No-Fry Crispy Gluten-Free Sweet and Sour Chicken

Enjoy your favorite Chinese take-out again with my easy, baked gluten-free sweet and sour chicken recipe. It only takes one pan, no fancy ingredients – just cornstarch and egg for a crispy, oven-fried breading. Everything gets tossed in a sticky, tangy GF sweet and sour sauce with bell peppers and optional pineapple.

Effortless Gluten-Free Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

The first hurdle when creating this gluten free sweet and sour chicken and sauce was easy. A lot of Chinese recipes use a mixture of egg, flour, and cornstarch for the batter. Omitting the flour, and instead dredging the chicken in 100% cornstarch made a naturally gluten-free and tasty breading.

Making the recipe effortless, while still maintaining a classic sweet and sour taste, was a little more complicated. Many baked sweet and sour chicken versions still require frying to achieve a crispy coating and then finished in the oven.

I wanted a no-fry, dump and bake recipe to lighten the work, and fit seamlessly into my collection of easy gluten-free chicken dinner ideas. So, instead, I utilized a more hands-off approach because I’m all about putting in less effort to still get the same results.

After coating the chicken, it is baked at a high heat for a brief time to set and crisp the breading. While it’s developing that nice crispy breading in the oven, the sweet and sour sauce, made with all GF-safe ingredients is whisked together.

Toss it with the partially baked chicken, then pop it back into the oven to finish. While it’s crisping up in the oven throw together any side dishes. Our personal fave? Easy weeknight gluten-free fried rice to complete the take-out experience made at home.

I only found this recipe last week and I’ve already made it twice!

—Hannah

Let’s Make This Together!

(Note: This is a step-by-step tutorial with pictures. For more specific instructions, along with ingredient amounts, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

Easiest chicken GF breading prep

Take your chicken breasts and cut into bite-sized pieces. If your prefer the taste of chicken thighs over breast meat, that totally works too. First cover the chicken in a beaten egg. Transfer those pieces over to the cornstarch, salt, and pepper and use a fork to toss and coat well.

Trick for crispy baked exterior

The trick to getting a nice crisp oven sear on the chicken is a hot baking dish. While the chicken coating is prepped, place the baking dish with oil in a 425℉ oven to get nice and hot. Carefully place the coated chicken pieces in a single layer and bake for 10 minutes to set the coating.

Easy gluten-free sweet and sour sauce

While that is partially baking, whisk together the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce. There’s no need to cook it ahead of time on the stove because when it’s tossed with cornstarch-coated chicken it will thicken on its own.

As far as the ingredients, you will need ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and some simple seasonings. The ingredient you’ll want to watch out for is soy sauce. I use La Choy brand, which is GF. You can also use tamari or your preferred GF brand.

Toss and bake

Toss the sauce with the partially baked chicken and add the peppers. Reduce the oven to 325ºF to bake for 35 more minutes, stirring halfway through. If you’d like to add pineapple chunks, stir that in in the last 20 minutes of baking.

Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Leave a star rating and comment below the recipe card. It helps others when searching for recipes and I appreciate feedback from our community. You will always hear back from me! -Melissa

4.63 stars (8 ratings)

No-Fry Crispy Gluten-Free Sweet and Sour Chicken

Melissa Erdelac

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Enjoy your favorite Chinese take-out again with my easy, baked gluten-free sweet and sour chicken recipe. It only takes one pan, no fancy ingredients – just cornstarch and egg for a crispy, oven-fried breading. Everything gets tossed in a sticky, tangy GF sweet and sour sauce with bell peppers and optional pineapple.

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Ingredients

 

½x1x2x

• ▢ 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, cut in 1" pieces
• ▢ ½ cup cornstarch
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 red pepper, cut in 1" pieces
• ▢ 1 yellow pepper, cut in 1" pieces

Gluten Free Sweet and Sour Sauce

• ▢ ½ cup ketchup
• ▢ ⅓ cup light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ▢ ¼ cup water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce, I use La Choy brand
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ (optional) sesame seeds, for garnish
• ▢ (optional) cooked rice, for serving

Equipment

• ▢
  9X13 Baking Dish
• ▢
  Santoku Knife
• ▢
  Batter Bowl

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Pour the oil in a 9X13 baking dish and place in the oven while it's preheating to get very hot.
  2 ½ tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• Whisk the egg in a medium bowl. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat well.
  1 large egg, 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts
• In a large bowl, with enough room to move and coat chicken well, combine the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Use a fork transfer the chicken pieces, letting the excess egg drip off, to the cornstarch mixture. Use a fork to coat the pieces all over with the cornstarch. TIP: At this point, I use my hands to separate the chicken and make sure they are coated.
  ½ cup cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• Carefully remove the hot dish and oil from the oven. Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer. Bake for 5 minutes. Toss in oil, and then bake for 5 minutes more. Meanwhile, whisk together all the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce in a small bowl.
  ½ cup ketchup, ⅓ cup light brown sugar, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup water, 2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• Remove from the oven and REDUCE OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 325ºF.
• Add the peppers and sweet and sour sauce to the dish. Toss to combine. Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until sauce is bubbly, has thickened and chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately.
  1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper

Notes

Adjusting Sauce Consistency

If the sauce becomes too thick, or you want to add to the amount of sauce, simply add a touch of water and stir to combine.

Calories: 318kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 100mg, Sodium: 859mg, Potassium: 619mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 17g, Vitamin A: 837IU, Vitamin C: 64mg, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 1mg

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