3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (2024)

The BEST easy teriyaki sauce recipe and it is made in just 10 minutes! It is so simple to make this homemade, you will wonder why you ever bought teriyaki sauce!

Sometimes the cupboards are close to bare for a variety of reasons and you just have to get dinner on the table. At those times I turn to a small handful of standby recipes that I always have the ingredients for.

This easy teriyaki sauce recipe is one of them and my kids happily declare it is the best dinner ever on the regular. It’s delicious, super easy and way better for you than any store bought sauce filled with tons of sugar and corn syrup!

What Is Teriyaki Sauce Made Of?

Teriyaki sauce is popular all around the world with its savory-salty-sweet flavor with lots of umami undertones.

Traditionally from Japan it’s main ingredients are soy sauce, mirin and sake with a few pinches of sugar and ginger in some cases.

But many people (in America especially) add a significant amount of brown sugar or honey, garlic, ginger, pineapple juice and sesame seeds to their teriyaki sauce.

This variation actually hails from Hawaii where Japanese immigrants introduced the concept, locals mixed in their local addition of pineapples and began using it as a marinade and sauce on chicken and pork especially.

What Is Teriyaki?

Teriyaki in it’s most classic form is actually describing the way the food is prepared, NOT the sauce.

It is used to describe grilling, broiling or pan frying a dish with a beautiful shining glaze. Using it to describe the sauce is a product of americanization of this dish and you will not find the teriyaki you are used to on a classic Japanese menu.

Traditionally, teriyaki sauce was used with fish. In Japanese cuisine, it is mainly used to top mackerel, salmon, marlin, trout, yellowtail and skipjack tuna.

In the west, the sauce is more popularly served with meat such as chicken, beef, and pork. Read more on the history of teriyaki here.

Ingredients You Need:

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3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (4)

How To Customize Your Sauce:

Creating your own asian sauce from scratch is easy once you understand the types of ingredients you need. Once you understand this you can mix and match within reason with what you have on hand!

  • Salty base: soy sauce, tamari or liquid aminos. Thinned with water to tame the salt overwhelm.
  • Sweetness: traditionally mirin and sake but in our recipe we sweeten with honey and crushed pineapple. Substitute: white sugar, brown sugar, or a sweet wine.
  • Acidity: traditionally sake adds some acidity, but in our recipe rice wine vinegar and pineapple juice. Substitute: orange juice, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Even if you are making the base recipe it’s best to add the acidity in if you can in some fashion, it’s really not well balanced without it.
  • Thickener: you can boil it down to thicken or cornstarch creates a beautiful shiny glaze. Substitute: flour, potato starch or arrowroot powder.
  • Aromatics: ginger and garlic add amazing depth to the recipe. Substitute: finely minced shallots, finely minced onion, dried ginger and garlic powder (start with 1/2 teaspoon and increase to taste)
  • Garnish: sesame seeds add visual interest and a crunch that is delightful. A small dash of sesame seed oil is also lovely (be careful it is powerful!)

While each substitution is not perfect, the ratio and balance is super important to create something edible. Start with our ratios and then tweak to adjust with what you have on hand!

Step By Step Instructions

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What’s the difference between soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and teriyaki marinade?

Soy sauce is an ingredient of teriyaki sauce made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds. It is the consistency of water and considered to contain a strong umami flavor. It is very salty so many people recommend low sodium soy sauce when making teriyaki sauce to help prevent the salt from overpowering the dish.

Teriyaki marinade is a thinner version of teriyaki sauce that marinade flavors chicken, beef and fish by slowly being slowly absorbed into the meat for several hours. It is kept thinner so the sauce can be absorbed more easily.

Teriyaki sauce (also called teriyaki glaze) is for instant cooking by brushing on meats before grilling, stir frying and as a dipping sauce. It tends to have more sugar and be thickened more, either by boiling it down or by adding cornstarch or other thickening agents.

Is Teriyaki Sauce Gluten Free?

Yes! So long as you use gluten free soy sauce and thicken with cornstarch. You can also use tamari or liquid aminos if you prefer though the flavor will be slightly different.

How Long Will It Keep?

This sauce keeps well in the fridge for several weeks, so I will often whip up a double batch at the start of the week so we can use it in multiple recipes. It’s perfect for meal prepping on the weekends!

Ways to Use This Homemade Teriyaki Sauce:

We love to make noodle stir fry, teriyaki chicken over rice and we use this all the time to brush on meats to toss on the grill quickly. It is completely addicting and I know it will become a pantry staple in your house too!

Try these recipes:

Almond Chicken Stir Fry
Teriyaki Chicken
Tropical Jerk Chicken Rice Bowl

3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (12)

3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

The BEST easy teriyaki sauce recipe and it is made in just 10 minutes! It is so simple to make this homemade, you will wonder why you ever bought teriyaki sauce!

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Print Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Basic Easy Teriyaki Sauce

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce, I like reduced sodium
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 4-5 tablespoons honey, to taste

Flavor Add Ins

  • 2-4 tablespoons rice vinegar, to taste
  • 4 tablespoons crushed pineapple
  • 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon green onions

Instructions

  • In a small pot whisk soy sauce, water, cornstarch and honey together until smooth. Add any of the optional additional ingredients you are using (vinegar, garlic, ginger, etc) .

    3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (13)

  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and whisk constantly until desired thickness is reached, about 8-10 minutes. Do not leave unattended it thickens quickly once it gets boiling and will rapidly burn. It will continue to thicken as it cools so remove it before it looks to the consistency you are after.

    3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (14)

  • Taste and adjust as desired. If too thick, thin with additional water to desired consistency.

    3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (15)

Notes

Sauce will thicken as it stands. If too thick simply whisk in a few tablespoons of warm water at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8th of recipe | Calories: 57kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 439mg | Sugar: 12g

Author: Dani Meyer

Course : Entree

Cuisine : Chinese, Japanese, American

teriyaki chicken, teriyaki sauce, dinner, easy recipe, healthy, chicken, stir fry, sauce, 3 ingredient recipe, teriyaki sauce recipe, homemade teriyaki sauce, teriyaki stir fry

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GFH

3 Ingredient Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is teriyaki sauce made of? ›

Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients

Authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce combines soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake to create a distinctively sharp taste, with Westernized versions incorporating honey, garlic, and ginger for added edge. Cornstarch is often added to teriyaki sauce as a thickener.

What can I substitute teriyaki sauce with? ›

Substitute for teriyaki sauce

If you don't have the ingredients for teriyaki in your kitchen or a bottle in the cupboard, you can replicate the sweet and saltiness by mixing honey with soy sauce. It won't have quite the complexity of teriyaki, but it gives a similar result.

Can I use white sugar instead of brown sugar for teriyaki sauce? ›

Sugar — Regular granulated sugar is all you need to make teriyaki sauce. It balances the salt from the soy sauce and helps to make the sauce sweet and glossy. Other forms of sugar work, too. Brown sugar, coconut sugar, and even honey will work.

What can I use instead of honey in teriyaki sauce? ›

Honey or maple syrup

Typically, you'll find a combination of honey and brown sugar in teriyaki recipes. I wanted this recipe to be entirely naturally sweetened, so I used all honey instead. If you want teriyaki sauce without honey, simply use maple syrup. It's great, too!

What is the difference between teriyaki sauce and teriyaki marinade? ›

The main difference is that marinades are used to flavor food before cooking while a sauce is added during the cooking process or after the dish has been cooked. One important thing: don't use premade marinade that's been used to marinate meat, poultry, or fish.

What are the ingredients in Kikkoman teriyaki sauce? ›

ingredients. SOY SAUCE (WATER, SOYBEANS, WHEAT, SALT), WINE, SUGAR, WATER, SALT, VINEGAR, SODIUM BENZOATE: LESS THAN 1/10 OF 1% AS A PRESERVATIVE, ONION POWDER, NATURAL FLAVORS, SUCCINIC ACID, GARLIC POWDER.

Is it better to buy or make teriyaki sauce? ›

You know how the irresistibly sweet-salty teriyaki-slathered grilled meat you get at a Japanese restaurant is infinitely more delicious than the stuff you make at home? Well, the reason is simple: Homemade teriyaki sauce is just always better than the sickly sweet store-bought stuff.

What can I substitute for ginger in teriyaki sauce? ›

Allspice, Turmeric, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, or Mace. Of course, none of these spices really tastes like ginger. Instead, think of them as alternatives rather than direct substitutes: In a recipe that calls for ground ginger, you can substitute the same amount of any of these spices—or a mixture of them.

What can I use if I don't have cornstarch for teriyaki sauce? ›

To thicken your sauce without cornstarch, use all-purpose flour or arrowroot powder instead of the cornstarch. Follow the same method by mixing with cold water to create a slurry before whisking into the simmering sauce.

Can I use Splenda instead of white sugar? ›

Yes. Splenda Original Granulated Sweetener can be used for baking and cooking. It measures and pours just 1-to-1 like sugar. 1 cup of Splenda Original Granulated Sweetener is equal in sweetness to 1 cup of sugar.

What's the difference between soy sauce and teriyaki sauce? ›

Teriyaki Sauce vs Soy Sauce

Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and savory sauce made from soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. On the other hand, soy sauce is a dark, salty sauce made from fermented soybeans, wheat, and salt.

Why add brown sugar to marinade? ›

Brown sugar – For a touch of sweetness that caramelizes on the grill! For an extra rich, caramelly flavor use dark brown sugar.

What can you use if you don't have teriyaki sauce? ›

A simple and effective substitute for teriyaki sauce is a combination of soy sauce and brown sugar. The soy sauce provides the salty umami flavor, while the brown sugar adds sweetness and helps to caramelize the dish. To make this substitute, mix one part soy sauce with one part brown sugar.

What can I use instead of Worcestershire sauce in teriyaki? ›

In recipes relying on complex flavors, soy sauce is a great choice for a single-ingredient sub. Add a pinch of brown sugar to the mix for an even richer flavor. With or without the brown sugar, use soy sauce in equal amounts to Worcestershire. Try this for peppered pork, teriyaki, or a last-minute chicken dinner.

Can I use golden syrup instead of honey? ›

It can be used wherever honey is used, providing a lesser flavour spectrum but saving rather a lot of cost; this would include on porridge, pancakes and waffles, in flapjacks, ginger cakes and similar. To really showcase this ingredient, try making our golden syrup dumplings.

Is teriyaki sauce unhealthy? ›

Is Teriyaki sauce healthy? A. While the low amount of calories in teriyaki sauce makes it healthy, the presence of sodium in the sauce in abundance makes it unhealthy. Therefore, the amount of sauce consumed daily determines whether the sauce will prove to be beneficial or not.

What's the difference between teriyaki and soy sauce? ›

Teriyaki Sauce vs Soy Sauce

Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and savory sauce made from soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. On the other hand, soy sauce is a dark, salty sauce made from fermented soybeans, wheat, and salt.

Why does teriyaki sauce have wheat? ›

Traditionally, teriyaki sauce is made with soy sauce, which is not gluten-free because it contains wheat. To replace soy sauce in this recipe, we used its cousin: tamari. Tamari and soy sauce are both made from fermented soybeans, but tamari doesn't usually contain wheat.

Is teriyaki sauce Japanese or Chinese? ›

Ultimately, while teriyaki is of Japanese descent and a traditional method of preparing and cooking meats, the origins of the classic teriyaki dish that we know and consume today is Japanese-American. It is the by-product of American colonization, immigration patterns, and cultural collaboration.

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