Name: Sweet and Sour Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/3 cup white vinegar; 2/3 cup water; 2 1/2 tablespoons ketchup; 3 tablespoons cornstarch; 2 tablespoons water

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The Best Sweet and Sour Sauce, only 5 ingredients and ready in minutes!

Anyone else a huge sweet and sour sauce fan? You need to try this recipe!

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Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce

Sweet and sour sauce is something you need in your recipe arsenal. Not only is it delicious, it is very versatile and you can use it many different ways!

Use it as a dipping sauce for cream cheese wontons, a glaze for grilled chicken, or even with tempura veggies. I even like to dip my teriyaki beef sticks in it when getting takeout!

How about a fun appetizer of sweet and sour glazed meatballs, perfect for game day!

Sweet and sour chicken is obviously a huge staple at your local Chinese Restaurant and this is definitely the perfect copycat!

Sweet and tangy and thickened with a cornstarch slurry, you will totally impress your guests with this one!

Take me to the recipe for Sweet and Sour Sauce already!

Thank you so much for your eagerness to view my recipe.

If you would rather not hear my super helpful tips and tricks, FAQ, and my overall awesomeness and get straight to this delicious Sweet and Sour Sauce – you can very easily scroll all the way to the bottom of this post for the full printable FREE recipe! Bon appetit.

How to make Sweet and Sour Sauce:

In a small saucepot, heat the vinegar, water, and sugar.

Whisk continuously until sugar is melted then in add the ketchup.

Mix the cornstarch and water together to form a slurry in a small bowl.

Bring vinegar mixture to a slow boil. Pour in the cornstarch slurry slowly while continuously whisking to make sure there are no lumps.

Stir until thickened, about 30 seconds. Take off the heat.

Eat up!

This homemade sweet and sour sauce is so delicious, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make it sooner!

A little note of warning. This is a sauce made with a lot of sugar, when it gets hot, melted sugar will burn you worse than regular liquid.

While stirring this sauce and it is boiling, be extremely careful. If the sauce seems like it is boiling too hard and it starts to “pop” from boiling, take it off the heat until it cools slightly.

Better to be safe!

Is sweet and sour sauce gluten free?

This recipe uses no flour or gluten in it! The thickener is cornstarch.

How to thicken sweet and sour sauce?

Use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce plus a little time boiling.

Sweet and Sour Recipe Alternatives and Add-Ons:

This is a super simple sauce with only five ingredients. You can still make it your own by adding a few things!

A few dashes of hot sauce or sriracha would be SO good. Or, even some sweet chili paste would go wonderfully in this sauce.

Or, even a pinch of chili flakes or star anise would be good too! Add a dash of Chinese 5 spice for an unexpected twist.

More yummy Asian inspired sauce recipes:

A Sweet Sour Sauce perfect for dipping!

Tools used for to make Sweet and Sour Sauce:

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4.54 from 13 votes

Sweet and Sour Sauce

The Best Sweet and Sour Sauce, only 5 ingredients and ready in minutes!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time10 mins

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: homemade sweet and sour sauce, how to make sweet and sour sauce, sweet and sour sauce, sweet and sour sauce recipe, sweet sour sauce

Servings: servings

Calories: 121kcal

Ingredients

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons ketchup

Cornstarch Slurry

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Instructions

In a small saucepot, add the sugar, vinegar, and water. Place over medium heat, whisking constantly until sugar is melted. Add the ketchup whisk to combine.
In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Bring the vinegar mixture to a slow boil, slowly stream in the cornstarch slurry while whisking constantly. Cook until thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve.

Notes

Be careful while whisking the cornstarch slurry into the pot. It is extremely hot and if the sauce starts to boil too hard you might get burned. Take off heat immediately if mixture gets too hot where it is boiling hard.

Nutrition

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Dana DeVolk

Dana is a professional Chef turned blogger, recipe developer, food photographer, cookbook author, brand ambassador, local tv personality, and more! Her passion is writing about food and posting recipes while offering tips and tricks of the trade. She lives in Florida with her Hubby and fur babies. Interested in working with Dana? Email her at [email protected]