Easy Baked Teriyaki Chicken
The secret to perfectly sticky, sweet, tangy chicken every time.
When I was growing up, Teriyaki Chicken was a weeknight staple in our household but it was always grilled and always relied on a bottle of store bought teriyaki sauce. And those are great things! But making your own teriyaki sauce makes things feel a little bit more special and really doesn’t take much time at all. Truly, anyone can do it. You can surely use this sauce on grilled chicken too, but here’s an easy method for sticky, sweet, tangy baked teriyaki chicken when the oven feels more convenient.
You don’t really need anything out of the ordinary here. Gather up some soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, mirin, ginger, and garlic and whisk them together with a bit of water and cornstarch. Mirin is a sweet rice wine and if you don’t have it on hand, you can substitute cooking sherry and add another tablespoon of brown sugar. Put that mixture in a saucepan…
… and bring it to a simmer and let it bubble until it’s thickened up, which should only take you about five minutes.
Then, brush that sauce on both sides of some chicken. This baking time is for bone-in thighs, but you can use this sauce on any cut you like, really! If your chicken has skin, you’ll want to peel it off before applying the sauce. It should come off easily, and then you can trim away any fat.
Definitely, definitely use some foil to line your baking dish. This is sticky stuff.
Then just pop that baking dish in the oven and stop by every ten minutes to brush more sauce over the chicken. After twenty-five minutes, turn the chicken over, and repeat the same process.
In the end, you’ll have chicken that’s completely coated in a sauce that’s perfectly sticky, sweet, and tangy and is just begging to be paired with a bed of white rice and a simple cucumber salad. A go-to recipe that’s as easy as it is reliably delicious!
Easy Baked Teriyaki Chicken
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
For the chicken:
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 green onions, sliced, for serving
- Sesame seeds, for serving
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a 9x13-inch baking dish with foil. Spray foil with nonstick spray.
- Arrange chicken in baking dish and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together water and cornstarch until smooth. Add soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, mirin, ginger, and garlic, and whisk to combine.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, then reduce heat and let simmer until sauce has thickened, about 3-4 minutes. (Continue to stir often.) Remove from heat.
- Baste chicken with sauce on both sides.
- Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes, brushing chicken with sauce every 10 minutes or so.
- Turn chicken over, brush with sauce again, and bake 25 minutes more, again brushing with sauce every 10 minutes.
- Serve sprinkled with green onion and sesame seeds, if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Bellyfull.