Gluten Free Sweet and Sour Sauce (2024)

I love egg rolls and egg roll sauce. Actually I love all Chinese food! What I don’t like so much is not being able to find a sweet and sour sauce that is better for me. I know sweet and sour sauce is supposed to be, well, sweet, but it’s just sky high in sugar when it doesn’t have to be. For this reason I’ve been experimenting with a really tasty sugar-free sweet and sour sauce. And I’m convinced you’ll love this homemade sauce recipe!

Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients

I use ketchup, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, agave sweetener, orange juice, water, and cornstarch to make this egg roll sauce. This homemade sauce recipe has all the appeal of sweet and sour sauce (it tastes both sweet and sour) without all the sugar. You can use sugar-free or reduced salt and sugar ketchup or the normal one, as you prefer.

Instead of the sugar and pineapple juice in regular sweet and sour sauce, I used agave sweetener and orange juice. Agave syrup is 1½ times sweeter than sugar, meaning you will need less in this sugar-free sweet and sour sauce. Agave syrup has a low GI, which means it doesn’t impact blood sugar levels like sugar does.

Coconut aminos tastes like soy sauce but it’s gluten free. It’s really good in this homemade sauce recipe. The cornstarch thickens the sauce up and the rice vinegar gives it a sour tang.

How to Make It

Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients for this egg roll sauce, you can make it. Dissolve the cornstarch in water and then mix in the other ingredients. Bring it to a boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes or until thick. This sweet and sour sauce keeps for up to two weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Chinese recipes often sound impossible if you have issues like gluten sensitivity, diabetes or allergies. So it’s always great to find out how to work around these issues and come up with alternatives.

Gluten-free egg roll wrappers, along with gluten-free egg roll in a bowl, pair beautifully with this sugar-free sweet and sauce recipe. You can expect an amazing tasting Chinese dish which is way better for you than takeout food.

What Else Can You Serve This With?

Try this delicious sweet and sour sauce over brown rice or noodles. You could add cooked chicken or another protein to make a complete meal. Since this is a sweet-tasting sauce, it goes well with anything neutral. You can liven up plain rice or noodles with this egg roll sauce.

It’s nice as a dipping sauce for any Chinese snacks like shrimp toast, spring rolls or other deep-fried (or air-fried!) snacks. Try it with chicken tenders or breaded fish. You are sure to find even more uses for this homemade sauce recipe as well. Since it keeps for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator, you are sure to find other recipes to serve it with during that time.

Is Sweet and Sour Sauce Traditionally Chinese?

It can be hard knowing what is authentic Chinese food and what isn’t. More than half of the offerings at an American-Chinese buffet would be unrecognizable to someone from China! Dishes like moo shu pork, orange chicken, egg foo yung, General Tso’s chicken, and even deep-fried egg rolls were created in the West to appeal to Western palates.

What about egg roll sauce though? Well, sweet and sour sauce is linked to Hunan, a Chinese province. It was originally a condiment for meat, fish and vegetables.

A similar sauce can be traced back to the Guangdong province but it’s possible the sauces were created around the same time. Pineapple and pear were used to add sweetness to dishes in some Eastern Chinese provinces. Molasses, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and honey aren’t traditional ingredients but they are found in Westernized sauce recipes.

These days a lot of dishes are more fusion food creations than traditional recipes. That’s the great thing about cooking though. You can experiment with different ingredients, dishes and cooking styles from various places and come up with new recipes. I love adapting deep-fried recipes for my air fryer. I also love trying new twists on classic dishes and discovering brand new favourites that way.

Gluten Free Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

So are you going to make this healthy sweet and sour sauce soon? It’s hands-down the best sugar-free sweet and sour sauce I’ve made and the recipe is really easy. It’s a great homemade sauce recipe for egg rolls and it goes well with so many other dishes. I bet you love it as much as I do!

Other Recipes to Try

• Black Cherry Vanilla Vodka Sour
• Strawberry Sour Candy co*cktail
• Shrimp Spring Rolls with Tasty Spicy Garlic Sauce
• Black Pepper Chicken – Copycat Panda Express Recipe