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Home » Recipes » Cooking Tips and Basic Techniques

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce with Honey

Published: Jun 17, 2024 · Updated: Feb 10, 2025 by Marye

Easy homemade honey teriyaki sauce recipe goes together quickly and it's SO rich and delicious! It's the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Use it as a marinade or for stir fry or in any recipe you'd use the commercial teriyaki sauce in.
Total time for the recipe to be finished.Total Time 45 minutes minutes
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Side view of a jar full of the homemade sauce.
Teriyaki sauce with text overlay for Pinterest. Side view.
Teriyaki sauce with text overlay for Pinterest. Overhead view.

Imagine drizzling a luscious, homemade honey teriyaki sauce over your favorite dishes, adding a burst of sweet and savory flavor that will have everyone begging for more. This Honey Teriyaki Sauce recipe is amazing, combining the perfect balance of sweetness and umami with just a hint of tang.

It's quick, easy, and uses simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. It's going to take your recipes to a whole new level!

A jar of teriyaki sauce on a countertop.
Table of Contents
  • 🗝️ Key takeaways
  • 🧾 Ingredients
  • 📖 Variations
  • 🔪 Instructions
  • 🍴 Equipment
  • 🥫 How to store leftovers
  • Marye's Tip o' the day
  • 💭 Things to know
  • 👩‍🍳 FAQs
  • 📚 Related recipes
  • 🥩 How to use honey teriyaki sauce
  • 📞 The last word
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Honey Teriyaki Sauce
  • 💬 Comments

Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.

🗝️ Key takeaways

  • So easy: This honey teriyaki sauce is incredibly easy to make, requiring just a few basic ingredients and minimal time. Its rich, complex flavor profile makes it a hit with both kids and adults, perfect for adding a gourmet touch to everyday meals.
  • Versatile: Serve this sauce with grilled chicken, beef, or seafood. It's also fantastic as a stir-fry sauce, a marinade, or a dip for appetizers. The versatility makes it ideal for weeknight dinners, weekend cookouts, and everything in between. See the How to use teriyaki sauce section for more ideas.
  • Inexpensive: Making your own pantry staples is easy, inexpensive, and totally takes your recipes to a new level of yum. No need to run to the store mid-recipe because you're out!

This sauce is an important ingredient in so many delicious dishes! It's a delicious marinade for meat or poultry (think teriyaki chicken), excellent as a stir-fry sauce, and a delicious dipping sauce for potstickers!

Let me warn you, though. Once you try this homemade teriyaki sauce recipe you'll never go back to the store-bought kind.

It's the perfect combination of savory-salty-sweet flavor!

🧾 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

Ingredients for this recipe.

📖 Variations

  1. Use pineapple juice or orange juice for part of the water to give it even more flavor.
  2. I like to use both brown sugar and honey to sweeten this easy sauce but you can use all brown sugar or all honey if you wish.
  3. Add some crushed red peppers for a little heat.
  4. For an extra thick teriyaki sauce add a bit more cornstarch.
  5. Sometimes I add just a teaspoon of sesame oil, or drizzle of smoked sesame oil or chile sesame oil for even more flavor.
  6. This versatile sauce is great with pork chops, too.

🔪 Instructions

This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Step by step images for making homemade teriyaki sauce with honey.
  1. Add the soy sauce, 1 cup of water, brown sugar, honey, ginger, garlic, and onion to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes.
  2. Dissolve cornstarch in a small bowl with ¼ cup cold water, whisking to make a cornstarch slurry.
  3. Stir it into the simmering soy sauce mixture.
  4. Cook until thickened. Let come to room temperature and pour into a storage container and refrigerate.

🤫 Cook's secrets -

For the best flavor, let the sauce simmer gently to allow all the ingredients to meld together.

🍴 Equipment

  1. saucepan
  2. whisk
  3. measuring cups and spoons

🥫 How to store leftovers

Put in an airtight container (a pint-sized glass Mason jar works great). Store up to a week in the refrigerator.

I wouldn't suggest freezing it because it has a tendency to get watery and separate because of the cornstarch.

Overhead view of a spoonful of teriyaki sauce.

Marye's Tip o' the day

Don't let homemade teriyaki sauce boil or overheat it. Simmer for about 2 -3 minutes. If you cook too long the mixture will break and get very thin and watery again.

💭 Things to know

  • Gluten-free: If you want to make it gluten-free be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce.
  • Adjust the sweetness or saltiness to your taste by tweaking the honey and soy sauce amounts.
  • This sauce thickens as it cools, so don't worry if it seems a bit thin while it's hot.
  • Always use fresh ginger and garlic for the best flavor.
  • If you need a gluten-free option be sure to look for a gluten-free soy sauce like Kikkoman Tamari.
  • White sugar gives the homemade sauce a bit more of a delicate flavor than brown sugar.
  • I prefer ground ginger to fresh ginger. If you want to use fresh you'll need about a teaspoon and a half of freshly grated ginger.
  • You can substitute about ½ teaspoon of garlic powder for the fresh garlic.
  • Adjust the saltiness to your own tastes by using low-sodium soy sauce to lower it or regular soy sauce for a saltier teriyaki sauce.
  • Marinate chicken in your homemade teriyaki sauce and then grill the chicken. Brush on a little more teriyaki during grilling to create a shiny glaze.
  • Thin it: If the sauce thickens too much after refrigeration, simply add a splash of water and warm it up to restore its consistency.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!

What can I use if I don't have teriyaki sauce?

If you don't feel like making this easy teriyaki sauce recipe you can often substitute Korean bbq sauce or mix soy sauce, water, and a little honey.

Can I use this sauce as a marinade?

Yes, it's perfect for marinating meats before grilling or baking.

Is teriyaki sauce the same as teriyaki marinade?

Sort of. Teriyaki sauce is usually thickened with a cornstarch slurry. The marinade is the same recipe without the thickening agent.

Is teriyaki sauce sweet?

Honey teriyaki sauce is the perfect balance between sweet and savory so it adds a lot of flavor to all kinds of foods.

📚 Related recipes

You can make all kinds of pantry basics right at home! They save time and money plus they are usually much more flavorful!

  • A wooden spoon dipped in thick, rich mole sauce.
    30-Minute Mole Sauce
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    Creole Mustard Substitutes
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    Chimichurri Sauce Recipe: Cilantro and Lime

🥩 How to use honey teriyaki sauce

You can use this honey teriyaki sauce the same way you would a purchased sauce. If you are going to use it as a marinade leave the cornstarch out.

It's a homemade sauce that's so good that you'll never buy it again. It's so easy to make!

  1. Brush on salmon or other fish while grilling
  2. It's a delicious sauce for noodle bowls
  3. Or rice bowls
  4. Brush it on vegetables while roasting or grilling
  5. Add a little to ground beef when making burgers or meatloaf
  6. Use it as a dipping sauce for dumplings
  7. Brush it on kabobs as they're grilling
  8. As a glaze for teriyaki meatballs
  9. Brushed on ribs
  10. Use in stir fry
  11. Brush on chicken while grilling

📞 The last word

I learned my lesson during Covid 2020.

I, like Scarlett O'Hara, raised a tired fist to the sky and exclaimed, "I'll never be without bread, sauce of any kind, or toilet paper again!"

Now, I haven't yet learned to make toilet paper but as far as homemade versions of the commercial products I buy?

Y'all, it's not that deep.

This homemade teriyaki sauce is absolutely delicious in any recipe that you'd use the commercial kind in. It's also one of the easiest homemade sauces to make!

You'll just need a few pantry staples.

It's less expensive, has more flavor, and if you go to the grocery stores and the teriyaki shelves are bare?

You'll smile to yourself and head home, confident in your abilities to recreate an even better version.

Add this simple sauce to any recipe that calls for teriyaki sauce. You'll love it!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.

If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

Side view of a jar full of the homemade sauce.

Homemade Honey Teriyaki Sauce

4.73 from 18 votes
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Easy homemade honey teriyaki sauce recipe goes together quickly and it's SO rich and delicious! It's the perfect combination of sweet and savory. Use it as a marinade or for stir fry or in any recipe you'd use the commercial teriyaki sauce in.
Course Condiment
Cuisine Japanese
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings:12 1 tablespoon
Calories:43
Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup soy sauce, Choose gluten-free soy sauce to keep it GF.
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ cup cold water
  • 2 tablespoons onion, minced

Instructions

  • Combine 1 cup water, brown sugar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, onion, and ginger in a medium saucepan.
  • Bring to a boil then turn down the heat to low.
  • Let simmer for about 2 minutes.
  • Combine the cornstarch with the ¼ cup water and whisk until dissolved. (corn starch slurry)
  • Pour the slurry into simmering soy sauce mixture whisking constantly.
  • Heat the sauce until it thickens.
  • Pour in a clean jar with a screw on top.
  • Let rest for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.
  • Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Notes

Storage:
Put in an airtight container (a pint sized glass Mason jar works great). Store up to a week in the refrigerator.
I don't recommend freezing.
Tips:
  • Choose gluten-free soy sauce to make it gluten-free. Check all the labels!
  • Don't let it boil or overheat it. Simmer for about 2 -3 minutes. If you cook too long the mixture will break and get very thin and watery again.
  • I like to use both brown sugar and honey to sweeten this easy sauce but you can use all brown sugar or all honey if you wish.
  • Use pineapple juice or orange juice for part of the water to give it even more flavor.
  • For an extra thick teriyaki sauce add a bit more cornstarch.
  • Adjust the saltiness to your own tastes by using low sodium soy sauce to lower it or regular soy sauce for a saltier teriyaki sauce.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 43kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 273mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.

First published August 24, 2021. Last updated June 17, 2024 for editorial improvements and more helpful information.

Side view of a jar full of the homemade sauce.

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Meet Marye Audet, a wizard in the kitchen and a storyteller at heart. Marye is like your eccentric but fun aunt who knows all the secret recipes and isn't afraid to spill them.

Comments

    4.73 from 18 votes (18 ratings without comment)

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  1. Brenda says

    October 02, 2022 at 6:41 pm

    Is it possible to make this to can in jars for future use??? (regarding: Homemade Honey Teriyaki Sauce)

    Reply
    • Marye says

      August 15, 2023 at 7:59 pm

      No - you can't can it - there's not enough acid in the teriyaki to make it safe.

      Reply
Marye Audet-White, founder of Restless Chipotle Media

Hey Y'all, I'm Marye

Welcome to my kitchen! ☕

NY Times bestselling author. 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Addicted to Hallmark Christmas Movies. Collector of old cookbooks.

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