This EASY Paleo Gluten Free Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken tastes exactly like takeout but is secretly sugar/grain/dairy/gluten free and whole30 compliant!
PIN Paleo Gluten Free Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
I warned you.
I told you in yesterdays paleo low carb keto beef and broccoli and Monday’s gluten free healthy sesame chicken that MORE Asian whole30 recipes were coming to a face near you (your face) this week.
Don’t worry, we’ll chill out tomorrow. I just RLY RLY RLY looooooove takeout food.
But, liiike, not the MSG coma that it ALWAYS makes me fall onto the couch in after eating it.
I mean, sometimes it’s TOTALLY worth it. But, if I had it my way, I would drive myself down to the local hole-in-the-wall (mandatory) Asian place and eat it EVERY week. BUT, then I would get ZERO work done because I would waste one day a week in aforementioned MSG coma.
#FirstWorldProblems you hear me?
The solution? Make HOMEMADE sweet and sour chicken that RIVALS the hole-in-the-wall place.
You GUYS. I try not to toot my own horn too often, but this sweet n sour chicken is honestly just SO dang good. Even my “healthy food loving” taste buds questioned if one could make sweet sour chicken without any kind of sugar and would pineapple juice REALLY work as the sweetener like in the firecracker pineapple chicken?
Pretty sure my high school English teacher rolled in his grave at that run-on sentence.
Also, he is not dead (that I know of) but that just felt like the right phrase to use. You understand.
Anyway. HOLY MOLY, it WORKS. And it works DELICIOUSLY.
How do you make sweet and sour sauce?
Typically, sweet and sour sauce is comprised of sugar (sweet) and a lot of vinegar (sour) with other flavor-bringing ingredients like ketchup and soy sauce.
We’re making paleo gluten free healthy sweet and sour chicken though! So, we’re nixing the sugar in place for naturally sweet pineapple juice and the ketchup for tomato paste and some usual ketchup seasoning suspects.
How to make sweet and sour chicken
- Stir fry your peppers and ginger in a large pan.
- Add all the sauce ingredients we just talked about and bring them to a boil.
- Once boiling, add in the tapioca starch and boil just a FEW minutes more. You want the sauce super shiny and sticky, but not gummy! Transfer to a bowl to keep warm.
- Coat your chicken in tapioca starch (this makes it SUPER crispy!) and fry it in two Tbsp of avocado oil.
- Mix with your sauce and pineapple and DEVOUR!
See? Such an easy sweet and sour chicken recipe. You cannot mess it up.
Unless you use the wrong oil, that is. DUH DUH DUHH.
What can I use instead of avocado oil?
If you don’t have avocado oil, you’ll want to use another oil with a high smoke point like grapeseed oil. Do NOT use olive oil or it will burn, and your sweet and sour chicken will be NO GOOD.
Then you’ll just have to end up getting takeout, which will end in MSG coma land and that just defeats our whole purpose YA KNOW?
Do you have your chopsticks ready?
Don’t worry, if you’re a fork-kinda-person, this is a judgment free zone.
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Paleo Orange Chicken
Mango Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice
Bacon Cauliflower Fried Rice
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 tsp Avocado oil
- 1/2 Large red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Fresh ginger, minced
- 3/4 Cup Pineapple juice
- 1/2 Tbsp White vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp Tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp Onion powder
- 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Tapioca starch
- Sea salt
For the chicken:
- 3 Tbsp Tapioca starch
- Sea salt
- 1/2 Lb Pasture-raised chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 Tbsp Avocado oil
- 1/2 Cup Pineapple tidbits, drained
- Hot cooked cauliflower rice
- Green onion, for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil (for the sauce) in a large pan on medium heat. Add in the ginger and pepper and cook until the pepper just begins to soften, about 2 minutes.
- Whisk together all the remaining sauce ingredients except the starch and salt. Pour into the pan and turn the heat to medium/high. Bring a boil.
- Once boiling whisk the 1 tsp of starch with 2 tsp of the hot sauce in a separate small bowl until smooth. While constantly stirring, pour the tapioca mixture back into the pan and stir until combined. Boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens, reduces and is very shiny, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cover to keep warm. Season with salt to taste.
- Place the tapioca starch and a pinch of salt in a large zip-loc bag. Add in the chicken and toss until coated.
- Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil up in a large frying pan over medium high heat. add in half the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Once cooked, transfer to a paper towel lined plate and blot off any excess oil. Repeat with remaining oil and chicken.
- Transfer chicken to the bowl with the sauce and add in the pineapple. Stir until well coated.
- Serve over cauliflower rice with green onion and sesame seeds.
- DEVOUR!
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: FREESTYLE POINTS: 9 POINTS+: 10. OLD POINTS: 10
(per 1/2 the recipe)
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C I make this in the crockpot?
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely make this recipe in a crockpot, but you’ll need to make some adjustments to the cooking process.
You can put the sauce and the raw chicken directly into the crockpot after preparing. For the pineapple, you have two options: add the pineapple tidbits along with the chicken, or wait and add them in the last half-hour or so of cooking to maintain more fruit texture.
Then, all you have to do is cook everything in the crockpot on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1.5-2 hours. Keep an eye on it, as cooking times may vary depending on your crockpot.
Enjoy your crockpot version of this delicious recipe!