The Best Sweet and Sour Sauce, only 5 ingredients, and ready in minutes! This a super easy recipe that you can serve alongside some of your favorite meals!
Sweet and Sour Sauce is something you need in your recipe arsenal. Not only is it delicious, but it is also very versatile and you can use it in many different ways!
Use it as a dipping sauce or a glaze stirred into some of your favorite dishes. It’s a great copycat takeout recipe that you can make at home.
Like I said this recipe is super versatile and you can pretty much use it in or with anything that you want to have a sweet and sour taste to it.
Sweet and Sour Chicken is obviously a huge staple at your local Chinese Restaurant, and this is the perfect copycat!
Sweet and tangy, and thickened with a cornstarch slurry, you will totally impress your guests with this one!
If you are a fan of homemade sauces instead of store-bought then this Sweet and Sour Sauce is one that you need to keep on hand, not only because it’s delicious but because it’s just simple.
Some of our favorite sauce recipes on our site include: Homemade BBQ Sauce, Easy Homemade Tartar Sauce and Homemade Mayonnaise.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With minimal ingredients and 5 minutes, this is super easy.
- Double this recipe to have more on hand for other dishes.
- This can be used in or with so many different foods.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:
- In a small saucepan, 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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS RECIPE:
HOW DO I THICKEN SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE?
Use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce plus a little time boiling. If the recipe is not as thick as you want it to be you can add a little more of the slurry at a time until you reach your desired thickness.
ALTERNATIVES AND ADD-INS:
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.
WHAT CAN I USE THIS SAUCE IN/FOR?
This is great as a dipping sauce, a glaze, or even mixed into recipes. Some of our favorite recipes to use this with include:
There are many more uses for this sauce, but these are some of the more frequent recipes that we use it with!
HOW DOES IT GET ITS RED COLOR?
In our recipe, we use ketchup which not only adds a lot of flavor but is where we get the signature red color from.
A lot of other recipes and restaurants will add red food coloring to it, but thankfully we found a way around that!
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 1 week.
This can also be frozen, placed in a freezer container, and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator overnight until thawed.
You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop if you want it warm.
DANA’S TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You can thicken this to your liking, and add more of the slurry for a thicker consistency.
- This can be served with various different dishes, see some of my favorites above.
- Double this recipe to serve more people or to keep it on hand for later use.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Love a good homemade sauce that is just like your favorite takeout? Then you absolutely must make The Best Sweet and Sour Sauce!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried THE BEST SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE, let me know how it turned out in the comments! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
The Best Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 ½ tablespoons ketchup
Cornstarch Slurry:
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, 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
- You can thicken this to your liking, add more of the sluffy for a thicker consistency.
- This can be served with various different dishes, see some of my favorites above.
- Double this recipe to serve more people or to keep on hand for later use.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Comments & Reviews
Joan says
BEST Sweet and Sour Sauce EVER. This one’s a keeper
Dana DeVolk says
Told ya so.
Beda says
Thank you for an easy delicious recipe!
Dana DeVolk says
So glad you liked it!!
Tina W says
I couldn’t find any sweet-and-sour sauce at the store, so I looked up this recipe and I can’t believe how amazing and delicious it is. So easy and fast I can’t wait for my husband to try it. He has to have sweet-and-sour sauce on his stirfry. thank you so much for sharing.
Dana DeVolk says
You’re so welcome, glad you loved it!!
Pete says
Thank you so much for this recipe! So easy, so quick, so delicious!! I never buy store-bought S&S sauce any more; why would you when you can make a batch of this in a few minutes for pennies? Love it!
Dana DeVolk says
Totally agree, we never buy it, only use this recipe. I’m so glad you love it too!
Claire says
Wow, fun recipe. Thank you for good ratios and great instructions. I’m always fiddling with recipes so, of course, I made changes here. I didn’t have ketchup, so I used about half as much gojuchang paste. Added a little bit of salt to make up for what would have been in the ketchup. And grated in some fresh ginger to taste.
Dana DeVolk says
Sounds delicious!
JennyH says
Legit sweet and sour sauce. Quick, easy, and good!
Dana DeVolk says
Thank you!
Susan says
This was amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing. The only question I have is in your picture it is a bright red, but although it tastes great mine wasn’t the beautiful bright red. Can you recommend any thing?
Dana DeVolk says
You could add a little food coloring if you like! It is more of an orangey red; the photos may appear more saturated due to photo editing.
Kathy R Tafolla says
Super easy and extremely delicious 😋!!!