My Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken Bowl has super crispy chicken, vibrant vegetables and a homemade sweet, sawaki sauce! I love making this recipe on busy weekday nights. The sweet and sour sauce is very tasty and requires only a few ingredients. Bonus, my kids love this recipe too!
The whole meal in one bowl: Stir the peppers and onions when the chicken is empty and serve it in the rice. Super Crispy Chicken: I’ve been making recipes for air fryers for many years and this is one of my favorites! I love every opportunity to make extra crunchy chicken (no fried food!), but this one seriously kills. Throw the chicken in my amazing sweet and sour sauce and enjoy. Tastes like takeaway: I love sweet and sour chicken, but I don’t always love the ingredient list when I order for takeaway. My sweet and sour sauce for this recipe is naturally sweetened with honey and orange marmalade, and I add a bit of spice in a chili garlic sauce (Sriracha works too!).
Characteristics
Chicken: I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breast in this recipe, but boneless, skinless thighs work too. Panko Bread Crumbs: Panko helps to give extra crunch to chicken crumbs when air fryed. Orange Marmalade: My Secret Sauce Ingredients! It gives this sweet and sour chicken an amazing sweet flavour, and also makes the sauce a little thicker. Cornstarch Slurry: Slurry is important for thickening the sauce! Don’t want to use cornstarch? Just omit it, but know that the sauce will be a little thinner. Chili Garlic Sauce: contrast sweet marmalade and honey with a bit of chili garlic sauce (sriracha works too!). I like to lighten the spices a little bit when serving this to kids. Rice Vinegar: Add the perfect “sour” flavor to balance the sweetness of the sauce.
Find the complete list of ingredients in the recipe cards below.
How to make sweet and sour chicken with an air fryer
Prepare the sauce: Add all the ingredients in the sauce to a small pan and simmer. Place the cornstarch slurry in another bowl and add it to the simmering sauce and stir-fry the vegetables. Add the chopped vegetables in a frying pan with sesame oil and cook for 5-7 minutes. Prepare the chicken: drough the chicken through flour, then egg wash, and panko. This order of operations helps the panding to fully enhance the special sticks on the chicken (super crispy chicken is produced after air fried!). Fry the chicken: Make sure the chicken chunks are not touching and fry to crispy perfection. Throw the chicken in a sweet, sour sauce. Assemble it in a bowl and have fun!
Find the complete recipe instructions in the recipe cards below.
Provide suggestions
My instant pot white rice recipe is a great choice! It makes the perfect meal every time. Just make a batch of rice in an instant pot while preparing the rest of these bowls. It’s easy.
Storage Instructions
Store this air fryer sweet and sour chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to warm up chicken and vegetables in an air fryer. The microwave also works!
Easier Air Fryer Recipes
Start by preparing a sweet, sour sauce. Add honey, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, orange marmalade and chili garlic sauce to the pan. Bubble and combine. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium/high heat. Lower the heat and simmer.
In another bowl, make a cornstarch slurry and whisk together the cornstarch and warm water. Once the cornstarch has melted, pour the mixture into a pan. Whisk the slurry into a sweet, sour sauce. It should start to thicken quite quickly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Prepare the vegetables by heating the sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium/high heat. Add onion and chili peppers to the oil and season with salt. Fry for 5-7 minutes or until you reach the desired texture. Cover and remove from the heat.
Next, prepare the chicken. In three separate bowls, add one flour, add the eggs to the second, and the panko bread crumbs and salt to the third bowl.
Drink the chicken through flour, eggs and panko. Make sure it is completely coated. Set aside and repeat until all the chicken is coated.
Transfer the chicken to an air fryer and spray with avocado oil. Make sure the chicken is not crowded. Cook at 400º for 5-8 minutes (depending on the type of air fryer you are using), or until the chicken is golden and crispy. You may need to cook the chicken in batches. Looking for an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Transfer cooked chicken to a large bowl and toss in sauce until coated. Serve chicken and peppers on rice or yourself.
I used orange marmalade, but it can be replaced with any type of jam. Note that using another fruit will change the flavor of the sauce. An option to replace orange marmalade with orange juice. Note that you may need to add a little more cornstarch to thicken the sauce.
calorie: 449 kcal, carbohydrates: 63 g, protein: 32 g, fat: 8 g, fiber: 2 g, sugar: 35 g
Nutrition information is calculated automatically and should only be used as an approximation.
Photo: The photos taken in this post are from Erin from a wooden frying pan.
