You won't believe how easy it is to make your own homemade teriyaki sauce with just a few simple ingredients! No need to ever buy store-bought teriyaki again when you see how easy it is to make your own. Pour it over vegetables, tofu, stir fry, and more! Use it as a stir fry sauce or a marinade and even adjust the sweetness or add spice to suit your taste! It's vegan and with a few simple changes can easily be made gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and even soy-free too.
You'll love this homemade teriyaki sauce because it's
- quick and easy to make in about 5 minutes.
- easy to adjust the sugar and spice level to suit your taste.
- perfect as a marinade or a sauce for a healthy teriyaki bowl.
- easily adapted to be made gluten-free or refined sugar-free.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Ingredients:
- Soy Sauce - you can use regular soy sauce or Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos to make it gluten-free.
- Water - to dilute the strong flavor of the soy sauce.
- Brown Sugar - to give it sweetness. You can use any sweetener that you choose, but brown sugar gives it the most authentic flavor.
- Vinegar - for the acidity. Either apple cider vinegar or regular white vinegar works well.
- Sesame Oil - for flavor and richness.
- Ginger - for the authentic teriyaki flavor. Freshly grated ginger will give the best flavor.
- Garlic - for flavor. One to two cloves of fresh minced gives the best flavor.
- Corn Starch - to thicken the sauce. You can use potato starch or arrowroot if you choose.
- Garlic Chili Paste - aka Sambal Oelek. or Sriracha for optional spiciness. You can find this at any Asian market and most major grocery stores.
Tools:
- Saucepan - to cook the sauce in.
- Garlic Press - to press the garlic cloves.
- Microplane - to grate the ginger root. You can chop up the ginger very small with a knife too, but a microplane makes it much easier.
How to make homemade teriyaki sauce
- Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.
- Stir well with a whisk, then turn on the heat to medium.
- Stirring frequently, heat the sauce until it begins to boil and thicken.
- Allow to slowly boil for about 30 seconds and then remove from heat.
Variations
Teriyaki marinade:
If you want a teriyaki sauce to use as a marinade for tofu, veggies, or anything else you chose, simply omit the corn starch from the recipe. This will make a sweet and savory sauce that is thin enough to soak in and not stick and burn when you cook it. You can make a second batch of teriyaki sauce with the starch for a thicker glaze to pour over your cooked items. You can also use the leftover marinade, add the cornstarch to it, and recook it to thicken the sauce.
Spicy Teriyaki:
For extra flavorful spicy teriyaki, add 1 tsp of Thai garlic chili paste or sriracha.
Gluten-Free Teriyaki:
To make it gluten-free teriyaki simply swap out the soy sauce for Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos. All other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.
Refined-Sugar Free:
Simply swap out the brown sugar for equal amounts of maple syrup for a refined-sugar-free teriyaki sauce.
Serving Suggestions
This sauce is delicious over teriyaki tofu and stir-fried veggies. It's also incredible poured over fried cauliflower to make a teriyaki cauliflower (recipe coming soon).
More vegan Asian inspired recipes
Subscribe to my email list to get my free eBook “The Beginner’s Guide to Homemade Vegan Staples” or if you are ready to fully dive into making your own vegan cheese, butter, yogurt, and more check out my cookbook, “The Ultimate Guide to Homemade Vegan Staples!”
An easy homemade teriyaki sauce that is vegan and can be made gluten-free and refined sugar-free too.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or any other sweetener of choice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (either white or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh ginger root grated
- 1 tablespoon corn starch or potato starch
- 1 teaspoon garlic chili paste aka Sambal Oelek or Sriracha (optional for a spicy sauce)
-
Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.
-
Stir well with a whisk, then turn on the heat to medium.
-
Stirring frequently, heat the sauce until it begins to boil and thicken.
-
Allow to slowly boil for about 30 seconds and then remove from heat.
Variations of teriyaki:
Teriyaki marinade:
If you want a teriyaki sauce to use as a marinade for tofu, veggies, or anything else you chose, simply omit the corn starch from the recipe. This will make a sweet and savory sauce that is thin enough to use as a marinade, and it won't stick when heated. You can make a second batch of teriyaki sauce with the starch for a thicker glaze to pour over your cooked items.
Spicy Teriyaki:
For extra flavorful spicy teriyaki, add 1 tsp of Thai garlic chili paste or sriracha.
Gluten-Free Teriyaki:
To make it gluten-free teriyaki simply swap out the soy sauce for Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos. All other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.
Refined-Sugar Free:
Simply swap out the brown sugar for equal amounts of maple syrup for a refined-sugar-free teriyaki sauce.
