I really hope you enjoy this 4 Ingredient Sweet and Sour Sauce recipe. If you do, please let me know in the comments below. I LOVE reading your comments ❤.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE
I don’t usually make dips or sauces because I’m just so scared the whole time I’ll get it wrong, I have no idea why.
And then came along this incredible dipping sauce… It’s so easy, what a shame worrying I’ll mess a sauce up that whole time!
And wow, I’m in love.
I think I’ll make this delicious sauce with everything now (I’ve already made it 4 times last week!).
It’s just that good. One of the best homemade sauces on the planet and such a crowd pleaser too.
It’s got that perfect balance of sweet and sour with a touch of umami saltiness thanks to soy sauce.
I have no words. I don’t even know how to describe this easy homemade sweet sauce and sour sauce to you because it’s just so good ❤.
If you’re searching for that delicious sweet and sour dipping sauce that comes along when you order from your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant (that American Chinese food tastes so good with that sauce!!!), you’ve found it!
Now you can make as much of this sauce as you like, go crazy ❤.
Here are a few more reasons why you’ll love this incredible sweet and sour dipping sauce-
- This easy sweet and sour sauce is one of the simplest homemade sauces on the planet, such an easy recipe. It takes barely 5 minutes to make and how cool is that? You can make a sauce that’s super popular in American Chinese restaurants right at home! This sweet and sour sauce recipe is the perfect example of quick and easy ⭐.
- You can dip literally anything in it and it’ll taste AMAZING. Chicken nuggets? Oh yes, chicken nuggets taste crazy good with this sauce! Egg rolls? Go ahead! Wontons? SO delicious with this simple sweet sauce! This sauce is an absolute pleaser. Toss it in with some crispy chicken to turn this into a sweet and sour chicken recipe too!
- Uses ONLY 4 ingredients. How crazy is that? This sweet and sour sauce without pineapple juice is such a great recipe. I wanted to use simple ingredients, pantry staples you probably have at home already or will easily find at your local grocery store.
- And of course, this is just such a good homemade sauce with that incredible sweet and sour flavor ❤. You don’t need to buy store-bought sweet and sour sauce from a grocery store anymore (with all those extra unnecessary ingredients). You can make some at home, store it and use it whenever you like!
If you love the sound of this recipe you will love these new recipes as well:
- Easy Cajun Alfredo Sauce Recipe (use with Chicken or Pasta!)
- Crispy Korean Fried Chicken Recipe (in Soy Garlic Sauce!) (One of the best Korean recipes ever!)
- Homemade Batter Fried Broccoli with Creamy Sauce Recipe
- Easy Chicken Shawarma Wrap with Creamy Garlic Sauce Recipe
- Shrimp and Egg Recipe (Chinese Stir Fry & Scrambled Eggs!)
How comforting are some recipes, right? Would you like to explore more such new recipes? Check out our collection of absolutely lip-smacking Dips, Sauces & Dressings, Few Ingredient Recipes and Summer recipes.
INGREDIENTS & SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THIS 4 INGREDIENT SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE
For exact ingredient measurements, please scroll down to the Recipe Card.
This delicious sauce is made with very simple ingredients (literal pantry staples ❤!).
Here are the ingredients used when making this delicious sweet and sour recipe…
To make the sauce:
- Ketchup- Ketchup adds a delicious flavor that’s both sweet and sour. Thanks to ketchup, you can also skip out on using any red food coloring (many American Chinese restaurants add red food coloring when making this sweet sour sauce). This is such a great ingredient here.
- White vinegar- Gives that delicious sour flavor to our easy homemade sweet and sour sauce. I’ve used white vinegar here but I think any vinegar can work such as apple cider vinegar (I can see apple cider vinegar working well here. Apple cider vinegar has that perfect tart sour flavor), rice vinegar (rice vinegar is also known as rice wine vinegar), red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar… So many options. Go ahead and try different vinegars and see what you prefer.
- Brown sugar- I’ve used brown sugar in my sweet and sour recipe. I love that caramelized deep sweetness brown sugar adds here. You can use white sugar as well. I’ve also not tried it this way but I think maple syrup or honey can work in this sweet and sour sauce recipe too.
- Soy sauce- For a touch of delicious salty umami flavor in this sour sweet sauce ❤. Just one tablespoon soy sauce makes a world of difference here, I adore the flavor it adds. You can use tamari too if you prefer to make this sauce gluten free!
- A little water- Water just thins out the sauce allowing it to cook longer and better, letting all those flavors meld together. You can use whole or half water half pineapple juice, lemon juice, orange juice, apple juice or the juice from maraschino cherries here too.
Once again, for exact ingredient measurements, please scroll down to the Recipe Card.
HOW TO MAKE SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE [Step-by-Step Instructions with Photos]
Please keep in mind that I go into lots of detail in all my recipes so you get to know all the super important tips and tricks when it comes to making a particular recipe. I always want you to make the BEST of whatever you’re cooking ❤.
STEP 1: ADD ALL THE INGREDIENTS IN A PAN
This is such an easy recipe 💃🏻!
Go ahead and take a small saucepan or skillet.
Now, a completely optional step, spray your small saucepan or skillet with cooking oil or add 1/4th teaspoon of cooking oil to your small saucepan or skillet. Cooking in oil will make our sauce glossy! But it’s completely optional.
Don’t switch the stove on yet and add all the ingredients– ketchup, white vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and water to the small saucepan or skillet.
Mix everything well with the help of a spatula or whisk.
STEP 2: COOK UNTIL IT GENTLY BUBBLES
Now switch on the stove and over medium heat, keep stirring your sauce until it starts bubbling gently. This will take about 2 minutes.
Once your sauce is bubbling, let it cook for about a minute while stirring continuously.
STEP 3: SIMMER THE SAUCE UNTIL THICK
Then after a minute is up, lower the heat and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes while stirring continuously until your sauce has thickened up a little more. It will almost have maple syrup’s consistency, just a little thinner. It will thicken up more as it cools.
You can cook it even more to thicken it up further if you like. I prefer this maple syrup consistency where it is still fairly runny because it will thicken a little as it cools.
Switch off the heat and serve your easy homemade sweet and sour sauce however you like- with egg rolls, chicken nuggets or tossed with some fried chicken to make some sweet and sour chicken ❤. It makes every dish so much better!
Hey you, I really hope you love this 4 Ingredient Sweet and Sour Sauce as much as I do!
If you do, I would appreciate a star rating SO much (you can rate this recipe right below or from the Recipe Card 💖).
Once again, for exact ingredient measurements, please scroll down to the Recipe Card.
Also, if you have any questions about this recipe, make sure to check out our FAQs section below to maybe find your answer there, or leave a comment and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible, I promise 😊.
EASY 4 Ingredient Sweet and Sour Sauce (Homemade Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 3½ tbsp white vinegar (you can try any type of vinegar you prefer too such as apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar!)
- 3½ tbsp brown sugar (can substitute with white sugar)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (use tamari for a gluten-free sauce)
- 4 tbsp water
( Note- Please keep in mind that I go into lots of detail in all my recipes so you get to know all the super important tips & tricks when it comes to making a particular recipe. I always want you to make the BEST of whatever you’re cooking ❤ )
Instructions
- ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO A PANTake a small saucepan or skillet.Completely optional, spray a little cooking oil or add ¼ teaspoon of cooking oil to your small saucepan or skillet. The sauce will get glossy cooking in oil!Don’t switch the stove on yet and add all the ingredients to the small saucepan or skillet–3 tbsp ketchup, 3½ tbsp white vinegar, 3½ tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 4 tbsp water.Mix everything together with the help of a spatula or whisk.
- COOK THE SAUCE UNTIL IT GENTLY BUBBLESNow move to the stove. Over medium heat, keep stirring your sauce until it starts bubbling gently.This will take about 2 minutes.Once your sauce is bubbling, let it cook for about a minute while stirring. Don’t stop stirring the sauce.
- SIMMER THE SAUCE UNTIL IT THICKENSAfter a minute is up, lower the heat and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes while stirring continuously until your sauce has thickened up a little more. It will almost have a maple syrup-y consistency. It will thicken up more as it cools.This is how thick I prefer my sauce. You can cook it more if you want it thicker.Turn off the heat and serve your easy homemade sweet and sour sauce however you like- with egg rolls, chicken nuggets or tossed with some fried chicken to make some sweet and sour chicken ❤.It makes every dish so much better!Now that you’ve reached the end of the instructions and have probably tried this dish, can you please leave a rating and comment below letting me know how you liked it? I take EVERY comment seriously and it’ll make my entire day!
Notes ✍🏼
- Increase the serving size of this dipping sauce if you want. I’ve kept the serving size as 1/2 cup here because I love using this sauce on the same day or within a few days but you can always make more if you want and store it, it just gets better with time.
- Keep whisking/stirring the sauce while it’s over the stove.
- Cook this dipping sauce a little more if you want it to be thicker. Remember that the sauce will thicken up more as it cools.
- I’ve made sure this sauce doesn’t need cornstarch and gets thick enough. I also don’t prefer its texture with cornstarch but if you want to thicken up the sauce even more, mix equal parts corn starch and cold water (so for example, 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 1 tbsp of cold water) to make a cornstarch slurry. Pour just a little into the sauce and stir to see if it reaches your preferred thickness. If it doesn’t, add more and stir.
- Many Chinese recipes of this sauce use red color. I feel ketchup does its job but if you still want a redder sauce, add some red food coloring to your sauce.
- You can use just a tsp soy sauce instead of a tablespoon soy sauce if you want more sweet and sour and less salty umami. This is a versatile condiment and tastes amazing every way!
- To store this sauce, make this easy recipe and wait for the sauce to cool down. Then pour it into an airtight container or small bowl wrapped with cling wrap and store it in the fridge. It’ll stay good for about 2 weeks or so!
Nutrition (per serving)
The nutritional information given here is only an estimate.
Please read our full Nutrition Information Disclaimer to learn more.Did you make this recipe?
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You can share your stories with this sweet and sour sauce recipe in the comments below too whether this is the first time you’re trying it or if you’ve already had it multiple times before. I would love to hear all about it!
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FUN SERVING SUGGESTIONS
This is one of the best homemade sauces ever. You can try so many different food ideas with this dipping sauce!
It’s crazy!
The next time you make this delicious dipping sauce, try these food ideas:
- This delicious dipping sauce is usually served with American Chinese food. So hey, go ahead and top it up with some sesame oil and sesame seeds (sesame oil and sesame seeds for flavor) and serve it with your favorite American Chinese food such as egg rolls (ah egg rolls and this amazing sauce!), wontons, potstickers, spring rolls… Loads of options!
- And hey, this is one of the best homemade sauces ever. It tastes good with literally everything. I usually have it along with chicken nuggets. Yes, chicken nuggets! Delish ❤. You can check out my Appetizers to find a recipe that you feel will go well with this delicious sauce.
- Turn this into your favorite Chinese takeout dish… A sweet and sour chicken recipe! Fry up some chicken to perfection and toss it in this sauce. That crispy juicy chicken with this sweet and sour sauce tastes… incredible. Add some pineapple chunks and green pepper to make things even better and serve your sweet and sour chicken recipe with white rice. Yum!
- Or make some some sweet and sour meatballs with this sweet and sour recipe and serve it with some white rice or fried rice. Try this sweet and sour sauce recipe this way next time.
- Or toss it with some delicious cooked veggies (fried, baked, steamed) and serve it along with some white rice or noodles. Or just add it into some noodles and toss! You can make a cold noodle salad with this sweet and sour recipe too, it’s such a good homemade sauce.
- You can also use this delicious sauce as a salad dressing (a great idea for healthy recipes!), check out my Gluten-Free Fried Chicken Salad Recipe, add it in sandwiches or even use it as a marinade, glaze or stir fry sauce. This sauce goes well with healthy recipes as well as fried food!
TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE EVERY SINGLE TIME
This sweet and sour dipping sauce is the perfect example of quick, easy and delicious ✨! Such a great recipe.
Here are a few helpful tips you can keep in mind when making this easy sauce recipe-
- Go ahead and increase the serving size of this dipping sauce. I’ve kept the serving size as 1/2 a cup here because I love using this sauce on the same day or within a few days and I feel this is the ideal amount to make. But hey, you can always make more if you like and store it, it just gets better with time ❤.
- Keep whisking/stirring the sauce while it’s over the stove. We don’t want the sugar burning.
- Cook this dipping sauce a little more if you want it to be thicker. Remember that the sauce will thicken up more as it cools. I usually prefer cooking my sauce until it’s a little thinner than the consistency of maple syrup.
- I’ve made sure this sauce doesn’t need cornstarch and gets thick enough because I don’t prefer its texture with cornstarch but if you want to thicken up the sauce even more, mix equal parts corn starch and cold water (so for example, 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 1 tbsp of cold water) to make a cornstarch slurry. Pour just a little into the sauce and stir to see if it reaches your preferred thickness. If it doesn’t, add more and stir.
- Many Chinese recipes of this sauce use red color here to get that gorgeous red colored sauce. I feel ketchup does its job but if you still want a redder sauce, add some red food coloring to your sauce. The best way would also be using natural red food coloring.
- You can use just a tsp soy sauce instead of a tablespoon soy sauce here if you want more sweet and sour and less salty umami. This is a versatile condiment and tastes amazing every way!
- To store this sauce, make this easy recipe and wait for the sauce to cool down. Then pour it into an airtight container or small bowl wrapped with cling wrap and store it in the fridge. It’ll stay good for about 2 weeks or so!
RECIPE & DIET VARIATIONS YOU CAN TRY
This sweet and sour recipe has got to be one of the most delicious American Chinese recipes ever. It’s such a delicious sauce and a massive favorite in American Chinese restaurants.
This is such a great recipe with super simple ingredients (literal pantry staples!) and you can work with it in a bajillion different ways. So ditch the store-bought stuff, make this sauce and play around with it if you like.
Here are a few ideas:
- White vinegar gives that perfect sour flavor to our easy homemade sweet and sour sauce recipe. I prefer white vinegar here but I think any vinegar can work such as apple cider vinegar (I can see apple cider vinegar working well here with its perfect tart sour flavor), rice vinegar (rice vinegar is also known as rice wine vinegar), red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar… Loads of options. Try different vinegars and see what you prefer.
- I’ve used brown sugar in this easy sweet and sour sauce recipe. Brown sugar adds a caramelized deep sweetness here. You can use white sugar here as well. I’ve also not tried it but I think maple syrup or honey can work here too.
- You can use just a tsp soy sauce instead of a tablespoon. I love that umami flavor but if you want more sweet and sour and less salty umami, use a teaspoon instead. It’s a super versatile condiment.
- You can also use tamari instead of soy sauce for a gluten free option!
- Instead of water, you can use whole or half water and half pineapple juice, lemon juice, orange juice, apple juice or the juice from maraschino cherries here.
- Make this simple sweet and sour yours! Add some chicken broth to it along with water for a delicious mix of flavors. Or some smashed and minced garlic for the most incredible garlicky flavor ❤? Or ginger? Some lemon or orange zest! Perhaps some tomato paste? Tomato paste will add a great tomatoey flavor to this homemade sweet and sour sauce and omg I think I’ll make it this way next time!
- Go ahead and add chopped onions, pineapple chunks, maraschino cherries and/or green pepper or red bell pepper to your dipping sauce. Chopped onions, pineapple chunks and green pepper or red bell pepper will add a bite as well as so much amazing flavor to your sauce.
- Turn this into a sweet and sour chicken recipe that will even beat your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant! Just fry up some juicy chicken to perfection and toss it in with this sauce. That crispy juicy chicken with this sweet and sour sauce tastes… incredible. Add some pineapple chunks and green pepper to make things even better. Yum! You can make it in the slow cooker too! Turn it into a slow cooker recipe.
- You can also make some sweet and sour meatballs with this sweet and sour recipe. Or use it as a stir fry sauce, try it this way next time! You can add it into veggies cooked the way you prefer as well (had it this way last week, so good).
- Want to make this easy sweet and sour sauce recipe spicy? The best way would be by adding some red chili pepper flakes or a hot sauce of your preference. Be careful with the red chili pepper flakes and hot sauce so your sauce doesn’t get too spicy 🔥. I sometimes prefer medium heat, not too much.
- I’ve made sure this sweet n sour sauce doesn’t need cornstarch and gets thick enough. I don’t prefer the texture with cornstarch but if you want to thicken up the sauce even more, go ahead and use cold water and corn starch to make a cornstarch slurry. Mix equal parts corn starch and cold water (so for example, 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 1 tbsp of cold water) to make a cornstarch slurry. Pour just a little into the sauce and stir to see if it reaches your preferred thickness. If it doesn’t, add more and stir.
- Many Chinese recipes of this sauce add in red color here to get that gorgeous red color. I feel ketchup does its job here but if you still want a redder color, add some red food coloring to your sauce. You can use natural red food coloring too!
- This is sweet n sour sauce recipe as it’s lovingly called too is one of the best homemade sauces ever and makes a great marinade or glaze too! The meat becomes deliciously caramelized and so good!
Note- If you think you have an ingredient that you feel is suitable as a substitute for a certain ingredient in this recipe, according to your dietary preference, you can use it and let us know how it works as a substitute in the comments below. I’ll then add it in as an adaptation suggestion here. This will help so many others with the same diet preference as yours.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Well, how does this sweet n sour sauce taste? Like the most incredible blend of flavors.
The second you taste this sauce, you’ll be blown away by how delicious it is. You’ll taste both sweet and tangy flavors which literally is one of the best flavor combinations on the planet.
The flavors are incredible, without being too overwhelming.
Those sweet and sour flavors complement each other beautifully giving you a sauce you’ll want to keep going back to.
I’ve used brown sugar here in my 4 ingredient sweet and sour sauce but I think you can use honey, maple syrup or maybe even agave syrup. I haven’t tried it this way but I think it may work!
Yes, you can definitely use fruit juice here. Many recipes call for adding a cup pineapple juice when making this sauce in large amounts.
If you want to use fruit juice, I suggest you replace the water in this recipe with pineapple juice, lemon juice or apple juice.
Yes, you can use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar in this recipe. I think that tartness of apple cider vinegar can work pretty well here.
You can experiment with rice vinegar too (also known as rice wine vinegar), I heard it goes pretty well here. You can work with other vinegars to find a flavor you prefer!
When I was developing this recipe, I didn’t want to add cornstarch to it.
Now I don’t have anything against cornstarch but I don’t like how it has the tendency to get gloopy when refrigerated as well as separate sometimes… I just didn’t want all that.
I had an old recipe of sweet and sour sauce which used cornstarch and would become all gloopy with time. I didn’t want the texture of that previous recipe here.
When coming up with this recipe, I realized you don’t need a cornstarch slurry at all. The ketchup and brown sugar do a pretty awesome job at thickening everything up, giving our sauce a maple-y syrup consistency.
And of course, if you cook it some more, it’ll thicken up even further.
So yep, just go ahead and let that sauce cook. It’ll thicken up the more it cooks, no cornstarch needed!
Making some Chinese food soon or just want to have this dip ready? You can definitely make it in advance 💃🏻.
Make this easy recipe, wait for the sauce to cool down and then pour it into an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It’ll stay good for about 2 weeks or so!
Then whenever you want to have it, you can have it cold or warm it over the stove or in the microwave until it’s heated through. Make sure you stir/whisk continuously.
❤❤❤
Hey you, I really hope you love this 4 Ingredient Sweet and Sour Sauce as much as I do!
If you do, I would appreciate a star rating SO much (you can rate this recipe right below or from the Recipe Card 💖).
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AMAZING! Thank you!!
Excellent recipe. Couldn’t stop dipping my fingers in even after my egg rolls were done 😉