This Recipe is from the Lion House. It is so delicious, and super simple to prepare.
I am posting 2 versions. If I’m short on time, I usually make the 2nd version. They are both yummy!
YOU WILL NEED:
6-8 Chicken Breasts, Soy sauce, Chicken Broth, Cornstarch, Vinegar, Ketchup
Garlic Salt, Pepper, Sugar,
MIX THESE INGREDIENTS INTO A MED. SIZE BOWL:
2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 beaten egg
4 to six tablespoons cornstarch or flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup chicken Broth
7 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoon soy sauce
7 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt & pepper. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
1st Version: Dip chicken in beaten egg, then in cornstarch or flour. (cornstarch makes chicken crispier). Brown in hot oil. Place in baking dish. Cover with the following sauce: Mix sugar, vinegar, chicken stock, catsup, and soy sauce in medium bowl.
Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Turn chicken once or twice.
Faster, easier version – When time is limited
Same recipe as above, only eliminate frying your chicken, and add 3 large tablespoons cornstarch to the above sauce recipe.
Layer raw chicken breasts in glass dish (9×13). Mix all sauce ingredients in bowl, (plus 3 TBSP corn starch) with wire wisk. Pour directly over chicken breasts. (Refer to Picture below)
Bake uncovered at 325 for about 1 1/2 hours, or until sauce is thick and dark in color.
So Easy, and so good! This dish is great for company. Leftovers are wonderful.
Remember this is the color of the sauce before it is cooked.
The sauce will thicken & the color will darken greatly. It will be similar to thick barbeque sauce. The chicken needs to be (fall apart) tender! Serve this with a Baked Potatoe, Hot Rolls & a vegetable.
This is also great warmed up the next night, and served on Soft Flour Taco shells, or on a bed of rice.
This is what it looks like when you first pop it in the oven.
The sauce will get thicker, darker and it’s yummy!
by Get Off Your Butt and BAKE
Haha never mind. It worked this time! Thanks!
I made this chicken for dinner tonight. It is very good! Thanks
Just wanted to know if you eliminate the egg and only use a total of 3tbs. cornstarch for the quick and easy version. I am assuming the egg is eliminated but not sure if I should use 3tbs plus what is called for in the original recipe of cornstarch….thanks!
Made this tonight….it was great….thanks!
I will be trying this for Sunday dinner…this looks delicious, and I LOVE the second faster version. With litle kids around the house I steer away from frying anything!! I have everything in the ingredient list and can’t wait to put it to use on Sunday!! Thank you for sharing the Lion House Recipe!!
What kind of chicken do you use in this recipe? Is the chicken,skinless,boneless breasts?
Thanks!
HI! Thanks for the recipe, it looks delicious! I was wondering if you ever tried this in the crock pot?? Looks like it would work nicely, and serve it over a bed of rice.
Hi Faith,
This works wonderfully in a slow cooker. My slow cooker has vent holes in the lid, allowing the steam to be released.
Once the chicken is almost tender, either crack the lid slightly, or open the vent holes, so that the sauce will thicken properly.
The sauce should be a thicker and darker than when it first started cooking. We love this!
Jonna
I made this for dinner last night, and it was sooo good!! Thank you for sharing it 🙂
For using the crockpot, do you just throw everything in at once…or add different ingredients throughout the day?
Hi Missy,
Just throw everything in and let it cook away.
If you want the sauce to be thicker, just crack the lid of your slow cooker, once the chicken is tender. The steam can release and the sauce will thicken.
Jonna
I have fried up the chicken to brown and now this wonderful dish is in the oven cooking. It sounded amazing and I will definitely let you know how it turns out. I love your site.
We just finished dinner and it was fantastic! I made white rice and a salad. BTW, I have never fried anything using corn starch before and the breasts turned out so brown and crusty.
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. Sandie
Thanks Sandie,
We make this dish a lot. When you are short on time, the simpler version is also yummy!
Jonna
Super, super yummy. This is definitely going to be a regular dish in my house and it was so easy to make.
If put in the crock pot. Is it better to fry the chicken first?
Hi Suzy,
Either way you choose….it will be yummy!
Jonna
It sounds so yummy! Love love love sweet n sour chicken!
I would like to Pin this on Pinterest, but according to their terms and conditions, I need permission to do so. Would you allow me to pin this on my recipe board?
Thanks,
Emma
Hi Emma,
That’s fine….thanks for asking.
Jonna
Hey! Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I made it in a crock pot, and made up the following method as I went. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY!
Throw all ingredients for sauce into bowl, including 5 tbsp cornstarch (just 5 tbsp was perfect). Stir well to combine thoroughly. Put chicken in crock pot, and pour sauce over top. Cook on high for 3 hours, or until chicken is tender. Remove only chicken with spatula (it will be nice and tender…falling apart kind of tender), and place on separate plate to rest. Pour the sauce that is now remaining in the crock-pot, into sauce pan. Boil, and whisk well to get out any cornstarch lumps (the main reason I made these changes was to cook the cornstarch – cornstarch must always be boiled to utilize thickening, and to get out any cornstarch-y taste) . While that is coming to boil, dice chicken into desired sizes. Place back in crock-pot. Pour now nicely thickened sauce over top. Let simmer, keep warm, whatever. I served mine over rice, with veggies on the side.
Thanks again for the recipe!
Thanks Catharine!
Jonna
I found your website a while back and have tried several recipes. They are all outstanding! Restaurant quality food! We made this one for dinner tonight, although I used the second version and made it into a freezer meal (put all stuff for sauce together with chicken, when it came time to cook it, we put it in the crock pot). Even my picky kid finished his before I did! We will definately be making this again. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi, I would love to make this! I am nursing my 4 month old and she has a milk and soy protein intolerence so I can’t eat dairy or soy products. Do you think it would taste okay without soy or is there something you would recommend substituting?
Hi Patty,
Type in “substitutions for Soy sauce” in google or bing, and you will find alternatives that should work just fine. You can also use Worcestershire sauce instead. Dilute 2 tablespoons with 2 tablespoons of warm water, stir to combine and add that in place of the soy sauce.
Jonna
I highlighted this wonderful recipe in one of my directories. Thank you. http://grannyenchantedskitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/dinner-directory-page-1.html
Oh mercy, please assure me the 1 c. vinegar blends in nicely by the time the dish hits the plate. 😉 I have a keen awareness of vinegar in some dishes, though not generally in those baked…
Thank you for posting this Lion House recipe! Tomorrow I plan on attempting the quick version (baked + sans frying); over rice, with a green salad on the side. The leftovers I may use later on in the week, stuffed into tortilla shells (per your recommendation) to switch things up. 😉
Hi Hannah,
You’re just like me…..I actually do cut the vinegar in half most often. It will still be delicious, just not quite as tangy.
I’m the only one that can tell the difference though. Vinegar helps tenderize the chicken as well.
It’s really good….I promise.
Jonna
Hi there! I know this is an old post but I found your recipe on Pinterest and it looks delicious! I am wondering of you think there’s anyway I could cut back significantly on the sugar. 1.5 cups seems like so much! Thank you!
Hi Ashley,
Yes! I’ve also cut the sugar. (Cut 1/4 to 1/2 cup if you like)
The sugar helps the sauce to thicken, so you might want to stir in a bit extra corn starch in the cold sauce before baking.
The sauce should be a nice amber color when it’s done baking. The sides of your glass dish will be coated with a thicker sauce that is really good.
You can also do this in a slow cooker as well.
Jonna
One more question… have you ever tried cutting the recipe in half? We’ve been eating really well in this house and I try super hard to make recipes without leftovers. Thanks!
Hi Ashley….yes you can cut it in half!
Jonna
I’ve made a similar recipe before and I swear that on that one I dipped it in the cornstarch first and then the egg. Is there a difference in the way it cooks up depending on which you do first?
I made it in the slow cooker and added pineapple and bell pepper towards the end then served it over white rice. It was awesome. The sauce is delicious!
Thanks for the recipe. It was a hit… For the first time ever, my two year old son finished his supper before everyone! 🙂
Hi Jonna,
This looks delicious! If I make the quick version, possibly in the crock pot, do I eliminate the egg? I assume in the long version it is used as “glue” to make the cornstarch adhere, but I could be wrong. I also plan to cut down the sugar and vinegar. Thanks for taking the time to answer this for me.
Hi Carol,
If you’re doing the quick version, just place your thawed chicken breasts in your slow cooker or 9×13 pan, if you’re doing it in the oven. No need to brown the breasts before cooking. If you are using a slow cooker, the sauce might not be quite as thick as you might like. Towards the end, and after the chicken is tender…..crack the lid of your slow cooker, and turn the heat up. This will allow the yummy sauce to darken, and thicken up!
Carol this also freezes well!
Jonna
Hi – Sorry to bother you again, but does this recipe freeze well? I like to prepare “frozen dinners” for my mother that her aide can just microwave and serve her. If you have any other suggestions that would be appreciated too. Thanks again.
Hi
Scottish Gal living in Italy
This was on my to do list,wish I had done it before Gorg !!!
Now going to check out ur other recipes !!!
Found this on pintrest and it sounds amazing! If I were to do it in the slow cooker, how long should it be in there and on what low or high?
Hi Bari,
That really depends on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts and also the slow cooker that you are using.
Once the chicken is fork fall apart tender. You want your sauce to thicken and darken. Turn the dial to high and the sauce will bubble, thicken an darken.
Jonna
Hi, I was just wondering how many servings this works out to be? Thanks a bunch.
Fushia
Hi Fushia,
I would think at least 6 people…..plan on one chicken breast per person, unless someone is very hungry!
Jonna
I’m confused. It says to mix the ingredients into a med size bowl then lists all the ingredients. I mixed all the ingredients in the bowl, but then it says to dip the chicken into the egg and then into the flour or cornstarch. Is this in addition to what I already put into the med size bowl or should I have kept the egg, flour/cornstarch out?
Hi LJ,
I sent you a quick email, I couldn’t access my site for some reason.
Let me know if you are still confused.
Jonna
Hi-
I made this last night. I halved the recipe and used 3 chicken breasts. I cut the breasts up into 2 or 3 pieces each. I tried the 2nd (easier) version and I served it over rice. It came out wonderfully!! My family ate EVERY bite, in fact we fought over seconds! I have passed the recipe on and will absolutely make it again (& again).
Hi tmc,
We love this easy dish as well. I find myself often making the easy version. It’s so fast to put together, and head out the door.
We love the leftovers in soft flour tortillas rolled up with rice & black beans!
Jonna
[…] Notes *Note: To make things simpler, I prep everything the night before. I chop my chicken and put it in a container in the fridge. I combine all my sauce ingredients except for the corn starch and put that in the fridge. In the morning, I stir the corn starch into the sauce (well!), add the sauce and chicken to the slow cooker and follow the rest of the steps. **I like to add my peppers for the last 1.5-2 hours just so they aren't too soft. If you like your peppers to have a little texture to them, I recommend this. If you can't add them later or like them a little softer, that is totally fine. It will absolutely work to add them at the beginning, they just won't have any bite to them. 3.2.2802 Sauce recipe adapted from Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake. […]