Teriyaki Sauce - Tastes Better from Scratch (2024)

This homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe is delicious, easy to make, uses pantry ingredients, and is ready in minutes. You’ll never buy store bought again!

Want to make more sauces? Try my Tartar Sauce, Orange Marmalade, Homemade Ranch or the Best BBQ Sauce!

Why I love this sauce:

• Versatile – I use this to marinate chicken, for teriyaki salmon, to make Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry, our favorite Hawaiian Bowls, and as a dipping sauce. The possibilities are endless!
• Fast – Ready to use in 10 minutes! Quicker than a trip to the store!
• Pantry Ingredients – You already have everything on hand!

Ingredients Needed:

All you need is soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ground ginger, brown sugar, garlic, honey, cornstarch and crushed red pepper flakes.

How to make Teriyaki Sauce:

Combine ingredients: Add all sauce ingredients to a saucepan over medium heat.

Boil: Bring sauce to a boil, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Serve: This is the best teriyaki sauce for stir fry, over rice, as a marinade, or see other suggestions below!

How to Use It:

• Serve over Coconut Rice , like in my Hawaiian Bowls.
• Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki Bowls.
• Teriyaki Chicken.
• Dip with Air Fryer Tofu.
• Make a Teriyaki burger, with a ring of pineapple and slathering of teriyaki sauce on top of a hamburger, turkey burger, or chicken burger.
• Teriyaki Pasta Salad.

Recipe Variations:

• Healthy Teriyaki Sauce: Feel free to cut down on the sugar, if you don’t mind less sweetness in the sauce.
• Without Cornstarch: Flour may be substituted for cornstarch at a 1:1 ratio in this homemade teriyaki sauce recipe.
• Teriyaki Sauce Marinade: We love to use this recipe as a marinade. Pour ¼ cup of sauce over raw chicken and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes (or longer if using chicken breasts).
• Gluten Free: Use gluten free soy sauce.
• Vegan: Leave out the honey.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: This recipe can be made up to 1 week ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To Freeze: Allow to cool completely and store in a freezer safe bag. Lay the bag flat in your freezer to ensure it freezes evenly and to save space. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.

I originally shared this recipe May 2021. Updated March 2022.

This post contains affiliate links.