The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (2024)

Recipes

ByMerissa

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.

If you’ve wanted to create your own Asian-inspired sauces to go with stir-fries and other delicious dishes, you’ve got to try this Sweet and Sour Sauce without pineapple!

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (1)

Table of Contents

Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe Without Pineapple

Asian food has to be one of my favorite types of cuisine. I love the balance that good Asian food has. When I first started learning to make Asian sauces (instead of just pouring them out of a jar), my mom taught me to pay attention to the balance of five basic tastes: savory, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

Trying to balance these five tastes equally will ensure you can create delicious sauces every time. Most sweet and sour recipes that try to do this will use pineapple juice or pineapple chunks in their recipe, but this one is much easier and much more frugal!

After experimenting with several variations, I have found a super easy but delicious sweet and sour sauce recipe. It might be worth mentioning that you can create this sweet-and-sour sauce recipe in only 5 minutes! There is no red food coloring in this sauce and the flavor is so much better than store-bought. You are going to love it!

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (2)

How to Use Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

This sauce would be perfect as a dipping sauce for chicken, chicken nuggets, shrimp, or homemade egg rolls. You could also use it as a drizzle over your favorite stir fry recipe or a glaze over a ham.

If you use this sauce to top dried chicken pieces over some stir-fried vegetables, you will have a delicious sweet and sour chicken with a flavor rivaling your favorite Chinese restaurants!

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (3)

Ingredients in Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

  • Cornstarch. You can use another starch (arrowroot, potato starch, tapioca starch) if you don’t want to use cornstarch.
  • Water.
  • Rice Vinegar. This can be replaced with apple cider vinegar if you don’t have any rice vinegar.
  • Brown Sugar. It can be replaced with honey or maple syrup if you don’t want to use cane sugar. The flavor is a little different, but it is still good!
  • Ketchup. If you don’t want to use ketchup from the store, try homemade ketchup!
  • Soy Sauce. Some substitutions for soy sauce are coconut aminos or tamari sauce. You could also use Homemade Soy Sauce.
  • Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (4)

Instructions for Making Sweet and Sour Sauce without Pineapple

Mix together cornstarch and water in a small bowl and set aside. Add the remaining ingredients to a small saucepan, and bring to a boil.

Add in the cornstarch slurry (as a thickening agent) and mix thoroughly. Continue cooking for an extra minute or two until the sauce is thick. Remove from heat and enjoy!

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (5)

You can also add in 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapples, chopped onions, or chopped bell peppers for a chunkier sauce. But all of those ingredients are optional. If you are looking for a simple sauce, you can stick with it as written.

My picky-eating toddler loves this sauce so much that I can actually get her to eat a couple of bites of chicken and vegetables if she has this sauce to dip it in. And since I can make it so quickly, with ingredients I generally have on hand, it’s a perfect recipe for hectic weeknights.

Need to print this Sweet and Sour Sauce recipe for your Recipe Binder? Grab it below!

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (6)

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (7)

4 from 8 votes

Print

Sweet and Sour Sauce Without Pineapple Recipe

How to make your own sweet and sour sauce without using pineapple in the recipe.

CourseMain Course

CuisineChinese

KeywordSweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 1 meal

Calories 517 kcal

Creator Merissa

Ingredients

  • 1tbspcornstarchor another starch
  • 2tbspwater
  • 2/3cuprice vinegaror cider vinegar
  • 1/2cupbrown sugar
  • 2tbspketchup
  • 2tspsoy sauceor coconut aminos

Instructions

  1. Mix together cornstarch and water in a small bowl, and set aside. Add remaining ingredients to a small saucepan, and bring to a boil.

  2. Add in cornstarch mixture (as a thickening agent) and mix thoroughly. Continue cooking an extra minute or two, until sauce is thick. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Sweet and Sour Sauce Without Pineapple Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 517

% Daily Value*

Fat 0.04g0%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.02g

Sodium 979mg43%

Potassium 260mg7%

Carbohydrates 124g41%

Fiber 0.3g1%

Sugar 113g126%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 154IU3%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 109mg11%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Storing Sweet and Sour Sauce

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (8)

If you plan to make homemade sauces, you need some glass bottles. They fit perfectly in your fridge doors and work great for pouring sauces. They even come with the little “dropper” top (that is removable), so you don’t pour out way too much at once!

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (9)

More Homemade Sauces

  • Ketchup
  • Homemade BBQ Sauce
  • Worcestershire Sauce Recipe
  • Homemade Hot Sauce
  • Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe
  • The Tastiest Gluten Free Stir Fry Sauce
  • Easy Orange Sauce Recipe

Have you ever made your own sweet and sour sauce (without pineapple) recipe? What is your favorite food to dip in sweet and sour sauce?

Did you make this recipe and enjoy it? Leave a star rating on the recipe card, and be sure to share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and through Email using the sharing buttons below!

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (10)

Merissa Alink

Merissa has been blogging about andliving the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from theContact Page.

This recipe for Sweet and Sour Sauce without pineapple was originally published on Little House Living in March 2014. It has been updated as of March 2024.

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (11)

The Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe That You Can Make With 5 Ingredients (2024)

FAQs

What is traditional sweet and sour sauce made of? ›

While sweet and sour can be found in diverse forms in China, the American version builds upon the simple mixture of sugar, vinegar, and spices with the addition of fruit juice—most commonly pineapple—and ketchup, giving the sauce both its red hue and uniquely Western flavor.

What is a substitute for sweet and sour sauce? ›

Alternative Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/3 cup water. 3 tablespoons vinegar. 1 tablespoon soy sauce. 1/2 cup packed brown sugar.

What are the ingredients in no name sweet and sour sauce? ›

Ingredients: Water, Sugars (sugar, Plum Puree, Concentrated Pineapplejuice), Modified Corn Starch, White Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Salt,seasoning, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Red Bell Pepper Powder,beta-carotene Colour, Annatto Extract Colour.

What is a sweet and sour sauce? ›

: seasoned with a sauce containing sugar and vinegar or lemon juice.

Is sweet and sour sauce actually Chinese? ›

As we've already mentioned, sweet and sour dishes do actually exist in China. (Unlike other Chinese American dishes like General Tso's Chicken or Chop Suey.) However, it is a dish that has been heavily Americanized as well.

How to make a thick Chinese sauce? ›

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

Is Chinese sweet and sour sauce healthy? ›

Sweet and sour sauce is not a good source of vitamins and minerals. It does however have 3 milligrams of vitamin C. This makes up 5% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Sweet and sour sauce is a high-sodium food and provides 7% of the total recommended daily intake.

How do I thicken sweet and sour sauce? ›

If the sauce isn't thick enough, you can add one more tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk it in. But remember, the sauce will thicken even more as it cools down. So only add more cornstarch if the sauce is way too thin. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

How long does homemade sweet and sour sauce last? ›

How long will homemade sweet and sour sauce keep in the fridge? This sweet and sour sauce recipe should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If you are storing the sauce straight after cooking, let it cool to room temperature first.

What is a substitute for vinegar in sweet and sour sauce? ›

Lemon or lime juice are the two most common substitutes for white vinegar. You can also use rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar but the taste of your sauce might be a tad different. Soy Sauce – I used low sodium.

Does sweet and sour sauce contain tomato? ›

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, can of tomatoes, onion, soy sauce, ginger and pineapple; simmer for 20 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and reserved pineapple juice; stir till smooth. Add to the cooked pineapple mixture when mixture is done cooking.

Is sweet and sour sauce made of ketchup? ›

At its most basic, a sweet and sour sauce is just sugar and vinegar, flavored with a splash of soy sauce and ketchup. But there are also plenty of ways you can jazz it up and make it your own, so I'll also include those below!

What does sweet and sour mix contain? ›

So What is Sweet and Sour Mix? This is basically a lemon-lime simple syrup, combining sugar and water with lime and lemon juice.

What is the main ingredient in McDonald's sweet and sour sauce? ›

Ingredients: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Apricot Puree Concentrate And/or Peach Puree Concentrate, Distilled Vinegar, Contains 2% Or Less: Soy Sauce (water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sherry Wine Powder, Dextrose, Soybean Oil, Xanthan Gum, Spices, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Natural ...

What is sweet and sour chicken made of Chinese food? ›

Sweet and sour chicken, one of the most popular Chinese takeout dishes, is made of puffy, golden brown pieces of fried chicken nuggets with pineapple chunks, onion, bell pepper, carrot, and a side of iconic red, sweet and sour sauce.

Why is sweet and sour sauce called duck sauce? ›

It is speculated that the name "duck sauce" came about because its ancestor, tianmian sauce, was first served with Peking duck in China. When the Chinese emigrated to the U.S., they created Chinese dishes that would appeal more to the American palate, and developed a sweeter version of the sauce used in China.

Is sweet and sour the same as Polynesian sauce? ›

Chick-fil-A describes the Polynesian Sauce as "A delicious sweet and sour sauce with a strong, tangy flavor." The sauce was added to the menu in 1984, along with Barbeque and Honey Mustard sauces. In 2020, Chick-fil-A started selling 16-ounce bottles of Chick-fil-A sauce and Polynesian sauce at supermarkets.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Virgilio Hermann JD

Last Updated:

Views: 5676

Rating: 4 / 5 (41 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Virgilio Hermann JD

Birthday: 1997-12-21

Address: 6946 Schoen Cove, Sipesshire, MO 55944

Phone: +3763365785260

Job: Accounting Engineer

Hobby: Web surfing, Rafting, Dowsing, Stand-up comedy, Ghost hunting, Swimming, Amateur radio

Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.