Teriyaki Chicken
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Posted: 02/18/24
Updated: 02/19/24
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Homemade Teriyaki Chicken is a quick and easy dinner recipe that will soon become a favorite. Tender, bite size pieces of chicken breasts that are sauteed in a skill and tossed with a delicious teriyaki sauce. Serve it over a rice and a side of broccoli for an easy meal.
If you love Asian takeout, then you’re gonna love this teriyaki chicken recipe. It’s so much better than take out too! The perfect balance of sticky sweet and savory flavors, with an added garnish of nutty sesame seeds. Once you learn how easy it is to make chicken teriyaki from scratch, you won’t want it any other way.
Asian food has so many savory flavors, it’s no wonder people love it so much. We eat chicken fried rice often because it’s so simple and satisfies that craving for takeout. But now, we often top it with some chicken teriyaki too because who wouldn’t want to make that dish extra tasty? Make dinner super simple with this teriyaki chicken recipe.
Why You’ll Love Teriyaki Chicken
- You can make this easy dinner recipe in under a half hour. Perfect for busy evenings and days when you don’t want something complicated for dinner.
- This is a fabulous meal prep dish! It reheats well and stores in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make an extra large batch with some rice or stir fry noodles and store until needed.
- Making homemade teriyaki sauce provides better flavor and better ingredients. There’s no added preservatives or fake flavors in this sticky sauce. Only the good stuff!
Ingredients for Chicken Teriyaki
- Low sodium soy sauce – You can also use coconut aminos as another low sodium option.
- Cornstarch – Thicken the teriyaki sauce that coats the chicken by using a bit of cornstarch.
- Apple cider vinegar – Add a little bite to the sauce with some apple cider vinegar.
- Olive oil – Use olive oil or another high heat neutral oil to sauté the chicken teriyaki stir fry.
- Minced garlic cloves – Freshly minced garlic will add deliciously bold flavor to this easy teriyaki chicken recipe.
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar helps bring a bit of sweetness to this dish and mixes wonderfully with the savory flavor of the soy sauce. Another option would be to add honey as the sweetner.
- Sesame seeds – Add a bit of a nutty flavor to this dish, along with a slight crunch. Sesame seeds are a fabulous garnish!
- Chicken – Cube some boneless skinless chicken breast into small chunks. You could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.
Helpful Tools
How to Make Teriyaki Chicken
Add olive oil to a large non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Then place the chicken into the skillet and brown on the bottom for 3-4 minutes.
Flip each piece of chicken and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. It should take about 3 more minutes for the chicken to reach temp.
While the chicken cooks, whisk together the Teriyaki sauce ingredients including the soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, garlic and cornstarch in a small mixing bowl.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, pour the sauce into the pan with the chicken and toss until the sauce thickens. This should take about 30-60 seconds.
Remove the teriyaki chicken from heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Garnish with sliced green onions if desired. Serve immediately over rice and enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Teriyaki Chicken
FRIDGE: Transfer leftover chicken teriyaki to an airtight container. Once it has cooled completely, store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
FREEZER: To freeze leftovers, place them into an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for 2-3 months. Allow to thaw before reheating.
How to Reheat Chicken Teriyaki
Place leftovers in a skillet and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until warmed through. You may need to add more teriyaki sauce to the chicken when reheating.
What to Serve with Teriyaki Chicken
Serve teriyaki chicken over plain rice, stir fry noodles or buttered noodles. My easy fried rice or Blackstone fried rice would be tasty with this chicken too. For a side dish, serve up some Asian ramen salad and air fryer egg rolls.
If you like to have different proteins with your fried rice and stir fry, then make some baked sweet and sour chicken to serve alongside the chicken teriyaki.
Why did my teriyaki sauce burn?
The brown sugar in this homemade teriyaki sauce mixture can cause the sauce to stick and burn pretty easily. Make sure that you continuously stir so that the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of skillet. It will only take about a minute to thicken up the sauce on the chicken.
What is teriyaki chicken sauce made of?
This Asian-inspired sauce is traditionally made of soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake. For this recipe, the sauce is made mainly from brown sugar, low sodium soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and thickened by cornstarch.
Pro Tips for the Best Teriyaki Chicken
- Add some spice to this easy teriyaki chicken recipe with some red pepper flakes or gochujang paste.
- Make this a full-on stir fry with some red and green bell peppers and onions — broccolli would be tasty too! Just keep in mind that you may need more oil to sauté the veggies and more sauce to coat it all.
- Use an instant read meat thermometer to quickly and accurately get a read on the internal temperature of the chicken.
This delicious sweet and savory dish is a favorite for dinner! Throw together the simple ingredients for a perfect Asian inspired meal.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes
- Jazz up pasta night with my easy recipe for Cajun Chicken Pasta. So yum!
- Marry Me Chicken is downright drool-worthy. Loaded with so much flavor and has the perfect creamy sauce.
- Make Chicken Pot Pie Soup to cozy up on a chilly evening. It’s incredibly easy to throw together too!
- Popcorn Chicken in the Air Fryer is a quick meal and makes the chicken so crispy without all of the oil in a deep fryer.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!
Chicken Teriyaki
Delicious, homemade Chicken Teriyaki is a quick and easy dinner recipe.
Video
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound chicken cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- Prepared rice, to serve
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add in chicken and let brown on bottom for about 3 – 4 minutes then flip and continue to cook until internal temp is 160 degrees, about 3 minutes longer.
- While chicken is cooking, in a small mixing bowl whisk together soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, garlic and cornstarch.
- Once chicken is cooked Stir the sauce in with the chicken and continue to cook and toss until sauce has thickened, about 30 – 60 seconds longer.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Serve over rice.
Tips
FRIDGE: Transfer leftover chicken teriyaki to an airtight container. Once it has cooled completely, store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
FREEZER: To freeze leftovers, place them into an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for 2-3 months. Allow to thaw before reheating.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 378kcal (19%), Carbohydrates: 22g (7%), Protein: 23g (46%), Fat: 22g (34%), Saturated Fat: 6g (38%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 85mg (28%), Sodium: 659mg (29%), Potassium: 319mg (9%), Fiber: 0.4g (2%), Sugar: 18g (20%), Vitamin A: 159IU (3%), Vitamin C: 3mg (4%), Calcium: 57mg (6%), Iron: 2mg (11%)
Elaine says
Sooo delicious! Also, it’s so quick and easy to make. It was great for a busy weekday.
Courtney says
Thank you!