powdered form, simply add a bit of powder for color)
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Place all of the ingredients, except for the cornstarch slurry, in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer for another minute until thickened, stirring constantly. If using red food coloring, stir it in.
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Let the sauce cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
* Freshly squeezed pineapple juice contains enzymes that will break down the cornstarch and prevent the sauce from remaining thick, so either use canned or bottled
Don’t forget all of these other homemade Asian sauces:
Best Homemade Chinese Black Bean Sauce
I am definitely going to try this. Cheers
I made this tonight to slather on some grilled chicken, pineapple and vegetable kabobs. Everyone loved them and had seconds. Awesome sauce, will become my go-to recipe from now on.
Awesome, Nathan, thanks so much!
Hi Kimberley,
Double header.
How long do you think the dill dressing will keep in the fridge before the dill flavour starts to deteriorate ?
Do you use pasteurised pineapple juice ? I´d briefly considered fresh but won’t that destroy the starch ?
Both of these will feature on our stall at the local Buddhist temple festival during Thai New Year if that’s OK ?
Happy Spring,
Best Paul.
Hi Paul, that’s a great point about the pineapple juice, I’ve made a note about it in the recipe. So yes, use canned/bottled pineapple juice. For the dill dressing, I would probably use it within a couple of days for optimal flavor.
I love your sauces, this one is no exception. The dill dressing from the post before looks amazing too.
Such a great recipe to have on hand. Thanks!
What a delicious recipe and so easy to make.
Wow! I never knew it would be so easy to make it yourself. Looks fantastic and am definitely trying it, thanks!
I made this last night to go with our egg rolls and chow mein and it was delicious! It was as easy and quick as you said it was and the flavor is perfect. I don’t usually use food coloring but I figured a couple of drops divided by several people wouldn’t hurt anyone. Beautiful silky red sauce with a fantastic flavor. Thank you!
Fantastic, Cori, thanks so much! I very rarely use food coloring either, in fact this is probably only one of two recipes on my whole site that mentions it. But I agree with you – a tiny bit on rare occasions is fine.
Pinning this! I love this dipping sauce with so many things!
I totally need to make this, as my daughter LOVES sweet and sour chicken!
I LOVE how easy and delicious this is!! I can’t wait to try it!
I thank you for all the recipes you share for Asian sauces. I appreciate your homemade versions so much more than what’s available in the store!
I’m all about that sauce! Ready to dive in.
Pinning this!! We are big dippers in our house so I know this will come in handy!
I love how easy this recipe is!
The possibilities are endless!! I love that you know exactly what is going in this sauce!
Love homemade sauces! Always a good choice!
I don’t know WHY I thought sweet and sour sauce was a complicated dish to make, but my goodness, now that I have your recipe, I can make ALL the things to incorporate it with and have an at home sauce! Win!
I love the sweet and sour flavor! This is absolutely a must try!
Homemade sauces are always so much better! This is a classic, for sure.
What is the ounces on the pineapple juice?? For crying out loud i bought the rice vinegar and pineapple juice (46 oz can so we can drink the rest) today not realizing the actual amount wasn’t noted.
The amount is noted, it’s one cup. If you Google that you’ll see it’s 8 ounces.
I love sweet and sour source. What a great recipe
We love Chinese! Can’t wait to try this homemade sauce!
I’ve made this twice so far, as a dipping sauce and as a glaze for grilled chicken and pork – awesome stuff! I agree, it is the best recipe and hands down my favorite, thank you!
Fantastic, Alan, thanks so much!
Oh yeah, that was really great. We loved it!
Awesome, thank you!
EXCELLENT! Made crab Rangoon last night then realized I did not have any sweet and sour. Will never buy pre-made again.
Awesome, Sue!! I know, it just makes no sense to buy it when you can throw it together so easily. Thank you! 🙂
THE BEST sweet and sour sauce! I’ve tried many, storebought and homemade. Yours is my go-to from now on.
Thanks so much, Tanner!
Have you ever made a double batch? I want to make sweet and sour chicken and my family likes extra sauce. Can’t wait to try!
Many times, Cindy – double batch away! 🙂
SO good! I’ve bookmarked this to make again and again. Thank you!
Awesome, Theresa, thank you!
Can I substitute a different kind of vinegar?
Hi Bonnie, yes, you can substitute apple cider vinegar.
Excellent recipe, this one’s a keeper, thanks!
Awesome, thanks so much, Candace!
Can I use orange juice instead of pineapple juice? I think it would add even more flavor!
Hi Ana, yes you can. It will change the flavor profile though and may overpower some of the other flavors – if you’re going to use orange juice I’d suggest using less of it.
Kimberly, I am planning on making boneless country style pork ribs in a slow cooker. Would I be able to use this sweet and sour sauce to cook them? Would it break down
after maybe 8 hours in a slow cooker. Thank you.
I will be making this regardless. Looks great.
Hi Jim! Yes, cornstarch breaks down pretty quickly. Plus the juices from the pork ribs will add to the liquid content and the sauce will be watery. But that’s no problem at all: Simply make the sweet & sour sauce without the cornstarch, slow cook the ribs in it, and then add the cornstarch at the very end (you’ll need to use more cornstarch because of the additional liquid from the ribs). There are two ways you can do this: Simply stir the cornstarch/water mixture directly into the slow cooker and let it cook a few more minutes until thickened, or pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a stock pot, add the cornstarch/water to it, bring to a light boil until thickened, and then add it back to the ribs. Give the sauce a taste, it will probably need more salt because of the additional liquid from the pork ribs. Happy cooking!
Hey, great, thank-you. Will make it tomorrow.
Just trying to spice up a rather bland piece of pork.
Terrific sauce, will be my go-to from now on, thank you!
Fantastic, Tim, thank you!
I love the splash of the liquid as the sugar goes in, just proving that you can still make a mess as much as us mortals :¬)
Lol, Chris! Yes, trying to film and cook at the same time can get a little messy 😉
Who in the world has rice vinegar
Well, for one, everyone in China, Japan, Korea, etc. And here in the U.S. you can find it in virtually every large grocery store.
This is the best sweet and sour sauce I’ve ever had! Just finished the first batch and making another one today. Thank you!
Wahoo! I’m so happy to hear that, Natalie, thank you!
Do you have to let it set in the fridge for 3 weeks
Hi Amanda, no, you can use it immediately but it will “keep” in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, meaning you have about 3 weeks to use it before it spoils.
Can I use white wine vinegar instead?
Hi Michelle, yes that will work just fine.