This teriyaki steak marinade recipe is both sweet and savory, perfect for marinating boneless chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, shrimp, tofu, or my favorite—steak! It tenderizes the meat with brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, glazing it with great flavor.
Next time try this recipe for Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Bowl!
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What makes this recipe irresistible
Simply - this easy marinade sauce tastes 100 times better than store-bought teriyaki marinade. Hands down the best you've ever tried and because it's made with pantry staples, you'll never buy it again!
What is your favorite cut of steak? When my folks visit often times I will go to Costco and get a whole beef tenderloin. It takes a bit of time to properly trim off the fat and silver skin, but what you're left with are several amazing filet mignon steaks!
A teriyaki marinade recipe is the perfect flavoring for your favorite meats! This one is easy to make and delicious. In fact, I promise after making this you'll never buy store-bought sauce again!
Ingredients you’ll need
Teriyaki marinade recipe has only a handful of ingredients👇
- low sodium soy sauce - I prefer low sodium, but you can certainly use regular.
- brown sugar - you can use light or dark brown sugar, both are delicious!
- fresh ginger root and fresh garlic - both grated.
- sesame seed oil - for its nutty toasted seasoning.
- green onions - for light oniony flavor.
This is great on fillets, t-bones, ribeye, London broil, skirt steak, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, shrimp or pork!
You probably even have these marinade ingredients in your pantry!
Best steak for marinading
There are several different cuts of steak you can use for marinating.
- Affordable cuts include - sirloin steak and try-tip steak.
- Beef tenderloin steak, New York Strip Steak and T-Bone are terrific too, but they will be more expensive.
Creative variations to try
- Spice it up by adding Sriracha.
- Lemon or lime adds a nice citrus flavor
- Sesame seeds with drive that toasted sesame oil flavor home!
- No soy sauce? Use mirin, it's a little sweeter but it's a great substitution.
- Delicious with boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or pork tenderloin.
Step-by-step instructions
The teriyaki sauce has amazing flavor and only needs a few pantry ingredients! It is so simple to make. It's hard to believe it could be so delicious!
- Add the soy sauce to a large ziplock bag or mixing bowl.
- Add the brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil and sliced green onion.
- Whisk soy sauce mixture to combine.
- Place steak in the sauce and teriyaki glaze marinade. Remove the steak from the marinade, pat dry with a paper towel. Discard the remaining marinade.
- Grill steak and enjoy!
See, super simple huh? This is the best - the easiest too! No matter what you are grilling. Take the 5 minutes and make this recipe. You'll never buy store-bought again!
Essential tools for this recipe
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I keep it simple and use a ziplock bag for marinating.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
The difference is the thickness of the sauce. A marinade is meant to slowly absorb into the protein and a sauce is used on the finished meal.
If you want a thick sauce, make a slurry with cornstarch - about 1 tablespoon cold water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Stir until smooth add to the sauce and bring to a boil. It thickens quickly!
Teriyaki is full of ingredients and flavor, the result is a saucy sheen - hibachi is a Japanese cuisine. It uses just soy sauce for flavoring.
This is a great sauce for beef, pork, chicken or shrimp - even tofu!
Beef, pork and chicken should marinade for at least an hour or two. What's even better is overnight.
Shrimp or tofu need only 20-30 minutes!
No, I don't recommend reusing the marinade. I know you're going to hate doing that, but it's just not recommend to reuse it.
Top Tip
This is going to sound silly, but my best tip for tasty teriyaki marinade is to make your own! This recipe is so simple - five minutes prep and you're done.
If you'd like to use this as a dipping sauce, reserve a small bowl of marinade before adding the raw meat. If you prefer, you can thicken it with a cornstarch slurry.
Do not reuse marinade that has raw meat in it as a dipping sauce.
We usually have an audience when we grill and last night was no different!
Max carefully supervised to make sure Dan got it just right! All joking aside, my hubby is summer grill master - he prefers old fashioned charcoal grill for that smokey flavor!
Related recipes
- Teriyaki Noodle Recipe - these are super tasty! Easy to make and great as a meal or perfect for a side salad. YUMMY! If you haven't tried this recipe yet, today's the day!
- Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs - MAN these are good! Easy and delicious - another favorite I think you're going to love!
- or be sure to try this Teriyaki Chicken Bowl - the teriyaki chicken marinade is AMAZING! It's one of my most popular recipes!
- This recipe for stir fry teriyaki ramen noodles is always a crowd-pleaser!
Serving suggestions
This homemade teriyaki marinade is terrific on beef - steak, flank steak and pork chops. It is a great chicken marinade! I've yet to try it on scallops, but I bet it would be fantastic!
When I use marinade this on steak, I always serve a loaded baked potato, I just love that combination! A macaroni pasta salad would be super amazing as well!
Up your steak game by serving Cowboy Butter Dipping Sauce alongside. SO good! Pan roasted vegetables or roasted carrots are great options for tasty side dishes!
I love hearing from you! If you make this, be sure to tag me on Instagram @bowl_me_over or just hashtag me! #bowlmeover - I can't wait to see your photos!!!
Teriyaki Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 cups low sodium soy sauce
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 inch ginger root grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated or minced
- ¼ cup sesame seed oil
- 1 bunch sliced green onions chopped (green and white parts)
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce and brown sugar to a plastic bag or bowl.
- Grate the fresh ginger. Pour in the sesame oil and grated ginger.
- Thinly slice the onions, add them next with the minced garlic.
- Mix to combine and add your protein. Marinade 2-3 pounds of steak or chicken about 2 hours, turning occasionally. If using shrimp or tofu, reduce marinade time to 20-30 minutes. Grill & enjoy!
Notes
- Spice it up by adding Sriracha, red chilis or crush red pepper flakes.
- Lemon or lime adds a nice citrus flavor
- Sesame seeds will add even more toasty goodness!
- No soy sauce? Use mirin, it's a little sweeter but it's a great substitution.
Lawrence Kellie says
I just made this for the your Teriyaki Noodles recipe. I did have to make some substitutions, as some of the fresh produce had gone bad. (I seem to have a bad habit of buying too early.)
Incredible flavor, extremely good.
I'll be making the Noodles a little later today.
Lawrence
Bowl Me Over says
Enjoy Lawrence, we love that recipe!
Carol Higgins says
Is it ok to use another kind of oil? For some unknown reason, sesame oil tastes burnt to me; can't stand it.
Bowl Me Over says
I love the flavor of sesame oil, but it get it! Instead use a good olive oil.
James Veeneman says
Hi, Debra. This is a fabulous recipe. My wife and I use it often, and we love cooking for company. Thank you so very much!
Bowl Me Over says
You're so welcome James! It's really one of my favorites, I'm so glad you enjoy this recipe!!
Patricia Marx says
The simplest and best teriyaki sauce ever. Amazing taste. I will use this recipe over and over again.
Bowl Me Over says
You've made my day Patricia! I love this teriyaki sauce too and make it ALL the time! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for sharing!!
Angela Paris says
I ADORE teriyaki everything! 🙂 I am totally using this marinade tonight for dinner - it seems really easy!
Bowl Me Over says
Wonderful, it's super easy, I think you'll love it!
Liza says
There is no doubt that marinating your meats before throwing them on the grill makes them so much better tasting! And this homemade marinade makes a PERFECT choice: it's healthy, super easy and will surely make your BBQ-ed tummies taste great!!!!!
Bowl Me Over says
Thank you, thank you Liza!! This is my favorite marinade, easy, healthy and sooo good!!!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I think my favourite cut of steak is tenderloin. We had some last weekend and it was so good - I think I dreamed about it and everything, lol. Love this marinade with the sesame oil touch. This would get so much use for all the grilling I'm going to do this summer 🙂
Bowl Me Over says
Thanks Dawn, my favorite cut too! My Mom has me hooked on tenderloin - so yummy and you can grill it indoors or outside and it's still mighty delicious!
Deanna says
This looks simply yummy!!!!!!!!!!
Bowl Me Over says
So delish & easy - enjoy Deanna!
Patty says
Love to marinate meat the Asian way, it makes it so tender and tasty! Thanks for this awesome recipe
Bowl Me Over says
I agree Patty, this is such a great tenderizer, I hope you give it a try!!
Sara says
This looks fantastic! I can't wait to try your recipe!
Bowl Me Over says
SO delicious, I know you'll love it - thanks Sara!!!
Jovita @ Yummy Addiction says
You can't go wrong with Teriyaki. It makes everything better!
Bowl Me Over says
I have to agree there, thank you Javita! 🙂
Roxana says
So simple but full of flavor. Love all the ingredients.
Bowl Me Over says
Thanks Roxana, I hope you give it a try!
Janette@culinaryginger says
I love making my own marinades, can't wait to try it
Bowl Me Over says
Thanks Janette - let me know what you think!
Lindsey Bauer says
This looks delicious! Can this marinade be made ahead of time and frozen with the meat?
Bowl Me Over says
Hey Lindsey, you certainly could, but I haven't tried that. I'd be concerned that it may be too salty. If you try that, let me know and I'll give it a try as well. Enjoy!