Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

JUMP TO RECIPE

Slow cooker sweet and sour chicken is an easy slow cooker chicken recipe. Diced chicken, pineapple chunks, peppers, an more all smothered in a homemade sweet and sour sauce. This sweet and sour chicken recipe is one of our favorites to serve with a bed of rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken on a silver plate topped with rice and garnished with chopped green onion and sesame seeds.

This is a family favorite and is so easy to throw together in no time. This easy recipe is a slow-cooker sweet and savory style recipe. Make Chinese food at home with everyday ingredients.

Do you love Chinese inspired recipes? Try out my slow cooker beef broccoli as well. Or try out this pineapple pork slow cooker recipe for another sweet and savory recipe.

Table of Contents

Why you’ll love this sweet and sour chicken

One of the best slow cooker recipes
Busy day meal idea
Delicious meal for the whole family
Serve with a bed of white rice
Great recipe to throw together
Popular slow cooker dish

Ingredients for this easy slow cooker chicken recipe

Peppers, pineapple, onion, chicken breast, soy sauce, and other ingredients on a marble countertop.

Chicken Breast – You can use chicken breast, tenderloins or boneless chicken thighs. Diced chicken is key.
Carrots, Peppers, and onion – These are the three veggies used in the crockpot chicken dish. I used a mix of pepper colors.
Pineapple Chunks – Canned pineapple works great for this recipe.
Cornstarch – Cornstarch is the thickening agent to the dish.
Soy Sauce – The base is soy sauce; you can use a low sodium soy sauce if you would like.
Honey – The sweetener in the sauce, you could use agave if needed.
Garlic, Ginger, Chili Paste, Tomato Paste – The base of the sauce is these ingredients. It is going to add lots of flavor.
White Wine Vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce – These two ingredients are the last two for the sauce. Smokey and tangy is what you will get with them.

How To Make Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

The complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.

Collage of creating sweet and sour chicken.

Step One: Place chicken and vegetables in the slow cooker. (Photo 1)

Step Two: Mix up the ingredients in a bowl and then pour it over the chicken. Stir to coat it all. (Photos 2 & 3)

Step Three: Place the lid and cook on low.

Step Four: Remove the chicken and shred or cut up the chicken. Place the chicken back in the crockpot. (Photo 4)

Collage of steps for sweet and sour chicken.

Step Five: Add pineapple juice and cornstarch together and stir in the mixture. This will thicken the sauce. (Photos 5 & 6)

Step Six: Serve over rice an enjoy this sticky chicken recipe.

Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if you want. Or serve it with brown rice instead of white rice.

A plate of sweet and sour chicken topped with rice.

Storage/Freezing/Reheating

Refrigerate – You can refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days in the fridge. Just make sure the chicken is in an airtight container.

Freezing – You are also welcome to freeze this dish as well. Just place in a freezer container and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Then thaw in the fridge the night before.

Reheating – So for reheating, you can warm up the chicken in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove. If you heat it up on the stove, then make sure to stir often to prevent burning.

Possible Substitutions/Additions

You can sweeten with brown sugar instead of honey if you would like.
Use all green bell peppers or do a mix of red bell pepper and orange or red and a green bell pepper. It is your choice.
Add in a can of drained water chestnuts.
Leave out the pineapple if you would like to not have it in the chicken mixture.
Drain the chunks of pineapple when you put it in the crockpot. You will use the juice for later.
This is a sticky sauce, so once the cornstarch goes in, it takes a bit to thicken. Takes about another 30 minutes in the cooking process.

Recipe FAQs

What is sweet and sour Chinese chicken made of?

Chinese chicken is made with chicken, peppers, pineapple, an a homemade sweet and sour sauce. The dish uses basic everyday pantry ingredients.

Is sweet and sour chicken the same as orange chicken?

Orange chicken offers a sweet and tangy flavor that offers a citrus flavor. Whereas sweet and sour is more sweet with a hint of sour and more of a pineapple flavor.

Why is sweet and sour sauce red?

So some sweet and sour is red from food coloring. Others are the ingredients just offer that tinge red color. You can always add food coloring to change up the color of the sauce if you want.

Closeup of sweet and sour chicken with rice.

What to serve with sweet and sour chicken

Serve your chicken with white rice, or even try this cilantro lime rice.

Need more dinner recipes? Try these:

Did you make this recipe? Or any other delicious recipes on my site? If so, please leave a ★★★★★ star rating and drop a 📝 comment below! Ensure you’re not missing a thing; you can follow along with me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter! For more easy, delicious homemade recipes!