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Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken (Crockpot)

written by Ashley Fehr

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4.98 from 34 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings 6 servings

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Published on April 22, 2019 / Last updated on January 11, 2021

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 with pineapple and peppers

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 white rice on blue plate overhead

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 close up on grey marble

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?

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Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

written by Ashley Fehr

4.98 from 34 votes
{Slow Cooker} Sweet and Sour Chicken: the perfect crockpot meal to come home to after a long day! Great served over rice or noodles.
slow cooker sweet and sour chicken on blue plate
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Main Course
Servings 6 servings
Calories 363cal

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
  • 3/4 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, garlic and ginger 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.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 363cal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 608mg | Potassium: 547mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 60g | Vitamin A: 865IU | Vitamin C: 52.1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.9mg

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Hi Edel, it’s 1 and 1/4 cups of sugar. For future reference, if it was just 1/4 it would be written just like the other ingredients in the recipe. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  2. Jan says

    I love the corn starch coating that’s on the chicken. Can I put the corn starch coating on the chicken peices and brown them before I put them in crock pot. I know it will be more work , but I do love that coating.
    I have try quiet a few of your recipes and liked every one of.them, maybe that’s why when I’m looking for something new to try I look up your recipes first.
    Keep up with the great recipes, love them
    Thank you and God bless

    Reply

    • The Recipe Rebel says

      Hi Jan! Thank you so much for your kind words! I haven’t tried it this way, so I am not sure how the chicken would turn out. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes.

      Reply

      • Ll says

        Put in crockpot at noon. It’s 4pm and I did a quick tasge test that turned into about 5 taste tests. Delicious!

  4. Leslie Myers says

    Hi!
    I have this in my crock pot right now
    However was not sure if I should have added the pineapple juice?
    Can you please let me know and then clarify in the directions?
    Thank you so much
    My husband will be the test if I will use this again
    I have my fingers crossed as it smells great!

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      Great recipe! I ended up using half brown and half white sugar. I also put a bit more corn starch towards the end just to make the sauce a bit thicker. Delicious!! Everyone enjoyed it, even the picky eaters around here 😊

      Reply

  5. Diane in WI says

    Made this tonight just to recipe and loved it! my picky husband told me he will definitely have it again.

    Reply

  6. Frances Daku says

    My husband is brutally honest when it comes to my cooking. And he has never loved something I’ve made so much as this. He said it tasted like the restaurant 🙌🏼 I did stove top. And Instead of canned pineapple chunks, I threw in a bag of pineapple that I had previously cut up and froze. I let it thaw before using it, and it created a delicious juice as it thawed and the pineapple was the perfect soft consistency to soak up the oh so delicious sauce. I also had my chicken coated in flour. I loved how easy it was to make as well. Thanks for the amazing recipe!

    Reply

  7. Chery says

    We tried this recipe just as it was and we loved it. Now that we’re retired we love our crock pot. We had plenty of leftovers for the week. Thanks again. Old but not out.

    Reply

  10. Rachel Goldstein says

    Can I use pre-made sweet and sour sauce, and let it cook for the same time in the recipe? As well as using fresh pineapple instead of canned?

    Reply

  12. Rosita says

    I’m an American teacher living in China, and boy do I miss Western-style Chinese food. Authentic Chinese cuisine is an acquired taste. I tried this recipe exactly as written in my slow cooker on low for 4 hours with diced thighs and it was delicious. The sauce was so good and there’s plenty of it. I served it over white rice. It makes a lot for one and now I have yummy leftovers. Thank you for this great recipe.

    Reply

      • Bryan Coates says

        HELP! HELP! I have newly become the chief cook and bottle washer in my house due to my wife’s disability and peppers of any kind or color have not been allowed in the cooking, or in the house, although I love them. So many recipes call for peppers, I have substituted celery, but I need your ideas about what else I can try! I’m so anxious to try your sweet and sour chicken in my slow cooker.

  13. Sarah says

    Have you tried mango chunks instead of pineapple? I hope to make this this week but don’t have any pineapple. I have pineapple juice, so was thinking to use some juice with mango chunks. Would that work?

    Reply

    • Brenda F. says

      I recently made this for dinner, mostly because I had some bell peppers that needed to be used up. Was I ever pleasantly surprised! This was so very yummy!!! My limited abilities with prepping foods for meals really forces me to simplify as much as possible. So when I came across this recipe, I was elated. Even my husband just had to comment favorably.

      I have one question tho … I’d like to know your thoughts on using chili sauce in place of ketchup?

      Reply

      • The Recipe Rebel says

        Hi Brenda! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review! You could probably use chili sauce, it’s just not something I’ve tried before. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!

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