Baked Teriyaki Chicken marinated in the easiest 5-ingredient teriyaki sauce, bakes in 30 minutes while you prepare fluffy rice to serve.
This popular Asian Dinner recipe is so easy to make at home with just a few ingredients. You’ll want to try other popular take out meals like Sweet and Sour Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and Chicken Lo Mein.
This Baked Chicken Teriyaki recipe is perfect for beginning cooks of all ages, but especially young people who want to save some money by making their takeout favorites at home. You can easily find the simple ingredients in the Asian food section of your grocery store, or at any Asian grocer.
In fact, this recipe is adapted from a method shared by another customer at an Asian store while browsing a long time ago. Her exact recipe was “1-1-2-2 sake, soy, mirin, sugar,” and she said the longer you can marinade the better. It’s such a simple and classic flavor, and you’ll never want to buy bottled sauce loaded with sodium and additives once you’ve tried it.
You can use this marinade to prepare chicken to be cooked in a wok, or grill, or sauté pan. However, baking it with dark meat will give you the most tender and juicy results, with a sticky sauce that has baked down and melded with the flavor from the chicken bones and skin.
You can use the sauce as a topping for burgers after cooking in a saucepan with a bit of cornstarch stirred with water. Or try grilled chicken breast on the bone and brush the sauce on. We’ve even grilled pineapple that was glazed with this mixture (minus the chicken of course). This is a classic, easy, no fuss, authentically delicious baked teriyaki chicken that you will want to adopt into your family’s favorite rotation.
While the chicken is baking, cook up some easy Chinese Steamed Rice, and Roasted Broccoli for serving, or add some fun Egg Rolls or Hot and Sour Soup for a family friendly Asian feast!
Create a free account to Save Recipes
How to Make Baked Chicken Teriyaki
- Place all the ingredients into a large Tupperware or Ziploc bag. Spread foil over pan, spray with cooking/canola oil spray if desired. Put chicken on foil, pour over remaining marinade. (If your foil is not big enough for your baking sheet, use two sheets of foil and make the inside edge stand up against the other half. That way the sauce won’t go under the foil and all over the pan and you don’t have to go out and buy XL foil that is overpriced. If you use half sheet pans the normal foil is not quite wide enough to go up the sides of the pan).
- Marinade for at least 30 minutes but preferably 12-24 hours.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
- Once the chicken is a bit crispy and has finished cooking, put on a platter. Pour leftover pan liquids into fat separator measuring cup, skim oil and pour sauce over chicken.
- Add scallions or sesame seeds as a garnish. You can also use a microplane to grate fresh ginger and fresh garlic over the chicken once it is already done cooking.
- Then add the sauce over the top and the heat of the chicken and the sauce help mute the flavors a little without killing them in the cooking process. Certainly, it appears a small thing but the flavors are so bright and fresh it gives it a new level of flavor.
How to Store Baked Chicken Teriyaki
- Serve: Do not leave cooked chicken at room temperature longer than 4 hours.
- Store: Sealed in an airtight container, store Baked Chicken Teriyaki in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Baked Teriyaki Chicken can be frozen for 2-3 months. Seal in a single layer in a strong freezer back, using a double layer to prevent freezer burn. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven at 325 for 20-25 minutes. If needed, make a small batch of marinade, reduced and warmed on the stove top, to pour over chicken for serving.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients into a large Tupperware or Ziploc bag.
- Marinade for at least 30 minutes but preferably 12-24 hours.
- Spread foil over pan, spray with cooking/canola oil spray if desired.
- Put chicken on foil, pour over remaining marinade.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
- Once chicken is a bit crispy and done cooking put on platter.
- Pour leftover pan liquids into measuring cup, skim oil and pour sauce over chicken.
Video
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Photos used in a previous version of this post.
Would chicken breast work also for this?
Bobbi; I used boneless, skinless breasts. I made shallow slits in the top, and marinated them for almost 24 hours… turning the bag every so often. They were divine. The sauce is one of the best I have found.
Easy recipe to follow for a weeknight meal! The only thing I did differently was add a cornflour slurry (1.5 teaspoons cornflour mixed with 3 teaspoons water for 4 chicken thighs) to thicken up the teriyaki sauce as mine was quite runny (did this in a small frying pan over medium heat, only took a few minutes). It turned out well and was nice to glaze the chicken with.
If I use skinless chicken thigh, do I need change anything on the baking side? Do I need cover it or less time?
No, you’ll be fine making that substitution. Enjoy!
Which works better for this receipe – skinless boneless chicken thighs or thighs with bones?
Either works great though I usually prefer skin on and bone in. Enjoy!
How much teriyaki sauce
If you don’t want to follow the recipe to make your own, you can substitute 1 1/2 cups of store bought teriyaki sauce for this recipe. Hope this helps.
Simple and DELICIOUS. Easy clean up, gotta like that.
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Sabrina,
I’m planning to use this recipe for my small group Bible Study and want to know if you’ve changed any of the ingredients? Thanks
No, the ingredient list is still the same.
Hi Sabrina.
Im planning on following the direction through the 20min of baking. Then finishing off on the grill. Im going to discard the marinade that is has been baked in, and make up a half batch on the marinade and combine with 1 and 1 starch and water to thicken in a sauce pan to glaze while grilling with some sliced pineapple .The marinade is very tasty with a garlic clove and a teaspoon of grated ginger! Five stars for the marinade its self! Might try this with beef as well!~
Thank you Mark!
This looks yummy and would be great for a dinner I’m planning with family! I’m wondering what type of dessert you made with this (maybe I missed it??).
Sorry for the delay, this message got snared in the spam filter. I love a good pineapple sorbet for dessert after this or even a vanilla ice cream with grilled pineapples (//dinnerthendessert.com/brown-sugar-grilled-pineapple/) on top and shredded toasted coconut.
Do you suggest taking the time to trim the fat off of the thighs? Or does it cook down well in the oven?
You can certainly trim, I just like touching raw chicken as little as possible. I just leave it for ease and then strain fat off.
Hi Sabrina! I am ready to give this recipe a try. Quick question. The ingredient list says thighs, but in the pan pictures you have a few drumsticks. Can other pieces of chicken be used? (Breasts, wings, etc) If so, would the cooking time have to be adjusted? Thanks!
Yes, the thighs will work the best (but toddlers as they are for some reason love drumsticks!) but other cuts will also work. I find the thighs have the best flat surface area to keep the coating on long enough to let it caramelize. The drumsticks look significantly less covered (but still taste good!).
Forgive my belatedness in replying, but thanks so much Sabrina!
You’re welcome! 🙂
HORRIBLE, came out nothing like described!!!!!! would never do again!!!!!!
Hey Chase, I’m sorry to hear something went wrong for you. I’d be happy to troubleshoot with you if you would like? This is one of my staple recipes and it is pretty limited in directions and ingredients. If you would like you can email me at contact @ dinnerthendessert.com.
Could I use this recipe in a crock pot without the skin? But bone in
You could but it would be really soupy. The chicken itself will release a lot of liquid into the slow cooker. That, mixed with the sauce is going to thin out the sauce to a watery consistency. I made chicken thighs in the slow cooker all the time (I have one on the site called Crisp and Juicy Slow Cooker Chicken) but you can even see in that post where the chicken goes in with no water at all and when it is done it comes up the side of the chicken by almost 80% of the way. So all that liquid will mix with your marinade. If you would like, you can cook it in the slow cooker, then take the chicken out when done, take the liquid and pour it into a pan, add in a premixed combo of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and two tablespoons of room temperature water. Cook the sauce until thick and then add on top of the slow cooker chicken. Hope that helps! 🙂
Great marinade, I use it frequently without the sake and using white vinegar instead of mirrin (the prices are too high in my country) I recommend it not only with chicken, try it with pork, beef even shrimp, but in those cases I cut the meat in pieces (bit size) let it in the marinade then I throw the pieces in a very hot pan with a little of oil and saute, when they are about to be ready I add a little marinade and let it reduce, it makes a great sauce. The Idea of grate ginger and garlic in the last moment is superb. Thanks.
I love your changes too! Cutting into chunks would be amazing for the marinade to totally flavor all the chicken!
I’ve finally got my family eating chicken other than boneless skinless breasts, things like this are next step! Getting a good marinade on a nice crispy skin on a thigh or drum is amazing!
Yes! I eat my fair share of white meat, but sometimes dark meat is just the way to go!
This sounds so easy! We’re huge teriyaki chicken fans here. Can’t wait to try this!
Awesome! I hope you love them 🙂
This chicken teriyaki looks so good! I’ve made chicken teriyaki before, but never baked. Can’t wait to try it!
I bake it for ease, I’ve also grilled it and cooked it in pieces in skillets 🙂
My family loves chicken teriyaki. This one looks sooo good! I can’t wait to try it.
That looks really good! I love the rice side dish and marinade!
I love easy dinners especially during the school year! This sounds delicious I am going to have to try it out.
Wonderful! I hope you love it!
Absolutely awesome! Hubby says this was better than the teriyaki place in town….and so easy!!!!
This looks amazing. The sauce looks perfect too. Bookmarked to make later!
Thanks Nancy! I hope you love it!
That seems like a great dinner! I will have to try it!
I hope you think so after trying it too 🙂
This has my name all over. I love it. It’s simple and utterly delish.
Yes! Super simple!
Oh that sounds really good and I think I’d be able to follow this recipe. I’ve always gone the lazy way and used pre-cooked chicken so this will be a nice change of pace!
And not even that much more work! I hope you love it!
This is such a great recipe to have the food we love to take out right at home! I know my inlaws LOVE teriyaki!
Awesome!! I’ve made this recipe so many times it feels like it is a part of me now. I’m officially 1% Japanese Grandma now! Haha.
I love finding new chicken recipes. I will have to make this for dinner tomorrow. I already have all the ingredients i will need.
Awesome! I hope you love it! That is one of my favorite things about this recipe the ingredients other than the chicken are shelf stable so it is pretty much always in my back pocket if I need something for a menu or dinner.
Chicken Teriyaki is one of my favorite meals. I will have to try this recipe. It looks so easy to make and delicious.
I hope it lives up to the one you love now!
I love to cook chicken. This looks like a great recipe and easy to make. I think my family would love it.
Yup super easy!
Wow, make with Sake? Would never have thought… Not sure what Mirin is, though. I will have to see if I can find it. Thanks for sharing.
Mirin is a sort of sweet cooking wine. I have seen it in Safeway too. If you don’t have sake I highly recommend white wine, in fact I routinely use two buck chuck for it!
One of my favorite Asian inspired dishes is chicken teriyaki. I never herd of using sake in the recipe. Sounds yummy!
yup, I have a little bottle I keep just for this recipe. But if I am out white wine is like 95% as good 🙂
This looks and sounds so good! I love that you used chicken thighs since it holds so much more flavor.
Oh yes, I love LOVE LOVE dark meat. 🙂
Wow. Only 5 ingredients? That’s impressive. This looks really good.
Yep! I love 5 ingredient meals, just few enough ingredients they are easy for me to memorize!
I love how easy this is to make. I am always looking for easy things to make on school nights.
This is definitely a weeknight recipe 🙂
I love how simple this is, but totally packed with flavor. Well done!
Thanks Ashley!
Yum! This looks super delicious, and it’s easy to make. You can’t really beat a combination like that.
The only thing better than that is delicious, easy to make and made by someone else for me! Haha.
This chicken looks so easy and delicious!
Paige
Thanks Paige 🙂
You were not kidding when you said this was simple!!! I plan to send my daughter to school with awesome lunches and this is going to be one of them!!
Oh yes, SUPER simple. But I swear letting it just chill in the fridge for a while makes it so flavorful, I mean like awesome restaurant quality flavorful!