This homemade teriyaki sauce recipe is easy and uses common ingredients, giving you the restaurant-style sauce you love!
Serve it with chicken fried rice, your favorite steak, and grilled shrimp, or even toss chicken wings with it!
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For years I would buy store-bought teriyaki sauce but it never tasted as good as what we’d get when we’d go to our favorite Japanese steakhouse.
So, I was on a mission to create a homemade teriyaki sauce that didn’t have such a strong ginger taste and just the right amount of sweetness.
Now, this is the recipe we try to make and keep on hand in the refrigerator in case we need a dipping sauce or want to cook it with something like air fryer salmon.
Why You’ll Love This
- Homemade vs. Store Bought: If you’re like me and have always wanted to make your own teriyaki sauce because storebought just doesn’t taste near as good, then you’ll love how easy this recipe is and the flavor!
- Not a fan of ginger? Perfect. This recipe doesn’t use ginger. HOWEVER, I know almost all teriyaki sauce recipes include ginger so most people want it included. So instead of totally leaving it out, I’m also offering the option of how much ginger to add if you prefer it.
Ingredients:
If you’ve never made your own before, you may be surprised at the little amount it takes. Here’s all you need:
- soy sauce
- water
- brown sugar
- garlic powder (or minced garlic)
- honey
- cornstarch
How to make this recipe:
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, mix together the soy sauce, 1 cup of water, garlic, brown sugar, and honey.
If you prefer ginger in your teriyaki sauce, add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger puree (or fresh ginger if you prefer) in at this time as well.
How to thicken
Mix 2 tbsp. of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water together in a small dish, and whisk in to heated teriyaki sauce on the stove-top once it has heated through. Cook over medium-low heat, until sauce has thickened.
Once thickened, it’s ready to serve!
Spicy teriyaki sauce recipe
We LOVE spicy foods and adding a little kick to teriyaki sauce is one of our favorite things to do sometimes. Simply keep this recipe the same and just add a bit of your favorite spice.
Suggested: To add some spice, add a little bit at a time (maybe 1/4 tsp.) of chili paste or red pepper flakes in to the sauce while heating, and increase the amounts to reach desired spice level.
How to store
Store in an air-tight container (my favorite is to store it in small mason jars), in the refrigerator.
How long is homemade teriyaki sauce good for?
Stored in the refrigerator, homemade teriyaki sauce is good for up to 3-5 days.
How to use it
- as a dipping sauce
- great for a marinade
- on burgers
- drizzle on salmon (fish)
- on chicken
- in a stir-fry (or noodle bowl)
- on vegetables
- on shrimp
- meatballs
Tips for Making This
- Sometimes we will double/triple this batch to have a lot on hand for dipping or to make teriyaki chicken wings, salmon, or to drizzle on rice!
- Too sweet? – If it’s too sweet, simply reduce the amount of brown sugar.
- Want more of an acidic teriyaki sauce? Add a splash of rice wine.
- Prefer a hint of pineapple that some sauces have? Add a splash of pineapple juice (watch sweetness level).
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Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 1/4 cup water divided (1 cup + 1/4 cup)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or minced garlic
- 5 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger puree optional
- 1/4 teaspoon chili paste optional for spicy teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, over medium heat,cook the soy sauce, 1 cup of water, honey, garlic, brown sugar. (If desired, also add in ginger and/or chili paste at this time.)
- In a separate small dish or bowl, mix together the corn starch and 1/4 cup cold water. (This will be for thickening the sauce.)
- When mixture in sauce pan is heated through, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and continue cooking until teriyaki sauce has thickened.
- Serve right away or once cooled, store in refrigerator.
Notes
- Sometimes we will double/triple this batch to have a lot on hand for dipping or to make teriyaki chicken wings, salmon, or to drizzle on rice!
- Too sweet? – If it’s too sweet, simply reduce the amount of brown sugar.
- Want more of an acidic teriyaki sauce? Add a splash of rice wine.
- Prefer a hint of pineapple that some sauces have? Add a splash of pineapple juice (watch sweetness level).
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Lisalia says
Well that was easy to make. And tasted delicious. We don’t need to get store-bought anymore. I loved that I could control how salty it tasted. And YES I added pineapple because that’s our favorite way to have teriyaki sauce. Thanks for this great recipe!
Stephanie says
Wow! I had no idea how easy it is to make teriyaki sauce. Thanks1
Jennifer says
This is by far our favorite teriyaki sauce we’ve made!
Lynn Kenyon says
Good recipe. We follow Keto so I substituted the brown sugar with a monk fruit stevia brown sugar and instead of honey I used a xyitol syrup that I make. Rather than corn starch I used about a 1/2 tsp of xanthum gum to thicken (mix it with the sugar so that it doesn’t clump. Great for wings and a noodle dish of spiral zucchini, broccoli combo. Yum. Thanks
Jessica says
Hi Lynn! Thank you for letting us know what you changed in this recipe, in case anyone else has a need for keto substitutes! If you ever make it as stated, I’d love for you to come back and review to see if it can be a 5-star rating! 🙂
April Arizmendi says
I love this recipe!
It was easy,
and didn’t need ginger (I was out)
The texture was wonderfully smooth and the recipe made a decent amount.
I added 1/2 tsp of chili garlic sauce for a bit of kick
Jessica says
Oh I love the idea of adding chili garlic sauce! Thank you so much for sharing April!