Look no further for what is consistently ranked the BEST sweet and sour sauce recipe on the web! There are so many ways to enjoy this popular and versatile sauce and with only 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep/cook time, this popular sauce couldn’t be simpler to make!
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, it’s time to get on board because not only is it incredibly easy, it tastes WAY better than store-bought and what you get at your local takeout. Plus it’s free of preservatives, chemicals and junk ingredients.
How To Use Sweet and Sour Sauce
Sweet and sour sauce is the ultimate dipping sauce for potstickers, egg rolls, wontons, chicken nuggets, fish sticks and anything else your heart desires.
You can also incorporate it into your favorite Chinese dishes like sweet and sour chicken, pork or shrimp, sweet and sour meatballs, Asian salad dressings, and as a glaze for grilled chicken, pork, seafood, kabobs, ribs, etc. It’s even delicious just drizzled over a bowl of hot steamed rice.
You can also omit the cornstarch and use this sauce as a marinade.
How To Store Sweet and Sour Sauce
Store it in a non-reactive airtight container (I prefer glass) in the fridge where it will keep for up to 3 weeks.
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.
BEST Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe
Let’s get started!
Get your five 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. Â Check out this all-natural food coloring.
Let the sauce cool completely. Store it in an airtight jar in the fridge where it will keep for 2-3 weeks.
Enjoy!
For more phenomenal homemade Asian sauces be sure to try our:
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Black Bean Sauce
- Plum SauceÂ
- Kecap Manis
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Ponzu Sauce
- Char Siu Sauce
- Ginger Sauce
BEST Sweet and Sour Sauce
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 all-natural red food coloring (the one I've linked to is natural, colored with beets. It's in powdered form, simply stir some in to a couple of teaspoons of water and add it to the sauce)
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 for 2-3 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Gennifer Realtor Mickelson says
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!!!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Yay!! So awesome, Gennifer, thanks so much for the feedback!
Steve says
Question can it be frozen and then thawed?
Kimberly Killebrew says
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.
Danielle says
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!
Danielle says
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! 🙂
Ava Kinsey says
Hubby loved it! This is a keeper.
Apryl Merithew says
What size can of pineapple juice?
Anonymous says
It says one cup
Natasha says
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
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Natasha and Apryl, this recipe calls for 1 cup of canned pineapple juice. That’s the same as 8 ounces or 250ml.
Selma says
The recipe was tasty and easy to make. Thanks you for sharing your recipe.
Victoria says
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!!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Thank you, Victoria, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
Suzie says
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 🤤
Kimberly Killebrew says
Thank you so much, Suzie!
kimberly A lavalle says
This sweet and sour sauce so easy and delicious! Thank you
Lee Castleberry says
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.
Emily says
10/10 the best sweet and sour sauce ever! So quick and easy to make. Highly recommend
Kimberly Killebrew says
Thank you so much, Emily! :)
Lorraine says
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
Kimberly Killebrew says
I’m thrilled to hear that, Lorraine, thank you!
Stephen says
Simple, quick and tasty.
Courtney says
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.
Kimberly Killebrew says
Fantastic, Courtney, thank you so much! :)