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This easy chicken teriyaki is marinated then grilled, baked, or stir fried until perfectly cooked and juicy! Glaze with teriyaki sauce for the best chicken teriyaki that’s better than takeout! Works great with chicken breast or chicken thighs!
Chicken teriyaki is one of the most simple, flavorful Japanese meals you can make at home!
It’s a versatile dish that can be made with skin-on or skinless chicken thigh or chicken breast. The chicken teriyaki marinade is an authentic, simple three ingredient marinade that’s the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and umami.
Ingredients
- Chicken – Use boneless skin-on or skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast. Flatten so it’s about 3/4 inch thick for even cooking.
For the marinade, you’ll need the following:
- Low sodium soy sauce – Use low sodium soy sauce for the perfect balance of sweet and salty.
- Mirin – Mirin is a Japanese cooking wine that gives this dish its restaurant quality taste!
- Sugar – Sugar is what gives teriyaki chicken its signature sweet, glossy finish.
How to make chicken teriyaki
- Flatten the chicken to be 3/4 inch thick for even cooking.
- Combine soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and reserve half for later use. Marinate the chicken with the remaining half for 15 minutes in the fridge.
- Grill or Pan: Heat a grill or pan over medium high heat and place the chicken skin-side down (if using skin-on). Flip and cook the other side. Add desired amount of the remaining marinade during the last 5 minutes of cooking to reduce into a thick glaze. Internal temperature should register 165 degrees F.
- Bake: Bake chicken in a 400 degree preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until fully cooked. During the last 5 to 7 minutes, brush on the reserved sauce. It will thicken into a delicious teriyaki glaze.
- Serve with steamed rice and sprinkle on sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Variations
Substitutions:
- Mirin – Substitute with sake or white wine. For a non-alcoholic substitute, use stock or water with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice.
- Sugar – Substitute with honey, brown sugar, or agave.
- Soy sauce – Substitute with tamari, liquid aminos, or coconut aminos.
Stir fry chicken teriyaki – Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, no need to marinate. Stir fry with half the marinade mixture until chicken is fully cooked and marinade is thickened into a sauce. Add any vegetables you’d like during the last 5 minutes.
Teriyaki sauce – Feel free to add garlic, ginger, or green onions.
Spicy chicken teriyaki – Add red pepper flakes, sriracha, or chopped jalapeno or serrano peppers.
Serve with steamed rice and any of these sides for an easy chicken teriyaki bowl: sesame broccoli salad, Asian cucumber salad, or shoyu eggs (soy sauce eggs).
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Please share, rate, or comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
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Thanks so much for stopping by! ? -Jamie
More Japanese recipes:
Asian Recipes
Yaki Udon | Stir Fried Udon Noodles
Appetizers
Sticky Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Main Dishes
Japanese Hamburger Steak (Hambāgu ハンバーグ)
Easy Chicken Teriyaki with Marinade
Ingredients
- ¾ lb chicken thigh, or chicken breast; See Note 1
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds
Chicken Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup mirin, see Note 2 for substitutions
- ⅓ cup sugar, see Note 3 for substitutions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic or ginger, (optional)
Instructions
- Prep chicken: Flatten the chicken so it's about ¾ inch thick for even cooking. Place in a zipper bag or large bowl to marinate.
- Marinade: Combine the ingredients for the marinade and mix together until the sugar dissolves. Reserve half for later use and marinate the chicken with the remaining half for at least 15 minutes to overnight in the fridge.⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce, ⅓ cup mirin, ⅓ cup sugar
Cook Chicken (Grill, Pan fry, or Bake)
- Grill or Pan fry: Heat your grill or pan over medium high heat and add the oil. Remove chicken from the marinade, wiping off the excess. Cook skin-side down if using skin-on chicken and flip when golden brown. During the last 3 minutes, add your desired amount of the reserved teriyaki marinade. It will reduce and thicken into a glaze as the chicken cooks. Internal temperature should register 165°F and juices should run clear.
- (Optional) Bake: Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking pan. Bake chicken for about 20 until fully cooked, brushing on the reserved sauce a few times during the last 5 to 7 minutes. The reserved sauce will thicken into a glaze. Reduce the heat if it starts to burn.
Serve
- Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and serve over steamed rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and spoon any remaining glaze over the chicken. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use both skinless or skin-on chicken thighs or chicken breast.
- Mirin – substitute with sake or any white wine. Non-alcoholic substitute: use stock or water with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice.
- Sugar – substitute with honey, agave, or brown sugar
- When baking, keep an eye on the chicken as the sugar in the marinade can easily burn if your oven is too hot.
Variations:
Teriyaki marinade – Though not traditional, feel free to add garlic, ginger, or green onions. Stir fry chicken teriyaki – Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, no need to marinate. Stir fry with half of the marinade until chicken is fully cooked and sauce is thickened. Add any vegetables you’d like during the last 5 minutes. Spicy chicken teriyaki – Add red pepper flakes, sriracha, or chopped jalapeno or serrano peppers.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This was a great chicken teriyaki recipe. I made the chicken on the traeger, so it took a little longer, but delicious never the less.
My family loves this recipe, and it is so much better than store bought teriyaki. This is now our go to homemade teriyaki and we couldn’t be happier with it.
Can this be frozen? Want to bring this for a friend who won’t be able to cook for a while.
I changed the ratios slightly on this recipe but I found the marinade to be very watery. I cooked it in the over in an enamelled cast iron skillet, but the sauce did not thicken much after 7 minutes in the oven. The chicken was starting to get overcooked at 180 degree but it still had no color.
I used:
2.5lbs or chicken thighs
200ml of low sodium soy sauce
200ml of Mirin
125ml of white granulated sugar
2 tsp of crushed garlic
2 tsp of crushed ginger
Marinated in the fridge for 1 hour.
If I increase the sugar ratio so that it is 1:1:1 with the soy sauce and Mirin I assume that would make it a bit thicker. Or would honey be a better option?
Instead of using half the sauce for marinade and the other half for basting, what if I used it all for marinating, then put it into a pot to boil and simmer for a few minutes, then use it all for basting? That way I’m not wasting any sauce, and it should thicken up a fair bit. Is that advisable?
Made this exactly as stated except added a bit of ginger. My husband LOVED it and he’s usually a picky eater. The best teriyaki marinade I’ve ever made!
This was perfect. Made it exactly as written. Marinated the chicken overnight and baked uncovered for exactly 20 minutes. Perfection. The family loved it and asked for it again. Thank you!
Very easy recipe that never fails! It’s my family’s favorite teriyaki recipe. I double the amount of marinade and cook it down in a pot to keep extra sauce. There’s never any leftovers because it’s so good!!
Oh wow, this was so delicious. My family devoured it!
My family loves this! Will definitely be making again!
This recipe is always popular in our house – delicious!
This chicken teriyaki is a recipe that I have been making on repeat for the last few months. The flavors are so good – and it truly tastes restaurant quality!
I have tried several variations – adding chopped jalapenos for a spicy version and also the stir fry version. All work so well. I definitely recommend using a grill pan if you have one – it produces a wonderful flavor!
This recipe is so delicious. I had a bottle of sake in my fridge that a couple of friends gave us last week, so I used it instead of the mirin, as you suggested. The chicken was tender and yummy.
Wouldn’t change a thing! I use skinless boneless chicken thighs and have tried it both baked and pan fried. It’s the best teriyaki sauce I’ve tasted. This is my favorite. 🙂
This marinade is very tasty and grills up perfectly. It’s one of the only chicken recipes my kids will eat so thank you for sharing!
Great for meal prep. Layer the marinaded chicken in a pan and pour in the marinade. Then bake it like the recipe says. Flip it once halfway through. Easy and delicious.
Awesome dish! This teriyaki recipe is so yummy! The juiciness of the chicken plus the teriyaki sauce makes this the best! LOve this!
Double the marinade and add extra when cooking the chicken. Use the extra sauce to pour it over your rice and veggies. Such an easy recipe and delicious too!! Just perfect!
I made this recipe and it was a big hit in my house. Very easy to make the flavors was just wonderful, this will definitely be my go to recipe for now on.
Made for dinner, using boneless & skinless thighs, paired with rice and broccoli. Came out great for an easy midweek meal. Will add spice next time for a kick. Definitely recommend giving this a try.
Hello, I wanted to try this me thinking I had soy sauce….well turns out I ran out. But i’m trying stir fry sauce wont be the same but it’ll be OK 🙂 thanks for the recipe well try it as soon as I go to the store.<3