This recipe for the classic Chinese sweet and sour pork is made healthier thanks to lean pork that’s sautéed instead of deep-fried, with plenty of crunchy vegetables in a naturally sweetened stir-fry sauce.
A Healthier Spin on a Chinese Takeout Favorite
I love taking my favorite dishes and finding clever, creative ways to lighten them up. This healthier sweet and sour pork recipe comes from my blogger friend Emilie Raffa, author of The Clever Carrot Cookbook and blog of the same name.
Her healthier sweet and sour pork stir fry recipe cuts down on the sugar and fat, without sacrificing any flavor.
Emilie titled this recipe “healthier,” because in her words, “If you’re looking for neon red sauce, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for nuggets of deep-fried pork, this isn’t that either.” Two of the exact reasons I was drawn to the recipe.
Instead, this quick and easy recipe uses lean pork tenderloin sliced thin so it takes just minutes to brown. Then, it’s tossed with sautéed peppers and the master sauce that is delicious served over perfectly cooked white rice.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Feel free to use any color of sweet bell pepper you have handy, or what is in your price range. While Emilie’s recipe calls for just red bell pepper, I had a few leftover colors of the pepper rainbow in my fridge after making my Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce recipe. I would avoid green bell pepper simply because it just doesn’t have that sweet bite.
Use grated or pressed ginger instead of minced. Same with the garlic. In pressing or grating, the ingredients seem to meld into the sauce easier, avoiding bites of chunks of either.
Save time by prepping the master stir fry sauce in advance. It lasts up to 2 weeks in the fridge and works in a variety of recipes. The cornstarch will settle to the bottom of the jar; just give it a good shake before using in this recipe.
Ingredients You’ll Need for the Stir Fry and Sauce
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Soy sauce — This is the key ingredient that gives the naturally sweetened sweet and sour sauce a nice kick of umami flavor. Swap in tamari if you need to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- Chicken stock — Homemade is best, but quality store-bought works too.
- Honey — Emilie makes her sweet and sour sauce with honey instead of sugar, which has the added bonus of making it nice and sticky.
- Cornstarch — Thickens the sauce and gives it a restaurant-worthy shine. Don’t replace with flour; the results won’t be the same.
- Ketchup + balsamic vinegar — Ketchup is a powerhouse condiment with a sweet and savory tomato flavor that prevents us from having to measure out a million spices ourselves. The balsamic adds the “sour” component to the sauce. (Swap in apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar if you don’t have balsamic.)
- Pork — Pork tenderloin is super lean, yet remains tender and juicy after a quick stir fry.
- Garlic and ginger — Pack in a savory aromatic punch that elevates the stir fry.
- Bell peppers — Use a medley of colors, or stick to your one favorite.
- Pineapple chunks — Use fresh if you can, otherwise grab a can of pineapple chunks packed in their own juices (avoid anything in syrup).
- Cilantro — My garnish of choice. Feel free to omit it if you don’t care for it.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Pork in 30 Minutes
- Make the sauces. Add the master stir-fry sauce ingredients to a jar and shake well to combine. Then, simply measure out 1 cup of that sauce and add to a bowl with the additional ingredients needed to make the sweet and sour sauce.
- Sear the thinly sliced pork on both sides and set aside before sautéing the veggies in the same pan. Add the homemade sweet and sour sauce to the pan and let the mixture bubble away until thickened before returning the pork to the pan, along with the pineapple chunks.
- Garnish with cilantro. I like to serve my sweet and sour pineapple pork with brown or white rice and/or steamed veggies.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe
Ingredients
For the master stir-fry sauce:
- ⅓ cup soy sauce , (or tamari for gluten-free)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch , **see note below
For the sweet and sour sauce:
- 1 cup master stir-fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup honey
For the pork:
- 1 pound pork tenderloin , trimmed
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed or grated
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger , peeled and grated
- ½ red bell pepper , seeded and cut into strips
- ½ orange bell pepper , seeded and cut into strips
- ½ yellow bell pepper , seeded and cut into strips
- 1 heaping cup fresh pineapple , cut into bite-size pieces
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Brown rice for serving , optional
Instructions
Make the master stir-fry sauce:
- Add all of the ingredients to a jar with a lid. Shake well for the honey and cornstarch to thoroughly dissolve.
Make the sweet and sour sauce:
- Measure 1 cup of the master stir-fry sauce to a medium bowl, along with the balsamic vinegar, ketchup, and honey. Whisk well to dissolve.
Make the sweet and sour pork:
- Thinly slice the pork tenderloin into ¼-inch rounds.
- In a large 10-inch skillet, warm the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the pork, and sear for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Set the pork aside for now.
- Add the garlic, ginger, and sliced bell peppers. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes to soften the peppers.
- Whisk the sweet and sour sauce again and then pour it into the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer for 1-2 minutes to thicken the sauce. Add the pork back along with the pineapple. Cook for about 1 minute to allow the flavors to ming
- Add your sweet and sour pork to a large serving bowl or platter. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with brown rice if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
The sweet bite of fresh pineapple is a staple in the classic Chinese takeout version and we didn’t skip it here.
However, you can use canned pineapple if you want to. If you do, please choose pineapple packed in its own pineapple juice rather than sugar-syrupy sauce.
Emilie reminds readers to drain the juice and use the fruit only, otherwise, the sauce will be too watery.
This is one stir fry that’s best enjoyed immediately, but it’s easy to prep the individual components ahead. The master stir-fry sauce will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge, the veggies up to 4 days, and the sliced pork tenderloin up to 3 days.
To make it sweeter, increase the amount of honey by 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s sweet enough for you. To make it more sour, add extra balsamic vinegar. (Rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar work too!)
Sides That Make This a Meal
More Stir Fry Recipes You’ll Love
- Caramelized Salmon Stir Fry
- Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry
- Udon Noodle Stir Fry
- Classic Beef and Broccoli
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Cashew Chicken
Visit Emilie and her blog at The Clever Carrot. Purchase her book The Clever Cookbook: Get-Ahead Strategies and Time-Saving Tips for Stress-Free Home Cooking here.
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Romy Loewen
Yum!! I didn’t have chicken broth but used Pho Broth instead. So good!! This is going into the rotation.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks Romy!
Cori
this is really a great recipe and I love the flavors. Just a word of caution, take Heidi’s advice and eat immediatly. I meal prepped this ahead to eat for the week but the acid in either the pineapple or sauce makes the texture of the pork was terrible.
Hayley
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Cori!
Kathy
this was such a quick and tasty meal. Loved it. I swapped the balsamic for rice wine vinegar (didn’t have balsamic) and only added enough honey to get the flavour right for me. I did use minced garlic and ginger from a jar as it was all I had. Still turned out perfect.
Thanks for the recipe.
Perfect tweaks to make this recipe work for you and I’m happy to hear it turned out perfectly. Thank you for the comment and recipe suggestions plus the 5-star rating!
Wendy
Yummy! We did not add the 1/4 cup of honey, we substituted a splash of mirin instead. I think it might have been too sweet with the extra honey. We used a spicy ketchup which made it more sour which was perfect.
Wendy, thanks for the ingredient swap ideas. Spicy ketchup would be yum!
Helen
Nice with the fresh pineapple and the peppers. But the sauce is way too sweet and nowhere near tart enough. Next time I’ll cut the honey down (maybe out altogether?) and add more vinegar or some lime juice.
charlotte
Making this tonight. It sounds Devine. Thank you for the recipe :)
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thank you!
Lucia Filip
I made this tonight. I wanted something different with the pork I bought, but light. I made it with toasted couscous. Very delicious indeed!!! Thank you so very much! I never made this type of food before, but my family sais it’s gonna be a regular in our house from now on!!!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy it over and over!
chattie
Didn’t bother- by the time I scrolled through pages of irrelevant self indulgent trivia I’d lost interest
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Sorry for the inconvenience! There is a tab at the top of each recipe to skip directly to the recipe
Kaye D
This sounds wonderful, I have a bunch of thick cuts from a whole pork loin and this will make a great addition for a new pork recipe.
One question..you really didn’t mean “1 heaving up of pineapple cut into bite-size pieces” did you? Would that be 1 HEAPING CUP?? Also, could you use plain in juice canned pineapple?
Thanks
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
Thanks Kaye! Yes, that was meant to say 1 heaping cup of pineapple. You could use canned with the juice drained.
Robert Smith
So yummy recipe. Love this so much. Thanks
Marc Siegel
Made this sweet and sour pork the other day and my husband loved it! Now he keeps on asking me to make another one! Thank you for sharing this magical recipe.
kissanime
This is looking an awesome recipe, I must try it in coming days.
Adrian
Made this yesterday. Wife and son both said it was the best sweet and sour pork I had made. I added 2 stalks of chopped celery, a bunch of chopped spring onions and sugar snap peas, plus 2 tsp of sriracha sauce to it then served it over lemon rice.
Elsberry
Carrot is my favorite . Like your recipe so much .
Dani Richards
Dinner tonight but with chicken. I have made a few of your recopes – all scrumptious!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
I loved reading this Heidi and learned more about Clever Emilie! I agree, her book is written differently than others, a format I admire am drawn to. Like your book, mine is tagged like crazy… there’s so many recipes to try and enjoy. And her style of writing.. just as I expected, like her warm and inviting blog. This healthier sweet and sour pork is just gorgeous. Beautiful work, Heidi!
elizabeth
This is very helpul. Thanks for sharing!
Erin@WellPlated
I absolutely adore Emilie and her blog. I keep telling myself I have too many cookbooks, but obviously I need one more!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love Emilie’s blog, and her cookbook sounds like such a fabulous resource, especially for busy weeknight cooking. So glad you shared this recipe with us and that master sauce is simply brilliant!
Gin K
Congrats on your new cookbook, it looks wonderful! My favorite week night meal during the winter is some sort of warm homemade soup, tomato, ham and bean, or potato and a sandwich. I also do chili and some nights quick pasta meals with a large salad! I’m always looking for new recipes to try and ways to save money and time as well.Thanks for the chance to win great prizes!~Gin K.~
Beth
How much pineapple?
Challis Thimpson
I think it’s supposed to be one HEAPING CUP! Not one heaving up
Elizabeth Tarlow
This looks so Delicious!! I can’t wait to try it; thanks for the post!! I was wondering about how much Soy Sauce you used in the Master Stir Fry Sauce, is it 1/2 cup?
Hi Elizabeth, it’s 1/3 cup of soy sauce. And it’s delicious. I hope you try it!
Emilie @ The Clever Carrot
YEAH! This was so incredible to read Heidi, thank you! You managed to get me all choked up (in the best of ways, of course!). And your pics are absolutely gorgeous. So vibrant! So colorful! And! You even have the same oval white bowl? Soul sisters, indeed ;) And I can’t thank you enough. xoxo
Thrilled and honored to feature you and your talents here on the blog, you inspire me always and I’m positive so many others are inspired by you too. Congrats on the cookbook!
Heather
We’re having this for dinner. Yummy! Thanks for the great interview, too!