Teriyaki Marinade
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This teriyaki marinade is easy to make and a versatile meal prep recipe! Make a batch of soy sauce marinade in just 5 minutes to add flavor to any protein or vegetables.
Why This Recipe is a Favorite
This marinade quickly infuses flavor into almost any food, and tenderizes tough cuts of beef and pork. It’s a fantastic chicken marinade, and the flavor is perfect for salmon, pork, tofu, shrimp, and vegetables.
The flavor is sweet, savory, and earthy from soy sauce, garlic, and honey. This recipe is easy to adapt to your family’s tastes, too. For example, if you like spicy foods, just add a splash of sriracha!
It’s super easy to make, too! Just whisk the ingredients together and it’s ready to use!
Like my Mexican marinade and Greek marinade recipes, this soy sauce marinade recipe is one you’ll come back to time and time again!
Madison’s Happy Kitchen Tips
Here are a few of my tips for making and using this recipe. I make it a lot so I can save you from a failed attempt.
- This recipe makes 1/2 cup of marinade, enough to use on up to 1.5 pounds of protein or veggies. To make a larger batch, adjust the slider on the recipe card to adjust the servings and it will adjust the ingredient amounts.
- To use the marinade, set your meat or vegetables in a bag or shallow glass dish, then pour the marinade on top. Turn to coat the pieces completely. Cover and set in the refrigerator.
- If you use the teriyaki marinade on raw meat, do not reuse it. Discard any excess right away, so you don’t risk anyone getting sick from the bacteria.
- You can use this marinade as a stir-fry sauce! Simply pour it over cooked vegetables and rice in a large skillet and sauté over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes. If you want to thicken it, add a slurry by stirring together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot with 1 tablespoon cold water.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Use rice wine vinegar or substitute with apple cider vinegar.
- The sriracha is optional. If you don’t like spicy heat, simply omit it, and if you’re not a fan of sriracha, use any type of hot sauce that you like.
- Sesame oil gives the soy sauce marinade a deliciously rich and earthy flavor, so I highly recommend using it. If you need to, you can substitute with olive oil or avocado oil.
- This recipe can be made soy-free! Simply substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce.
- For extra flavor, optionally add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger (I always keep frozen ginger to toss into sauces and marinades like this).
How to Make the Teriyaki Marinade
This is just a summary of the steps. See the recipe card for full instructions! ⬇️
Jump to Recipe
- Measure the ingredients into a microwaveable bowl.
- Whisk the marinade well to combine. If the honey is too thick to whisk, microwave everything for 10-15 seconds, then try again.
Cover and set it aside or refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.
The teriyaki marinade will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, so you can use it to make a chicken meal prep recipe, stir fry sauce, or anything else!
When you’re ready to use it, whisk the marinade again to recombine the ingredients.
Teriyaki Marinade FAQs
Use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of marinade per pound of meat or vegetables. However, keep in mind that you’ll need more marinade for large surface areas. For example, you’ll use more marinade for a whole chicken than you will for marinating chicken breasts.
Marinating time depends on if you’re marinating to add flavor or to tenderize meat. Vegetables and lean proteins like chicken and fish require less marinating time than beef and pork. For chicken, marinate at least 30 minutes, but no longer than 12 hours.
For beef and pork: At least 2 hours, but no longer than 24 hours.
Seafood and fish: At least 20 minutes, but no longer than 4 hours. Any longer and the acidic vinegar will begin to break down the texture of the fish.
Vegetables and Tofu typically need 2-3 hours to absorb the flavors of the marinade.
Yes, absolutely! Just put the uncooked protein or vegetables in a freezer-safe food storage bag. Then, pour the marinade into the bag, seal it tightly and lay the bag flat in your freezer. It should keep for up to 2 months. Transfer it to the fridge to thaw before removing the food, and discard the teriyaki marinade right away.
Other Marinade Recipes
I’d love to hear about your experience making this recipe! Please leave a comment and rating below!
Teriyaki Marinade
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic about tablespoons minced
- ⅓ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha optional
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Mince the garlic. Measure and add all of the ingredients to a bowl or dish and whisk well to combine.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.
Notes
- This recipe yields about 1/2 cup of marinade, which is enough to marinate up to 1.5 pounds of meat or vegetables.
- The marinade will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, or you can freeze uncooked food in it for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before removing the marinated food.
- To use the marinade, set your meat or vegetables in a bag or shallow glass dish, then pour the marinade on top. Turn the pieces to coat them completely. Cover and set in the refrigerator.
- If marinade is used on raw meat, do not reuse it. Discard any excess used marinade.
- You can use this marinade to make a stir-fry sauce!
My husband ate every bite!
This marinade is amazing!!! We
Marinated boneless chicken thighs and grilled them. The flavor and subtle heat from the sriracha and smoked paprika were so good!!!!
Just tried it in skirt steak w/veggies over white rice. Excellent!