BEST Sweet and Sour Sauce
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Look no further for what is consistently ranked the BEST sweet and sour sauce recipe on the web – just check out the rave reviews! It takes just 6 ingredients and 5 minutes to make and the result is a delicious and versatile homemade sweet and sour sauce that beats anything store-bought or takeout!
What is Sweet and Sour Sauce?
Sweet and sour sauce is a popular condiment made, just as its name suggests, by combining sweet and sour flavor components (a sugar and a vinegar) with a thickener to make a sauce that is used for dipping, drizzling, and incorporated into dishes. Chinese food and sweet and sour sauce go hand in hand and for that reason you’ll find it served in every Chinese restaurant and at every takeout.
If you’ve never made your own, you’re in for a treat. I’m a huge fan of homemade condiments because it gives you full control over what goes in it and what stays out, it enables you to customize it to your tastes (e.g., add or omit ingredients, reduce the salt) and it tastes so much better than store-bought or what you get at the takeout.
Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients
Simple and quick to make, you will need just six ingredients to make the best sweet and sour sauce recipe. Let’s take a look at what’s in it:
- Pineapple juice: adds flavor, tang, and sweetness.
- Rice vinegar: provides the contrasting “sour”.
- Brown sugar: adds depth of flavor and sweetness.
- Soy sauce or tamari: adds the savory umami component (I recommend tamari for a better flavor).
- Ketchup: adds flavor and sweetness.
- Cornstarch and water: for thickening the sauce.
Do I Have To Use Red Food Coloring?
Not at all! You can make this without food coloring. One of the advantage of making homemade anything is that you don’t have to include the junk ingredients that the store-bought stuff often uses. The red food coloring is purely for aesthetics and tastes exactly the same without it. If you prefer the red color but don’t want to use chemicals in your food there are natural food coloring options and I provide a link to one option in the recipe card below.
Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe
Let’s get started!
Get your ingredients ready to go because making this sauce goes fast. Measure out your pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and ketchup. Prepare the cornstarch slurry and set it aside.
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 sauce look the way it does at the Chinese takeout. Check out this all-natural food coloring.
Let the sauce cool completely.
Storage and Freezing
Stored in an airtight jar in the fridge sweet and sour sauce will keep for up to 3 weeks. I’m often asked if this sauce can be frozen. As with all condiments thickened with cornstarch, it does not freeze well because cornstarch tends to break down when frozen and thawed.
How To Use It
Sweet and sour sauce features a balanced combination of sweet and tangy flavors, making it a versatile condiment that can be used in various ways to enhance the flavor of your dishes. Here are a few ways that I like to use it:
- Dipping Sauce: This is the ultimate dipping sauce for things like potstickers, egg rolls, spring rolls, wontons, dumplings, tempura, fish sticks, and chicken nuggets. Pour the sauce into small bowls to serve alongside your favorite foods and snacks.
- Stir-Fry Sauce: Use this as a base for stir-frying vegetables, meat, or tofu. Stir fry your meat/tofu and veggies and then add the sauce towards the end of the cooking process. Toss everything together and serve it over steamed rice or noodles.
- Marinade: Add the sauce to the meat or tofu before grilling, let it marinate for at least 30 minutes, then proceed with grilling.
- Glaze: This works great as a glaze for grilled or roasted meats and seafood like chicken, pork, fish and shrimp. Brush the sauce over the meat during the last few minutes of cooking for a tasty, caramelized glaze. This also works great for things like baked chicken drumsticks and wings.
- Salad Dressing: Mix some of this sauce with your salad oil, and add a dash of toasted sesame oil if you like, to make an Asian-inspired salad dressing for your greens.
- Sandwich Spread: Use this as a spread for your sandwiches and wraps for an Asian twist. It goes particular well with chicken, turkey and pork.
- Pizza Sauce: Get creative and drizzle this over your pizza for an Asian twist, for example chicken or ham, pineapple, peppers, and onions.
For more phenomenal homemade Asian sauces try my:
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Black Bean Sauce
- Eel Sauce
- Plum Sauce
- Asian Salad Dressing
- Kecap Manis
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Ponzu Sauce
- Char Siu Sauce
- Ginger Sauce
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BEST Sweet and Sour Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pineapple juice , see note
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- OR brown sugar alternative (for low sugar option)
- 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 natural red food coloring
Instructions
- 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.
- Let the sauce cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for 2-3 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet April 9, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
We forgot to buy sweet and sour sauce so I made it for the first time ever. This recipe was super easy, and my kids LOVED it!!!
Yay!! So awesome, Gennifer, thanks so much for the feedback!
Question can it be frozen and then thawed?
Hi Steve, it can but cornstarch has a tendency to break down when frozen and thawed and you may need to re-heat and re-thicken it with the cornstarch slurry.
I made this to go with leftover baked chicken breast tenders along with some rice. I changed a few things but all I have to say is that I am now making the food all over again with the other half of chicken that was left. So everyone enjoyed the sauce! I split the vinegar and brown sugar by adding both light and dark brown as well as apple cider and rice vinegar. Plus in addition I added ¼cup of apple juice!
Well my brown sugar wasn’t so soft since air got to it. I used both light and dark brown sugar. However I put the starch in with the sugar and once everything else was stirred in together in a measurement cup before pouring it into the skillet. I also split the vinegar by adding ¼apple cider and the rest rice vinegar with ¼ apple juice. I still used the cup of pineapple juice also. Normally I use orange juice to boost the flavors but I have to watch out for potassium now. Apple juice has far less than orange. It turned out great. I had used half of the leftover chicken and cooked some rice on the side. Once the sauce was together and it had no problem simmering and thickening by the way I added tbe starch with the dry ingredients. I put the baked chicken in there and let it simmer. Well now I am making more food because all of that git eaten. So I am on the 2nd round of making the sauce again! 🙂
Hubby loved it! This is a keeper.
What size can of pineapple juice?
It says one cup
I used a 1.36L can of pineapple juice but seems I misinterpreted the meaning of canned pineapple juice, and bought too much lol. So I would say the juice left over from actual canned pineapple
Hi Natasha and Apryl, this recipe calls for 1 cup of canned pineapple juice. That’s the same as 8 ounces or 250ml.
The recipe was tasty and easy to make. Thanks you for sharing your recipe.
I made this tonight and it was simple and amazing!! I didn’t follow it exactly because I didn’t have more than 3/4 cup of juice, but definitely made it my base. I used 3/4 cup pineapple juice and added pieces of chunk pineapple. I didn’t have any cider vinegar so I used white vinegar. It turned out fabulous and I will keep this recipe. Thank you so much for a great recipe!!
Thank you, Victoria, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
I went out today and gathered all the ingredients and let me tell, this is the BEST!!! So easy to make too.
Thank a million 🤤
Thank you so much, Suzie!
This sweet and sour sauce so easy and delicious! Thank you
Wow. Looks easy and good. Need 1 ingredient to make this and I’m getting it tomorrow so I can make it to go with the rice, crab Wontons, egg rolls and crab legs for dinner tomorrow night. Besides a bottle of sweet n sour sauce,that I may get 3 or 4 servings out of, cost nearly 5 bucks or more and this will get me probably 10 or more servings for 15 or less.
10/10 the best sweet and sour sauce ever! So quick and easy to make. Highly recommend
Thank you so much, Emily! :)
I have tried many recipes for this and they have failed miserably, but this one is just the BEST ever, sooo yummy and even better than my local Chinese restaurant thanks so much
I’m thrilled to hear that, Lorraine, thank you!
Simple, quick and tasty.
This sweet and sour sauce is the best thing ever. Been using it for 1 or 2 now and I love it so much. Super yummy and tangy. I always make mine with Apple Cider Vinegar and I think it makes it taste so good. This really is the BEST sweet and sour sauce. Thanks for sharing it.
Fantastic, Courtney, thank you so much! :)