Sweet and Sour Chicken Meal Prep
Chicken, bell peppers, and onion tossed in a homemade sweet and sour sauce, no deep frying, no artificial red dye, just proper sticky sauce over golden seared chicken. Served with fluffy basmati rice.
Fry the vegetables first and set them aside so they keep some bite, then sear the chicken hard in the same pan before bringing everything back together with the sauce. Simmer just until it thickens and clings, that’s what gives you the proper glossy stir-fry finish instead of a watery sauce.
This portions up well for meal prep, keep it in the fridge in airtight containers and reheat gently in a pan or microwave until hot through.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Meal Prep
CHICKEN · MEAL PREP · MEDIUM
Homemade beats takeaway every time
This sauce comes together from pantry staples, soy sauce, pineapple juice, honey, and vinegar, no artificial colouring and no deep fryer required. It's genuinely just as good as the takeaway version.
Cooking the vegetables and chicken separately before bringing them back together keeps the peppers and onion from turning soft and watery. Everyone gets proper texture, not just sauce-flavoured mush.
It's a genuinely solid meal prep option too, three simple components, portions cleanly into containers, and reheats well without the rice going gluggy or the sauce breaking.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Meal Prep
Ingredients
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- ½ Cup (125ml) - Light Soy Sauce
- ⅓ Cup (80ml) - Pineapple Juice
- 4 Tbsp Tbsp (80g) - Honey
- 2 Tbsp (40ml) - Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tbsp (40g) - Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp (40g) - Tomato Ketchup
- 2 Tbsp (12g) - Tbsp Corn Flour or Corn Starch
- 4 - Garlic Cloves, Minced
- 15g (0.53oz) - Ginger, Peeled & Minced
Sweet and Sour Chicken
- 2 ½ Tbsp (50ml) - Grapeseed Oil, Divided
- 1.4kg (3.09lbs) - Chicken Breast or Thigh, Diced
- 3 - Bell Peppers (Capsicums), Large Diced (Any Colour Is Fine)
- 1 - Brown (Yellow) Onion, Sliced
- Seasoning To Taste
Rice
- 300g (10.58oz) - Basmati Rice, Washed
- 600g (600ml) - Cold Water
- Salt To Taste
Method
- Slice the chicken breast into even-sized diced pieces. Slice and dice the bell peppers (capsicums), slice the onion and grate the garlic and ginger. Add the bell peppers and onion together.
- In a bowl, add all the sauce ingredients and whisk. Set aside.
- Add the oil to a large pan or wok over medium-high heat, add in the oil and fry the bell pepper and onion mix for 4 minutes or until soft. Remove from the pan.
- Place the same pan back over medium-high, add in the oil and fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes or until lightly golden. Add in vegetables and mix well.
- Add in the sweet and sour sauce, mix well, bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes or until thick. Sprinkle over sesame seeds (optional), check seasoning and remove from heat. Portion into airtight containers. Dig in.
Basmati Rice
- Place the rice, water and salt to taste in a saucepan over high heat. Bring it to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave the lid on for 4 minutes, then fluff with a fork or spatula.
Can I use pineapple chunks instead of just the juice?⌄
Yes, stir in a handful of chopped pineapple chunks along with the sauce for extra texture and bursts of sweetness. Fresh or tinned both work well.
What can I substitute for grapeseed oil?⌄
Any neutral, high smoke point oil works, vegetable, canola, or peanut oil are all good options for the high heat this recipe needs.
How do I keep the chicken from turning rubbery?⌄
Don't overcrowd the pan when you sear it, and don't let it simmer in the sauce longer than needed to thicken. Overcooking is what makes stir-fried chicken go tough.
Can I make the sauce ahead of time?⌄
Yes, whisk it together and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days ahead. Give it a good stir before adding it to the pan since the cornflour can settle.
i could make batches of this and eat it for lunch for the rest of the week lol ~
Haha its the best way to do it.
Love this one, my absolute favorite! Doing meal-prep since a few months and I really appreciate your work here! Keep going 🙂
Great to hear. Glad you’ve been enjoying it. Thank you.
what is the size of the food container are you using?
They’re 750ml
Im an absolute fan of your recipes and videos! Makes cooking easy, delicious and nutritious. Sometimes making these large portions is difficult if you don’t have a large pan and a gas stove, it would be really cool to see a recipe that makes a big batch like this but uses the oven instead to bake the protein. 😊😊
Hi, Bruno. Thank you so much for that. I’ll see what I can come up with for future recipes.
Usually not a big fan of sweet sour pork/chicken, but this version is awesome.
Thinking about starting a meal prep club at work, and your recipes will be my go-to.
This is a great combination. Glad you enjoyed it
Absolutely love every single one of your recipes. I have struggled with trying to scale a single recipe into 5 or 7 meals but realized that just multiplying stuff doesn’t work. I appreciate your content a lot for measuring everything (including the caloric information) and all the advice you give out during cooking that makes me learn more and more about the art of cooking. You’re the best Jack!
Thank you very much! Im so glad the recipes are helpful to you and youve been enjoying them.
This looks amazing! I need to try this one 👌
Thank you