This Honey Teriyaki Sauce recipe is perfectly sweet and savory and easy to make with pantry staples. Perfect glaze for baked teriyaki chicken, stir fry sauce, or dipping sauce for wings and egg rolls.
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Homemade honey teriyaki sauce has the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors -- and it's so easy to make with ingredients you might already have!
Once you try it, you may never buy store-bought teriyaki sauce again.
This easy teriyaki sauce recipe is so rich and flavorful, you'll want to put it on everything.
Baked chicken breasts, pork chops, salmon, chicken wings, stir fries -- everything.
I'll even show you how to use this recipe to make the delicious marinade we use for our favorite air fryer teriyaki chicken and oven baked teriyaki chicken thighs.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Simple recipe for homemade teriyaki sauce with honey, soy sauce, and other basic ingredients
Versatile sauce you can use as a marinade, dipping sauce, or glaze
Easy sauce you can customize with flavors you love
What is Teriyaki Sauce?
The word "teriyaki" actually refers to a Japanese cooking technique that's been around since the 1600s, not a sauce. "Teri" refers to the luster or shine from a glaze and "yaki" refers to grilling or broiling. So Japanese recipes prepared in the "teriyaki" style are grilled or broiled and have a glossy glaze. The traditional teriyaki sauce is typically made from soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar.
It's thought that teriyaki-inspired sauces, like this one, that have become common in North America were first created in Hawaii around the 1920s or 30s, swapping sugar for mirin and adding ginger, green onion, and garlic. You can also find versions of teriyaki-like sauces with ingredients such as pineapple juice, rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.
Ingredients
Please refer to the recipe card for the complete list and quantities of ingredients.
Low sodium soy sauce. Soy sauce is the main ingredient in teriyaki sauce. I use reduced sodium, which is still plenty salty and flavorful.
Honey. Clover honey and wildflower honey are the most common types of honey in the grocery store. But feel free to customize the flavor of your teriyaki sauce by playing around with different types of honey. Generally, the lighter the color, the milder the flavor. Click this link for a run-down of some of the other types of honey and their flavor profiles.
Rice vinegar. Rice vinegar is made from fermented rice wine, has a mild flavor, and is less acidic than most other types of vinegar.
Cornstarch. A little corn starch mixed with water thickens the sauce to a luscious, viscous consistency.
Variations & Substitutions
Sweetness. Adjust the level of sweetness in your own teriyaki sauce recipe by using more or less honey or brown sugar.
Spiciness. For a little kick, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Brown sugar. You can use light or dark brown sugar, or even plain ol' white sugar.
Rice vinegar. You can use apple cider vinegar as a substitute for rice vinegar.
Ground ginger. Fresh ginger would be absolutely delicious, I just never have it. To substitute fresh grated ginger for ground ginger, use 1-2 tablespoons, to taste.
Fresh garlic. Fresh garlic isn't a traditional ingredient, so if you can skip it if you don't have it. I didn't care for garlic powder as a substitute, but if you think you might like it, use ⅛ teaspoon.
How to Make Honey Teriyaki Sauce (& Marinade!)
- Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, water, rice vinegar, ginger, and garlic together. Stir until the sugar and honey have completely dissolved.
- Bring the mixture to a boil in a small saucepan over medium to medium-high heat.
- Make a cornstarch slurry by stirring together 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 2 teaspoons cold water in a small bowl.
- When the soy sauce mixture comes to a boil, add the slurry to the saucepan, stir, and reduce the heat to low.
- Simmer and stir for 10-12 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about ⅓.
Use honey teriyaki sauce for chicken, beef, pork, or vegetables as a glaze, sauce, or dipping sauce.
If desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds to add a little crunch and nutty flavor.
To Make Honey Teriyaki Marinade
You can use this same recipe, minus the cornstarch, to make a delicious marinade.
- Stop after step 1 above.
- Use ½ cup of marinade per 1-2 pounds of meat or vegetables. Use enough marinade to cover the cover the food, or occasionally turn it over in the marinade.
- Place marinade and food to be marinated in a ziptop bag or covered dish in the refrigerator.
- Marinate chicken, beef, pork, or lamb for at least 15-30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
- Marinate soft vegetables for 10-15 minutes and harder vegetables for 30-60 minutes.
- Cook as desired. Discard marinade after use.
This recipe yields about 1 ¼ cups teriyaki marinade or ¾ cup teriyaki sauce.
Storage
Store teriyaki marinade and honey teriyaki sauce in an air-tight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.
How to Use Honey Garlic Teriyaki Sauce
You can use this delicious sauce on pretty much anything!
Basting sauce for grilled, air fried, or oven baked chicken, pork, beef, and fish
Dipping sauce for egg rolls, chicken wings, and dumplings
Sauce for steamed vegetables, rice bowls, sushi bowls, and stir fries
Success Tips
To use as a glaze on baked or air fried meats, brush it on toward the end so the exterior doesn't burn before the interior is done cooking.
Adjust the level of sweetness by adjusting the amount of honey or brown sugar up or down.
To avoid cross contamination, do not use the same sauce, marinade, bowl, or utensils for uncooked and cooked poultry or meat.
FAQs
Honey teriyaki sauce is a sweet and savory sauce made from a blend of simple pantry ingredients: soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, water, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch.
Honey teriyaki sauce can be used as a marinade for meats, a sauce for rice bowls and stir-fry dishes, a glaze for grilled and roasted meats and vegetables, or a dipping sauce for appetizers.
Yes, you can adjust the sweetness of the sauce by adding more or less honey or brown sugar.
Yes, you can make homemade teriyaki marinade and sauce ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Stuff I Use
One 8 oz. mason jar is the perfect size to store one batch of honey teriyaki sauce.
When I can't be bothered to chop garlic, I use my OXO garlic press.
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Honey Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, water, rice vinegar, ginger, and garlic to a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar and honey have completely dissolved.
- Bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat.
- While the teriyaki sauce is coming to a boil, make a slurry by stirring together 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl. When the soy sauce mixture comes to a boil, add the slurry to the saucepan, stir, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer and stir for 10-12 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about ⅓. This recipe yields about ¾ cup teriyaki sauce.
- Store honey teriyaki sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
- Complete step 1 in a small bowl.
- Use ½ cup of marinade per 1-2 pounds of meat or vegetables. Use enough marinade to cover the cover the food, or occasionally turn it over in the marinade.
- Place marinade and food to be marinated in a ziptop bag or covered dish in the refrigerator.
- Marinate chicken, beef, pork, or lamb for at least 15-30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
- Marinate soft vegetables for 10-15 minutes and harder vegetables for 30-60 minutes.
- Discard marinade after use.
- Store unused marinade in a jar in the fridge for up to one week.
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