• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Dinner Ebook! Get your copy!

Join the Little Sunny Kitchen email family!

Get our FREE dinners ebook!

  • Meet Diana
  • Favorite Products
  • Videos
  • Learn to Cook

Little Sunny Kitchen

Delicious Recipes for Real Life

  • All Recipes
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Sides
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Pasta
    • Soups & Chilis
    • Desserts
    • Sauces & Dressings
    • Beverages
  • Holiday
    • Christmas
    • Valentine’s
    • Easter
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
  • Method
    • Instant Pot
    • Air Fryer
    • Slow Cooker
    • Oven
    • Stovetop
    • Grill
  • Easy Meals
  • Appetizers
  • Drinks
  • Slow Cooker
  • Air Fryer
  • Restaurant Copycats
  • Summer Faves
Home Recipes By Type Copycat Recipes

Sweet and Sour Sauce

4.9
/5 –
Rate Recipe 7 Comments
Jump to Recipe
  • Share
By: Diana Posted: 10/3/20 Updated: 11/2/21

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce pinnable image

Easy homemade sweet and sour sauce that you can make in just 5 minutes! Make a batch to serve with your favorite Chinese takeout foods, it tastes much better than the store-bought jarred stuff! This is a Panda Express copycat recipe.

A spoon with Sweet and Sour Sauce over a saucepan

Store-bought sweet and sour sauces are way too sweet for me, they usually contain too many unnecessary ingredients, and honestly, I prefer to make my own sweet and sour sauce in just 5 minutes as it tastes so much better!

When I realized that I could make my own homemade Chinese style sweet and sour sauce, I never bought it again! It’s so simple, all you need is a handful of pantry ingredients so I just whip up a jar of this awesome sauce and store it in my fridge for my family to enjoy.

So here’s my recipe for the best ever, silky smooth and beautifully glossy sweet and sour sauce. Try it once, and you’ll never buy it from the store ever again!

Cream cheese rangoons on a platter with sweet and sour dipping sauce

How to Make Sweet and Sour Sauce

First, gather the ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

Sweet and Sour Sauce ingredients
  • Pineapple juice – use juice from a carton, or from a can. Fresh pineapple juice does not work so avoid it.
  • Light brown sugar – can be substituted with granulated sugar, but brown sugar will result in a better flavor here.
  • Vinegar – white vinegar, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar can be used.
  • Ketchup, and Soy sauce.
  • Corn starch slurry – mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water before adding the mixture to the sauce to thicken it.
  • Red food coloring – optional, but adds a lovely authentic color to the sauce.

To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients (except for the cornstarch slurry and food coloring) in a saucepan over medium heat.

Whisk constantly, bring to a boil then add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Cook for 1 more minute or until it’s thickened.

Add the food coloring if using, and whisk well. Remove from heat, and allow it to cool down completely before serving.

A spoon with Sweet and Sour Sauce over a saucepan

Top Tips

  • If the sauce isn’t thick enough, you can add one more tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk it in. But remember, the sauce will thicken even more as it cools down. So only add more cornstarch if the sauce is way too thin.
  • Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
  • The vinegar taste might start fading after a couple of days, so feel free to add a little bit more of vinegar for some tanginess.
  • Serve as a dipping sauce with egg rolls, rangoons, tempura, meatballs, hibachi steak, or drizzle over rice.
Sweet and Sour Sauce in a dip bowl, with egg rolls around it

More Homemade Sauce Recipes

  • Easy ginger sauce – that you find at hibachi restaurants!
  • Yum yum sauce – another hibachi restaurant classic.
  • Bang bang sauce

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe
4.88 from 8 votes
(Click stars to rate!)

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 5 mins
Author: Diana
Print Rate Recipe Email Recipe
Easy homemade sweet and sour sauce that you can make in just 5 minutes! Make a batch to serve with your favorite foods, and it tastes much better than the store-bought jarred stuff!
20 servings
Easy homemade sweet and sour sauce that you can make in just 5 minutes! Make a batch to serve with your favorite foods, and it tastes much better than the store-bought jarred stuff!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup pineapple juice from a carton or can
  • ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
  • ½ cup white or apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch to thicken the sauce (mixed in 2 tablespoons of water)
  • 3 drops red food coloring optional

Instructions

  • In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, and soy sauce.
  • Whisk constantly, bring to a boil then add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Cook for 1 more minute or until it's thickened.
  • Add food coloring if using, whisk well. Allow the sauce to cool down completely before serving.

Notes:

  • Use pineapple juice from a carton or a can, fresh juice won’t work here.
  • If the sauce isn’t thick enough, you can add one more tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk it in. But remember, the sauce will thicken even more as it cools down. So only add more cornstarch if the sauce is way too thin.
  • Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
  • The vinegar taste might start fading after a couple of days, so feel free to add a little bit more of vinegar for some tanginess.
  • Serve as a dipping sauce with egg rolls, tempura, meatballs, hibachi steak, or drizzle over rice.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 34kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 130mg, Potassium: 36mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 15IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 6mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Little Sunny Kitchen

Did You Make This?I love to see what you made! Tag me @LittleSunnyKitchen and hashtag #LittleSunnyKitchen
Pin Recipe Tag on Insta Leave Review

You may also like...

  • Bang Bang Sauce
  • Cream cheese rangoons on a platter with sweet and sour dipping sauce
    Cream Cheese Rangoons
  • A Weck jar with ginger sauce, and a metallic teaspoon
    Ginger Sauce (Benihana copycat)
  • Traditional Bread Sauce
Fried onion bhaji served on a white plate
Previous Post
Crispy Onion Bhaji
Next Post
Rutabaga Fries

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review! Cancel reply

Have a question or just want to say how much you loved the recipe? Leave a rating below, save for later on Pinterest, and share on Facebook. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe!




  1. Penny says

    Posted on 3/11/22 at 03:07

    This is yummy. Add a drop or two of Sesame Oil!

    Reply
  2. Cyndi Froehlich says

    Posted on 3/1/22 at 23:57

    5 stars
    This is the BEST sweet and sour sauce! I will not order sweet and sour when we are out again. I served it w/chicken, rice, pineapple, onion and red bell pepper. I look forward to trying more of your recipes!

    Reply
  3. Kelly says

    Posted on 1/29/22 at 21:18

    Can this be frozen?

    Reply
    • Diana says

      Posted on 1/31/22 at 05:30

      Hi Kelly, yes you can freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

      Reply
  4. Lee Anne Hinsch says

    Posted on 10/26/21 at 04:58

    5 stars
    This is really good!! I don’t like soy sauce, so I only added 1 tablespoon instead of 2 and it is just fine. I mixed the cornstarch with some cold pineapple juice and whisked it till no lumps. I served it with garlic sautéed shrimp and fettuccini. Delish!!

    Reply
    • Diana says

      Posted on 10/26/21 at 05:09

      Awesome! Glad to hear you loved it!

      Reply
  5. Jackie says

    Posted on 3/7/21 at 19:51

    4 stars
    Very tasty. Will make again, but would add 1-2 tsp more of cornstarch.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Meet Diana

Welcome to Little Sunny Kitchen! I'm Diana and I’m here to teach you how to make easy meals that are quick, family-friendly, and delicious!

Read More
Follow on Pinterest for more ideas!
Free ebook!

Download My Free Dinner eBook!


Get my copy!

Free eBook

Download My Free Dinner eBook!

Dinner Tonight

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry in a skillet

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry

Garlic Butter Chicken Tenders

Holding a Chick-Fil-A homemade Sandwich, and waffle fries

Homemade Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich

Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Most Popular

Chocolate Macarons

Penne Arrabbiata

French Fry Seasoning

Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders

Chicken Caesar Wrap

Instant Pot Air Fryer Crockpot Easy Dinners Salads Grilling
Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

As Featured On:

Dinner tonight
Free ebook!

Download My Free Dinner eBook!

Join us and receive new recipes every week! Download our FREE eBook with quick and easy dinner recipes that are family-friendly and delicious.

Back to Top

explore

Recipe Index

Videos

Shop

Cooking Guides

Follow Along on Social:

Join My Free Instant Pot & Air Fryer Facebook Group
Back to Top

About

Contact

Privacy Policy

Accessibility

© 2022 Little Sunny Kitchen
|
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled