Teriyaki Chicken

4 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Marinating Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Teriyaki Chicken is made with just five ingredients in your skillet that’s as delicious as your favorite takeout restaurant. Try it today!

If you like classic Asian Takeout recipes like General Tso’s Chicken you’re going to love my absolute favorite Mongolian Beef which is another five-ingredient recipe.

pot of cooked chicken

Sabrina’s Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Teriyaki Chicken is one of the classic takeout recipes we all love that most people don’t bother making at home, instead ordering it from a favorite restaurant. Or if they do make it, they just grab a pre-made sauce that is either expensive, already reduced or really salty. But with just a handful of ingredients found right next to the bottled stuff, you can make the BEST homemade version! Trust me, this marinade is magic, kids, guests and family all love this recipe. And it’s so easy – I usually don’t even add the garlic and ginger unless I have some in the house already and it’s still so finger-licking good!

Can I bake this chicken recipe?

Absolutely! You can use the same sauce but you will want to use bone-in chicken thighs. Check out my 5-Ingredient Baked Chicken Teriyaki recipe for the full instructions!

How long to marinate?

The chicken needs to marinate in the sauce for at least 30 minutes. But for the most flavorful, tender chicken you’ll want to marinate for about 3-4 hours.

Can I use the marinade as a sauce?

No need to make a separate sauce for cooking with my recipe! You just need to bring it to a rapid boil to kill any salmonella or other bacteria to make it safe to eat. After boiling, it gets reduced and thickened to coat the chicken.

Methods for Different Cuts of Chicken

You’ll marinate the chicken pieces as usual. Drain the sauce into a separate bowl and pat the chicken down before using these alternative cooking methods:

  • Chicken breast: Add a bit of canola oil to the pan and sear on medium-high heat until cooked through. Remove from the pan and rest. Cook and reduce the sauce as usual. Thinly slice the chicken and toss in the sauce to coat.
  • Chicken wings: Add marinated wings to a cookie sheet lined with foil. Cook at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Flip wings and cook another 25-30 minutes, until cooked through. While the chicken is cooking reduce the marinade on the stovetop in a small pan then coat the cooked wings.
  • Chicken legs: Add the legs to a baking pan and cook at 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until they reach 165 degrees internally. Reduce the marinade on the stovetop in a small pan then coat with the chicken. Pop under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp the skin.

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Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken is made with just five ingredients in your skillet that's as delicious as your favorite takeout restaurant. Try it today!
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Japanese
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 6 chicken thighs , boneless and skinless
  • 1/4 cup sake (or white wine)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup mirin
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger , optional
  • 1 tablespoon grated garlic , optional

Instructions

  • Put all the ingredients into a large Tupperware or resealable bag and marinate for at least 30 minutes but preferably 3-4 hours.
  • In a large skillet add the chicken thighs on medium heat, cooking 4-5 minutes on each side before removing from the pan and adding in the marinade.
  • Let the marinade come to a rolling boil and cook on medium heat until thickened (4-5 minutes) before adding the chicken back in to coat.

Nutrition

Calories: 498kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 1976mg | Potassium: 408mg | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1.8mg

Photos used in previous versions of this post.

Pan of cooked chicken and sauce topped with chives.
Chicken and sauce cooked in skillet topped with diced chives.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I tried this recipe after my Sam’s Club store stopped carrying my family’s favorite teriyaki chicken. My husband, who is super picky, loved this. I always triple the recipe and my family of 5 always have plenty of left overs. The youngest loved to pack it for school lunch the next day. I serve it with steamed rice and broccoli.

  2. Made it as written with no changes. Wished the sauce had thickened up a bit more. It did as it sat. Was fantastic with broccoli on the side.