Sweet & Sour Chicken from One Pan

This is the kind of dinner that hits all the familiar notes without turning the kitchen upside down. Sweet, sour, and savory come together in one pan, with the sauce building itself around the chicken instead of being made separately.

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Ingredients

• Chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Neutral oil
• Salt and black pepper

For the sauce

• Ketchup
• Apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
• Honey or sugar
• Soy sauce
• A splash of water

Vegetables & fruit

• Bell pepper, cut into chunks
• Onion, sliced
• Pineapple chunks (fresh or canned, drained)

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Instructions

1. Start with the chicken. Heat oil in a wide pan and cook the chicken until lightly golden. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add vegetables directly. Push the chicken aside, add onion and bell pepper, and cook until just softened.
3. Mix the sauce in the pan. Add ketchup, vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and water straight into the pan—no bowl needed.
4. Bring it together. Stir everything gently so the sauce coats the chicken and vegetables.
5. Add pineapple last. Let it warm through and release a little juice into the sauce.
6. Simmer briefly. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly and clings to the chicken.
7. Serve immediately, straight from the pan if you like.

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Typical Mistakes to Avoid:

• Cooking the chicken too long before adding the sauce—it dries out fast.
• Over-thickening the sauce; it should stay glossy, not sticky.
• Adding pineapple too early, which makes it mushy.

Also worth trying: Pistachio Crepe Pasta with Caramelized Plums, Pan-Seared Salmon with Lemon Cream & Greens, Shrimp Poke Bowl with Sweet Chili Heat