Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Add a little asian flair to your weekly menu, this easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe is ready in just a few minutes with ingredients you already have in your pantry. Less sodium, ZERO preservatives, gluten free, you’ll never go back to store bought sauce again.
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Raise your hand if you love all things Teriyaki! I’m here to help you out with this super quick, super easy Teriyaki Sauce made from ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. It’s sticky sweet flavor is fantastic on so many things…especially everyone’s favorite chicken teriyaki.
Lately, I’ve been trying to make super simple things in the kitchen because the days are so loooooong that by the time dinner rolls around I’m not super thrilled to be slaving away over dinner….and then dishes. This is really the best teriyaki sauce recipe because it’s loaded with flavor and leans towards being a healthy sauce option for so many things.
You can now, easily, skip the take out by making this simple sauce at home in just a matter of minutes.
What is Teriyaki Sauce?
Teriyaki sauce is a thick, almost syrup-y, sticky sauce that tastes a little sweet and savory at the same time. It’s a sauce commonly found in Chinese restaurants around the world and can include garlic, sesame seeds or chopped green onions.
It’s most often used when cooking chicken, seafood or beef since it makes an excellent marinade.
Ingredients You Will Need
Teriyaki sauce is made, most often, of a base of soy sauce, rice wine and brown sugar although other ingredients can be thrown in for more flavor. Sometimes we like to add orange juice or orange zest to our sauce to give it a citrus-y punch.
Garlic and ginger are used in traditional teriyaki sauce recipes while cornstarch is used as a thickener.
You can easily make a Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce by reading labels and making sure your soy sauce is, in fact, a gluten free ingredient.
How To Make Teriyaki Sauce
It’s really easy to make homemade teriyaki sauce from scratch. If you’re planning to use this sauce as a teriyaki marinade, simply omit the cornstarch as it is used as a thickening agent and isn’t essential to the overall flavor.
- To make the sauce, simply combine the soy sauce, water, rice wine, sugar, garlic and ginger in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat to low.
- Simmer the teriyaki sauce for 5 minutes.
- To thicken teriyaki sauce, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Slowly whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce and stir until thickened. Remove from the heat and use in your favorite recipe.
I don’t recommend using teriyaki sauce as a substitute for soy sauce, as they have drastically different flavor profiles. Soy sauce is more of a flavor enhancer or a finisher and can be used as you would salt.
Recipes using Teriyaki Sauce
We, actually, use this easy teriyaki sauce recipe quite a bit because it’s so quick and simple to prepare. We love it on this Chicken Teriyaki Casserole and this easy Baked Teriyaki Chicken. It just adds so much flavor to the recipe that you don’t need a ton of ingredients to pull it together.
It’s also so fabulous in this Teriyaki Salmon served alongside an asian style slaw. Or slather is on these Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs or this Teriyaki Flank Steak! And serve them with some spicy tuna or this ramen noodle salad.
More Easy Sauce Recipes
- The Very Best Cocktail Sauce Recipe
- The Very Best Creamy Horseradish Sauce
- Nashville Hot Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
DON’T MISS A RECIPE! Be sure you’re following us over on Facebook and Instagram for even more easy family recipes!
Get the Recipe: Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice wine
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
Equipment
- 1 saucepan
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the soy sauce, water, rice wine, brown sugar, garlic and ginger.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat to low.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water.
- Slowly whisk the cornstarch into the soy sauce mixture and turn off the heat. Set aside.
19 Comments on “Homemade Teriyaki Sauce”
I love waterslides. So much. And I also love teriyaki sauce — this recipe looks great!
This was a great recipe. The taste was spot on. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Riya!
Question….where do I look for sweet rice wine? Do grocery stores carry it, and is it in the food or the liquor section, or do I need to go to a wine store? Thanks!
It’s usually in the ethnic section and it’s more of a cooking wine, it would also be called Mirin. You don’t need to go to the liquor store.
How long would this last
It should last in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
Hi, when using the “Easy Teriyaki Sauce” as a MARINADE, do I still cook it on stove? Then cool before marinating chicken? I realize I’m not using cornstarch for marinate.
No, you won’t need to cook it on the stove unless you decide you want to use the remaining marinade as a sauce. Then you’ll need to boil it for several minutes so it’s cooked and thickened.
This is the best sauce hands down!!!
Thank you so much!
Can this be made & stored in the fridge in a jar for future use
Yes, you can store it in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
I wish you would post the recipes at the top without having to scroll down to find it,, It’s frustrating!Thank you!
Hi Lottie! You can click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top to go right to the recipe card. the information in between is informative, though, for those that have common questions or are new to cooking. Thank you for the suggestion and I hope that helps you.
This was absolutely delicious! Who knew that this was so easy to make; and I always have these basic ingredients in my pantry! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for trying it! It’s one of our favorites and I’m so happy you liked it!
Best ever! Easy!
Thank you so much!