A great homemade sweet and sour sauce is an essential for every recipe collection!
Sweet and sour sauce is a delicious mix of tangy vinegar, sweet sugar, and umami flavors. Once you try this easy version, you’ll never go back to store-bought!
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Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe
- Six ingredients and one step are all it takes to make this sauce.
- Uses just simple pantry ingredients.
- Less than 10 minutes to make!
- A good homemade sauce makes for the perfect dipping sauce.
- Make this multi-purpose sweet and sour sauce and use it for everything from pork stir-fry to shish-kabobs or as a glaze over grilled pineapple!
Ingredients and Variations
All of these ingredients can be switched up to create a signature recipe based on how you plan to use it!
Ketchup – Tomato is at the base of the sweet and sour sauce and ketchup is a great thickener. Tomato paste can also be used if ketchup isn’t available.
Apple Cider Vinegar – Use more or less based on how tangy you want the sweet and sour sauce to be.
Sugar – Brown sugar can be replaced with honey, maple syrup, or a brown sugar substitute like Swerve for a low-carb option.
Soy Sauce – Liquid aminos or coconut aminos can be used interchangeably with soy sauce and have the same flavor, less sodium, and more nutritive value.
Variations – Add a little sriracha, some fresh ginger or minced garlic, or even some red pepper flakes for a little heat! This recipe does not use drops of red food coloring, but you can add a couple of drops for visual aesthetics if you like. Swap corn starch for arrowroot flour.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Whisk together all ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Continue to simmer and whisk until it reaches desired consistency.
Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce Storage
Keep homemade sweet and sour sauce in a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator and use it within a week.
Ways to Use Sweet and Sour Sauce
There’s not enough room to list all the amazing ways you can use homemade sweet and sour sauce, it’s that good!
It’s amazing as a dip for egg rolls, spring rolls, crispy shrimp, dumplings, fried wontons, or a sweet and savory sauce for cocktail meatballs.
Swirl a little into a low-carb egg roll in a bowl, use it as a glaze for sauteed Brussels sprouts, roasted asparagus, or use it as a glaze or marinade for salmon, ribs, or grilled sweet and sour chicken thighs.
Kids love dipping their chicken nuggets and tater tots into it!
More Flavorful Sauces
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar *see note
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Whisk to combine.
- As it starts heating up, keep whisking constantly until it thickens into a sauce consistency. It will thicken as it cools.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dip, Dressing, Sauce, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Amazing. I had some egg rolls in the freezer, and was thinking how much I would enjoy them with sweet and sour sauce. Out of curiosity, I decided to look up how to make it myself. I found this recipe and it was so simple and very delicious. I used the portions you suggested and I am very happy with the result. Thanks for posting. *for those who complain and say they followed the recipe exactly, it does say adjust ingredients to your preferences, so no, you did not. Thank you miss Nagi.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Robert. Definitely goes great with egg rolls!
Have to agree with other comments, I found this sauce way too sharp !! I wish I had read comments first and used simple vinegar instead of the cider vinegar. It did come together very nicely though and was very quick and easy to make. I did combine the cornflour with water first then added it to the sauce so it didn’t go lumpy. I also added pineapple juice instead of the water. I will make it again but try a different vinegar !
Was in a pinch this evening with a chicken breast recipe on a Traeger grill that called for a Mandarin glaze which I didn’t have on hand, or substitute Sweet and Sour which I didn’t have either. However, after a quick search on the inter webs I came upon this Sweet and Sour recipe and realized that…
A. I had the ingredients for the Sweet and Sour recipe.
B. I had the wherewithal to attempt to create it, despite my lack of prowess in the kitchen.
I tell you what, it really saved my bacon! Er, I mean chicken! Likely saved my relationship with my girlfriend as well! Worked out as an excellent glaze on the chicken, and had plenty left over to drizzle over the rice as well.
Will definitely make it again! Thanks!
So glad we could help save your chicken!
Way too sour even after adding a tablespoon of honey. The sauce did not clarify after heating like a Chinese restaurant sauce. This recipe is not close enough to an authentic Sweet and Sour sauce.
Hi K, this recipe is our version of a sweet and sour sauce. You can definitely increase the sweetness if you prefer, try adding some additional brown sugar next time as well. I hope that helps. :)
Yum this was great. I eyeballed everything because I’m lazy and then added a bit more sugar at the end because I love acid more than the rest of folks in my house. Will use this in the future for random dips when we have surprise company.
Yuck! Even after adding a ton of sugar it tastes horrible. I wish I would have read the reviews before making. I used apple cider vinegar. Maybe it was the wrong kind.
I am sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you Rachel. We used cider vinegar so that should have worked for you.
JUst made a sweet and sour sauce, very nice and appropriate because i didn’t have any pineapple juice ! and this recipe didn’t need it, although it is quite sweet !
If I don’t have cornstarch can I use flour?
We haven’t tried this recipe with flour but it should work Angela!
Thank you for the great recipe. Does the sauce need to be refrigerated after it’s made?
Yes, I would!
I had no idea, the recipe for this sauce is so easy!
Can you freeze this? Small family! Lovely sauce.
Hi Caro, we haven’t tried freezing this recipe but I am sure you could! I would just let it defrost completely in the fridge before using, probably overnight.
This is the best sauce! Tried others on the web and this one beats them all. Zesty, full flavor.
I love cooking sauces
We make this ALL the time!! And just go ahead n double it bc the left overs are delish! I also grate lots of fresh ginger n turmeric root!! Overall, so great n easy n you don’t have to be exact, this sweet n sour always turns out wonderful!
Great easy recipe,next time I will just use white vinegar,I found the cider vinegar
Too powerful.
It is an easy recipe,great texture,
Sandra
I used apple cider vinegar and found it too strong as well, so I added more brown sugar.
Definitely way too much vinegar but other than that it was super easy to make.
This was way too tart and strong for my taste. It might be really good if used on meatballs, barbequed meats, etc., but not what I wanted for egg rolls. I think, perhaps, that a lighter vinegar, such as rice vinegar or white vinegar would taste better. Another thing I might do is substitute unsweetened pineapple juice for the vinegar.
I made this recipe and yes it does not look like the sauce you get at the Chinese restaurants, but I just dipped some shrimp into what I made and it was great. To me it was better than what I have ever had, I used to travel a lot for my company and I always wanted Chinese before I left trust me this is bethere than anything that I have had all over the world
Followed exact recipe but, family think it’s too much vinegar. Had to set aside
So easy and quick. Brilliant
Thanks
I followed your ingredients’ measurement and it came out too vinegry