Homemade Healthy Sweet and Sour Sauce

You’ll never guess the secret ingredients that go into this homemade healthy Sweet and Sour sauce. The flavor is spot on! 

Healthy Sweet and Sour Sauce?

Have I really lost it?

If I told you what was in this sauce before you tasted it, you just might think I was off my rocker.

That’s why I didn’t tell Tim before he started noshing away.

Making Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Our last attempt at Sweet and Sour sauce was done the traditional way: brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch. These are the typical ingredients you will find if you search for a homemade sweet and sour sauce recipe.

That time, the taste was close, but we way over cornstarch-ed the sauce, so when it cooled it turned to gelatin.

A brown-red gelatin from the combo of soy and ketchum.

Not too appetizing.

This time, I vowed it would be different.

As I was doing research, I came across a recipe for a sweet chili sauce using pureed peppers. Inspiration struck. Why not spin that concept into a sweet and sour sauce?

Boy was it worth a try.

Our Healthy Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

The consistency of this sweet and sour sauce is definitely thicker than the thin and syrupy sauce, that you might get from your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant.

But, what would you expect?

This sauce isn’t cornstarch and ketchup.

Rather, it’s fruits and veggies pureed together with just enough sugar and vinegar to spike the flavors.

Then, we simmer it with just enough cornstarch to thicken it to a sauce consistency.

And, let me say, the flavor of our healthy sweet and sour sauce is SPOT ON.

And it’s really addicting. (We were actually glad it was a bit of a thicker sauce, because that meant we could load it on easier!)

Try it on our baked vegetable egg rolls and baked crab rangoon.

You won’t be disappointed!

And, if you love sauces for your egg rolls and stir fries as much as we do, definitely check out our easy homemade hoisin sauce recipe, our homemade teriyaki sauce recipe, and our tasty plum sauce recipe made from fresh plums too!

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4.75 from 16 votes

Healthy Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

You'll never guess the secret ingredients that go into this homemade healthy Sweet and Sour sauce. The flavor is spot on! 

Yield: 3/4 c sauce

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 26kcal

Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

Ingredients

• ½ large sweet red pepper, seeds removed and coarse chopped
• ¼ c crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks with juice
• ¼ c rice vinegar
• 1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

• Place red pepper, pineapple, vinegar and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
• Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and heat over medium high heat until it comes to a simmer.
• Mix cornstarch with 2 tsp water until dissolved. Stir cornstarch mixture into the simmering pepper mixture. Simmer, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.
• Taste your sauce and add additional brown sugar if you would like the sauce sweeter.
• Serve warm or chilled.

Nutrition

Serving: 2Tbsp | Calories: 26kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.7g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1mg | Sugar: 3.4g

This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our pictures since we first made it, but we’ve left the original images here as a fun throwback and shout out to how far we’ve come. Enjoy! 

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Sarah is one of Curious Cuisiniere’s founding duo. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.

www.curiouscuisiniere.com/about/