Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken (Keto-Friendly)

This baked sweet and sour chicken is delightfully keto-friendly and low in carbs. Serve it with some cauliflower fried rice for an easy dinner meal!

Sponsored by ChocZero.

Making Chinese food at home is so easy and it saves me so much money! Plus, when I make it at home, I have full control over all the ingredients.

If you are on the keto diet, I'm sure you know how frustrating it is to try and find something at a Chinese restaurant that you can eat that won't kick you out of ketosis.

For those times, it's just easier to make your own entrees at home (like this Chinese ginger pork stir-fry)! They taste almost exactly the same but with a lot fewer carbs (and so much healthier too).

Ingredients Needed To Make Sweet And Sour Chicken

There are two parts to this recipe - making the crispy chicken bites and the tangy dipping sauce.

Chicken

In order to make the chicken gluten-free and keto-friendly, use a combination of coconut and almond flour. This gives it a really nice exterior!

You will also need some eggs for the egg wash and oil to fry the chicken pieces. I prefer olive oil but avocado oil works perfectly too.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

What really sets this recipe apart is the tangy and lip-smacking sweet and sour sauce. It's sugar-free but you can't tell!

To make this sauce, I used some maple-flavored syrup from ChocZero. It has no sugar but still has the same texture and taste as maple syrup!

I combined that with some:

• Soy sauce
• Garlic powder
• Keto-friendly ketchup
• Rice vinegar

Double-check and make sure the ketchup you use is sugar-free. All ketchup has a small amount of carbs from the tomatoes, you just want some that doesn't have any added sugars.

If you are unable to find some, try making your own sugar-free ketchup at home!

Please note: Check out the recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients used to make this low carb recipe.

Quick Tips:

• Make it no carb without the breading. If you want to save time (and cut back on carbs even more) just bake the chicken breasts without breading. They will still taste just as delicious, they just won't have the traditional coating.
• Marinate the chicken! If you are going to skip the breading, try marinating the chicken pieces in some of the sweet and sour sauce overnight.
• Use a non-stick pan. When you fry the coated chicken, I suggest using a skillet with a non-stick surface. If you try to use something like a stainless steel skillet, the chicken tends to stick to it.
• Baste the chicken. As you bake the sweet and sour chicken, spoon the sauce over the chicken a few times during the course of baking.
• Make it gluten-free! Use tamari sauce or coconut aminos to make the sweet and sour sauce gluten-free.

How To Make Baked Sweet And Sour Chicken

All of the ingredients and recipe steps are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. First, here are some step-by-step photos along with some more tips explaining how to make the chicken.

Prep The Ingredients

The very first step is prep. Preheat the oven and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Now you are ready to bake!

Mix the breading ingredients into one bowl and leave the eggs in another bowl.

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Try to keep them all the same thickness so that they bake at the same rate.

Then, dip each piece of chicken into the eggs, let the excess egg drip off, and then coat them in the breading.

Fry The Chicken

Now, you are ready to fry up the chicken!

Heat your oil in a non-stick skillet and fry up the chicken until they are browned on all sides. They won't be cooked all the way through yet, and that's ok. They will finish cooking when you bake them in the oven.

Finish Cooking The Chicken In The Oven

After you fry the chicken pieces, place them in your baking dish. Then, mix up your homemade sweet and sour sauce.

Pour the sauce evenly over all of the chicken pieces and bake for about 40 minutes.

As they bake, take them out a few times and continue spooning the sauce over the chicken pieces.

What To Serve With Keto Sweet and Sour Chicken

What are your favorite Chinese food dishes? Serve this chicken dish with keto-friendly versions of them!

For example, instead of egg rolls, eat some egg roll in a bowl. It tastes like the stuffing that is inside egg rolls, without the carbs and crust.

I like to add the sweet and sour chicken on top of some cauliflower rice. Together, the two of them will fill you up, but you can also enjoy keto ramen shirataki noodle soup as an appetizer beforehand.

Frequently Asked Questions About Low-Carb Sweet and Sour Chicken

Before we get to the recipe, here are some questions people often ask about baked keto sweet and sour chicken.

How do you store baked sweet and sour chicken?

Store this in your refrigerator in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days.

What is the difference between sweet and sour chicken and Hong Kong style?

There are lots of similarities between the two. Hong Kong style chicken usually has some green peppers, pineapple, and onions all fried with the chicken and sauce.

Can you make this meal with pork or beef?

I would not suggest making this with beef, but I can see it tasting pretty delicious with chopped pork loin pieces. It will taste best if you keep the pork loin unbreaded and just fry it up first and then cover it in the sauce.

Is sweet and sour chicken like orange chicken?

Yes, both sweet and sour chicken and orange chicken are very similar. Both of them involve breaded chicken pieces covered in a sticky sweet sauce.

The difference is the flavor of the sauce. Orange chicken is usually made with orange juice or orange flavoring. Sweet and sour chicken is made with vinegar, sweetener, and a tomato-based ingredient like ketchup.

Which is the best sugar-free maple syrup to use in this Chinese sauce recipe?

I personally love to buy my maple syrup from ChocZero! It only has 1g net carb per serving and best of all, it tastes exactly like the maple syrup I grew up with. That same sticky sweetness but, instead of white sugar, it's sweetened with monk fruit.

I personally think it really pairs well with the vinegar in the sweet and sour sauce.

When you are really craving takeout, whip together this delicious Chinese recipe! It tastes just like the real thing, without the carbs.

Other Low-Carb Chinese Food Recipes To Try

If you enjoyed this sweet and sour chicken, here are some more recipes that taste just like your favorite takeout food.

• Keto Pepper Steak is made with crunchy green bell peppers and tender strips of juicy steak.
• Keto Chicken Egg Foo Young is a crispy egg-based dish that you can eat for lunch or dinner.
• Chinese Pork Stir Fry is tossed in a tangy sauce and served with fresh crispy broccoli for a healthy meal.
• Chinese Cauliflower Pork Fried Rice tastes amazing as a side dish for any meal.
• Ground Beef And Green Beans Stir Fry is a really simple dinner recipe that will feed the entire family.

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Recipe

Keto Sweet and Sour Chicken

4.75 from 8 votes

Baked boneless chicken pieces that are lightly breaded and served with a sweet and sour sauce. It's perfect served with cauliflower fried rice for an easy low-carb dinner.

Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:55 minutes mins

Total Time:1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free

Print Pin Review Recipe Save Recipe View Collections

Servings: 6

Calories: 338

Video

Ingredients

Chicken:

• ▢ 1½ pounds chicken breasts about 3 or 4 boneless and skinless
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ ⅓ cup coconut flour
• ▢ ⅓ cup almond flour
• ▢ 2 large eggs beaten
• ▢ ¼ cup avocado oil

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

• ▢ 6 tablespoons ChocZero maple syrup
• ▢ 3 tablespoons keto-friendly ketchup
• ▢ 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce or tamari
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Cut chicken into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Dip chicken pieces into beaten egg with fork allowing excess to drip off. Then toss each piece in the coconut and almond flour mixture to coat.
• Heat avocado oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through.
• Place the prepared pan.
• In a small bowl, whisk together all the sauce ingredients. Pour sauce evenly over the chicken.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes spooning sauce over chicken once or twice during baking.

Notes

The breading can be left off the chicken if you want to save time and cut back on the carbs.

A skillet with a non-stick surface is recommended when frying the coated chicken.

Store this in your refrigerator in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days.

Nutritional Data Per Serving Without Breading

Calories: 224 | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 708mg | Potassium: 453mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg | Net Carbs: 1 g | % Carbs: 1.9 % | % Protein: 47.2 % | % Fat: 50.9 % | SmartPoints: 5

Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart

Nutrition

Calories: 338 | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 135mg | Sodium: 825mg | Potassium: 470mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg

Additional Info

Net Carbs: 4 g | % Carbs: 5.4 % | % Protein: 39.5 % | % Fat: 55.1 % | SmartPoints: 8

Values

Array
(
    [calories] => 338
    [carbohydrates] => 22
    [protein] => 29
    [fat] => 18
    [saturated_fat] => 3
    [cholesterol] => 135
    [sodium] => 825
    [potassium] => 470
    [fiber] => 18
    [sugar] => 1
    [vitamin_a] => 124
    [vitamin_c] => 1
    [calcium] => 29
    [iron] => 1
)

Notes on Nutritional Information

Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

Copyright

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