Try the easiest 30-minute sweet & sour veggie stir fry you'll ever make! This recipe uses fresh vegetables and protein-packed chickpeas covered in a simple homemade sweet and sour sauce that's much better than takeout and low in calories.
This vegetarian and vegan dish is perfect for a busy night and is great for making ahead, as it keeps well and warms up fast, just like our simple fried rice using leftover roast lamb.
I've included two sauce options: a super-fast version using concentrate, and a simple from-scratch sauce that's worth the five extra minutes of prep for the incredibly fresh flavour. Both will give a perfect sweet and sour finish that the whole family will enjoy.
⏱ 30-Min Meal | 🥗 Serves 4 | 🌱 Vegan/Vegetarian | ⬇️ Low-Calorie | 💪 High-Fiber
This asian-inspired veggie dish is ideal for a fast meal on busy days. Whether served as a main course or a snack, it's bound to leave everyone wanting more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ " The sweet and sour vegetable stir fry came out so delicious, I loved the tangy sauce and that it was quick and easy to make." - Nisha
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💗 Why This Recipe Works
- Perfect for busy nights and pairs well with any side dish, like our Thai turkey curry.
- Homemade is a healthier option that kids love.
- Low-calorie and great for meal prepping-make ahead, store, and reheat as needed.
What is Sweet and Sour Sauce?
Sweet and sour sauce is a sweet sauce with a bit of a kick, made by mixing sugar and vinegar lemon juice. It often includes ketchup or soy sauce and sometimes other ingredients like pineapple juice or hoisin sauce. This sauce is commonly used in Chinese dishes to add a nice and balanced taste. It pairs well with stir-fried veggies, meat, or tofu.
🥘 Ingredients
*See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
For this sweet-and-sour vegetable stir-fry, we need:
- For the vegetables, use onion, red and orange bell peppers, carrots, green beans, and garlic. Add cooked chickpeas for protein, and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Use sunflower oil for cooking. If you want a quick meat protein instead, try our Korean keema recipe.
- Chinese Sweet & Sour Sauce
- From concentrate: Mix with hot water as directed on the package.
- Make it from scratch using these ingredients: garlic, ginger, tomato ketchup, malt vinegar, brown sugar and tinned pineapple in juice. Recipe below.
Pro Tip: To save time, mix the sweet and sour sauce ingredients in advance. Cover and refrigerate it the day before or in the morning, and it will be ready to use.
💡 Have a specific food allergy?
Click the buttons below to ask AI how to alter it for your diet!
♻️ Substitutions
- Onion: Shallots or leeks can be used.
- Red and Orange Bell Peppers: Yellow or green bell peppers, or even other vegetables like zucchini or eggplant, can be substituted.
- Carrots: Other root vegetables like parsnips or turnips can be used, or you can try thinly sliced sweet potatoes for a sweeter twist.
- Protein Substitutions (Vegan/Vegetarian): Instead of chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans, or lentils can be used. Add a protein component to your meal by including tofu or tempeh in the stir-fry. You can marinate and stir-fry them along with the vegetables or serve them on the side.
- Green Beans: Snow peas or snap peas can provide a similar crisp texture.
- Garlic: Garlic powder or garlic paste.
- Chinese Sweet & Sour Concentrate: If unavailable, you can make a homemade sweet and sour sauce using ingredients like ketchup, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce.
💭 Sweet & Sour Vegetable Stir Fry Expert Tips
- Prep Ingredients Ahead: Have all your vegetables chopped and sauce mixed before you start cooking. Stir-fry cooking is fast, so being prepared ensures everything cooks evenly and perfectly. For another fast dinner, see our quick turkey mince noodle stir fry.
- High Heat Cooking: Use high heat for quick cooking to keep the vegetables looking bright and having a crisp texture.
- Balance the Sauce: Taste and adjust the sweet and sour sauce to your preference before adding it to the vegetables. You can change the sweetness with more sugar or the kick with more vinegar or citrus juice.
🥗 Serving suggestions
Sweet and sour vegetable stir fry is a versatile dish that pairs well with a variety of serving options. Here are some popular choices:
- Snack / Starter: Start your meal with a quick, high-protein bite like our simple Japanese rice balls with spicy tuna.
- Side dishes: Serve alongside a deconstructed Asian side, like the fresh veggies and rice from our simple sushi cups without rolling. Consider serving alongside steamed or stir-fried bok choy, broccoli, or snap peas.
- Noodles: Serve the stir fry with cooked noodles such as rice noodles, udon noodles, or chow mein noodles.
- Serve the sweet and sour vegetable stir fry over steamed white rice or brown rice, or my golden brown vermicelli with rice. For a healthier alternative to rice or noodles, serve the stir-fry with cooked quinoa.
- Lettuce Wraps: Serve the sweet and sour vegetables in lettuce cups. Simply spoon the stir-fry into large lettuce leaves, such as iceberg or butter lettuce, and roll them up like wraps.
- Garnishes: Sprinkle some chopped green onions, cilantro, or sesame seeds over the sweet and sour vegetable stir fry.
- Soft Rolls: Use our Japanese milk bread burger buns to help scoop up all the remaining sauce.
❓Sweet & Sour Stir Fry FAQs
Enjoy this easy version of a Chinese takeaway classic as a dipping sauce or mix it with meat and vegetables for a tangy and flavourful dish.
Ingredients
200 ml pineapple juice
100 g light brown soft sugar
4 tablespoon tomato ketchup
2 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with a little bit of cold water to make a slurry. Set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the minced garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add pineapple juice, light brown sugar, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar to the saucepan. Stir well to combine.
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in the cornflour slurry and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency.
Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for later use.
Enjoy your sweet and sour sauce with your favourite dishes!
It's all about getting the balance right - a mix of sweet, tangy, and salty. Pineapple juice adds a nice sweetness, rice vinegar gives that little sour kick, and brown sugar makes everything taste richer.
A splash of soy sauce or tamari brings that savoury touch that ties it all together. When the balance is just right, you get that classic sweet and sour taste everyone loves.
There are a few things that can make or break a stir-fry. Using the wrong pan is a big one - a wok with deep sides helps keep the heat high and the food crisp. Cutting ingredients too thick, not prepping ahead, or cooking in a wok that's not hot enough can also lead to soggy, uneven results.
Other mistakes include adding oil before the wok is hot, crowding the pan with too many ingredients, and not giving the protein enough room to sear properly. Use a flat spatula instead of a round spoon to scrape up the tasty bits, and make sure your sauce is bold and concentrated so it doesn't turn watery.
Finally, choose the right oil - go for vegetable, canola, or peanut oil since they handle high heat well. Avoid butter or oils with low smoke points. Fixing these small things will make a huge difference in how crisp, colorful, and delicious your stir-fry turns out.colourful
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months-just thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. To reheat, warm it up in a pan over medium heat or in the microwave. If the sauce has thickened, add a splash of water or broth to loosen it up.
If You Enjoyed This Recipe, You Will Love These Too
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📖 Recipe
Sweet & Sour Chickpea Vegetable Stir Fry
Video
Equipment
- 1 wok
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used sunflower) approx ¼ cup
- 1 white large onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper roughly chopped
- 1 orange or yellow bell pepper roughly chopped
- 2 carrots thinly sliced
- 250 g cooked chickpeas approx 1 ¼ cups
- 100 g green beans sliced into 2 cm (approx 1 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- ½ teaspoon mild chilli
- 3 tablespoon Chinese Sweet & Sour Concentrate combined with 350 ml hot water approx 1 ½ cups) or your homemade sauce (see recipe in post)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.4 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used sunflower)
- Add the chopped onion to the skillet and sauté for about 2-3 minutes until it becomes translucent.1 white large onion
- Add the chopped red and orange bell peppers to the skillet and stir-fry for another 2 minutes until they start to soften.1 red bell pepper, 1 orange or yellow bell pepper
- Next, add the thinly sliced carrots and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes until the carrots begin to soften slightly.2 carrots
- Add the cooked chickpeas and green beans to the skillet and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes to heat them through.250 g cooked chickpeas, 100 g green beans
- Stir in the chopped garlic, salt, pepper, and chilli, and cook for about 1 minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.2 garlic cloves, Salt and pepper to taste, ½ teaspoon mild chilli
- Reduce the heat to medium and pour in the Chinese Sweet & Sour Concentrate combined with hot water. Stir well to combine all the ingredients.3 tablespoon Chinese Sweet & Sour Concentrate combined with 350 ml hot water
- Allow the mixture to simmer for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are cooked to your desired tenderness and the sauce thickens slightly.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, adding more salt, pepper, or paprika according to your preference.
- Once the vegetables are cooked and the sauce has thickened, remove the skillet from the heat.
- Serve the sweet and sour vegetable stir fry hot as a side dish or over steamed rice as a main course.
Claudia-Cristina Ciorteanu says
My family loved this!
Claudia Ciorteanu says
My family loved this!
Nisha says
The sweet and sour vegetable stir fry came out so delicious, loved the tangy sauce and that it was quick and easy to make.
Liz says
I made this as a side dish. Oh, my gosh, so delicious!!!
Vera says
Simple and delish! I have been looking for a good sweet & sour sauce. This is it! I made a bunch for meal prep for the next couple of days for lunch!
Nicole says
This stir fry was so delicious!! Absolutely loved the sweet and sour flavor. The recipe was simple and easy to follow.
nancy says
these veggies are the perfect side dish. i love the tang!
Swathi says
These sweet and sour vegetable fry is just awesome. My family enjoyed it. I am going to make again.
Melinda says
This stir fry was so good! My family loved the unique combination of veggies, it was our first time adding chick peas to stir fry and it was delicious. The sauce had just the right blend of sweetness.
Sonja says
Just what I needed for my weeknight dinner: My favourite takeout flavor, but healthy. So delicious and quick!
Gloria says
This recipe is just in time for dinner tonight. I have a bunch of veggies that need to be used up. I did not want to add meat, so the chickpeas are great.
Liz says
This veggie stir fry was so flavorful and tasty!! Both my husband and I enjoyed it!!
Alice says
This is the best veggie stir fry I've made! I added some broccoli and it disappeared quickly.