This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This healthier Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir-Fry has all the flavor of your favorite restaurant version without all the calories and loads of sugar! Gluten-free and on the table in 30 minutes or less!
I’ve got quite a few stir-fry and homemade takeout inspired recipes on the blog, but I noticed I was missing one of my favorites, Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir-Fry. Normally I’d make this with chicken, but when you buy a two pound bag of frozen shrimp at Costco, you switch things up and go with shrimp. I’m actually really glad I did, because it was delicious!
Sweet and sour chicken used to be my go-to for Chinese takeout food. Crispy pieces of battered chicken in a sticky sweet sauce, I couldn’t resist the stuff. These days I’ve wised up to the amount of calories and fat in takeout food and try to avoid it for the most part. It’s insane and actually kind of gross to think about the amount of oil used to fry the food.
Besides the frying another thing to think about is the amount of sugar used in sweet and sour sauce. When I was looking at different recipes I found that most of them used anywhere from 1/2 a cup to a full cup of sugar and that’s on top of the sugar that’s already in ketchup! Some cookie and cake recipes don’t even call for that much sugar and this is supposed to be eaten for dinner!
The first change I made to my recipe for Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir-Fry was to way back on the amount of sweetener used and I switched from using granulated sugar to honey. My preference is to sub in a natural sweetener whenever I can and honey works great in this sauce.
Another healthy change was to skip dipping the shrimp in a batter to give it a crispy coating. Not only does it save time and calories, but it’s really not needed when you’ve got crunchy vegetables and a flavorful sauce to take it’s place.
This stir-fry cooks in a flash! The vegetables are cooked first for a couple minutes and then the shrimp goes in. The shrimp only takes a couple minutes to cook and then the pineapple, green onion and sauce go in. The sauce only needs a minute or two to thicken and in that time the shrimp will finish cooking and the vegetables will get tender, but still have a little crunch to them.
The Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stir-Fry can be served over rice or cauliflower rice like I’ve done, for a lower carb option. Once you taste this you’ll never bother with the overly sweetened, deep fried takeout version again!
1tablespoonavocado oil
1poundshrimp,peeled and deveined
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2cupthinly sliced carrots
1/2cupdiced red bell pepper
1/2cupsliced green onions
1clovegarlic,grated
1/2cupcanned or fresh pineapple,drained
Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/4cupketchup
1/4cuppineapple juice,I used the juice from the can
3tablespoonsapple cider vinegar
2tablespoonshoney
2tablespoonslow sodium soy sauce,or tamari
1teaspoonchili garlic sauce, such as sambal oelek
1/4teaspoonground ginger
2teaspoonscornstarch,or arrowroot powder
Whisk together the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet and add in the carrots and red bell pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes.
Add in the shrimp and green onions and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 3 minutes or until the shrimp start turning pink.
Add in the garlic and pineapple and sauté for 30 seconds to a minute being careful not to burn the garlic.
Pour in the sweet and sour sauce and stir to coat everything. Cook for another couple minutes or until the sauce thickens. Taste for seasoning. Remove from the heat and serve over rice or cauliflower rice.
Leave a Reply