Easy Teriyaki Sauce (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

If you’re a “best of both worlds” kind of person, this easy teriyaki sauce will soon be your new best friend. It’s made up of both sweet and savoury flavors, which makes it the perfect topping for tofu, stir-fried veggies, or noodles!

Let’s Get Saucy

We are both huge fans of teriyaki sauce. When we first got into Japanese cuisine, we were definitely all about that teriyaki chicken on rice (so original, we know). Of course, now we love it with tofu instead, but the sauce has always remained a favorite of ours.

Apparently, teriyaki was invented in Hawaii by Japanese immigrants. They used ingredients like pineapple juice and soy sauce to make early versions of this tasty marinade. Nowadays, it’s made with the addition of garlic, ginger, rice wine (mirin), brown sugar, and cornstarch.

While we do love teriyaki sauce, most store-bought varieties contain additional less-than-ideal ingredients. High-fructose corn syrup and caramel color don’t exactly scream “health”, ya know?

So, our solution? Creating an ultra-delicious homemade teriyaki with a few simple ingredients. And, did we mention how quick this sauce is to make? By the time you drive to the store to grab a bottle, you could already be sitting down to enjoy your meal!

Key Ingredients For Teriyaki Sauce

• Tamari: to create the savoury base for this sauce, you can use either tamari or soy sauce (note: tamari is the only gluten-free option). Just make sure you definitely opt for low sodium because it will be waaaaay too salty if you use the regular variety!

• Ginger: we absolutely love using ginger in our cooking because it adds both flavor and health benefits. You can use ground ginger, but whenever we have some fresh ginger in the house, we always reach for that. Not only does this spice taste heavenly, but (ladies) it has also been shown to significantly help with period symptoms. Hallelujah!

• Sesame seeds: while these aren’t in all teriyaki sauce recipes, we think the addition of some toasted sesame seeds really elevates this recipe. They give a fragrant, nutty flavor that is well-known to Asian cuisine. Plus, they are high in magnesium, which has known anti-inflammatory benefits.

• Sweetener: for our recipe, we opted to use a combination of maple syrup and brown sugar. Why? It just felt right. Seriously though, you can use whichever one you have on hand since they both offer rich, caramel notes that are perfect for this teriyaki sauce.

How to Make Teriyaki Sauce

To begin, heat a saucepan on low-medium. Add the sesame seeds in, and toast them until they are fragrant and turning golden brown (or when your kitchen starts smelling delicious).

In the meantime, whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until dissolved. Set that aside while you grab the rest of your ingredients.

Then, turn the heat up to medium and add in all ingredients, including the cornstarch and water mixture. Whisk everything together until you have a uniform consistency. Bring the teriyaki sauce to a low boil, then reduce heat to simmer until your sauce thickens, which takes about 7-8 minutes. Remove the teriyaki sauce from the stove and let it cool.

Serve this over stir-fried vegetables, rice, noodles, tofu, or even on a veggie burger with a slice of pineapple. Yum!

How to Store Teriyaki Sauce

This teriyaki sauce will keep in your fridge for up to 6-7 days. To reheat, simply add it to your food near the end of cooking.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Teriyaki Sauce

It’s incredible what a few simple ingredients can turn into! This teriyaki sauce is:

• Sweet
• Savoury
• Nutty
• Flavor-packed

If you make this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment, rate it, and tag us on Instagram with #brokebankvegan. Happy eating!

Other Recipes You’ll Enjoy

• Vegan Poke Bowl
• Creamy Ramen Noodle Bowl
• Sweet & Sour Cauliflower on Rice
• Easy Asian Slaw With Sesame Ginger Dressing

Easy Teriyaki Sauce

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Broke Bank Vegan Course: Sauce, DressingCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Easy, Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cook time

10

minutes

Calories

83

kcal

Cost per recipe

$2.18

USD

Cost per serving

$0.54

USD

Total time

15

minutes

Made with kitchen staples, this easy teriyaki sauce is sweet, savoury, and everything in between. It’s the perfect topping for tofu, stir-fried veggies, noodles, or even veggie burgers!

Ingredients

• 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds ($0.08 USD)

• 1 tbsp corn starch ($0.02 USD)

• 3 tbsp water ($0.00 USD)

• 1/2 cup low-sodium tamari ($1.44 USD)

• 2 tbsp maple syrup ($0.30 USD)

• 3 tbsp brown sugar ($0.05 USD)

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar ($0.22 USD)

• 1 tbsp ginger, grated or finely minced ($0.03 USD)

• 1 clove garlic, finely minced ($0.04 USD)

Directions

• To begin, heat a saucepan on low-medium. Add the sesame seeds in, and toast them until they are fragrant and turning golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.
• In the meantime, whisk together the cornstarch and water in a separate bowl until dissolved. Set the bowl aside while you prep the garlic and ginger.
• Then, turn your stove to medium heat and add in all ingredients, including the cornstarch and water mixture. Whisk everything together until you have a uniform consistency.
• Bring the teriyaki sauce to a low boil, then reduce heat to simmer until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency, about 6-8 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let teriyaki sauce cool before transferring it to the fridge in an airtight container. Alternatively, serve immediately over stir-fried vegetables, rice, noodles, or tofu!

Tips

• It’s very important to use low sodium tamari (GF) or soy sauce (not GF) to prevent your teriyaki sauce from turning out overly salty.
• You can also toast your sesame seeds in an oven or toaster oven, but we just prefer to use one pan for the whole sauce.

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