Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe
This delicious homemade sweet and sour sauce comes together in minutes, with just six simple ingredients!
Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce
Sweet and sour sauce, celebrated for its irresistible tangy-sweet taste and vibrant color, is a quintessential dipping sauce and glaze in Chinese-American cuisine.
Beyond its traditional role in classic dishes like sweet and sour pork or sweet and sour chicken, this versatile sauce adds incredible flavor to almost anything! Imagine it transforming simple vegetables, stir fry dishes, rice, potstickers, or even unexpected pairings like French fries or fish!
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with sweet and sour sauce. When we had Chinese take-out, I always made sure that we got a large tub of sweet and sour sauce with our order. I would put an embarrassingly large amount of sweet and sour sauce on my rice, egg rolls, etc.
Even as an adult, I still love the stuff! But I actually prefer homemade sweet and sour sauce because you know exactly what goes inside – no corn syrup, no food coloring, just pure delicious flavor!
And the best part? Whipping up a batch of this incredible sweet and sour recipe from scratch is surprisingly easy, requiring only a handful of common pantry staples!
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 cup Pineapple Juice
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir to combine.
- Bring sauce mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Do not boil.
- Simmer for 8-10 minutes, then remove pan from heat.
- The sauce will thicken up even more as it cools, but if you want a thicker consistency, you may continue to cook for a few extra minutes.
Prep Tips
- Yield – This recipe makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of sauce.
- Food Coloring – You may be used to sweet and sour sauce being bright red in color; this is from the addition of red food coloring. We made ours without any added food dyes, so it is naturally a deep reddish brown color, versus neon red you’d get when adding red food coloring. However, you can absolutely add a couple drops of red food coloring if you prefer. I found plant based food colorings that I really like and they provide vibrant hues without artificial dyes.
- Storage – Homemade sweet and sour sauce can stay good for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
More Homemade Sauce Recipes To Try
Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Sweet and Sour Sauce
Equipment
- small saucepan
- whisk
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 cup Pineapple Juice
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan set over medium heat.
- Bring sauce mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Simmer for 8-10 minutes, then remove pan from heat.
- The sauce will thicken up even more as it cools, but if you want a thicker consistency, you may continue to cook for a few extra minutes.
Notes
- Yield – This recipe makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of sauce.
- Food Coloring – We did not use food coloring in this recipe, but you can add a couple drops of red food coloring if you like the traditional red color for your sauce/
- Storage – Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Nutrition
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