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Vegan Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

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This vegan sweet and sour sauce recipe is bright, sweet, and fantastic over rice, vegetables, or tofu!  Made with a few simple pantry staple ingredients, and ready in 10 minutes.

This sauce gets it’s classic sweetness from pineapple juice, and the bright color from paprika and chili flakes. It’s fantastic tossed with crispy baked tofu and is an easy weeknight sauce for your favorite entrees.

how to make thick restaurant sweet and sour sauce with corn starch paprika rice vinegar and pineapple juice

Let’s get saucy, with this fantastic homemade vegan sweet and sour sauce! This recipe couldn’t be easier to make: add all ingredients to a sauce pan, stir, and it’s ready in 10 minutes.

I love anything coated in sweet and sour sauce, but the kinds you buy at the store are loaded with preservatives and chemicals. This super simple sauce recipe get’s it’s sweetness from pineapple juice and sour flavor from rice vinegar. A pantry staple sauce that takes just minutes to whip up.

This Vegan Sweet & Sour Sauce Recipe Is:

  • Thick
  • Sweet
  • Delicious
  • Easy
  • Flavorful
  • Made with Natural Ingredients
  • Great for Serving with Stir Fries
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One of the BEST Pantry Sauce Recipes

This vegan sweet and sour sauce recipe is a fantastic pantry-staple meal!  It uses almost all ingredients you would have in your dry pantry or cupboards – most of which you probably have on hand. Keeping a well-stocked pantry makes it easy to come up with delicious meals using a few staples you can rotate. 

I made a list of my Top 125 Plant-Based Pantry Staples that always keep stocked. And you can check out all my favorite pantry staple ingredients in my Amazon shop here.  By stocking up on whole ingredients you can cook delicious recipes without a trip to the store!

What’s In Sweet and Sour Sauce?

See the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!

  • Pineapple Juice, I used the juice from a can of pineapple that I drained.
  • Brown Sugar: I  like to use a dark brown sugar for this sauce because I find it has a really nice flavor.
  • Unseasoned Rice Vinegar – I like to get unseasoned vinegar to control the amount of sugar and salt in this dish.
  • Paprika – for a hint of color and great flavor!
  • Red Chili Flakes: for a little heat!
  • Ginger: I love adding fresh or ground ginger
  • Liquid Aminos – Liquid aminos have a fraction of the sodium, but still a ton of the great flavor of soy sauce. We always keep a few bottles of this in our pantry!  It gives a great umami flavor to this dish
  • Corn Starch: the secret to thicken the sauce at the end, it really makes a difference adding it to cold water!
vegan sweet sour sauce recipe gluten free vegetarian healthy sauce for tofu vegetarian chicken or steamed vegetables.

Easy Quick Sauce Recipes in 10 Minutes

This vegan sweet and sour sauce is what I call an Easy Weeknight Recipe- which is on your table in under 15 minutes.  These quick and simple recipes are perfect for those nights when you want a quick homecooked meal but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.

I have a whole section of The Herbeevore dedicated to Easy Weeknight Meals, that are great for the whole family. From soups and stews, to sauces and proteins – a tasty meal can be on your table in no time.  Even faster than ordering takeout!

How Do I Make Sweet and Sour Sauce Vegan?

  1. In a sauce pan, add the pineapple juice and brown sugar, and whisk together over low heat.
  2. Add the rice vinegar, paprika, chili flakes, ground ginger, and soy sauce and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to a low. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water until corn starch dissolves. Pour the corn starch into the pineapple juice mixture and mix well to combine.
  3. Allow sauce to cook over low heat for 5 minutes until thickened. Toss with steamed vegetables, jasmine rice, or crispy baked tofu and enjoy!

More Easy Vegan Sauces You’ll Love!

Cashew Alfredo Sauce Recipe (Dairy Free, Vegan, Gluten Free)

Dairy Free Tzatziki Sauce Recipe (Vegetarian Gluten Free)

White Wine Tomato Sauce Recipe (Vegetarian, Gluten Free)

Mint Chimichurri Sauce Recipe (Without Cilantro or Parsley)

Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa Verde Recipe (Gluten Free, Vegan)

Share this Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce 

As always, if you make this vegan and gluten free sweet and sour sauce recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you.  I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

Let’s keep in touch – make sure to sign up for my newsletter to get fresh recipes weekly. And don’t forget to follow over on Pinterest, Instagram , & my YouTube channel – I’d love to connect with you there!  

vegan tofu with sweet sour sauce recipe gluten free vegetarian healthy sauce for tofu vegetarian chicken or steamed vegetables.

Vegan Sweet and Sour Sauce

Kelly Jensen
This vegan sweet and sour sauce recipe is bright, sweet, and fantastic over rice, vegetables, or tofu!  Made with a few simple pantry staple ingredients, and ready in 10 minutes. This sauce gets it’s classic sweetness from pineapple juice, and the bright color from paprika and chili flakes. It’s fantastic tossed with crispy baked tofu and is an easy weeknight sauce for your favorite entrees.
5 from 4 votes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Sauce
Cuisine American, Asian
Servings 8 servings
Calories 80 kcal

Equipment

  • saucepan

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup pineapple juice I used the juice from a 16-ounce can of pineapple
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar unseasoned
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce/liquid aminos/tamari
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch mixed with 3 tablespoons of cold water, must be cold for the corn starch to dissolve

Instructions
 

  • In a sauce pan, add the pineapple juice and brown sugar, and whisk together over low heat.
  • Add the rice vinegar, paprika, chili flakes, ground ginger, and soy sauce and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to a low. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water until corn starch dissolves. Pour the corn starch into the pineapple juice mixture and mix well to combine.
  • Allow sauce to cook over low heat for 5 minutes until thickened. Toss with steamed vegetables, jasmine rice, or crispy baked tofu and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 80kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 133mgPotassium: 67mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 58IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a rating and comment below, let us know what you loved about it!

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Herbeevore and our beehives!

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Posted in American, Asian, Dairy Free, Dip, Easy Weeknight Meals, Favorites, Gluten Free, Oil Free, Pantry Recipes, Sauces, The Herbeevore Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

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