BEST Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
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For an absolutely phenomenal homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe, look no further! Ready in 10 minutes, no junk ingredients, and crazy delicious, you’ll never use store-bought again! Just read the hundreds of rave reviews below. This recipe has consistently enjoyed top ranking across the web for over 10 years for one reason: it’s simply the BEST!
It happened one too many times. I needed teriyaki sauce for a recipe and thought I had some on hand only to find – after all the other ingredients had already been prepped – that there wasn’t any. No doubt you can relate to this scenario, whether it’s teriyaki sauce or some other condiment like tahini paste, black bean sauce, or hoisin sauce. So I whipped up my own homemade teriyaki sauce…and have never touched store-bought since! And trust me, after making this teriyaki sauce recipe, you won’t either.
What is Teriyaki Sauce?
This thick and sticky Japanese sauce is popular all around the world with its dark, bold, savory-salty-sweet flavor with lots of umami undertones. Its primary ingredients include soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, honey and mirin. The word teriyaki refers to both a Japanese cooking technique as well as to the sauce. It was developed in the 17th century and has become synonymous with Japanese cuisine, being served all over the world. The term teri in teriyaki refers to the aesthetic shine on the food created by the sugar content in the sauce, while yaki refers to the method of grilling. With its shiny luster and robust flavor, teriyaki sauce is a natural pairing for grilled foods.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This recipe calls for 8 ingredients, all of which are pantry staples with maybe the exception of mirin which you can substitute or omit. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Tamari: you can substitute low sodium soy sauce but tamari has much more flavor while also have less sodium.
- Brown sugar: adds flavor and sweetness. For sugar free teriyaki sauce you can substitute a brown sugar alternative.
- Fresh ginger: adds flavor and zing
- Fresh garlic: adds flavor and depth
- Honey: adds flavor complexity and sweetness
- Sesame oil: adds depth of flavor
- Mirin: adds flavor complexity and a hint of sweetness. You can substitute sherry and a pinch of sugar or omit it altogether.
- Cornstarch: to thicken the sauce.
Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
This is a super quick and easy sauce to make, all you have to do is:
- Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, honey, sesame oil, mirin and water mixed with cornstarch together in a bowl
- Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and simmer for about 4 minutes until thickened.
- Your sauce is ready!
You can use it right away or store it in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks. And the flavors will get even better over time. Enjoy this homemade teriyaki sauce in the dish of your choice (see below for ideas).
Ready in less than 10 minutes, thoroughly delicious and free of fillers or junk ingredients, there simply is no good reason to EVER use store-bought again!
Enjoy!
How To Use Teriyaki Sauce
Teriyaki sauce is a versatile and flavorful Japanese sauce that can be used in various ways to add a sweet and savory taste to your dishes. Here are some common ways to use teriyaki sauce:
- Marinating Meat, Poultry, Seafood or Tofu: To use this sauce as a marinade simply omit the cornstarch. Place the protein in a ziplock bag, pour in the sauce, and allow it marinate for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- Grilling: Brush this sauce onto your proteins or veggies to create a delicious caramelized glaze.
- Stir-Fries: This makes an excellent base sauce for stir-fries of all kinds.
- Chicken Teriyaki, Teriyaki Salmon, Teriyaki Tofu, and Teriyaki Pork: Slather this on and bake to create a delicious sticky glaze.
- Dipping Sauce: This makes a great dipping sauce for sushi, spring rolls, dumplings, tempura, or other appetizers.
- Bowl or Rice Topping: Drizzle it over your rice bowls with your grilled teriyaki chicken, pork, beef, salmon or tofu and some steamed or stir-fried veggies.
- Glaze for Roasted Vegetables: Brush some of this sauce onto roasted vegetables for a sweet and savory glaze.
- Sandwiches, Wraps or Burgers: This adds a burst of flavor to your favorite sandwiches and burgers.
- Noodles: Add a drizzle of teriyaki sauce to noodle dishes, such as udon or soba, and toss to coat.
- Salad Dressing: Combine the teriyaki sauce with some oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and a little sesame oil for a unique and flavorful salad dressing.
For more homemade Asian sauces try my:
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Plum Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Eel Sauce
- Black Bean Sauce
- Kecap Manis
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Char Siu Sauce
- Ponzu Sauce
- Ginger Sauce
- Big Mac Sauce
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BEST Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Small saucepan I use and recommend All-Clad stainless steel cookware!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tamari , can substitute low sodium soy sauce. Note: tamari has more flavor than soy sauce and significantly less sodium.
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- see brown sugar alternative (for low sugar option)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger ,minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic ,minced
- 1 tablespoon honey (Vegans: use agave nectar or sweetener of choice)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons mirin (see note)
- 1/4 cup water mixed with 3 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week. Makes about 1 1/4 cups teriyaki sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet May 27, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Oh my goodness gracious! This sauce is incredible! I won’t be buying store bought anymore!
I’ve never made my own teriyaki sauce but I find the ones I buy in the store to be too runny. This is a nice thick sauce great for stir-fries! Thanks for giving vegan substitutes.
I love making my own sauces! The flavor is always so much better than any store bought brand. Can’t wait to try this one!
The flavors in this were absolutely delicious! I will be making this again and again!
I am so trying this! I have always problem finding teriyaki sauce in my local store so thanks for the recipe! :)
How long can this sauce be stored?
I love this sauce, and so do my fussy kids. It’s easy to make and if you don’t use it all in one go you can store it in the fridge for a few days. I’m making it tonight with noodles, chicken and veg.. I now never buy store teriyaki sauce as i love this recipe so much, plus you know exactly what’s in it!
Fantastic, thanks so much!
This sauce looks amazing!
Thanks to sharing this sauce recipe……
I made chicken teriyaki last night with your recipe. I accidentally used T. instead of t. for the cornstarch, but it came out exactly as thick as I wanted it. My husband said the chicken was amazing! I wrote the recipe on a card and put it in my box. That means it is the only sauce I will ever use.
Fantastic, Kathie, I’m so glad you both enjoyed it, thank you!
Thank you thank you thank you!
Beef teriyaki is one of my favorite foods, but we don’t go to Japanese restaurants very often, and I’m not sure I’d want to anyways because the place where I learned to love teriyaki is special– we go once or twice a year as part of a weekend-long party a family friend hosts. So I’d like to be able to make it at home, but the bottled teriyaki sauce my mom gets is absolutely horrible (though she clearly doesn’t mind it because she keeps on getting the same brand) and the recipes I’ve tried before aren’t much better.
This recipe, though… The comments are so overwhelmingly positive– the worst I saw on a quick scroll through was a single commentor who’d found their sauce to be too salty, all the rest were positive or answered questions– and after making a serving, it’s clear that’s well deserved.
The recipe as written makes 12 servings, so when I tried to make a single serving the measurements were small and hard to get accurate (0.02 cup brown sugar, 0.13 teaspoon ginger, 0.08 teaspoon sesame oil…). I’m fairly sure I put in about twice as much brown sugar as I should have, and maybe also some extra honey, which showed in how sweet the sauce turned out. Even so, it was the best teriyaki sauce I’ve yet managed to make, and was delicious on some leftover ground beef. I can only assume that it will be even better in its proper proportions when I next make teriyaki for the family.
Wonderful, Duskkit, I’m glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the feedback, thank you!
Perfect teriyaki sauce. I make a double batch without the water and cornstarch and store in a mason jar then I add cornstarch water when I’m ready to use. Perfect for when I need a marinade or sauce! I’ve Even given it as a gift and my friends say it’s the best! My go to teriyaki sauce!
I love this sauce! It is my go to. I even crave it at times. Like today, my cravings= the sauce simmering on the stovetop. 😊❤
I’m so glad, Carmella, thank you!
Going to make this tonight, curious though.. How much does it make? I see it says 12 servings.. Wondering how big those servings are. Making chicken Teriyaki with rice and veggies and my bf is a sauce lover, he uses a lot. Me, not so much, one or two scoops will be good for me. Should I double the batch?
Hi, this makes about 1 1/4 cups of teriyaki sauce.
I was wondering if the nutritional facts for Daring Gourmet recipes could be made a bit clearer. With this teriyaki sauce recipe, I would need to make it, measure it, then divide by 12 to discover what the serving size actually is. One tablespoon or 1/4 cup has x number of calories would be lovely.
I have saki no mirin….could I use it instead?
Hi Debi, yes you can. Happy cooking!