This quick and easy Vegan Teriyaki Sauce is thick and glossy, subtly sweet and savory – basically a sauce lover’s dream. We love having a bottle of homemade teriyaki sauce on hand to slather on crispy baked tofu, vegan chicken, meatballs or veggie stir fry. So simple and it's ready in 10 minutes!
Here at Simply Ceecee, we’re all about flavorful, homemade vegan sauces that transform any meal into a 5-star masterpiece. If you’re looking for more knockout sauces you can whip up in no time, you need to try my epic Sweet and Spicy Tahini Sauce, creamy Vegan Tzatziki or this drool worthy Spicy Peanut Sauce.
Reasons to LOVE this Recipe
Once you try this savory-sweet, sesame ginger teriyaki sauce, you’re gonna want to add it to your weekly rotation. Of course we're obsessed with it on baked tofu, but here's a few other reasons to love it too:
- Affordable: Instead of buying a bottle of store bought teriyaki sauce that’s full of added sugars and preservatives, why not just make your own? You need only a few pantry ingredients.
- Quick and easy: You can literally whip this sauce up in 10 minutes or less.
- Allergy/special diet friendly: This recipe is oil free, gluten free, keto friendly, refined sugar free, vegan, and vegetarian.
Ingredients You'll Need
Teriyaki is an ancient Japanese style of cooking broiled or grilled meat in a glaze with soy sauce and mirin. Here's what you'll need to make teriyaki sauce from scratch:
Soy sauce/tamari (gluten free), mirin, maple syrup, fresh garlic and ginger, cornstarch, and water. Red pepper flakes and sesame seeds for garnish.
Ingredient Substitutions & Variations
This homemade teriyaki sauce is delicious on its own, but the beauty of this versatile recipe is you customize it to suit your taste buds! Here's a few ideas:
- Make it spicy: Love to give your sauces an extra kick? For a spicy teriyaki sauce, add 1-2 teaspoons of garlic chili sauce, sambal oelek chili, sriracha or a pinch or two of red chili flakes.
- Make it sweeter: Add another teaspoonful or two of maple syrup (to taste).
- Gluten-free: Sub tamari or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Lower sodium: Although soy sauce adds A LOT of flavor, it does have a higher sodium content. To reduce the sodium, choose low sodium soy sauce or dilute it with some water.
How To Make Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
With just a few ingredients and a saucepan, you'll be enjoying teriyaki sauce in no time. Let's get into the details:
- Combine the ingredients: Add ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Make the cornstarch slurry: In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until well combined.
- Thicken the teriyaki sauce: Pour the slurry into the saucepan and whisk until smooth and combined. Remove from heat when the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Customize: Add extra flavor and spice to your sauce by adding some heat. Make it a bit sweeter with an extra splash of maple syrup.
How To Serve
While this vibrant, Asian sauce is so good you could eat it alone with a spoon, it’s also a great way to elevate plant based meals and side dishes! Add a punch of salty-sweet umami flavor to everything from boring leftovers to crispy pan fried tofu and your favorite grilled veggies.
- Use it as a glaze: With its thick and glossy consistency, this vegan sauce makes a perfect glaze for vegan chicken, meatballs or grilled/baked veggies.
- As a dipping sauce: Makes a perfect dipping sauce for vegan dumplings.
- Make a tofu marinade: Tofu, tempeh and seitan are delicious marinated in this sauce!
- Amp up your stir fry: Use as a stir fry sauce with tofu and veggies served over rice or noodles for an easy vegetarian meal.
FAQs
Yes, teriyaki sauce is typically vegan! This gluten-free teriyaki sauce recipe is made with soy sauce/tamari or coconut amino, mirin, a sweetener of choice, garlic, cornstarch, and water.
You can thicken teriyaki sauce by adding a combination of cornstarch and water, otherwise known as a slurry. To make a slurry, simply whisk together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water.
Make Ahead & Storing
- Make ahead: Make the sauce ahead of time and store it in a jar in the fridge. It will thicken up once chilled so simply add a splash or two of water and give it a good stir when reheating.
- Storage: Store this sauce in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Vegan Sauces to try next!
Here's some more popular sauce recipes I think you'll love:
If you tried this Vegan Teriyaki Sauce or any other recipe on the blog, please let me know how you liked it by leaving a rating and review below! Be sure to follow along on Instagram and Pinterest for more delicious vegan recipes.
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Vegan Teriyaki Sauce (gluten free)
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INGREDIENTS
- ¼ cup soy sauce / tamari
- ¼ cup mirin
- 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1" ginger
- ¼ cup water
Cornstarch Slurry
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Optional Add Ins
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil (for flavor)
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic, sambal or sriracha
- pineapple chunks, rice vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat first 6 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering.
- In a small dish, whisk the cornstarch and water together to create a slurry.
- Pour the slurry into the teriyaki sauce whisking until the sauce is smooth. Once it starts to thicken and get glossy, remove from heat. The sauce does thicken as it cools so leave it slightly thinner than you'll need. Add in another splash or two of water if your sauce gets too thick.
- Optional: Stir in red pepper flakes, sriracha or sambal garlic chili for a spicy teriyaki sauce.
NOTES
This recipe is from simplyceecee.co food blog. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images or republish this recipe without prior permission. Thank you.
Debbie
I love this vegan teriyaki sauce! It is so simple to make and the flavor is out of this world. I love it on the tofu and rice. Thank you!