Easy Teriyaki Chicken Marinade
Published 8/25/2020 • Updated 8/30/2022
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Check out our go-to teriyaki chicken marinade that takes 5 minutes to put together and only requires 7 ingredients.
This teriyaki chicken marinade recipe will leave your chicken tender and flavorful. You’ll never use another store-bought marinade again!
Best Teriyaki Chicken Marinade
This delish teriyaki chicken breast marinade is something you need to keep on hand at all times! It was created based on our famous healthy teriyaki sauce, but as a marinade instead!
It’s salty and sweet and made with the perfect amount of garlic and ginger. This chicken marinade is…
- kid-friendly
- 7-ingredients
- ready in 5 minutes
- gluten-free friendly
- refined-sugar free
- made without fillers
What You Need
All you need is 7 total ingredients for this staple marinade. Check it out —
- soy sauce – soy sauce is a teriyaki chicken staple. Feel free to use regular or reduced-sodium.
- fresh ginger – there is something about fresh ginger that makes my tummy so happy! I like to keep a tube of ginger paste in my fridge at all times.
- sriracha – sriracha adds a little kick to your teriyaki chicken marinade. As much or as little as you wish.
- garlic – do not skimp on the garlic! I keep a tub of minced garlic in my fridge to have on hand at all times.
- maple syrup – maple syrup is our preferred sweetener for teriyaki chicken. It has a magical warm flavor and it’s also refined sugar-free!
- green onion – green onion adds a fantastic flavor once it’s cooked.
- rice vinegar – every Asian need a little rice vinegar to balance out all the flavors.
Easy Ingredient Swaps
- Tamari – want to make this recipe gluten-free? Tamari is an easy 1:1 swap for soy sauce!
- Dried Herbs – don’t have fresh ginger or garlic? Try subbing 1/2 the amount of garlic powder and ginger powder.
- Honey – honey is a great alternative to maple syrup and equally as delicious!
Check it out!
6 Baked Chicken Breast Recipes
You are going to love these 6 oven baked chicken breast recipes. Check out how to bake chicken breast perfectly every time and get 6 delicious flavor variations!
How Long to Marinate Teriyaki Chicken
The biggest piece of advice we have when marinating chicken is to let it marinate for at least 30 minutes to 2 hours for full juiciness! The optimal amount of time is 2-4 hours, but 30 minutes works too.
a few tips
- Feel free to use either a baking dish or gallon-size plastic bag to marinate your chicken in.
- Make sure your chicken is fully submerged in the marinade. If you’re using a baking dish, flip your chicken halfway through.
- Make sure to marinate your chicken in the fridge and not on the countertop to prevent foodborne illness.
Ways to Cook Teriyaki Chicken
- Oven – follow our easy baked chicken tutorial for directions on how to bake the most perfect marinated chicken!
- Grill – use our Grilled Teriyaki Chicken recipe as a source
- Instant Pot – plop your chicken and marinade right into your Instant Pot and in no time, you’ve got dinner!
- Slow Cooker – easy whip up our Crock-Pot teriyaki chicken recipe for the most tender Asian shredded chicken recipe!
- Sous Vide – want super tender chicken? Use your sous vide to get perfect marinated chicken every time.
Baking Instructions
Baking marinated teriyaki chicken breast is super simple.
- Simply transfer the marinated chicken plus the excess teriyaki chicken marinade into a baking dish.
- Bake at 375ºF for around 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. We suggest using a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of your chicken instead of eyeballing it.
Checks out full instructions here on how to bake chicken breast.
Try it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by using a meat thermometer when cooking any cut of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works every time.
Freezing Instructions
One of my favorite things to do with chicken marinades is to batch produce them and freeze for later! For example, you can make 3 or 4 batches of this teriyaki chicken marinade and freeze it for later. Here’s how to do it:
- Place the teriyaki chicken marinade along with 1 to 1.5 lbs. of chicken chicken breast into a freezer-safe gallon-size bag.
- Remove as much air as possible and then seal.
- Write “Teriyaki Chicken” on the front of the bag along with the date. Freeze up to 3 months.
How long does frozen chicken last? Your frozen teriyaki chicken will last up to 3 months in the freezer.
Bonus Ways to Use Teriyaki Chicken Marinade
Salad Dressing – whip up a batch of this marinade and use it on a salad instead!
Stir-Fry Sauce – use a little bit of cornstarch to thicken your marinade into a stir-fry sauce.
Other Cuts of Meat – use this marinade to flavor other cuts of meat such as beef, pork, or even fish!
Teriyaki Recipes
Check it out!
6 Chicken Breast Marinades
You are going to love these 6 Easy Chicken Marinades. They’ll infuse your chicken breast with flavor and they’re so easy to put together!
Teriyaki Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, or tamari
- 2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Instructions
- Place all ingredients for the chicken teriyaki marinade (minus the chicken breast) into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Place chicken breast into a glass container or gallon-size bag. Then, pour the marinade on top of the chicken, making sure it is covered.
- Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or for best results, for 2-4 hours.
- For baking instructions, follow our baked chicken tutorial here.
Tips & Notes
- Nutrition information is for 1 lb. chicken.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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OMG this is the most amazing Teriyaki sauce I’ve ever tasted, beats shop bought by a mile, just done some baked chicken mini fillets with this marinade as part of my 5:2 diet dinner, absolutely fabulous, the other half also blown away and he’s often not that excited about Asian food, thanks ladies 🙂