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Homemade teriyaki sauce is salty, sweet, garlicky, with just enough ginger—and significantly better than anything from a bottle. You’ll find reasons to put it on everything, from ground chicken teriyaki bowls to grilled pineapple chicken kebabs.

A Few Good Reasons to Make This
Ingredients at a Glance
How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
Useful Tip
Make It Your Own
Ways to Use It
Proper Storage
Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
More Homemade Condiments

Some condiments are worth making from scratch, and teriyaki sauce is one of them. It’s quick, simple, and incredibly versatile. I use it as a marinade and glaze for my teriyaki sheet-pan salmon with veggies. I’ve also brushed some teriyaki sauce onto my sesame ginger seared baby bok choy or tossed it with noodles and broccoli. The possibilities are endless with this one!

A Few Good Reasons to Make This

Balanced flavor: some store-bought sauces can be a little too sweet or a little too salty. The flavor of this homemade teriyaki sauce is much more balanced, and ultimately, you have control over it.
Fast and easy: it takes just 15 minutes to whip up a batch.
There are many ways to use it: think marinade, glaze, or dipping sauce.

Ingredients at a Glance

Ingredients for the sauce on a gray background.

A quick look at some of the essentials before we dive into the recipe:

Brown sugar: it brings on a much deeper, richer flavor than granulated white sugar or honey alone. I use dark brown sugar, but light works just as well.
Mirin: this is a Japanese cooking wine that can be found with the sesame oil and soy sauce at the grocery store or at any Asian market.
Garlic & ginger: surprisingly, these aren’t ingredients in a traditional teriyaki sauce. Western variations have introduced garlic and ginger to add a savory punch. I love both, so I happily include them.
Corn starch: this is a thickening agent to help you thicken the sauce. Without it, you end up with a thin marinade-type sauce.

How to Make Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients for teriyaki sauce being whisked in a saucepan.

Step 1: Create the Base Sauce

Add 1 cup of water to a saucepan with the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, mirin, garlic, and ginger. Heat it over medium heat, whisking it every now and then, until it comes to a low simmer (you don’t want it to boil, so avoid high heat). Once it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat to low and continue simmering until the sugar dissolves completely.

Step 2: Make the Slurry

While the teriyaki sauce simmers, whisk together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water in a small measuring cup or bowl. Be sure to whisk until there are no clumps left.

Step 3: Thicken the Sauce

Once the sugar has completely dissolved in the sauce, slowly pour the slurry into it, whisking as you go. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens. Once it’s thickened, remove the saucepan from the heat. Let it cool slightly before using it or transferring it to a jar.

Useful Tip

After refrigerating teriyaki sauce, or sometimes after letting it sit for a while, it will become gelatinous. Just like a homemade gravy would. To liven it back up, just heat it in a saucepan over low heat, stirring in a bit of water as needed. This will bring it back to a nice, saucy consistency again.

Make It Your Own

Rice wine vinegar: can be used instead of mirin, if preferred.
Ginger: I love the zest, but if ginger isn’t your thing, you can omit it completely.
Garlic: I mince my garlic, which is why my teriyaki sauce has tiny chunks of garlic in it. If you prefer no texture, grate it into a paste with a microplane, or use 1/2 tsp of garlic powder instead.

Ways to Use It

As a glaze: I use this on my Teriyaki sheet pan salmon, and it’s so good slathered all over these grilled pineapple chicken kabobs.
Drizzled over a bowl meal: every bowl meal needs a sauce, and this teriyaki goes great over rice bowls with salmon and this ground chicken teriyaki bowl.
Add it to a sauce: it’s a great way to amp up Asian-leaning dishes like cashew chicken or beef stir-fry.
Jazz up veggies: brush some over seared baby bok choy or sautéed broccolini.
Stir it into Ramen soup: if you’re looking to heighten the broth in your homemade Ramen bowl.

Proper Storage

Homemade teriyaki sauce will keep in the fridge in an airtight jar for only 3-4 days because of the fresh garlic. If you want to extend the shelf life, swap out the fresh garlic for 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, and the sauce should last you up to 2 weeks.

If you try this Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, or any other recipe here at Killing Thyme, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating! And let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.

Teriyaki sauce in a jar on a countertop.

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Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

By: Dana Sandonato

This teriyaki sauce is super simple and has all the flavors you love from Japanese restaurants. It’s salty, sweet, and garlicky with just a hint of ginger. You won’t run out of ways to use it up!

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 15

Servings: cups (approx.)

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup water
▢ 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
▢ 4 TBSP brown sugar, Both dark or light brown sugar work
▢ 1 TBSP honey
▢ 1 TBSP mirin
▢ 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated to a paste, Can substitute 1/2 tsp garlic powder
▢ 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
▢ 2 TBSP corn starch
▢ 1/4 cup cold water

Instructions

Add 1 cup of water to a saucepan along with the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, mirin, garlic, and ginger. Heat it over medium heat until it comes to a low simmer, whisking it every few minutes. Bring the heat to low and let it simmer until the sugar dissolves completely.
While the teriyaki sauce simmers, make a slurry by whisking the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water in a small measuring cup or bowl. Whisk until there are no clumps left.
Once the sugar has dissolved completely, whisk the slurry into the teriyaki sauce as it simmers, until the sauce thickens.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the sauce cool slightly before storing it.

Notes

Reviving the sauce

After refrigerating your teriyaki sauce or letting it sit for a while, it will thicken and become gelatinous. To liven it back up, transfer it to a saucepan and reheat it over low heat. Stir in a bit of water as needed. This will bring it to a nice and saucy consistency once again.

Storage

This homemade teriyaki sauce will keep in the fridge in an airtight jar for 3-4 days due to the fresh garlic. If you want to extend the shelf life, swap out the fresh garlic for 1/2 tsp garlic powder instead and the sauce should last you up to 2 weeks.