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Teriyaki Sauce is super easy and way better than store-bought! Made with simple ingredients you can pronounce, this is going to become a staple in your family.
Making your own sauces is way easier and cheaper than you think. Try these other homemade sauces that you are going to love like this Fry, Cheese, and Yum Yum Sauce!
Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
Homemade anything is way better than store-bought, for many reasons. First, you know exactly what is in your sauce. No funny-sounding ingredients here. Second, you can control the amount and type of ingredients too. If you love a certain brand of soy sauce or want to use extra garlic or ginger you can. You can customize the teriyaki sauce to your family’s tastes. And making your own is way cheaper than buying it. You will never go back to the jarred teriyaki sauce again after you taste this.
Teriyaki sauce is a favorite flavor around here. It is a savory, sweet sauce that elevates whatever you serve it on. Interesting enough though, the word Teriyaki in Japanese technically means a type of cooking style, not a certain flavor. Regardless, this flavor has become one of the most popular Asian sauces. It’s tangy, thick and full of a perfect blend of sweet and spice. You are going to love how easy this teriyaki sauce is and how delicious it is too!
Easy Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients
Using fresh garlic and ginger is key here, it will create the best flavor in this teriyaki sauce. Find the list of measurements for each ingredient located in the recipe card below.
- Low sodium soy sauce: I love using low sodium because it still has all the flavor and is better for the heart.
- Brown sugar: You can use either dark or light brown sugar in this recipe with excellent results.
- Apple cider vinegar: This gives it a bit of tang that is custom in teriyaki sauce.
- Garlic cloves minced: You will want to use fresh garlic not jarred or powder. It will give you the best flavor this way.
- Sesame oil: Look for sesame oil near the olive and canola oils. It can also be found near the bottles of vinegar.
- Freshly grated ginger: Fresh ginger looks like a root, it is covered in a tough outer skin that’s brown and can be found in the produce section of the store.
- Water: You will want to use cold water to mix better with the cornstarch.
- Cornstarch: This will thicken the sauce to the most ideal consistency.
How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
Just heat, stir and serve and you have the best teriyaki sauce that is going to be awesome! It is quick and easy to make, plus will store well for you to use your homemade sauce over and over again.
- Heat: In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, and ginger. Heat it to a simmer.
- Thicken: In a small bowl whisk together the water and cornstarch. Slowly whisk into the saucepan. Whisk the sauce constantly until it starts to thicken.
- Enjoy: Remove from heat and cool.
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Tips
This teriyaki sauce is the perfect combination of salty, sweet, spicy and savory! Try these extra tips for the best flavor!
- Make it gluten-free: Look for gluten-free soy sauce and you have a luscious gluten-free sauce that will taste amazing.
- Sugar Swap: You can trade out the brown sugar for honey or maple syrup if you desire. The honey and maple syrup will change the consistency and taste just a bit. So adapt the other ingredients as needed. You may need to add a bit more cornstarch slurry to thicken it as desired.
- Brown Sugar: Light and dark brown sugar work great in this recipe. The dark brown sugar will give the sauce a deeper flavor.
- Grating Ginger: Use a knife to peel back as much ginger as you need. Using the smallest holes of a cheese grater, grate as much ginger as you need. You can also use a zester to grate the ginger. To preserve the rest of the ginger for another use, only peel as much as you need. Cover the peeled end tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.
How to Store the Best Teriyaki Sauce
Use the homemade sauce immediately as needed or store it in a tightly sealed jar for up to two weeks. This teriyaki sauce is perfect to make ahead as the flavors actually meld together and the teriyaki sauce gets better with time.
How to Use Teriyaki Sauce as a Marinade
Teriyaki Sauce can be used in many different ways. You can use it as a marinade, salad dressing, and topping for all sorts of dishes. We love to use this sauce on simple stir fry, as the sauce for slow cooker chicken and to top salads. It also makes a great dipping sauce for your Egg Rolls and Pot Stickers! YUM! Use this incredible sauce whenever you need a great sauce to accompany an already wonderful meal. Here are more scrumptious recipes to use this homemade teriyaki sauce with.
More Asian Inspired Recipes
Teriyaki is just one of many Asian flavors that Americans have fallen in love with. The flavors range from mild, to spicy to sweet and tangy. There are so many flavors to make and experiment with. I love making our favorite restaurant dishes from home. They always taste better, save us money and time, and are usually way easier to make than thought. From classic stir fry to fun appetizers, Asian food is a favorite! The next time you are craving take out, try one of these tried and true, better than take-out recipes yourself!
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Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, and ginger. Heat over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch then add it into the saucepan. Whisk the sauce constantly until it starts to thicken.
- Remove from heat and cool.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I double it, skip the cornstarch and water to thicken it and use it as my go to teriyaki Marinade. Keeps well in the fridge. Tastes great with chicken or pork nice to marinate wing pieces in and then do a thickened version to dowse them in after cooking.
How long can you keep the teriyaki sauce.
For up to 2 weeks in the fridge as long as it’s in an airtight container.
Is the nutritional info correct? So many carbs! But looks yummy anyway
How long does it keep in the frig?
Two weeks!
I made a batch of this last night and am blown away by the wonderful flavor. I normally use recipes just to get an ingredients list, but this looked so good and complete, I mostly followed it.
The two modifications I made were with the soy sauce and the vinegar. I don’t like salty food, so cut the amount of soy sauce in half. I didn’t have apple cider vinegar, so I used white vinegar. Not wanting to risk tasting vinegar, I just used one tablespoon, but I don’t know if this reduction really mattered. Since I wanted a sauce for marinating and not a glaze type sauce, I skipped the corn starch and didn’t heat it.
I do suggest that if one is marinating with such an awesome sauce as this, such as marinating meat for a kebab, let it marinate for at least two days for it to really soak into the meat. And if you also marinate your veggies, you’ll be in for an extra special treat.
Thanks for this recipe Alyssa!
-Jim
Thanks for trying it! Those are great ideas to change it up!
I am going to be making this recipe. Thanks so much for this recipe. I have celiac disease and haven’t been able to find any gluten free sauce.
I will experiment with this, to get the flavor of the garlic and ginger, but no chunks, since I like my teriyaki sauce smooth, without chunks.
Hi Brady, I’m not sure where you live but our International Asian market (Northen California) sells crushed ginger and garlic in a pack of 1 tsp. portions in the freezer area. (20 portions per pack) The brand is Dorrot Gardens. They’re great in so many things.
This sounds really good. The nutrition information says 14 g protein. Where does the protein come from? And what size is a serving?
I use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, to make this because a family member is allergic to soy. I also have added pineapple juice, on occasion for a bit of tropical brightness.
Like your son, I can eat Teriyaki Chicken any day of the week. 🙂
I was a bit surprised you spray the crockpot rather than use a liner. The liner saves a lot of water, time, and effort.
And how do you make the new ingredient symbol before each ingredient? I get rid of the symbol before I print out a recipe to use and it makes getting rid of so much easier as I use columns when I print out a recipe.
I am looking forward to trying other of your recipes.
Thank you.
How do you store it and for how long before it goes bad? I want to make a big batch because I used store bought sauce a lot.
Hi! You can store it in a tightly sealed jar for up to two weeks.
Can this sauce be canned for later use?
I’m sure with proper canning techniques, this can be canned but I haven’t tried it before with this recipe.
I use this for a meal prep and it’s good. Yes, it will gel if refrigerated, but chicken that has marinated for at least 6 hours has a solid flavor. Save some of the sauce to put on the chicken after cooking.
Also, pay attention to the low-sodium part. The sauce is TOO SALTY if you use regular soy sauce.
The flavor was pretty good, but when it thickened, it turned into a gel. I tried adding water to thin it out with no luck. I think 3 tbsp cornstarch is too much. I might try again with only 1 tbsp cornstarch. I’ve always used arrowroot powder for cornstarch in anything that calls for cornstarch with no problems, so I don’t think that was the issue.
Can you water-bath can this for shelf life?
I have not tried it yet. Let me know how it turns out!
Sounds like a great, and simple, recipe!
Recipe hack for you – you don’t have to use a knife to peel ginger, you can use a spoon! A totally safe option that’s just as effective 🙂
That is great to know! Thanks for the tip!