This homemade Teriyaki Sauce is easy to make, so simple, and it has a ton of uses! It's delicious on meat, chicken, fish, shrimp, roasted veggies, and so much more! It's ready in 10 minutes and stores well. You'll never want to use a store-bought teriyaki sauce again!
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Why You'll Love This Teriyaki Sauce
Packed with flavor - It's salty, savory, garlicky, and a little spicy from freshly grated ginger. It's so good you'll want to put it on everything!
Easy and simple - You only need 8 ingredients and about 10 minutes to make this sauce! Once you try homemade, you'll never want to go back to the store-bought version! It's easier to make than you might think and it stores really well in the fridge as well. You can always use the ingredients you use to make it for other sauces and dressings!
Lots of uses - You can add the sauce to fish like salmon or seafood like shrimp but it's also delicious in various meats, chicken, tofu, roasted vegetables, and more! Try my favorite Teriyaki Salmon!
Ingredients
- Tamari - Tamari is basically just gluten-free soy sauce (always make sure it's certified gluten-free if needed). I prefer the flavor over regular soy sauce which also tends to have unnecessary added ingredients. They can be used interchangeably. Use low-sodium tamari if you want the teriyaki sauce to be lower in sodium.
- Rice vinegar - Look for plain unflavored rice vinegar, not one with sugar and other ingredients.
- Mirin - Mirin is a sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking, similar to Sake. Most brands have sugar added but I always try to go with one that doesn't.
- Honey - Honey is a classic for any teriyaki sauce but you can also use maple syrup, agave, or even coconut nectar. Honey or maple syrup will give the sauce the best flavor.
- Toasted sesame oil - Toasted sesame oil is dark in color and very fragrant. It's only used in small quantities to flavor things but it has a very low smoke point so it shouldn't be heated too much.
- Ginger and garlic - The main two flavors of this sauce. I use grated garlic and grated fresh ginger but I also really like using this ginger juice which is just plain 100% ginger you can use in a 1:1 ratio instead of grated ginger. It's such a time-saver! Garlic powder also works but it won't give you the same strong flavor as fresh garlic.
- Tapioca starch - You'll need to make tapioca slurry by mixing tapioca starch with a little bit of water to add to the sauce to thicken it. You can also do this with cornstarch and make a cornstarch slurry, they both give you the same results.
Variations and Substitutions
- Soy sauce - Tamari and soy sauce can be used interchangeably here.
- Vegan sweetener - Maple syrup or brown sugar are the best options for a sweetener if you don't want to use honey. Agave and coconut nectar also work but they add less flavor.
- Cornstarch - Tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour) and cornstarch can be used interchangeably to thicken this or any other sauce.
- Garlic powder - If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use garlic granules or garlic powder instead. Keep in mind the flavor will be a little milder.
- Ginger - Ground ginger or ginger juice are great replacements for freshly grated ginger.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add tamari, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, mirin, honey, grated ginger, and grated garlic to a small saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer on medium-high heat while whisking to make sure everything mixes and the honey dissolves.
- Simmer the sauce for 2 minutes.
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- While it’s simmering, mix tapioca flour or cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of water to create a slurry.
- Pour the slurry into the teriyaki sauce while whisking to avoid clumps.
- Simmer the sauce for an additional 3 minutes on low-medium heat. It should thicken slightly and cover the back of a spoon. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Expert Tips!
- Don't overcook the sauce - The sauce doesn't need to simmer for very long, you only need to simmer it for a little bit to allow the tapioca starch to thicken the sauce.
- Use low-sodium tamari if you want to avoid any extra sodium. It will taste the same as regular tamari or soy sauce! Store-bought teriyaki sauces tend to have regular soy sauce and their sodium content is usually pretty high. I also like using tamari because it's a gluten-free, cleaner alternative to soy sauce made from fermented soybeans. It has an amazing flavor.
- Don't add any salt - Soy sauce already has a lot of salt so there's no need to add any extra!
How to Use the Sauce
- Glaze for meat and chicken - You can use the sauce for glazing any meat, chicken, or turkey. It's delicious on roasted chicken! You can add it to your marinade but I don't recommend cooking with it alone because toasted sesame oil has very low smoke point. It's best used towards the end of cooking.
- Fish and seafood - This teriyaki sauce is amazing on roasted or sauteed salmon or shrimp. Try it in this Teriyaki Salmon Bowl. In that recipe, I actually marinate the salmon first in some of the sauce without the tapioca starch and cook the teriyaki sauce after that.
- Roasted vegetables - You can drizzle it on practically any vegetables. Roasted, sauteed, or even grilled! It's delicious on these Teriyaki Brussels Sprouts or these Teriyaki Green Beans! It's also delicious on roasted zucchini, peppers, onions, asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, or any other veggies.
- Rice bowls, stir-fries, noodles - It's an amazing stir-fry sauce you can drizzle it over rice bowls, or any noodle dishes. My absolute favorite way to use it is the salmon rice bowl I mentioned above.
- Tofu - Toss it with crispy roasted tofu and serve it over rice with this Cucumber Mango Salad and drizzle it all with some Bang Bang Sauce.
- Dipping sauce - Aside from adding it to various recipes, you can also use it as a dipping sauce for fries or anything else!
Storing and Make Ahead Options
You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Always use a clean spoon to prevent contamination.
The sauce is cooked so there is no need to cook it with whatever you're adding it to after you refrigerate the finished sauce. I like to add it towards the end of cooking so the sauce has enough time to warm up but it's not cooking for so long that it would burn.
It will taste the best in the first 3-5 days but it will keep in the fridge for 5-7 days when stored properly.
FAQs
You can use maple syrup or agave syrup instead of honey if you want the sauce to be vegan. I don't have any sugar-free substitute recommendations. I don't recommend leaving out the sweetener because it will change the flavor balance of the sauce and it might end up being too salty or too sour from the rice vingar and mirin.
It should be but this will depend on the ingredients you use. I would check each individual ingredient to make sure it's certified gluten-free to be 100% sure. Always use gluten-free tamari because regular soy sauce contains gluten.
More Sauce Recipes
If you're looking for other flavorful sauces you can drizzle on roasted vegetables, meat, chicken, fish, or seafood, try any of the four below! To see all the latest ones, head over to Dips and Sauces.
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Print📖 Recipe
Teriyaki Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This homemade Teriyaki Sauce is easy to make, so simple, and it has a ton of uses! Just 8 ingredients and 10 minutes! It's delicious on meat, chicken, fish, shrimp, roasted veggies, and so much more!
Ingredients
- ½ cup tamari (or soy sauce)
- ¼ cup rice vinegar (unseasoned)
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
- 1-2 tablespoon grated ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 tsp tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Add tamari, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, mirin, honey, grated ginger, and grated garlic to a small saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer while whisking to make sure everything mixes and the honey dissolves.
- Simmer the sauce for 2 minutes.
- While it’s simmering, mix tapioca flour or cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of water to create a slurry.
- Pour the slurry into the teriyaki sauce while whisking to avoid clumps.
- Simmer the sauce for an additional 3 minutes. It should thicken slightly and cover the back of a spoon. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Notes
Storing: Store the sauce in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Don’t use the sauce for high-heat cooking. It’s best to add towards the end of cooking so it doesn’t burn. Toasted sesame oil has a very low smoke point.
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Veronika Sykorova says
Making your own sauce at home is simple and so much better than store-bought and this one is my go-to!
Mimi Rippee says
Great recipe! I’ll never forget the time I bought teriyaki sauce. I might have been 26. Horrible stuff!
Veronika Sykorova says
Right! Once you try these types of sauces at home it's a game changer!