Sweet and Sour Chicken {Paleo, Healthy}

This Sweet and Sour Chicken is absolutely divine. It’s so good you won’t even want dessert afterwards! Paleo, healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free, & naturally sweetened. 

This Sweet and Sour Chicken is worth 100% of every minute it takes to prepare. First off, it’s healthy. Secondly, it tastes like Chinese takeout. And third, kids LOVE it.

In fact, my niece came to visit last December. She was five years old at the time and she had THREE helpings of this healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken for lunch.

As for my kids, they don’t like chicken (especially my oldest), but this is one poultry-based meal they’ll eat. I have always wondered if my strong aversion to chicken during my first pregnancy was the beginning of my daughter’s hatred of chicken. Anyways …. just speculation. Let me know if you’ve had a similar experience!

This Sweet and Sour Chicken is not hard to make, but depending on how particular you are with coating and dipping the chicken pieces, it can take a little bit of patience. For those of you who are incredibly busy like I am, here is my method:

• Once diced, dump all chicken into a gallon sized plastic bag. Add tapioca starch and shake until coated.
• Dump chicken into a colander and shake excess tapioca starch off.
• Put 2 eggs in the same gallon-sized plastic bag, add coated chicken, and shake until each piece is covered in egg.
• Remove chicken pieces individually or
• Dump chicken onto the pan and begin to fry while using a spatula to break the pieces apart.

The main point about this meal is, it’s UH-MAZINGLY delicious and incredibly forgiving of mistakes. For example, when I made this Paleo Sweet and Sour Chicken for the blog, I accidentally put it in egg before coating it in tapioca starch (that will teach me to cook my own meals without looking at my recipe!) and it turned out just fine.

I would suggest making a double batch so you have plenty of leftovers because you are going to want to eat it for lunch all week!

What makes this Sweet and Sour Chicken {Paleo, Healthy} nutrient dense?

• Organic, free range (preferably local) chicken breasts/thighs
• Celtic or Himalayan sea salt (trace minerals present, no bleaching, no anti-caking agents)
• Tapioca starch or arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch (Paleo friendly & non-GMO)
• Apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar (white vinegar is usually derived from malt which is made via grains and may contain gluten; apple cider vinegar is known for its health benefits including: controlling blood sugar levels and weight loss, […] as well as boosting the immune system. It is also thought to have positive effects on reducing high levels of bad cholesterol and lowering blood pressure.) (1)
• Using a small amount of organic coconut sugar (low glycemic index, natural sweetener)
• Free range eggs from inspect eating chickens (1:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 vs. conventional eggs having a 1:30 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids. Too much omega 6 in the diet is pro-inflammatory).
• Organic ketchup preferably from a glass bottle (tomatoes have a high pesticide residue & due to their acidity should not be stored in plastic as they can leach the plastic into the food)

Enjoy!! – Rashele, BSN, RN, CEN

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Sweet and Sour Chicken {Paleo, Healthy}

This Sweet & Sour Chicken is absolutely divine. It's so good you won't even want dessert afterward! Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, & naturally sweetened. 

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 5 people

Calories 509 kcal

Author Rashele Birmingham

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed (or thighs)
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup tapioca starch or arrowroot powder
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 2 Tbsp refined coconut oil or avocado oil

Sweet & Sour Sauce

• 1/3 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 3 Tbsp coconut aminos or organic soy sauce
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch

Instructions

Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Cube chicken, season with salt & pepper. Heat large skillet over medium heat, add coconut oil to skillet.  

3. Toss chicken in cornstarch. Dip in beaten eggs. 

4. Lightly fry chicken in coconut oil until browned (about 2-3 minutes) and then flip chicken and repeat until other side is browned (about 2-3 minutes). 

5. Transfer chicken to large baking dish (I prefer my large stone pan). 

6. Pour 1/2 of sauce over chicken and stir to coat. Reserve the other 1/2 of sauce as a dipping sauce for the meal. 

7. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheight for 20 minutes. 

Sauce

1. Mix all ingredients except arrowroot powder in small saucepan. 

2. Pour 1/2 of sauce over chicken as described. 

3. For the remaining 1/2 of sauce, begin to heat over medium heat. 

4. Add arrowroot powder while the sauce is still cold and whisk to combine. 

5. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until the sauce begins to thicken. Then turn off heat, cover, & save as a dipping sauce for the meal. 

Recipe Notes

1. Our family prefers boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs in the recipe.
2. Coconut sugar has a low glycemic index but you may substitute sucanot or brown sugar if you need to.
3. Coconut amino's are soy-free. If you would prefer soy sauce find one that is organic and non-GMO.
4. Serve over cauliflower rice for Paleo version
5. Our family likes to eat organic, arsenic free rice from Lundberg that has been preferably sprouted and/or soaked prior to cooking.

Tools used to make this recipe (click photo to learn more):

1. Chef King Steel Griddle: this inexpensive griddle makes cooking up a batch of Sweet & Sour Chicken so much faster. It has no harmful coating on the pan which give me peace of mind. I also love this pan for my Grain Free Pancakes. 

Don’t forget to pin this Sweet and Sour Chicken {Paleo, Healthy} to your favorite Pinterest board for later!

References:

(1) C. (2017, May 08). Difference Between. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-between-white-vinegar-and-apple-cider-vinegar/