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Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken
Air fryer sweet and sour chicken is so easy to make and ready in just 15 minutes. This healthy sweet and sour chicken is gluten free, paleo and better than takeout. The homemade sweet and sour sauce is tangy, sweet and so easy to make.
Cut the chicken into 1-1.5 inch chunks. Add the chicken to a bowl and add arrowroot powder and salt. Stir well.
Add the chicken to the air fryer and spray with olive oil or avocado oil.
Cook the chicken in the air fryer at 375F for 14 minutes.
Chop the bell peppers into bite size pieces. Chop the green onion.
After 7 minutes, pause the air fryer and shake the chicken. Spray with olive oil or avocado oil and ad the bell peppers on top. Cook 5-7 more minutes at 375F.
While the chicken is cooking, make the sweet and sour sauce. Add rice wine vinegar, ketchup, maple syrup, coconut aminos to a small pot. In a bowl combine the water and arrowroot powder. Stir well until the arrowroot is dissolved. Add the arrowroot mixture to the rest of the ingredients in the pot. Cook over medium heat 5-10 minutes until the sauce starts to bubble and thicken. Take off heat when the sauce reaches your desired thickness.
When the chicken is done cooking, add the chicken and bell pepper mixture into a large bowl. Add the drained pineapple chunks to the bowl along with sweet and sour sauce. Stir well.
Serve with rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice and enjoy.
Check out a list of substitutions in the post above. Top tips
I recommend using boneless, skinless chicken thighs over chicken breast because the chicken thighs are more forgiving (they stay juicy and tender even if slightly overcooked). If you are using chicken breast, be sure to keep an eye on them so they don't overcook.
Be sure to cook the chicken to 165F. Overcooking the chicken (especially chicken breast) can dry out the chicken quickly. Start checking the internal temperature around 10 minute mark.
Cut the chicken into similar size pieces to ensure it cooks evenly.
To make the chicken crispy on the outside, be sure to spray them with olive oil or avocado oil spray (make sure there are no propellants in the spray, that can damage the coating on your air fryer). Spray with olive oil after shaking the basket as well.
If you want super crispy pieces of chicken, do not overcrowd the basket. This may mean that you have to cook the chicken in two batches depending on what size air fryer you have. If you don't care if the chicken gets crispy, you can fill the basket more.
If you want a thicker sweet and sour sauce, add 1 or 2 more teaspoons of arrowroot (start with 1). Be sure to dissolve the arrowroot in water before adding it or it will get clumpy.
Take the sauce off the heat as soon as it reaches your desired thickness or it will continue to thicken. If you have a glass top stove, you have to move the pot off the burner or it will continue to cook even if you turn off the burner.
If you want to have more of a pineapple flavor to the sweet and sour sauce, use the pineapple juice that comes with the canned pineapples instead of water in the sweet and sour sauce.
This recipe as written has a little extra sauce to pour over the rice.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Freezer: Because the peppers will get watery when defrosted, I don’t recommend freezing leftover air fryer sweet and sour chicken.
Reheating leftovers
Microwave – reheat 2-2:30 on high using a microwave safe plate or container.
Stove – add leftover chicken and veggies to a small pot and heat over medium low heat, covered until warmed through. You may need to add a little water as the sauce will start to thicken as it’s being reheated.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Amount per Serving
Calories
376
Fat
7
g
Carbohydrates
42
g
Fiber
2
g
Sugar
27
g
Protein
34
g
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.
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