Homestyle Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is not only easy and inexpensive, it’s also super moist, tender, and delicious. Drumsticks and thighs are drenched in a thick and glossy homemade sauce; this crowd-pleasing main will have them begging for you to make it over and over again!
HOMESTYLE BAKED SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
Whenever I eat chicken, this is exactly how I like it. Homestyle Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is moist and juicy on the inside and baked to perfection on the outside. And, it’s loaded up with a savoury homemade sauce. This was how my mom made chicken. In a family of five, she knew exactly how to jazz up a meal to make it delicious while using very inexpensive ingredients. And this particular recipe, inspired by my mom’s much-loved chicken recipe, requires only five regular pantry ingredients.
I know there are some who prefer not to eat the drumstick or thigh part of the chicken. If that’s you, Dear Reader, you can get the same results using chicken breast. But, you will have to adjust the baking time. For those of you who are drumstick or thigh aficionados, you will believe me when I say that any meat – chicken or otherwise – always results in a better flavour when cooked with the bone in.
And, you must trust me with baking time. I know an hour seems like a long time to bake chicken, but it works for me every single time. I have never made this dish and had it turn out dry or overcooked. As long as you stick to the bone-in, skin-on legs and thighs, you will achieve the same results as those in the photos.
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THIS CHICKEN IS CERTAINLY FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Whenever I set out to prepare a dish to be posted here on my blog, I always start with how I want to dish to look in the photographs. I will think of how the dish looks when ready to eat. And, I think about how to present it so that it appeals to the senses. Sometimes, it can take me a half hour to decide on the right platter, bowl, napkin, fork, tea towel, or accessory. (I’m not kidding!) And, once I decide how I want it to be presented, I start the cooking from there.
For this particular Sweet and Sour Chicken, I wanted to present it family style. That means I basically had two options. First, pile it all onto a serving platter and photograph the finished product right on the baking tray. Or, as you can see from the pictures, lay them out on crumpled parchment paper to mimic a picnic or family vibe. The dish needed to look just as casual as the preparation itself. And, Dear Reader, I’m happy with the results.
CHOOSING INGREDIENTS
As you might have heard me say before, whenever you are working with such limited ingredients to prepare a meal for your family, try to use the best ingredients you can find. When purchasing the chicken, either purchase directly from a butcher, or if going the grocery store route, look at the packaging dates. Get the freshest chicken you can find. And don’t go the cheap route with the ketchup and mustard. I don’t care who tries to convince me otherwise, not all condiments are the same!
I will often buy non-brand name products, but never will I try to save a few cents by purchasing non-brand name ketchup or mustard; they have to be Heinz or French’s. And, don’t even get me started on how important it is to buy Hellman’s Mayo! (I’ll save that rant for another time.) For ketchup, I use both Heinz and French’s and will often decide between the two based on price only. In most cases, it’s Heinz and it’s only ever French’s for mustard.
(I’m starting to wish I was being paid to promote these companies! Ha!) Seriously though, as a food blogger, I feel it is my duty to inform you of what products work best for each recipe. And as I’ve previously stated, when using a few ingredients, you really do want to get the most flavour out of each of those ingredients.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE
The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.
- Chicken – I’m using a combination of chicken drumsticks and thighs. You can use all of one or the other. You can even decide to use skinless if you want. Keeping the bone in will help to keep the chicken from drying out. If you choose to use breast meat, cut the cooking time back by thirty minutes.
- Onions – You can use yellow or white onions.
- Ketchup – The addition of ketchup adds sweetness and acidity to the sauce.
- Brown Sugar – This will enrich, sweeten, and thicken the sauce.
- Mustard – Classic yellow mustard provides that tart bitterness that is subsided by the sugar.
- White Vinegar – This adds so much flavour to the sauce. Also, the acidity balances out the sweetness.
- Parsley – Fresh, chopped, for garnish.
- Salt and Ground Black Pepper
HOW TO MAKE HOMESTYLE BAKED SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and place them onto the prepared baking sheet. Evenly spread the chicken pieces out, avoiding contact with the edge of the baking sheet. (Remember: skin side up!) Salt and pepper the chicken. Bake for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, make the sauce by whisking together the onion, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar. Set aside. Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon about a tablespoon or two (depending on the size of the chicken) of the prepared sauce over the top of each piece of chicken and smear to evenly coat each piece using the back of a spoon. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and spoon more sauce over each piece of chicken. Repeat the smearing process, being careful not to pull the existing layer of sauce away from the skin. Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven, garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired, and serve.
Lord Byron’s Notes
If you opt for chicken breasts instead of drumsticks or thighs, you will need to cut back on the cooking time, otherwise, the chicken will be overcooked and dry. Start by baking the chicken for 20 minutes. Sauce the chicken and bake for 10 minutes. Pull from the oven, sauce once more, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. If in doubt, the internal temperature for properly cooked chicken should be 165-170 degrees F.
MAKE IT A MEAL
Before you get to the Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe, let me offer you a few suggestions for making this a complete meal. Whenever I have this chicken, I always tend to prepare the same sides my mom would make. She would serve this with either French fries or potato wedges. I have a recipe for Paprika and Parmesan Potato Wedges that’s so good and so easy too.
I’d also serve this chicken with either a creamy coleslaw or my Smoky Stovetop Charred Corn. If you want a lighter side dish, I would recommend this Easy Garden Salad. Okay, let’s get to the recipe!
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Homestyle Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks, skin on
- 8 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup mustard
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Evenly spread the chicken pieces out, avoiding contact with the edge of the baking sheet. (Remember: skin side up!)
- Salt and pepper the chicken.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, make the sauce by whisking together the onion, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar. Set aside.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon about a tablespoon or two (depending on the size of the chicken) of the prepared sauce over the top of each piece of chicken and smear to evenly coat each piece using the back of a spoon.
- Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and spoon more sauce over each piece of chicken. Repeat the smearing process, being careful not to pull the existing layer of sauce away from the skin.
- Bake for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
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Tammy says
Why does it say 1/2 cup of white only?? What is “white”? White what? Could you please send me an email telling me what it should say? Thank you very much in advance of you contacting me.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Good catch, Tammy! I’ve updated the recipe accordingly. It was supposed to read 1/2 cup white onion. Thank you.
Gord says
You cook the chicken for 90 minutes and never turn it over?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Yes, that is correct. 🙂
Isaiah says
Does the onion go into the sauce? Also there aren’t any instructions on how to make the sauce.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Isaiah – thank you for bringing that to my attention. Yes, the onion does go into the sauce. I’ve updated the recipe accordingly. Cheers! 🙂
Edmund says
Does the cooking time and recipe amounts change when I’m only using 8 drumsticks?
Rii says
The sauce does it have to heated up?
Ruth Misevic says
Health-wise, I just have to avoid eating chicken skin. I can bake it with skin on and then remove it before the sauce additions. Any other suggestions to help the sauce stick and the chicken stay dry? (Plan to have with asparagus and rice.). Thanks!
John says
Absolutely delicious, have added it to our go to recipes!
Cassie Smith says
Hey my fellow Newfie.
Making this again today for the second time. Just reminiscing mom making this dish with rice. I can also picture your mother in the kitchen when we were young lol.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Aw! That’s such a nice memory.
Robin says
Just like Nan’s! This recipe is a keeper for sure. 🙂 Thank you.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Robin!
Nicola Jones says
It’s a lot of chicken so do I I cook them separately like drums stick first then thighs? Or all together?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Nicola – You can certainly cook them all together. Just be sure to spread them out well on the baking pan so that none of the chicken is touching or overlapping. Additionally, if there is too much chicken here for what you need, you can halve the recipe and it will still be just as tasty. 🙂