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!
wow!! easy and fantabulous sweet and sour!! made crab rangoon and served it with this awesome sweet and sour. next up, sweet and sour chicken, yummers!! Thank you so much
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Carol, thank you!
It was delicious and easy! Thanks for putting this recipe out there!
Hi, I made this tonight but found it very sour and mostly tasted like soy sauce and vinegar. Also, mine was dark brown, I followed the recipe so what went wrong?? I added more ketchup and sugar but it was still very tangy.
Yep, mine was sour and sour sauce, too. If I make this again, I will be using a significantly less amount of vinegar.
OK, OK, OK here’s the secret… follow directions…. Rice Vinegar… 1/3 cup Rice Vinegar ONLY. Ketchup – Heinz “Simply Ketchup” ONLY (a must have for Sabrett’s NY Red Onion Sauce recipe; so it’s always in the house – look it up). I use the “Light Brown” Brown Sugar. Soy Sauce …. only Soy Sauce, not reduced sodium or anything else than good ol’ Kikoman Soy Sauce. DON’T FORGET RED FOOD COLORING if you want it RED – else it will be BROWN…. tastes the same unless your head (thoughts/eyes) get in the way – – – it is the same. IJS (I’m Just Sayin’)
BTW – Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you, Kimberly Killebrew
Thank you, Peter! :)
Oh, BTW I forgot to mention – this sauce is the very best if you use ingredients FRESHLY OPENED….. Don’t use Soy Sauce opened 4 months ago – even if you so tightly resealed, you need pliers to re-open. Same with ALL ingredients – try with all fresh and see what I am talking about….. IJS
This sweet and sour sauce is wonderful Easy to make. I have already gone through a dozen spring rolls with this sauce You will not be disappointed. Many thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much, Charles!
OMG!! The Best sauce I’ve ever made! Hubby now thinks I’m a cooking goddess ( as if he needs more reasons!). Thanks so much for sharing this!! I will definitely be making this again!!
LOL, Marlene, that’s wonderful, thanks so much!
This is the best and fastest red sauce! I didn’t have rice vinegar so I used red wine vinegar. Used crushed pineapple with juice. Came out wonderful! Couldn’t have been easier!!
Fantastic, Wilma, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
I need it a little more sour.
Oyster Sauce
Hi there, I am trying to ditch all questionable ingredients from our diet and make my own dressings and sauces as much as possible. That’s what brought me here. However, my concern is that ketchup is store bought and contains all those bad things. Are you using home made ketchup or can pure tomato paste be subbed for ketchup in this recipe? Thanks so much 🤗
Hi Amanda, it depends on the brand of ketchup – some have junk ingredients in them while others are simply tomatoes, vinegar and seasonings. Tomato paste will not yield the same flavor results, so I do recommend ketchup.
Heinz Simply Ketchup – try it you will like it. Excellent on everything ketchupy… try in glaze for Meat Loaf, Sabrett’s NY Onion Sauce (put on hot dogs at Street Vendors in NYC that have yellow umbrellas with blue Sabrett name) OH, and replace Hot Dog with Oscar Meyer Hard Wood Smoked Smokies – I do not like OM products, had one of these on a Hawaiian sweet hot dog bun that was “steamed in the micro wrapped in a paper towel to retain moisture (heat 80% – we have a Panasonic Inverter Microwave for 10 seconds … look it up)… smothered in Sabrett’s Red Onion Sauce and OMG – We are eating them tonight for dinner!!!! IJS
Fab recipes, made this twice now, much better than local takeaway, can I freeze left over sauce though?
Wonderful, thank you Jo! Cornstarch doesn’t freeze well, you’d need to make a batch without cornstarch to freeze and then reheat/add the cornstarch later.
l’ve read somewhere that to use potato starch instead of cornstarch because potato starch is more stable in the refrigerator or freezer?
Do you use unsweetened pineapple juice or sweetened pineapple juice?
Hi Cat, I use 100% pineapple juice but you can use either – if you use sweetened you can cut back a bit on the brown sugar.
Hi, just made this sauce and I used unsweetened pineapple juice but I would guess if you only have sweetened just put a bit less sugar/ sweetener in.
Really nice sauce, can’t wait to try the black bean sauce
I’ll TRY yours… but, IMO, for now… I think this is the best I’ve ever had:
Sweet and Sour Sauce
1 cup pineapple juice (1/2 juice, 1/2 water works too)
1 cup light brown sugar (substitute more or less according to your taste)
1 cup rice vinegar or 1/4c vinegar, 3/4 c lemon juice fresh squeezed
1 diced sweet red pepper – roasted and peeled
2T macerated strawberry juice
salt (to taste)
4 teaspoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons warm water
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients and cook until red pepper is softened (approximately 20-25 minutes).
2. Thicken as desired with the cornstarch and water, pouring slowly and constantly stirring.
I then tend to blend it a bit when cooled…. or dice the red pepper very fine… depending on of it’s for “company” or not.
I do not recall where I found it… but liked the ingredients and found it to be GREAT… you try mine, I’ll try yours… we can update accordingly ;)
Just made it. It really is the best sweet and sour sauce. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Fantastic, Debbie, thanks so much!
This was delicious. It is the best stuffing I have ever made. Our guests raved about it. Thanks for your sharing!
This really is the best sauce!! I would prefer this over any recipe a Chinese restaurant would provide to it’s patrons.
Awesome, Charles, thanks so much!
This sauce was totally awesome! Our kids even loved it. We used it in chicken stir fry.
Fantastic, Bryan, thank you!