Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

An easy homemade teriyaki sauce completely made from scratch, perfect for stir-fries like teriyaki chicken or broccoli beef + delicious as a dipping sauce or teriyaki glaze.

Making your own teriyaki sauce from scratch isn’t as hard as you may think. With just a few simple ingredients, you can easily have a restaurant-quality sauce perfect for stir-fries, grilled salmon, chicken teriyaki, and more.

What’s In Teriyaki Sauce

The main ingredients in most teriyaki sauces are soy sauce, sugar (like brown sugar or honey), and rice wine vinegar (or mirin, a type of rice wine sweeter than rice vinegar). Other common ingredients are citrus juices like pineapple juice or orange juice, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, and a thickener like cornstarch. Here are the ingredients used in this specific recipe:

Ingredients

Soy sauce – low-sodium soy sauce is best, but you can use the original soy sauce. Just know it may be a bit salty.

Brown sugar – light brown sugar, packed.

Rice vinegar – rice vinegar, also referred to as rice wine vinegar. You can substitute apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, although the flavor may be slightly different.

Pineapple juice – we use canned pineapple juice, but you can certainly use fresh pineapple juice or juice from canned pineapple. Some people choose to substitute with orange juice if they don’t have pineapple juice on hand.

Garlic cloves – fresh minced garlic cloves or jarred minced garlic.

Fresh ginger – fresh peeled, minced ginger.

Cornstarch – 100% pure cornstarch.

Water – needed for the cornstarch slurry.

For a spicier variation – add sriracha, chili garlic sauce, or red chili flakes.

Supplies

• Cutting board and knife or food chopper (to chop garlic/ginger)
• Measuring cups/spoons
• Small saucepan
• Whisk
• Small bowl and fork (for cornstarch slurry)
• Serving bowl or storage container

How to Make the Best Teriyaki Sauce

Follow these simple steps to make this tasty sauce.

Step 1 | Mince garlic and ginger

Begin by mincing the garlic cloves and fresh ginger. Set aside.

Step 2 | Combine soy sauce and brown sugar

In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce and brown sugar.

Step 3 | Add remaining ingredients (except for cornstarch & Water)

Next, add the rice vinegar, pineapple juice, garlic, and ginger.

Step 4 | Bring to a boil

Bring the mixture to a gentle boil.

Step 5 | make and add cornstarch slurry

Prepare the cornstarch slurry by mixing the water and cornstarch. Add the cornstarch mixture to the teriyaki sauce.

Step 6 | Cook until thickened

Bring to a boil once more and cook until visibly thickened.

Step 7 | Remove from heat

Remove from the heat and pour into a serving dish or storage container. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Step 8 | Serve or store for later

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

And there you have it, a homemade teriyaki sauce that tastes absolutely delicious.

More About This Sauce Recipe

• A good store-bought teriyaki sauce can be hard to find. So why not make a quick and easy sauce at home you know you’ll love?
• The flavor of soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and pineapple juice (all the base ingredients of this recipe) combined are so delicious and make a classic teriyaki flavor. We’ve tried without the rice vinegar and pineapple juice, and it’s just not quite the same.
• This DIY teriyaki sauce uses only 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (made into a slurry) A little cornstarch will go a long way. Some recipes are as high as 3 – 4 tablespoons, which can result in a sauce that is too thick or gel-like.
• We love to use homemade teriyaki for stir-fry, topping on teriyaki pineapple chicken sandwiches, dipping sauce for shrimp fondue, and more!

How to Store Teriyaki Sauce Made from Scratch

Store homemade teriyaki sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator and you’ll have enough fresh teriyaki sauce to enjoy multiple dishes.

How Long Does Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Last?

Generally, homemade teriyaki sauce can last up to 2 weeks in your fridge if stored correctly. To ensure that your homemade sauce lasts as long as possible, we recommend storing it in an airtight container and keeping it in the fridge.

Uses for Teriyaki Sauce

• Teriyaki rice
• Dipping sauce for meat fondue or shrimp fondue
• Topping teriyaki chicken pineapple sandwiches
• Teriyaki rice
• Broccoli beef stir-fry
• Teriyaki chicken stir-fry
• Glaze for salmon or pork chops
• Teriyaki glazed sweet potatoes

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Final Thoughts

Making your own teriyaki sauce at home is not only easy, but it also tastes so much better than anything you could buy at the store. This recipe for homemade teriyaki sauce uses just a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry and comes together in minutes. Use it as a marinade for chicken or salmon, a stir-fry sauce, or even as a dipping sauce.

More Sauce & Dip Recipes

• Green goddess dip
• Cocktail sauce
• 2-ingredient barbecue sauce
• Creamy cucumber dip
• Sweet & sour sauce

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Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe