This simple recipe for teriyaki sauce makes about 1 1/2 cups and can be used with any of your Asian-inspired recipes instead of unhealthy bottled versions from the store with toxic additives.
I go through a lot of homemade sauces cooking for my family. I use the easy teriyaki sauce recipe below primarily for marinating chicken.
It is also very useful for making homemade barbecue sauce as well.
Bottled teriyaki sauce from the grocery store has so many additives that it is downright frightening to read the label.
The brands at the healthfood store are, disappointingly, not a whole lot better. For example, the organic brands I’ve examined are either loaded with sugar and/or contain toxic seed oils!
Canola oil, a popular choice in commercial teriyaki sauce brands, is surprisingly STILL considered by some in the health community to be a quality oil.
Nearly all restaurants cook with an olive oil/canola oil blend (25/75). Even when nonGMO, organic, and cold-pressed, canola oil should be actively avoided.
For this reason, skip any bottled sauces or dressings that contain this very misunderstood, unhealthy fat.
My teriyaki sauce recipe below is inspired by the version in Nourishing Traditions Cookbook. My method differs by using ground ginger and garlic powder (quicker for busy Moms!), and uses wheat-free, traditionally fermented, unpasteurized Tamari sauce instead of soy sauce to make it friendly for those healing their gut microbiome.
Use this delicious DIY teriyaki sauce to make this teriyaki chicken recipe with roasted vegetables.
By the way, making your own homemade steak sauce is a good idea too for the same reasons outlined above!
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
This recipe for teriyaki sauce makes about 1 1/2 cups and can be used for any of your Asian recipes instead of unhealthy bottled versions from the store.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tamari sauce naturally fermented, unpasteurized
- 1/4-3/4 tsp ground ginger or 1-3 tsp freshly grated
- 3/4-1 tsp garlic powder or 3 cloves, freshly minced
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar preferably organic
- 2 Tbsp raw honey or date syrup
- 1 Tbsp liquid whey optional
Instructions
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Mix all the ingredients together except the whey in a small glass bowl until well blended.
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If not using the optional whey, the sauce is ready to enjoy immediately.
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If using whey, stir it into the sauce, pour into a one pint mason jar and affix the lid. Leave the jar on the counter overnight to lightly culture it before refrigerating.
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Homemade teriyaki sauce will keep for a couple of weeks without whey added and over a month when this optional ingredient is used.
Recipe Notes
*Use date syrup instead of raw honey if you plan to cook with your homemade teriyaki sauce.
OH I am sooooo excited to make this recipe. I have everything I need! Sarah, question….what are your views on Braggs Liquid Aminos? There is some question about how it gets salty since there is no sign of any salty ingredients so it must be a chemical reaction? This was thought to be a healthy alternative but now I am not so sure? I just bought a big bottle! Eek. But I will gladly toss if there is any other word about it.
Bragg’s Liquid Aminos is loaded with msg last time I checked.
How do you know there is MSG in it if it says nothing of the sort on the label?
Does the ingredients list mention anything “Hydrolyzed” or “Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins”? It’s most likely soy. That is the process by which MSG is made. I haven’t seen the back of the bottle, so I’m not sure if it has MSG or not.
Braggs is made from soybeans, but does not have any MSG added, some naturally occurring MSG is created when you ferment soy but its not the nasty additive you get in hydrolyzed foods. Just FYI! Check out their website for more info.
Braggs is not “loaded” with MSG. I am certainly not trying to criticize anyone, but it seems if you are going to bash a product that prides themselves on their natural ingredients you might want to take a moment to do some research:
how about using coconut aminos instead of the soy sauce for those avoiding soy?
I’ve not ever tried coconut aminos but be careful with them as I know Bragg’s Liquid Aminos is loaded with MSG.
Coconut aminos do not have MSG AFAIK. It’s only concentrated coconut sap. It’s delicious and works great instead of soy sauce.
Teriyaki chicken is one of my family’s absolute fav dishes. I would have a serious revolt on my hands if I couldn’t make it with a healthy version! 🙂
Now this sounds fantastic! Ginger, garlic, sesame oil, honey and tamari…delish! Thanks for sharing the recipe- I’ve not used teriyaki sauce in a long, long time- because it’s always so processed- and I honestly never thought about making some. Great idea 🙂
Sound sooo good!!!!!
I wanted to try this but I can’t find the raw soy sauce anywhere. Not even on your site. Is there another brand you recommend?
Hi Lisa, I’ve updated the links for the unpasteurized naturally fermented soy sauce and tamari sauce .. they are both available in my Amazon store if you can’t get locally.
Mmm, thanks, looking forward to trying this.
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce – The Healthy Home Economist: http://t.co/mFW9gBC
Thanks for the recipe. I used to love Teriyaki chicken but haven’t eaten it since staring to eat real food. I’ll be making this for my family soon.
Thank you! Been so disappointed w store bought as well. RT @realfoodmedia: Homemade Teriyaki Sauce http://bit.ly/octXKI
I’m so glad you posted this! My daughter LOVES teriyaki and I hadn’t found a bottled brand I could trust. Do you know if coconut aminos can be used in place of the soy? I have to order my natural soy sauce online.