đź«‘ Why this recipe is so good
The chicken is actually crispy, thanks to an easy coating using arrowroot powder and eggs. Simple, too! The onions and peppers round this dish out with plenty of veggies, so you can serve it over cauliflower rice and call it a night. The sweet and sour sauce is oh so good and made easily in the blender with all whole-food ingredients. It’s Whole30 compliant and paleo, too!
đź’ˇ Recipe Variations
Leave out any element you don’t love, whether that’s the peppers or onion. The pineapple is sooo good here, though (So keep it!). Try substituting shrimp for the chicken. Follow the recipe the same as you would for the chicken, but you’ll need to cook the shrimp a lot less, only about 2 minutes. If you eat soy, feel free to swap out the coconut aminos for soy sauce in the sauce. Just leave out the salt as well, if you use soy sauce. If you’re on a Whole30, do not use soy sauce! I really love to use Dole Pineapple Chunks in 100% Pineapple Juice since they’re easy to keep on hand and perfectly little nuggets of natural sweetness. You can, however, use fresh pineapple, but you will need to sauté it much longer to soften. Just roll with the Dole!
👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips
I like to sauté the peppers and onions pretty well so they’re not super raw and crunchy-tasting, but I’m not a huge fan of bell peppers to start with. You can sauté them just a couple minutes or a bit longer, depending on your preference. Shake up your chicken in batches; about 2 batches will cover everything. This will prevent clumpy chicken pieces, and you can shake up the second batch while the first batch is frying. Just make sure you keep a close eye on the chicken frying! Cut your chicken into smaller pieces than you think would be “bite-sized.” You want pieces about 3/4-1″ big, not big chunks. The coating will add some volume here.
🤔 Can I use cassava flour instead of arrowroot powder?
Absolutely! Cassava flour is a little harder to find, so I don’t use it in as many of my recipes. It is, however, my favorite grain-free flour or starch, and it works very well in this recipe.
Crispy on the outside Moist and tender on the inside Sweet enough, but not too sweet Sour enough, but not too sour
I’m not at all ashamed to say that my first version sucked. I had high hopes, took photos, ate a bite, and tried to convince myself to name the dish something else so I could still post it. Sure, the recipe wasn’t bad; it was actually a good dinner! But it wasn’t something I’d call a true Whole30 sweet and sour chicken recipe. Nah, more like… pineapple chicken stir fry? Good, but not “I could eat this for the next six meals” good.Which is kind of exactly what my husband said after eating this version. In fact, it’s caused problems! When we have this sweet and sour chicken in the fridge, he doesn’t want to roll with my new recipes or order takeout when I’m too tired to cook.Well, that’s not exactly true. He doesn’t care what I do, so long as I leave him and his bowl of leftover sweet and sour chicken out of it.
Other Asian-Inspired Recipes You’ll Love
Egg Roll in a Bowl Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken (Whole30 and Paleo Friendly) Healthy Lettuce Wraps Egg Roll in a Bowl Meal Prep (Whole30, Paleo, Keto) Szechuan Chicken Paleo Sesame Chicken Paleo Chinese Chicken Salad (Whole30) Whole30 Bang Bang Shrimp Breakfast Egg Roll in a Bowl (Whole30, Paleo)
