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Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

By Amy Flanigan

Updated May 14, 2026

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Prep 5 minutes mins

Cook 4 minutes mins

Servings 5 (¼ cup per serving or 1¼ cups total)

By Amy Flanigan

Updated May 14, 2026

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My Homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe is one of the easiest sauces I make and is a must if you love Asian cuisine as much as I do. I love using it in a stir fry, as a marinade, or a dipping sauce. With just a handful of pantry staples and a few minutes in the kitchen, homemade teriyaki sauce is so easy and flavorful that I never bother buying the store-bought version anymore.

Easy Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

After many requests, I’m sharing my homemade teriyaki sauce recipe. This is one of the easiest condiments you can make, using only a handful of ingredients you likely already have in your pantry. Plus, it tastes so much better than store-bought sauce, with no additives. It comes together in minutes and is great to have on hand for marinades, stir-fries, or even as a dipping sauce.

Though authentic teriyaki sauce is made with 4 ingredients: soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar, Americans like to include garlic, ginger, honey, and sometimes pineapple juice. We also add cornstarch, so our version is thicker than the Japanese versions. My recipe is more Americanized, and my family loves it.

Helpful Tips and Variations

• Use low-sodium soy sauce. I like low-sodium soy sauce to cut back on sodium, but if that’s not a concern for you, there’s nothing like Chinese dark soy sauce, which is made with a bit of molasses. It has a rich mahogany color and tastes incredible, but definitely more salty.
• If using as a marinade. If you want to use the sauce for marinating, omit the cornstarch and let the sauce cool completely before using.
• Play around with the ratios. You can easily play around with the ingredient ratios to get the taste you want: sweeter, more savory, more garlicky. Whatever you like.
• Use cold water to make the slurry. This ensures the slurry is lump-free. Hot or warm water may lead to clumping.

5 from 1

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 4 minutes mins

Total: 9 minutes mins

Servings: 5 (¼ cup per serving or 1¼ cups total)

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This Homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe is one of the easiest sauces to make and is a must if you love Asian cuisine. Use it in stir fry, as a marinade, or a dipping sauce.

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ ¼ cup water
• ▢ 1 tbsp cornstarch
• ▢ ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce*
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 tbsp mirin**
• ▢ 2 tsp sesame oil
• ▢ 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
• ▢ 1 clove garlic, grated or minced

Instructions 

• In a small bowl, whisk together the water with the cornstarch until smooth, to create a slurry.
• In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients (including the cornstarch slurry.) Bring to a boil, stirring it occasionally to prevent overflow and scorching. Then reduce heat to a gentle simmer for about 4 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool. Use as desired.

Video

Notes

*I use low-sodium soy sauce to cut back on sodium, but if that’s not a concern for you, there’s nothing like Chinese dark soy sauce, which is made with a bit of molasses. It has a rich mahogany color and tastes incredible, but definitely more salty.

**Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine, similar to sake, but with less alcohol and more sugar. A good substitute for Mirin would be sherry mixed with a bit of granulated sugar. This is not the same thing as rice wine vinegar, which would give the sauce an acidic taste.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 832mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

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How to Make Teriyaki Sauce Step by Step

Make a cornstarch slurry: In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup water and 1 tbsp cornstarch.

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan: Combine ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 3 tbsp mirin, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced, 1 clove garlic, grated or minced, and the slurry. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until thickened, about 4 minutes.

Cool: Let the sauce cool and use it as you’d like.

How to Use Teriyaki Sauce

This teriyaki sauce is extremely versatile. Sometimes I’ll use it to make teriyaki chicken, a quick weeknight beef and broccoli stir fry, or even use it as a glaze for salmon. Often, I’ll use it as a marinade for meat or chicken, or serve it as a dipping sauce with Chinese dumplings.

How to Store

• Fridge. If not using right away, allow to cool, then transfer to a jar, fasten the lid, and store in the fridge. It will keep for 1-2 weeks.

More Stir Fry Recipes To Try

• Beef Stir Fry features tender strips of sirloin steak and crisp snow peas cooked in a quick and flavorful homemade sauce.
• This Easy Vegetable Stir Fry is a mix of vibrant vegetables sautéed until crisp- tender, then doused with a simple coconut curry sauce. 
• I prepared this Szechuan Pork Stir Fry with ground pork, tender asparagus, and a Szechuan-style sauce that’s loaded flavor.