Quick and Healthy Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken
This air fryer sweet and sour chicken has tender chicken, juicy pineapples and a homemade sweet and sour sauce rich with the classic tangy flavors of this popular takeout meal. The air fryer cooks the chicken perfectly and requires little cleanup and no oil, making it not only delicious and healthy but incredibly easy to throw together.
I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to chop, but if you want veggies, I suggest colorful bell peppers to really make this pop. Serve your chicken over white or brown rice or cauliflower rice to keep it low carb.
For a full spread, serve with peanut chicken noodles, chicken fried rice, chicken lo mein and egg roll in a bowl.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Made with simple ingredients.
- 41 grams of protein.
- Gluten and dairy-free.
Ingredients and Substitutes:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See recipe card below for full ingredients list and instructions for Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: chicken tenderloins, chicken cutlets or skinless chicken thighs.
- Pineapple/Pineapple Juice: use canned pineapples or fresh pineapple.
- Swerve Brown Sugar: brown sugar, maple syrup or honey.
- Rice Vinegar: substitute with apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or lemon juice.
- Coconut Aminos: or low-sodium soy sauce.
- Ketchup
- Tapioca Flour: this is used to thicken your sauce. You can also use corn starch or arrowroot.
Variations
- For extra thick sauce: after coating and removing chicken from the sauce, add an extra pinch of tapioca slurry into the pan with the extra sauce. This will thicken the leftover sauce to add on top of the chicken.
- To add veggies: add thick cut yellow onions and chopped green or red bell peppers to the chicken, half way through the air fryer cooking time, at 5 minutes. This will cook them down but keep them al dente. Add to the sauce when you add the chicken.
Dietary Modifications
- This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free as written.
How to make air fryer sweet and sour chicken:
Step 1: cook the chicken
Preheat the air fryer. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the chicken pieces in a single layer to the air fryer basket and cook at 380 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes until cooked through.
Step 2: make the sauce
Mix the tapioca flour and water in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large pan, over medium heat: add pineapple juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar substitute, ketchup and coconut aminos. Whisk the sauce and bring to a low boil.
Step 3: thicken the sauce
While the sauce simmers add the tapioca slurry and continue stirring to thicken the sauce. This will happen almost instantly.
Step 4: add the Chicken
Once the sauce has thickened, add the cooked chicken from the air fryer. Be sure not to add the juice from the air fryer or you sauce will thin out. Add pineapples and mix together well so the pineapples and chicken are coated with the sauce.
Step 5: serve
Top with chopped green onions or sesame seeds and serve with rice or steamed vegetables. Add leftover sauce on top when serving or see sauce tip below.
Expert Tip!
Cut the chicken into equal sizes to ensure they cook evenly in the air fryer. Also, be sure not to overlap them while cooking. You may have to cook in batches depending on size of air fryer.
Recipe FAQs
Serve your sweet and sour chicken with steamed or roasted vegetables, white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice or add to a wrap and enjoy!
Store your leftover sweet and sour chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees F about 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. It should have an internal temp of 165 degrees F. Continue with the recipe as is. You can also pan sear over medium-high heat on the stove the same way.
Check out some of our other easy air fryer recipes!
- Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
- Air Fryer Shrimp Tacos
- Air Fryer Beef Taquitos
- Air Fryer Sesame Chicken
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!
Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken
📱 MyFitnessPal & MacrosFirst App Users
You can find this recipe and many others on MyFitnessPal and MacrosFirst by searching: Ohsnapmacros – Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken breast boneless, skinless, cubed
- 1 cup pineapple juice or juice of one 20 oz. can
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- 1/2 cup Swerve brown sugar
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp. ketchup
- 2 tbsp. coconut aminos
To thicken the sauce
- 1.5 tbsp. tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp. water
Toppings
- green onions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the basket of the air fryer and cook at 380 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes until cooked through.
- Mix the tapioca flour and water in a small bowl and set aside to use to thicken the sauce. Add pineapple juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar substitute, ketchup and coconut aminos to a large pan over medium. Whisk the sauce and bring it to a low boil.
- While the sauce simmers add the tapioca slurry and continue stirring to thicken the sauce. This will happen almost instantly.
- Once the sauce has thickened add the cooked chicken from the air fryer. Be sure not to add the juice from the air fryer or you sauce will thin out. Add pineapples and mix together well so the pineapples and chicken are coated with the sauce.
- Top with chopped green onions and serve with rice or steamed vegetables. Add leftover sauce on top when serving or see sauce tip below.
Notes
- If you want an extra thick sauce, coat and remove the chicken from the sauce and add an additional pinch of tapioca slurry to the sauce and add to the top.
- Cook chicken in a single layer in the air fryer and flip halfway though. This will ensure an even cook.
- For gluten-free, ensure rice vinegar is free of gluten.
- All nutritional data is an estimate. For the most accurate serving measurement weigh your final dish and divide by the number of servings.
Just wondering if says somewhere the serving size so I know when weighing. Thanks!
Fulfilled my craving for take out with out the bloating! Another hit with my family.