Easy Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (2024)

This homemade gluten-free teriyaki sauce is quick, affordable, and tastes better than anything you can buy in a bottle.

Jill Nystul·January 10, 2024


Easy Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (2)

Easy Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (3)

Once you know how easy it is to make a homemadegluten-free teriyaki sauce that’s packed with delicious teriyaki flavor, you’ll never want to go back to the bottled stuff! When you’re trying to make teriyaki sauce gluten-free, it’s important to avoid hidden sources of gluten by using a certifiedgluten-free soy sauce or gluten-free tamari.

Even though soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans, it often contains wheat, too, so the average store-bought teriyaki sauce probably isn’t gluten-free. But one of the benefits of making sauces like these at home is that you can easily tailor the ingredients to suit your dietary needs and personal preferences.

The homemade gluten-free teriyaki sauce recipe you’ll find in this post is delicious as written, but can easily be adjusted to suit a low-sodium, vegan, paleo, or soy-free diet. You’ll find plenty of helpful suggestions and substitutions below the recipe, and a bevy of delicious ideas for what to do with it!

How To Make Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce (Recipe)

Easy Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (4)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups cold water
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free soy sauce or tamari*
  • 1 tsp garlic powder or granulated garlic
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
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Directions:

Add the water, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder, cornstarch, and sesame oil to a saucepan. Whisk well and place on your stove over medium heat.

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Whisking continuously, simmer the sauce until thickened and darkened in color, then remove from heat.

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Transfer your GF teriyaki sauce to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to one week.

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Substitutions & Suggestions

There are so many options for this recipe, starting with the main ingredient: soy sauce. Tamari, liquid aminos, and coconut aminos are all viable alternatives with a similar flavor profile, so there are plenty of options there.

Here are a few other adjustments you can make, depending on your wants and needs:

  • Soy-free? Look for a soy-free tamari sauce, or use coconut aminos.
  • Paleo? Use coconut aminos and reduce the amount of sugar, since they’re naturally slightly sweet.
  • On a low-salt diet? Try low-sodium soy sauce or reduced-sodium tamari.
  • Vegan? No changes necessary!
  • Make it organic by ensuring all your ingredients are organic.
  • To make it sugar-free, use a sugar-free brown sugar blend like monk fruit.
  • To make hot teriyaki sauce, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, or a small amount of chili garlic sauce or sriracha sauce.
  • Enhance the flavor by adding fresh garlic and fresh ginger, then blend the sauce briefly before cooking it.
  • Replace part of the brown sugar with maple syrup or honey.
  • Add a splash of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar for a bright, tangy flavor.
  • Replace part of the water with pineapple juice for sweetness, or more soy sauce to make it more savory.
  • Add a dash of sesame seeds for visual appeal and flavor.
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How To Use Your Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

  • Pour your teriyaki sauce over a bowl of rice, some protein (it tastes great on fish, chicken, pork, and beef!), and sautéed veggies for a quick and easy meal.
  • Use it as a teriyaki marinade for deliciousteriyaki flank steak. Slice flank steak into strips, marinate in the teriyaki sauce for about 30 minutes, then cook on the grill for an easy dinner the whole family will love.
  • Use it to make crockpotpineapple teriyaki chicken! I love this recipe because all I have to do is toss some chicken and teriyaki sauce in my crockpot, and dinner is basically ready by the time I get home!
  • Make your own flavorful teriyaki beef jerky by marinating strips of beef in teriyaki sauce before drying them in your oven. It’s easy to do and tastes amazing.
  • I’ve also made slow-cooker beef and broccoli using this delicious sauce with incredible results. I like it better than takeout!
  • Use it as a dipping sauce for dumplings, spring rolls, or egg rolls, a glaze for grilled meats, or as a stir-fry sauce with meat or tofu. Stir-fry has never tasted so good!

How would you use this gluten-free teriyaki sauce recipe?

Easy Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (10)

Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Jill Nystul

This delicious homemade teriyaki sauce is easy, delicious, and only takes a few minutes to make!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 6

Calories 139 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups water cold
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
  • 1 tsp garlic powder or granulated garlic
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to a saucepan, whisk well, and place over medium heat.

  • Whisk continuously and simmer until the sauce has thickened and darkened in color, then remove from heat.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 1091mgPotassium: 84mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 27gVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 1mg

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Easy Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Which teriyaki sauce is gluten-free? ›

Kikkoman® Gluten-Free Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce is Certified gluten-free by the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG).

Does gluten-free teriyaki sauce taste different? ›

It tastes nearly indistinguishable from traditional soy sauce, so it's a pretty seamless gluten-free option. I recommend using low-sodium so your sauce doesn't end up too salty. If you're paleo or avoid soy, you'll want to use coconut aminos for this recipe.

What is the best substitute for teriyaki sauce? ›

A simple and effective substitute for teriyaki sauce is a combination of soy sauce and brown sugar. The soy sauce provides the salty umami flavor, while the brown sugar adds sweetness and helps to caramelize the dish. To make this substitute, mix one part soy sauce with one part brown sugar.

What is a substitute for rice vinegar in teriyaki sauce? ›

Rice vinegar is sold near other kinds of vinegar, but if you cannot find it, try cider vinegar or white wine vinegar as a substitute. When tasting the sauce after adding the vinegar, it might taste a little strong.

Can celiacs eat teriyaki sauce? ›

Is Teriyaki Sauce Gluten-Free? Traditionally, teriyaki sauce is made with soy sauce, which is not gluten-free because it contains wheat. To replace soy sauce in this recipe, we used its cousin: tamari. Tamari and soy sauce are both made from fermented soybeans, but tamari doesn't usually contain wheat.

Does Panda Express teriyaki have gluten? ›

The teriyaki sauce is made of ginger, garlic, soy sauce, mirin, and brown sugar. Moreover, the ingredients are prepared fresh using shared utensils which can cause cross-contamination with different allergens. Therefore teriyaki chicken from Panda Express is not gluten-free.

Is hoisin like teriyaki sauce? ›

Hoisin Sauce is Chinese and based on fermented soybean paste, whereas teriyaki sauce only has a small component of soy sauce. Hoisin sauce is therefore much thicker and saltier compared to its Japanese counterpart, as teriyaki sauce tends to be sweeter. Plus teriyaki isn't even really Japanese.

Is teriyaki sauce just soy sauce? ›

Authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce combines soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake to create a distinctively sharp taste, with Westernized versions incorporating honey, garlic, and ginger for added edge. Cornstarch is often added to teriyaki sauce as a thickener.

What can I replace soy sauce with teriyaki sauce? ›

Teriyaki sauce, which is made of soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. How to substitute: It is sweeter and more syrupy than soy sauce so thin it out with a little water and cut back on other sweeteners in the recipe. Use it 1:1 for soy sauce in stir-fries or marinades.

Can I use balsamic vinegar instead of rice vinegar? ›

The cleaner taste of white balsamic vinegar may make it a suitable substitution for rice vinegar in some recipes, such as salad dressings. A 2019 review indicated that fruit vinegar, such as balsamic, is a rich source of polyphenols and organic acids and can be a good dietary source of antioxidants.

What can I use instead of brown sugar in teriyaki sauce? ›

Honey or maple syrup

Typically, you'll find a combination of honey and brown sugar in teriyaki recipes. I wanted this recipe to be entirely naturally sweetened, so I used all honey instead. If you want teriyaki sauce without honey, simply use maple syrup. It's great, too!

Can I put white vinegar instead of rice vinegar? ›

Though it will not taste exactly the same, a solid substitute for rice vinegar is simply to mix in a little bit of sugar and water to white vinegar. You can also use the white vinegar straight as a 1:1 substitute.

Is Trader Joe's teriyaki gluten-free? ›

This product has 2 ingredients with gluten and 2 ingredients that may have gluten. Which diet do you follow? Follow more than one?

Is the Subway chicken teriyaki gluten-free? ›

Subway's Gluten-Free Options

Nearly all of Subway's salads are gluten-free except for the meatball marinara, seafood sensation and sweet onion chicken teriyaki.

What sauce from the Chinese is gluten-free? ›

Hoisin Sauce: Find a gluten-free equivalent such as Lee Kum Kee GF Hoisin. Sweet Bean Sauce, Chee Hou Sauce, Ground Bean Sauce: Substitute a gluten-free hoisin sauce such as Lee Kum Kee GF Hoisin. Note that you may have to adjust the sweetness level of the recipe, as hoisin is quite sweet.

Why isn t teriyaki gluten-free? ›

Soy sauce, which one would expect would be free of gluten, isn't always, as wheat is used as a thickener. Therefore, most of the popular brands of soy sauce, as well as teriyaki sauces, might contain gluten.

References

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