Healthy Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken

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This keto sweet and sour chicken (complete with sauce!) transforms a takeout favorite into a lighter meal you can enjoy any night of the week! I’ll show you how to make healthy sweet and sour chicken — and the best keto sugar-free sweet and sour sauce — using real food ingredients, so you never have to miss out on this classic dish again. Serve it over cauliflower rice for a complete healthy meal.

This healthier sweet and sour chicken has a similar crispy breading and sweetened sauce like my keto orange chicken recipe, but with a subtle tang and addition of veggies in the sauce. It’s a delicious crowd pleaser you’ll want to add to your healthy Asian recipes collection!

Is Sweet And Sour Chicken Healthy?

Given that mainstream sweet and sour chicken recipes usually include deep fried chicken and sauces with added sugar, it is not a traditionally healthy dish. However, it’s easy to make a sweet and sour chicken recipe healthy with the right ingredient swaps.

For a smooth, sweet, and perfectly saucy meal, I used Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend. Unlike many other sweeteners, this one dissolves effortlessly with the other ingredients, meaning no gritty texture. It’s so good, nobody will know you made a sugar-free sweet and sour sauce!

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Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for healthy sweet and sour chicken, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

Breaded Chicken:

• Chicken Breasts – I use boneless skinless chicken breasts here. Feel free to substitute with chicken thighs if you prefer, or even pre-sliced chicken tenders to cut down a few minutes of prep time.
• Crushed Pork Rinds – This ingredient replaces cornstarch in the traditional recipe and makes healthy crispy sweet and sour chicken. If you have leftover homemade pork rinds, this is the perfect use for them! Otherwise any plain variety of rinds (not cracklings) will work. For a paleo or whole30 option, you can use a different cornstarch substitute, such as arrowroot powder.
• Eggs – Helps the breading adhere to the chicken. Use whole, large eggs.
• Avocado Oil – For shallow frying. Feel free to substitute any neutral cooking oil.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper – For easy seasoning.

VARIATION: Keep it simple and skip the breading.

If you want to do this, you’ll just need the chicken, salt, pepper, and oil for frying.

Sugar-Free Sweet And Sour Sauce:

• Avocado Oil – For sauteing the pepper and garlic.
• Bell Peppers – Other healthy sweet and sour chicken recipes may also use yellow onion and pineapple chunks in their sauces (and you can too), but I kept it simple with just bell peppers. I use yellow and red peppers here, but use your favorite color!
• Garlic – It tastes best fresh, you can also use jarred minced garlic to save time.
• Ketchup – I make my own sugar-free ketchup recipe to keep it keto friendly, but use whatever tomato ketchup you like.
• Water – Thins out the sauce to the perfect consistency.
• Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – My favorite sugar-free and keto sweetener that tastes and dissolved just like powdered sugar! The flavor of this one is the absolute best, but you can swap it with a different powdered sweetener if you prefer (use my sweeteners conversion chart for exact amounts). Just keep in mind that other powdered sugar replacements (and definitely granulated ones) will make the sauce more gritty or give it an aftertaste. Sugar-free honey substitute (or regular honey if that fits your lifestyle) would be a better alternative if you need one.
• Apple Cider Vinegar – Adds a subtle tang to the keto sweet and sour sauce. White vinegar or rice vinegar would also work.
• Coconut Aminos – A delicious and soy-free soy sauce alternative. You can use conventional soy sauce if it fits your lifestyle.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper

How To Make Healthy Sweet And Sour Chicken

This section shows how to make healthier sweet and sour chicken, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Bread chicken. Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. In a small mixing bowl, combined crushed pork rinds, sea salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Dip chicken into egg wash, then into breading mixture to coat evenly. Repeat with all the pieces.

TIP: For best results, pat chicken dry before breading.

This step will help the pork rinds coat the chicken better.

2. Fry. Heat oil in large skillet and cook chicken, until cooked through and golden brown. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Start sauce. Heat oil in a saucepan, and saute garlic and peppers.
4. Thicken. Add sugar-free ketchup, water, powdered Besti, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, sea salt, and black pepper. (Mixture will be thin.) Bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened.

5. Combine. Pour sauce over the chicken. Stir gently to coat, then garnish if desired.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Cover and store any leftover sweet and sour chicken in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• Reheat: For best results, reheat in a hot skillet until heated through. The microwave will work, but the breading would be more soggy.
• Freeze: Flash freeze chicken separately from the sauce, in a single layer on parchment in the freezer. Once solid, transfer to a freezer bag for long-term storage. Freeze sauce separately.

More Healthy Asian Recipes

These Asian inspired recipes come together quickly with easy ingredients, so you can skip the takeout!

Healthy Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Almond Chicken Recipe

Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry

4.91 from 11 votes

Healthy Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken

Healthy keto sweet and sour chicken (with sugar-free sweet and sour sauce) uses easy ingredients for a fresh meal. Just 10 mins prep!

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 4 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Recipe Video

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Ingredients

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Breaded Chicken:

• 2 medium Boneless skinless chicken breasts ▢
• 3 3/4 oz Crushed pork rinds ▢
• 1/4 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper ▢
• 3 large Eggs ▢
• 2 tbsp Avocado oil ▢

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

• 1 tbsp Avocado oil ▢
• 1 cup Bell peppers (diced) ▢
• 2 cloves Garlic (minced) ▢
• 1/4 cup Sugar-free ketchup ▢
• 1/4 cup Water ▢
• 2 tbsp Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend ▢
• 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar ▢
• 1 tbsp Coconut aminos ▢
• 1/4 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

Breaded Chicken:

1. Using a knife, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the crushed pork rinds, sea salt, and pepper.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Dip the cubed chicken pieces into the egg mixture and then into the pork rind mixture, until coated. Set coated pieces aside.

4. Add the avocado oil to a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken to the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, turning halfway to brown all sides. Once chicken is cooked through, remove from skillet and add to a large bowl.

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1. Using a medium saucepan, heat the avocado oil on medium heat. Add the bell peppers and garlic, and saute for 3-5 minutes.

2. Add the remaining sauce ingredients to the saucepan and bring mixture to a boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, until sauce thickens.

Assembly:

1. Pour sauce over top of the chicken and toss to coat.

Last Step: Leave A Rating!

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1/4 of entire recipe

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 375

Fat 24g

Protein 38g

Total Carbs 6g

Net Carbs 5.1g

Fiber 0.9g

Sugar 3.5g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keywords: healthy sweet and sour chicken, keto sweet and sour chicken, keto sweet and sour sauce, sugar-free sweet and sour sauce

Calories: 375 kcal

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