Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken

Here Are Some Tips For Making Sugar Free Sweet And Sour Chicken

I mentioned above that Sweet and Sour Chicken is sometimes made with breaded chicken. However, I am trying to keep the carbohydrates down so breading your chicken is an optional task that you can do.

Here are some more helpful tips for making this recipe.

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Sweet and sour chicken is one of those classic Chinese takeout dishes that everyone is familiar with. Its easily one of the most popular Asian dishes ordered and for very good reason. The chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the sauce is tangy, yet sweet and spicy all at the same time, and the mix of peppers and onions adds the perfect amount of texture in each and every bite.

When I was younger, we had Chinese take out a lot. Sweet and sour chicken was a staple in our menu rotation and a dinner that everyone in the family looked forward to. At the time, I am sure my mother was under the impression it was a very healthy dish. Lean cuts of chicken and vegetables, of course it sounds healthy right? Sadly, this is wrong. As an adult when it came time to find and recreate healthier versions of my favorites to serve my own family, I realized just how unhealthy most Chinese take out dishes really are.

How To Make Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken

You will be surprised how easy this packed full of flavor keto sweet and sour chicken is! With these simple ingredients you can now have that favorite Chinese take-out, now with a homemade, low carb twist!

First, let’s heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over high heat. I like to use avocado oil because it has a high smoke point. You could also use coconut oil.

Add in the chicken breast and cook until brown on all sides and cooked through. This keto sweet and sour chicken recipe is unbelievably light so if you want to use boneless skinless chicken thighs, please do!

The meat only takes about 5 minutes to cook. You want to check with a meat thermometer to be sure the meat is not over or under cooked.

Now we need to reduce the heat to medium and add in the green and yellow bell peppers.

We are only going to cook them for a couple of minutes so they keep their nice color and a little crispness.

Now we add in the apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, soy sauce, sweetener and xanthan gum.

My favorite low carb sweetener is Lakanto. They have a brown sugar version that works well in this recipe!

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Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken Vs Regular Sweet And Sour Chicken

Sweet and sour chicken is a staple Chinese takeaway for many. Because yes, it is crazy delicious. I love my Chinese any day, but the sad part is, most of the time, such stir-fries require your protein to be coated with flour and cornstarch. As you know by now, Keto prohibits the usage of flours. That’s when I found an alternative – Psyllium husk which will do the flour’s job in perfection. The homemade Keto Sweet and Sour sauce takes this recipe a notch up higher! But a regular sweet and sour chicken calls for the addition of sugar. Here, we can substitute sugar with steviaor erythritol.

A Note On The Sweet And Sour Sauce

Yes, you can sub all of one style of erythritol but the combo of regular and brown leads to a balanced flavor here. You can also sub garlic powder for the garlic cloves if that’s what you have on hand. Soy sauce can be used in place of tamari if you’re not gluten-free. You can also use coconut aminos if you’re soy-free.

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Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken

This keto sweet and sour chicken recipe is a fantastic copycat version of the classic Chinese dish. Low carb and sugar free recipe with homemade sauce.

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This recipe was created because I decided to remake my low carb sweet and sour sauce with different thickening agent options.

And then of course, I had lots of sauce! So I used some for my new sweet and sour wings recipe and then most of the rest went into this chicken dish. This recipe is actually slightly unusual for me because it includes green peppers I’m not usually a fan but it felt right with the other ingredients and worked out really well.

The Kind Of Chicken That Is Used In This Recipe For Sugar Free Sweet And Sour Chicken Recipe Is The Breast

To prepare the chicken breast cut it up into chunks. Then you can cook the chicken over the stove or bake it before adding it to this recipe. To add breading your chicken you can refer to one of these low carb chicken recipes

Here are some similar recipes that you may also like.

• How to Make Keto Low Carb Noodles .
• Low Carb Air Fried Chicken .

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The recipe for Sugar Free Sweet and Sour Chicken

I mentioned earlier that you can cut down on the added sugar that is added to this recipe by using pineapple chunks that have no added sugar. However, another option would be to use unsweetened dried pineapple instead along with a sugar free pineapple juice alternatives .

Also I mentioned that to prepare the chicken breast cut it up into chunks and cook it before adding it to this recipe.

Sweet and sour chicken is sometimes made with breaded chicken, something that I have omitted as that would add carbs and calories to this recipe. For anyone wanting breaded chicken, and a good hack, tried using chicken nuggets or you can refer to one of these low carb chicken recipes instead.

Ingredients needed to make this Sugar Free Sweet and Sour Chicken

• Seasonings as desired. This can include Salt and/or Pepper.

How to make Sugar Free Sweet and Sour Chicken

The Recipe Card for Sugar Free Sweet and Sour Chicken

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You May Be Asking What Do You Serve With Sweet And Sour Chicken

Obviously, rice is always a popular option. Low carbohydrate and other diet followers can always opt for cauliflower rice as well.

I should mention why sweet and sour sauce is red.

It is easy to think that the red color in some sweet and sour sauces comes from an ingredient such as the red peppers that are added. However, the red coloring in sweet and sour sauce most often comes from red food coloring, which I have omitted from this recipe .

So What Is Keto Diet Actually

Ketogenic diet or Keto diet is a low carb, high fat, and moderate protein diet. Over time, we have tuned our body to focus on eating more carbohydrates which thereby becomes the basic and most important source of energy. But Keto diet forces you to have more fat, reduce the carbs to a minimum and thereby asking the body to burn fats for energy. Your daily calorie intake would be anywhere between 65-70% Fat, 20-30% Protein and 5-10% Carbohydrates.

It takes about three to five days to enter the stage of ketosis. This is when your body realizes it doesn’t have enough carbs to use for energy and produces ketones or organic compounds that starts burning fat for more energy.

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Sugar Free Sweet And Sour Chicken

This is the version of this popular recipe that is geared towards anyone who does not want all of that sugar in their meal.

Anyone who is following a low carbohydrate, keto, or low-calorie diet knows what I am referring to.

I think that this recipe for sugar free sweet and sour chicken is a bit easier to make.However, that is my personal opinion.

Everyone Seems To Want To Know What Is Chinese Sweet And Sour Made Of

Sweet and Sour Chicken is sometimes made with breaded chicken. However, I am trying to keep the carbohydrates down so breading your chicken is an optional task that you can do in this recipe.

Sweet and Sour sauce gets its sweet taste from both Pineapple chunks and the pineapple juice.

The pineapple adds both flavor and additional sugar to this recipe. Sweet and sour chicken recipes such as this one call for using a can of pineapple chunks, using both the pineapple and some of the juice that it has been packed in.

If you can have no sugar added to your sweet and sour sauce you can opt to omit the pineapple and use one of the alternatives listed in the ingredient section of the recipe. However, if you decide to add the pineapple to this recipe you may want to look for chunks that are packed in a juice that has no added sugar.

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Is Sweet And Sour Chicken Like Orange Chicken

Yes, both sweet and sour chicken and orange chicken are very similar. Both of them involve breaded chicken pieces covered in a sticky sweet sauce.

The difference is the flavor of the sauce. Orange chicken is usually made with orange juice or orange flavoring. Sweet and sour chicken is made with vinegar, sweetener, and a tomato-based ingredient like ketchup.

Keto Asian Chicken Ingredients

• Chicken Breast- boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into small pieces
• Eggs- whole eggs
• Collagen- unflavored collagen or unflavored whey protein powder
• Vegetables- a combination of bell peppers and onions
• Ketchup- no sugar added ketchup
• Vinegar- apple cider vinegar or distilled vinegar
• Coconut Aminos- replace with soy sauce or Tamari if desired

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Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card for ingredient measurements.

The Chicken

• Optional white onion & green or red pepper

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts I prefer to use chicken breast in this recipe, and it must be boneless and skinless. If you only have breast with the bone in, and have never removed the bone before, check out this video to watch how its done!

No Sugar Added Ketchup Choose a ketchup that has no added sugar. Most generic brands of ketchup are loaded with sugar!

Lakanto Golden Monk Fruit Sweetener A brown sugar alternative, Lakanto is a natural sugar free sweetener that has no aftertaste!

Soy Sauce Strict keto can substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce.

Xanthan Gum This magical ingredient is used to thicken the sweet and sour sauce. If you dont have any, it can be skipped, however you will not have a thick sauce.

Other Ways To Stay Keto Friendly At Chinese Restaurants:

• Steer clear of the low mein noodles, the fried rice, and the white rice.
• Stick with beef and broccoli or the salads.
• Try the roasted veggies-our local store has cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans all the time.
• Look for Queen chicken, as that is basically plain roasted chicken thighs and legs.
• Whenever possible, try the Mongolian BBQ, and add your own proteins and veggies. Ask for no sauce when its being cooked.

Lets make some restaurant style food at home, shall we? This keto sweet and sour chicken is quick and easy, and will satisfy your hungry family!

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How To Thicken The Sweet And Sour Sauce

Ok, so we know that I’m going to get the question of the sauce being too runny. Here’s the thing – with no thickeners like xanthan gum you have to bring the sauce to a simmer for it to thicken. Be patient.

If you have xanthan gum on hand you can add a little sprinkle to the sauce to make it thicker faster, otherwise a few minutes of simmering the sauce and it will be thick.

How Do I Use Arrowroot Powder To Thicken A Sauce

Other names you may see it go by are arrowroot starch or arrowroot flour. Its value to us is a low carb, non inflammatory thickener.

To use it in a sauce, you will mix 1 part arrowroot powder with one to two parts cold water to form a slurry. This step prevents clumping of the sauce when you add the arrowroot to it. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and then pour in the arrowroot slurry. Lower the heat and stir constantly just until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes.

Arrowroot is often used in sauces that should remain clear, but it can be used in all sorts of gravies as well. However, although you can freeze a sauce with arrowroot powder, it doesnt really reheat well and its not good in recipes that need long cook times. When you are using it for a long cook time, such as a pot roast, add it at the very end, just before serving for best results.

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Sweet And Sour Chicken

• 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless-you can also use 8 chicken thighs
• 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
• 1 green pepper, chopped in large pieces
• 1 onion, chopped into large pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark brown Swerve
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups chicken stock

Why Your Takeout Might Not Be Keto

Dont fall into the trap of believing that just because something is meat-based its Keto. Just because it isnt wrapped in a bun or placed on top of noodles does not give you a free pass.

Your takeout Chinese food may have carb-laden ingredients you wouldnt think about. Case in point how do they get the sweet in sweet and sour chicken?

If you guessed sugar, or brown sugar, you are correct!

Obviously, you dont want that wrecking your diet. Better to make your own.

But thats not the only culprit from a Keto perspective. Sweet and sour chicken is frequently made from pineapple chunks. Even though its a fruit pineapples are a sugary add-on that doesnt work for low-carb diets.

Cornstarch is another common ingredient in this dish that unfortunately isnt Keto.

Finally, the sweet and sour chicken you get from restaurants is often fried. Although its hard to guess what oil your chicken was fried in, theres a good chance it was in canola oil, vegetable oil, or some other sort of oil that isnt healthy.

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This Easy Keto Sweet And Sour Chicken Is Perfect For When You’re Craving An Asian

This recipe for Keto Sweet and Sour Chicken is sponsored by Biochem. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Cast Iron Keto recipes and our mission possible.

Who doesn’t love Chinese food? We know we do but even before going keto it was hard to come by a Chinese restaurant that offered gluten-free dishes and made without additives and industrialized seed oils. That’s why we are so excited about this awesome Keto Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe!

We’ve partnered with our friends over at Biochem to use their Whey Protein Isolate + Joint powder as the breading for the chicken. Whey protein as breading? YES, it’s so good! Whey protein is the perfect “flour” for breading chicken as it gets super crunchy and golden and allows you to cook it long enough that the chicken is cooked through without the breading burning. You can’t say that for almond flour or pork rinds.

With Biochem’s Whey Protein Isolate + Joint you’re not only getting a quality whey protein but you’re also getting a healthy dose of collagen – 3 types actually, which support joint comfort, flexibility and mobility. How fun that the collagen can now become fried chicken, we mean – what could be better than that?

Let’s get to the most important parts of this recipe…

Which Is The Best Sugar

I personally love to buy my maple syrup from ChocZero! It only has 1g net carb per serving and best of all, it tastes exactly like the maple syrup I grew up with. That same sticky sweetness but, instead of white sugar, it’s sweetened with monk fruit.

I personally think it really pairs well with the vinegar in the sweet and sour sauce.

When you are really craving takeout, whip together this delicious Chinese recipe! It tastes just like the real thing, without the carbs.

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