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    Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken (Crockpot)

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    This Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken is so easy and BIG on flavor! The crockpot makes it juicy and moist, with extra sauce for serving over rice. With VIDEO.

    slow cooker sweet and sour chicken in crockpot

    I’m going to try to refrain from going on and on and on about my love for slow cookers.

    I feel like I’ve probably done that somewhere before… just like I’ve also whined to you about how difficult it can be to get dinner on the table these days.

    Another thing I love? CanadiAsian food.

    I’m not ever going to claim I know anything about actual Asian/Chinese cuisine, but based on my limited experiences in restaurants in Manitoba, this is how we do our slow cooker sweet and sour chicken!

    This crockpot sweet and sour chicken is a hit with the family, especially because it’s loaded with enough chunks of pineapple that they forget about all those peppers 😉

    We love sweet and sour sauce on everything.

    And I love coming home to a perfectly cooked meal, or just calmly sipping a late afternoon cup of coffee instead of slaving over the stove like I ought to be.

    slow cooker sweet and sour chicken on blue plate

    If you’re like me and you’re looking for even more easy slow cooker meals, check out these Easy Crockpot Meals, this Italian Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes, or these Crockpot Chicken and Noodles!

    How to make this slow cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken:

    1. Put your chicken in the slow cooker (so far, so good, right??)
    2. Add your pineapple, vegetables and sauce.
    3. Turn on your crockpot.
    4. Grab a cup of coffee and watch your dinner make itself. Pretty great, right?!

    Variations on this crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken:

    The cooking time with this can vary for a lot of reasons. How full your slow cooker is, how hot your slow cooker is, the size of your pieces, etc. Here are some tips to slow down or speed up the cooking process.

    • Cook slower: If you’re looking to leave the chicken in a long time (8 hours or so), try putting the breasts in whole. A whole chicken breast will always take longer to cook, but that might be something you want if your slow cooker is less full and you need to leave the chicken in for quite a while. Back in the day before I knew the “rules”, I used to put the chicken in frozen when I worked out of the house all day. This isn’t generally recommended, but I’ve done it quite a few times and am still around to tell the tale 😉
    • Cook faster: You can always cut the chicken into smaller pieces to cook more quickly, or make this recipe on the stove top. Simply brown the chicken, and pour the sauce over to simmer and thicken until the chicken is fully cooked. Dinner will be ready in no time!

    crockpot sweet and sour chicken on plate

    Tools you’ll need for making this sweet and sour chicken recipe:

    • I love my 2.5 quart Crockpot for this recipe because it’s just the right size and because it fills nicely, my chicken doesn’t become dry or overcooked. You can absolutely use a larger slow cooker, just keep in mind that a crockpot that is less full will cook a little more quickly.
    • You definitely don’t need them, but if you find yourself short on clean up time, throw in a slow cooker liner and skip the scrubbing!

    Looking for more slow cooker meals?

    slow cooker sweet and sour chicken on blue plate
    Print Pin Recipe

    Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

    {Slow Cooker} Sweet and Sour Chicken: the perfect crockpot meal to come home to after a long day! Great served over rice or noodles.
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 8 hours
    Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 363kcal
    Author Ashley Fehr

    Ingredients

    • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces (Or use thighs)
    • 1 can pineapple chunks (398ml)
    • 1 red pepper diced
    • 1 green pepper diced
    • 1 1/4 cups sugar
    • 1 cup vinegar
    • 1/2 cup ketchup
    • 2 tbsp soy sauce
    • 3 tbsp corn starch
    • 1 tsp minced garlic
    • 1/2 tsp minced ginger

    Instructions

    • Place chicken, pineapple and peppers in a 2.5-4 quart slow cooker.
    • Combine sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, corn starch and garlic and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 1.5-2 hours.
    • *If needed, you can stir together 1-2 tbsp additional corn starch and water to thicken the sauce.
    • Serve over cooked rice or noodles.

    Video

    Nutrition (this is an estimate)

    Nutrition Facts
    Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 363 Calories from Fat 18
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 2g3%
    Cholesterol 48mg16%
    Sodium 608mg26%
    Potassium 547mg16%
    Carbohydrates 67g22%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 60g67%
    Protein 17g34%
    Vitamin A 865IU17%
    Vitamin C 52.1mg63%
    Calcium 27mg3%
    Iron 0.9mg5%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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    Comments

    2. Made this tonight and it was delicious! I realized that I didn’t have vinegar when I got home, so I added some sweet Thai chili sauce I had and cut back on the sugar. Definitely making this again and not just during the summer.

      Reply

    3. 5 stars
      I’ve had Sweet & Sour Chicken in restaurants and have gotten take-out, but hadn’t cooked it … until now. I love my slow cooker and with your recipe it turned out so yummy. I served it over what we call “sticky rick” here in Hawaii. It was a big hit and I’ll be making it many more times. THANKS!!

      Reply

      • Thanks Celeste! You technically could, but I would worry about the chicken being overdone. I would definitely use whole chicken breasts if you are going to leave it for a longer period of time, but I still wouldn’t go longer than 6-8 hours for best results. I hope that helps!

        Reply

    6. Made for the first time and the hubby is already asking for it again! Will be a recipe I keep handy! Thanks!!

      Reply

      • Thanks Alice! I can’t get enough of it! To be totally honest, tomorrow will be the 3rd day in a row that we’ve had supper in the slow cooker!

        Reply

    15. 5 stars
      Oh how I love my slow cooker. I’ve got some soup in there cooking away for me right now! This sweet and sour chicken sounds amazing, i will definitely be adding this recipe into our weekly rotation. Have the best Thanksgiving tomorrow friend!

      Reply

      • Thanks Natalie! I had my (Canadian) Thanksgiving 6 weeks ago, but I actually have the day off for a doctor’s appointment, so it will almost feel like a holiday anyway! Lol.

        Reply

    16. 5 stars
      I am with you, I love any type of Asian inspired food. I was intimidated by it for a long time because I wasn’t sure how to use those ingredients well but after playing around with it we have some great Asian type dishes in our rotation! I love that this is a slow cooker recipe. I find that since it is dark by four now I am so useless at night. I get nothing done after work! I need lots of good slow cooker recipes for these dreary winter days!

      Reply

      • I think it’s mostly because I love sugar in everything…. and the whole sweet and sour thing totally works for me. Lol. I think being 8 and a half months pregnant has really made me resent making supper… so I use my slow cooker a LOT! I’d much rather be baking (and eating!) chocolate!

        Reply

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