Healthy Sweet & Sour Chicken is grilled to perfection, making this healthy yet keeping the authentic taste of this classic favorite Chinese take-out dish.
I have mentioned on numerous occasions how much our family loves Chinese take-out. My kids love Sweet & Sour Chicken, really they love any Chinese chicken that is coated with a yummy sauce. While I love Sweet & Sour Chicken too I just never order it because it is so unhealthy, being fried and loaded with sugar. But yesterday I was craving it bad! Like I could taste it by just thinking of it, kind of craving.
So, since our summer theme is the “summer of the kabobs” I tried to give it whirl and bring a family favorite to the grill. Making this recipe healthier and a whole lot tastier.
Enjoy from our grill to yours, Healthy Sweet & Sour Chicken.
XOXO San
How do you make Healthy Sweet & Sour Chicken?
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Mix rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup, and apple cider vinegar in a medium mixing bowl and stir together until well combined.
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Place chicken breasts in marinade, cover, and let it marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours. I make it in the morning and let the chicken sit in a Ziplock bag with the marinade until dinner.
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If you are using metal skewers skip this part, if you are using wood skewers follow the directions below. I know there is a debate about whether or not to soak your skewers and to each their own. But I soak mine, I have found that I get fewer wood pieces in the chicken and they don’t go up in flames.
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I completely soak my skewers for 30 minutes, sometimes accidentally longer. Make sure the entire stick is completely dredged in water. Once they have soaked, remove and start to assemble the skewers.
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Take the chicken and one piece at a time, lace them through the skewer starting at the larger end of the chicken. You can also just slide the entire tender on the skewer if you’d like.
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After adding one piece of chicken, add 2 pieces of purple onion, 1 red pepper piece, and another piece of chicken. Repeat the process until the skewer is full. Set kabob on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken, onions, and peppers. Keep the remaining marinade, and baste chicken on grill while it is cooking.
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Heat gas or charcoal grill. Place chicken on grill over medium heat. Cover grill and cook 3 minutes, then turn over the kabob, baste with remaining marinade and cook another 3 minutes. At this point check the chicken. To know if the chicken is done the juices should be clear and the center of thickest part is cut (170°F). If not done, continue to cook, at this point, I leave the lid open and just turn the kabobs so they are cooked evenly on both sides. My chicken takes about 8-10 minutes.
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Remove from grill and serve immediately with brown or white rice, or cover with foil and serve later. Enjoy!
Looking for more baked chicken take out recipes? Try my Baked Orange Chicken, Baked Chicken Wontons, and Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders.
Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board to save for later!
Healthy Sweet & Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenders or chicken breast sliced into tenders
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons ketchup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 red pepper chopped into large chunks
- 1 purple onion quartered and then each quarter halved
- 2 cups brown rice cooked and prepared by package directions
Instructions
Marinade
- Mix rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup, and apple cider vinegar in a medium mixing bowl and stir together until well combined.
- Place chicken breasts in marinade, cover, and let it marinade in the fridge for 1-2 hours. I make it in the morning and let the chicken sit in a Ziplock bag with the marinade until dinner.
Kabobs
- If you are using metal skewers skip this part, if you are using wood skewers follow the directions below. I know there is a debate whether or not to soak your skewers and to each their own. But I soak mine, I have found that I get less wood pieces in the chicken and they don’t go up in flames.
- I completely soak my skewers for 30 minutes, sometimes accidentally longer. Make sure the entire stick is completely dredge in water. Once they have soaked, remove and start to assemble the skewers.
- Take the chicken and one piece at a time, lace them through the skewer starting at the larger end of the chicken. You can also just slide the entire tender on the skewer if you’d like.
- After adding one piece of chicken, add 2 pieces of purple onion, 1 red pepper piece, and another piece of chicken. Repeat the process until skewer is full. Set kabob on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken, onions and peppers. Keep the remaining marinade, and baste chicken on grill while it is cooking.
- Heat gas or charcoal grill. Place chicken on grill over medium heat. Cover grill and cook 3 minutes, then turn over the kabob, baste with remaining marinade and cook another 3 minutes. At this point check the chicken. To know if the chicken is done the juices should be clear and the center of thickest part is cut (170°F). If not done, continue to cook, at this point I leave the lid open and just turn the kabobs so they are cooked evenly on both sides. My chicken takes about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from grill and serve immediately with brown or white rice, or cover with foil and serve later. Enjoy!
Notes
I’ll be making this recipe tonight. I was wondering when you use the granulated garlic, pepper & salt?
Looking for when you add garlic. Assuming it’s in marinade.????
Just what I was looking for. Added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Because.
Question on nutrition numbers (specifically carbs). Does this number include all that sugar in the marinade? All of which is not consumed; in fact, a lot will be left depending. I cut out 2 T anyway; we’ll see how that works out.
Thanks