Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce Gluten Free

Not only is this sauce incredibly quick to make (20 minutes), but it’s also made with just 6 pantry staple ingredients! This salty, sweet, tangy delight is super versatile, pairing beautifully with tofu, chicken, bowls, and beyond. Let’s get saucy!

Origin of Teriyaki Sauce

The word “teriyaki” refers to a cooking technique developed by Japanese chefs in the 1700s. It involves broiling or grilling foods in a glaze made from soy sauce, mirin, and sugar (source). When Japanese immigrants settled in Hawaii, a new but similar sauce was born, and it featured a local ingredient: pineapple! Along the way, a sweet, savory, thick sauce resembling the teriyaki sauce evolved into what’s found in grocery stores and restaurants in the U.S. today. The following is our inspired, gluten-free (and naturally vegan) version, which has a similarly thick texture and sweet and savory flavor balance.

Is Teriyaki Sauce Gluten-Free?

Traditionally, teriyaki sauce is made with soy sauce, which is not gluten-free because it contains wheat. To replace soy sauce in this recipe, we used its cousin: tamari. Tamari and soy sauce are both made from fermented soybeans, but tamari doesn’t usually contain wheat. Some brands of tamari include a small amount of wheat, so if you’re making it for gluten-free eaters, you’ll want to double check the ingredients!

How to Make Teriyaki Sauce

We start this recipe by blending up a handful of pantry staples: tamari for the salty, savory element, maple syrup for natural sweetness, rice vinegar for balance, ginger and garlic for zing, water to make it saucy, and cornstarch to thicken. After blending, it becomes a foamy mixture. That’s totally normal and there’s no need to worry, friends! After transferring the foamy mixture to a saucepan and bringing it to a boil, the cornstarch starts thickening the liquid and the foam disappears. Then cook for just 5-10 minutes more and you’ve got teriyaki sauce! We hope you LOVE this teriyaki sauce! It’s:SaltySweetZippyTangySaucy& SO versatile! Try it on tofu, chicken, vegetables, rice, or in our Rainbow Vegetable Edamame Bowls or in place of the sauce in our Tofu Noodle Stir-Fry with Spring Vegetables or Crispy Tofu Lettuce Wraps.