Baked Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Total: 40 min
  • Prep: 20 min
  • Cook: 20 min
In Chinese-American restaurants, sweet-and-sour chicken is typically battered, deep fried and tossed in a tangy yet sweet sauce that’s usually made with ketchup, pineapple juice and rice wine vinegar. In this version, the chicken is browned, brushed in sauce and baked in the oven. It’s not traditionally a spicy dish, which is why the cayenne is optional.
Advertisement

Ingredients

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons orange marmalade or apricot preserves

2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

One 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely grated

Large pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 yellow), quartered lengthwise and seeded  

1 bunch scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (3 to 3 3/4 pounds)

Cooked white rice, for serving (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Make the sweet-and-sour sauce: Whisk the ketchup, marmalade, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and cayenne in a small bowl. Put the bell peppers and scallions on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil and a pinch of salt. 
  2. Heat the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Working in batches, add the chicken to the skillet skin-side down and cook, undisturbed, until the skin is golden and slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Place skin-side up on the baking sheet with the vegetables. 
  3. Brush the chicken with half of the remaining sweet-and-sour sauce. Bake until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F, 20 to 25 minutes. Divide the chicken and vegetables among plates. Serve with rice and the remaining sauce.

Let's Get Cooking!

Sign up for the Recipe of the Day newsletter to receive editor-picked recipes,tips and videos delivered to your inbox daily. Privacy Policy

Thanks for subscribing to the Recipe of the Day newsletter. Check out all our other great newsletters from Easy Recipes, Healthy Eating Ideas and Chef Recipe Videos.

We're sorry, there was an error signing you up. Please try again later.

Advertisement

Carol Griffin

This was incredibly delicious! A definite winner for my family. I actually will double the sauce next time. So easy too.

See All Reviews