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Because we all still need to eat real meals leading up to Christmas and not everyone can survive on Christmas cookies; so this! Teriyaki chicken is a quick and easy dinner and tastes better than takeout. It’s hard to stop eating that honey orange glaze. Not too sweet and not too salty, but just right.
The chicken thighs are tender and delicious. If you’re like me and love super clean meat, chicken thighs can be a little annoying to trim but it’s so worth it. You can’t beat the juiciness and flavor of thigh meat.
I learned how to make this simple and delicious teriyaki chicken from Juliana on Instagram! Her delicious photo of glazed teriyaki chicken over white rice came up in my feed and I was like “gimme ‘dat chicken ?!” I love getting dinner-time inspiration on Instagram!
The ingredient list is so simple, but it works! We’ve made it 3 times in the past week and a half and even when I burned the sauce , my hubby and son still enjoyed it. Leave it to me to burn the sauce.
Watch how to make Chicken Teriyaki!
Ingredients for Chicken Teriyaki Recipe:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 1 1/2 medium or 1 large oranges)
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 to 2 lbs (about 6-7 medium) boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
1 Tbsp oil (I use light olive oil)
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Green onion and sesame seeds for garnish, optional
Cooks Tip: How to Peel and Grate fresh ginger:
1. Peel with a spoon. It’s the easiest way to get the skin off. Grate peeled ginger with a fine grater or zester.
How to Make Teriyaki Chicken:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients: 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup orange juice, 3 Tbsp honey, 1 tsp ginger and 1 tsp sesame oil.
2. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and place into marinade. Stir and cover with plastic wrap and marinate on the counter 20 min.
3. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Remove chicken from marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving marinade in the bowl. Add chicken to the hot pan and sauté, stirring occasionally until golden and cooked through (5 min).
4. Remove pan from heat and transfer chicken to a bowl. (Don’t leave the empty pan over the heat or you may scorch the bottom of the pan and ruin the sauce – been there, done that and if it happens to you, continue making the sauce using a clean pan).
5. Pour reserved marinade into the pan, add 1 1/2 Tbsp butter (it’s in bold for my own sake because I’ve forgotten it before and it just wasn’t the same) and place back over medium/high heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly until slightly thickened (1 min) then remove from heat. Add chicken back to the pan and stir to combine.
Serve over hot buttery white rice garnished with fresh green onion and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for pizzazle. I served it with steamed broccoli to appease my conscience and make it a meal.
Easy Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, from 1 1/2 medium or 1 large oranges
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 to 2 lbs about 6-7 medium boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
- 1 Tbsp oil, I use light olive oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- Green onion and sesame seeds for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients: 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup orange juice, 3 Tbsp honey, 1 tsp ginger and 1 tsp sesame oil.
- Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and place into marinade. Stir and cover with plastic wrap and marinate on the counter 20 min.
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Remove chicken from marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving marinade in the bowl. Add chicken to the hot pan and sauté, stirring occasionally until golden and cooked through (5 min).
- Remove pan from heat and transfer chicken to a bowl.
- Pour reserved marinade into the pan, add 1 1/2 Tbsp butter and place back over medium/high heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly until slightly thickened (1 min) then remove from heat. Add chicken back to the pan and stir to combine. Serve over hot buttery white rice garnished with fresh green onion and a sprinkle of sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Now that’s what I call teriyaki chicken! I love that it glows – do you see it too?
Very tasty but I had to add a little more butter. It can use a little less soy sauce. I know if I didn’t adjust, my kids wouldn’t have eaten it.
I am looking forward to preparing this this weekend (just as the recipe instructs) but I am on a diet and would like to know the nutrition breakdown for this recipe do you provide that? I don’t see a like for such information.
Due to time constraints, I don’t typically include nutritional info, but check out this nutrition analyzer – you can plug in the ingredients from any recipe, select the serving size and it will give you nutritional info, calories, etc. I hope that is helpful to you Gary!
Super easy and tasty. Made last week and my family keeps requesting that I make it again .. which I am doing tonite. I don’t have an orange.. just using orange juice.
I’m glad to hear your family enjoys the recipe as much as mine does! Thanks for sharing your excellent review Karyn!
The best chicken teriyaki recipe, better than any japanese restaurant ive been to! Really easy and simple, very delicious, the kids and family will love it!
I’m so glad to hear how much you and your family enjoy this recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review Anastasia!
Hi, This recipe sounds delicious and easy. I am going to make this for a get together of friends, can it be made ahead, then reheated,will it spoil the flavour at all?
Thank you
I personally think this is best fresh but it can be reheated if needed 🙂
Hello, making this tonight- looks awesome. In STEP 5 it says add reserved marinade to pan.
Are you referring to the bowl that once had the chicken in it?
Hi Caroline, yes that is correct. Use that same marinade which you reserved in step 3.
If you were to marinate this a little longer, what time would you suggest?
Hi John, because the sauce is so flavorful and the chicken is cut small, I don’t think I would recommend marinating longer, probably not more than 1 hour and you would need to refrigerate if marinating that long. I had one reader report marinating bone-in chicken drumsticks with this marinade for 8 hours but small pieces of chicken breast would probably taste salty for that long.
I made this and my husband approved! He is a picky eater for sure. He said it tasted like the chinese food we usually get 🙂
That is awesome!! So glad to hear you both enjoyed it 🙂
Hi! Would love to try this out today, was just thinking if i use apple cider vinegar instead of orange juice, will that be okay?
Hi Eds, I haven’t tried that substitution so I’m not sure how that would alter the flavor profile. I probably wouldn’t substitute that straight across since apple cider vinegar is much stronger in flavor and acidity than orange juice.
Ohhh okay 🙂 well i still followed your recipe! Was able to follow most of it (except for the frying chicken part since i need to fry in batches), and yes needed to change pans! Went out great, shouldve marinated it longer though 🙂
Made this today. Among all teriyaki recipes, this one is very close to the teriyaki chicken I tried in restaurant. Natasha thank very much.
Awesome, I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Absolutely incredible. I added a wee bit of chilli oil (although it didn’t need it I just love chilli oil) one of the nicest recipes iv ever had. We had it with sticky rice done in the slow cooker. Sensational
Awesome! I’m so happy you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
I just made this last night and the whole family loved it! The only thing I changed was to add 1 tsp of chopped garlic to the marinade. It took a bit longer than the recipe suggests, but I also made a double batch. Next time, I am going to cut the chicken and put it in the marinade the night before. I am hoping that will make it faster the day of and increase the flavor. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome Katerina! Thanks for sharing your tips with other readers! 🙂
Hi Natasha. You did a really great job presenting how to make this recipe. This is my next culinary project.
Thank you so much Fred! Please let me know what you think of the recipe when you decide to make it!
I really hate that in the “cost to make” they put such a low number. This did not cost me 8$
the chicken alone was 12$
It cost me around 40$ to make this
Hi Anon, I base prices on what a general grocery store would charge in the US. Prices can vary widely based on if you use organic or high end ingredients and even in some areas, foods are way overpriced (such as Maui, HI). The price is also what it would cost to make 1 recipe, so If it requires soy sauce, I don’t consider the entire cost of the bottle of soy sauce, but what it would cost for the portion in this recipe. I hope that makes sense so you can gauge easier in the future! 🙂
I use bottled Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce. Of course it’s doesn’t have the same fresh, wonderful flavor that you’d get if you make your own marinade but for me it’s a quick easy alternative. It still makes a great teriyaki chicken and rice dinner! (about $2.50 per bottle)
I spent around $16.00
So it depends on the person
Kikkoman soy sauce- less than 3.00
3 small oranges- 33cents each
Honey- less than 3.00
fresh ginger- around 2.00
sesame oil-less than 4.00
Green onion- around 3.00
I already had chicken,olive oil, butter and sesame seeds
Hi! I’m only 12 but I made this for my mum, dad and sister and they loved it! Only thing I did differently was reserving a portion of marinade and reducing it for ages to make a very thick, sticky glaze. Thanks for the brilliant recipe!
This looks so delicious, I would love to cook this later today! But is there any conversion to the metric System, at least for the liquids? I live in Europe and don’t have cups, unfortunately :/
Hi Nina, for this particular recipe, 1/4 cup soy sauce = 2 oz or about 50 ml. 1/3 cup orange juice = about 80 ml. I hope that helps! Also 1 Tbsp = 15 ml and 1 tsp = 5 ml
Thank you so much!!
I’m surprised that someone said we don’t have cups in Europe, um. Anyhoo, sounds delicious and without any products that are hard to get/expensive. I’ll make it soon.
It was delicious.. I will be making this again and again
I’m glad to hear that Maria! Thanks for sharing 😀
Made this tonight for hubby & me. It was SO GOOD!!!!
We just about could eat the whole thing. LOL
YES! I’m glad to hear you both enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing 😀
Can ground ginger be substituted for fresh?. I always have most these ingredients on hand minus the ginger.
Hi Lisa, I think it could work well with 1/4 tsp of dried ground ginger.
Hi! Currently about to make this dish. Just was curious how to make my sauce thicker at the end. Last time I made this my glaze came out really runny. Hopefully you see this within the next hour lol. Thanks!
Hi Josh, Im so sorry I couldn’t get to your question sooner – it’s been such a loooong day! Anyway, it’s most likely due to cooking on too low of heat. If you put it over higher heat, the sauce reduces down and thickens. I hope that helps for next time! 🙂
Hi
We live in England and as an occasional treat we dine in Wagammas – when I made this my kids said it was just as good! It was delicious and so easy to make. I served on white rice with fresh pea shoots, shredded carrot and cooked bean shoots on the side. It was yummy. Next time I think I will double up on the marinade as would have like a bit more sauce to pour over the chicken when served. Thank you for this lovely recipe.
You’re welcome Susan! I’m happy to hear everyone enjoyed the recipe!
Wonderful! Not often Wify enjoy my cooking..:) This time she sure did. Thanks for the lovely recipe…
That’s great to hear! Thanks for sharing 🙂