Go Back
sweet and sour chicken in a wide horizontal frame in a bowl, glossy red-orange sauce with chunks of chicken bell pepper and pineapple over rice, bright clean light, shallow depth of field, landscape orientation

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and sour chicken with pineapple and bell peppers cooked in a slow cooker.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 12 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs chicken breasts fully thawed before slow cooking
  • 0.5 cup ketchup
  • 0.33 cup pineapple juice
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 bell pepper chunked
  • 1 cup pineapple chunks

Method
 

  1. Place the fully thawed chicken in the slow cooker.
  2. Whisk together the ketchup, pineapple juice, vinegar, and brown sugar, then pour over the chicken.
  3. Cover and cook on low for about 5 and a half hours. Check the thickest chicken pieces with a thermometer and continue only until they reach 165°F and are tender; start checking after 3 hours because thawed breasts may finish before the stated time.
  4. Add the bell pepper and pineapple chunks and cook for another 30 minutes until tender-crisp.
  5. Cube the chicken, stir everything together, and serve over rice.

Notes

Add a cornstarch slurry in the last half hour for that classic glossy texture.
Thaw chicken fully in the refrigerator before beginning. The listed time is a planning estimate; thickness and slow-cooker performance vary.