Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce & Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Try this easy-to-follow 7 minute homemade teriyaki sauce recipe and say goodbye to store bought and hello to a delicious, all-natural teriyaki sauce! Serve it with the mouth-watering teriyaki chicken recipe over rice that’s as satisfying as it is simple – perfect for busy weeknights.

Looking for more easy recipes to make at home instead of buying them? Try this super popular homemade ketchup (uses tomato paste & honey and ready in 10 minutes!), this amazing peanut sauce (for bowls, stir fries, and noodles), and this sweet and tangy BBQ sauce.

While maybe not as much of a staple as ketchup, teriyaki sauce has earned a permanent space in our fridge pantry because our family loves it with chicken and stir fried vegetables. 

Once I figured out how to make it – and realized it takes only 7 minutes start-to-finish – I keep it on hand to use on stir fries, grilled beef, to drizzle on salad bowls, or anything else that would go well with the teriyaki flavor.

And our restaurant favorite, teriyaki chicken and rice is now so easy to put together, we hardly ever order it anymore!

In addition to the teriyaki sauce, I’m including the super simple recipe for using it to make teriyaki chicken because it really is just as easy as take-out and waaaay cheaper.

Like the other condiments in the pantry basic series, teriyaki sauce qualifies as a basic recipe because most people simply buy it at the store, but it’s actually super quick and easy to make at home (just like ketchup, mayonnaise, and chocolate syrup).

Of course, the other benefit of making your own pantry items is so you can tailor them to your tastes – in this case, to lessen the sugar from store bought and either increase or decrease the spiciness, depending on your tolerance.

To create this sauce, I replicated the flavor I liked at restaurants by adapting and combining various recipes I’ve come across over the years. I think my recipe has a nice balance of sweetness and soy, without being too much of either – let me know what you think!

Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this quick and delicious homemade teriyaki sauce recipe:

• Sugar: I’ve used regular white sugar, brown sugar and coconut sugar which all work well – I found that honey changed the flavor too much, so I don’t recommend it.
• Rice Vinegar: this works well, but if you have mirin, a rice wine, that would be more authentic.
• Cornstarch: This works as a slight thickener – arrowroot powder or potato starch also work.

How to make homemade teriyaki sauce

1. Add all the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and whisk together.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Boil for 5 minutes and then let cool.

That’s it.

I know you wish it was a long and complicated recipe, but I try to keep those to a minimum around here, ha!

You can make the sauce when your chicken or other protein is cooking or make it to keep on hand or be able to marinate meat in before cooking.

Of course, our favorite way to use this sauce is for teriyaki chicken with rice – and once you have your sauce, it could not be easier!

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe with Rice: Step-by-Step

Ingredients: teriyaki sauce, chicken breasts or thighs, brown or white rice.

Step 1: Make the sauce.

Step 2: Marinate the chicken. Marinate boneless chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs in half the teriyaki sauce (or just enough needed to coat one side, turning halfway through to evenly coat).

TIP: You can do this while the brown rice is cooking or start the marinade earlier if using white rice.

Step 3: Cook the rice. Brown rice needs 45 minutes, white rice 20.

Step 4: Cook the chicken. Remove the chicken from marinade and discard it. Grill or pan-fry the marinated chicken until done, about 10-15 minutes.

Step 5: Assemble the dish. Add the rice to individual plates or a large platter, slice the chicken and arrange on the rice and drizzle with your remaining homemade teriyaki sauce.

What to serve with teriyaki chicken and rice

• Steamed broccoli.
• Green salad with Asian flavored vinaigrette.
• Stir-fried or grilled vegetables.
• Easy Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Carrots with Onions

Storage

The sauce stores well – about a month (I think, it rarely lasts that long in our house) in a jar with an airtight lid.

The chicken and rice is a great meal prep recipe – portion out the amounts in glass containers with lids and use within a week.

This quick and easy recipe has pretty much ruined restaurant teriyaki for me – why would I pay for something so easy (and that’s usually mostly rice!)?

I hope you love this homemade teriyaki sauce and chicken recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a recipe rating so I know how you liked it!

Other pantry basics to try

• Honey-Sweetened Homemade Ketchup
• Spicy Peanut Sauce
• Homemade Chocolate Syrup
• Easy Sweet Chili Sauce Recipe – Honey Sweetened

This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2009 and was updated in 2016 and 2024.