Easy Sweet & Sour Pineapple Shrimp Recipe

One of the easiest ways to make takeout-style meals work for your grocery budget is learning how to swap ingredients. Instead of buying a bottle of sweet and sour sauce full of ingredients I can't pronounce, I'm using things I already keep in my pantry. The sauce is easy to replicate with items like ketchup, coconut aminos, honey, and pineapple juice. You can get the same sweet and tangy flavor, but made with ingredients that I am more comfortable feeding my family.

Eating Seasonally

We tend to eat meals seasonally based on when things are fresh and find ourselves eating shrimp mostly in the summer time. This dish is also packed with fresh vegetables you can get in the summertime such as pineapple, peppers, green beans, and snap peas. Eating vegetables when they are in season allows you to enjoy them at peak freshness and the lowest cost.

Since we usually eat shrimp in the summer time, in the fall when I do a freezer inventory I make sure to have a plan for using up any shrimp that we have left so it doesn’t sit throughout the winter. We also try to finish hamburger and hot dog buns that we don’t eat as often in the winter. If you’d like to learn more about my freezer organization system, check out this video.

Easy Meal Ideas

Keeping frozen shrimp on hand is one of my favorite ways to make quick, wholesome meals. Since the shrimp are individually frozen, I can leave them in the original bag and thaw what I need for dinner. That means no extra prep when I get home from shopping and no wasted shrimp from freezer burn. Combined with plenty of seasonal vegetables and a protein-rich base like red lentils. One pound of shrimp easily stretches into a meal with four satisfying servings with the veggies. I also use frozen shrimp them in my coconut shrimp which you can find the recipe here in this blog.

coconut coated shrimp cooked in an air fryer until golden brown

Allergy Friendly Recipes

We have a variety of food allergies in our family I make most sauces from scratch. This allows me to ensure that they are safe for everyone to enjoy. This sweet and sour sauce is made with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. It also uses honey instead of added sugar which is helpful if you are avoiding added sugar.

If you're looking for other allergy friendly recipes check out my allergy friendly teriyaki sauce and yakisoba.