Valentina Ablaev
This chicken teriyaki recipe is the perfect quick and easy meal that comes together in less than 30 minutes! The chicken is cooked in a homemade teriyaki sauce, resulting in a delicious and healthy protein. Serve over white rice with crispy shrimp rolls, making for a delightful teriyaki bowl!
This easy teriyaki chicken is the perfect stir-fry recipe. Like our chicken and broccoli recipe, this chicken teriyaki features juicy chicken in the best sauce from scratch.
Storebought vs Homemade Teriyaki Sauce:
Making sauce from scratch is the easiest way to level up your home cooking! Once you learn how easy it is to make teriyaki sauce at home, you will never return! Top your teriyaki chicken with a homemade hibachi ginger sauce for an incredible flavor variation.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This easy recipe is great for a flavorful home-cooked meal that comes together with no effort! You can enjoy A classic japanese takeout meal right at home with just a few simple ingredients.
Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Teriyaki
- Soy sauce – low-sodium soy sauce is the perfect base for this teriyaki chicken recipe.
Substitute: Don’t have low-sodium soy sauce? Simply dilute regular soy sauce with water!
- Garlic and ginger- fresh garlic and ginger adds an incredible flavor to this dish.
- Ginger – grated for the best flavor.
- Cornstarch – thickens the sauce.
- Red pepper flakes – add just the right amount of heat without being overwhelmingly spicy.
- Brown sugar – the perfect sweetness to balance the salty flavor of the sauce while acting as a thickening agent.
Substitute: Use honey, cane sugar, or maple syrup in place of brown sugar. - Chicken – skinless chicken thighs make the perfect protein to absorb the teriyaki sauce.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add veggies: Add broccoli, red bell peppers, zucchini, or mushrooms, just like in our chicken stir fry recipe to add more flavor.
- Bring the heat: Our recipe features a touch of red pepper flakes, but if you love a spicy dish, double the red pepper flakes.
- Swap out the protein: Use beef, shrimp, and even salmon in place of chicken! The only difference will be the cook time.
How to Make Chicken Teriyaki:
- Prepare teriyaki sauce. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, add to the pan and heat up to a simmer. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, and whisk occasionally until the sauce has thickened.
- Cook chicken. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook in a large skillet until the chicken is cooked through.
- Combine. Add the sauce to the chicken and saute until incorporated and sauce is reheated. Garnish with sesame seeds, serve and enjoy!
Pro Tip:
- Don’t be shy with the sauce: This dish is meant to be saucy, and when served with rice or noodles, that sauce is absorbed, making for the perfect meal.
How to Serve Chicken Teriyaki:
- Teriyaki bowl: Add a generous portion of teriyaki chicken to a bowl of homemade white rice with a side of steamed broccoli. A classic chicken teriyaki bowl!
- Noodles: Just like our stir-fried noodles, this teriyaki chicken can be added to noodles for the perfect meal.
- Side salad. Serve your teriyaki chicken with a side of crispy cucumber salad for a complete meal.
FAQ’s
Although this depends on personal preference, chicken thighs can offer a tender texture, while chicken thighs often result in a more juicy and flavorful result. For this recipe, we use chicken thighs.
This recipe doesn’t require marinating, but you can marinate whole chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce to make grilled teriyaki chicken. The grill adds a great flavor and the teriyaki sauce caramelizes beautifully.
If you don’t have fresh ginger on hand, you can use ⅛ to ¼ tsp of ground ginger, depending on how strong the flavor is.
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Reheat. Warm up leftovers in a pan until reheated.
- Freeze. Store teriyaki chicken for longer by freezing it! Add chicken to a freezer-safe container and store for up to 3 months. Reheat: Add the frozen chicken to the fridge overnight and reheat in a pan.
More 30-Minute Recipes
If you enjoyed this chicken teriyaki recipe, be sure to try our other easy 30-minute recipes; here are some of our favorites:
If you’ve tried this chicken teriyaki recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and us feedback in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Chicken Teriyaki Recipe
Ingredients
Teriyaki sauce –
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Chicken –
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs or breast
- 1 Tbsp oil
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for teriyaki sauce to a pan and heat until it simmers. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and sauté the chicken in a pan with 1 Tbsp of oil.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
- Once the chicken is slightly browned and cooked through, add the teriyaki sauce and cook until warm and combined.
- Serve, and enjoy.
Notes
- Make a meal: To make a complete meal, serve chicken teriyaki with white rice and steamed broccoli.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
- Reheat the teriyaki chicken in a pan until warm.
