Recipe This | Ninja Healthy Teriyaki Sauce (2024)

Healthy Teriyaki Sauce. Do you love the thick and creamy Teriyaki sauce that you get at the Chinese and want a healthier version? A Chinese sauce that is free of additives, that is lower in sugar and salt? Then let me introduce you to my teriyaki sauce from scratch.

It is free of cornstarch, I will show you how to naturally thicken your teriyaki sauce as well as reducing the soy sauce which will bring down the salt content.

Even better, the teriyaki sauce ingredients are dumped into the soup maker and you can come back later to perfect sticky Chinese sauce.

This healthy teriyaki sauce recipe is an updated post as we originally shared with you back in 2016 how to make a quick and tasty aioli. We hope you enjoy the update.

Teriyaki Sauce From Scratch?

Just like many, I always bought bottles or sachets of Blue Dragon teriyaki sauce. It never occurred to me that it was unhealthy and that I could make my own.

Though this was back in 2011, well before we bought our first soup machine and beyond a tomato sauce or a cheese sauce, there were very little sauces that I made from scratch.

I was also paying way too much money for Blue Dragon sauces. Living in Portugal they were imported from the UK and would cost three times more than they would if you lived in the UK.

Fast forward to 2014 and after getting my first soup maker, I decided to try out making my own sauces in the soup maker.

I converted my cheese sauce to the soup maker, did my big batch of soup maker tomato sauce for freezer, then the next plan of action was the other sauces.

What I really wanted to achieve was a teriyaki sauce from scratch. One that would be easy to make, and I wouldn’t be a slave to the stove while I waited for the teriyaki sauce to reduce.

I also experimented with different ingredients and this has now become my favourite homemade teriyaki sauce that I make as much as I can.

Is Teriyaki Sauce Healthy?

A traditional teriyaki sauce that you would buy from a supermarket, or a restaurant style teriyaki sauce is NOT healthy.

It is full of additives and is often very high in salt.

However, follow our copycat teriyaki sauce recipe and you have an amazing healthy alternative.

Also, many people ask, “does teriyaki sauce have sugar?” Well a traditional shop bought teriyaki is very high in sugar, yet our copycat recipe uses just honey as its sweetener.

Can You Make Teriyaki Sauce Without Ginger?

Yes, you can. But I love the mix of ingredients and how the ginger compliments the garlic, the honey, and the pineapple.

You can also use diced ginger, ginger puree, or just dice a slice of ginger.

You can also be lazy and not grate your ginger, because the soup maker will blend it for you.

How To Make Teriyaki Sauce Thicker?

You are probably wondering how to thicken teriyaki sauce? Well, I have a secret hack that I use when making teriyaki and it keeps it free of cornstarch and allows you to dump all the ingredients into the soup maker.

It’s the humble potato.

Just one small one like you see below:

Because potato is a natural thickener, you can add in a potato, then reduce the soy sauce and then you can make a teriyaki sauce without cornstarch.

I also experimented and did a teriyaki sauce with a potato and without and just look below at the difference in how thick the potato version is:

Plus, doesn’t the potato version look more like a classic teriyaki sauce?

Healthy Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients

I am sure if you are like me, the chances are you will have the ingredients for this quick homemade teriyaki sauce in your pantry already:

Soy Sauce – To reduce the salt even further you can go with a low salt soy sauce. What I found though, was that recipes I found elsewhere called for 3 times more soy sauce than the amount we are using in this recipe.

Rice Vinegar – I have a bottle in my pantry that I use in a lot of different Chinese recipes. It is fantastic for a quick splash in your dinner, and you don’t need much in your sauce.

Garlic – You can be lazy here and use minced garlic, a whole garlic clove, or lazy garlic.

Ginger – I aim to add equal amounts of garlic and ginger. You can add more if you prefer a kick to your Chinese stir frys.

Honey – You can use honey or keep it vegan with maple syrup. Both works well and keep it healthy.

Pineapple – Traditionally you would use pineapple juice in a teriyaki sauce. But because you are using a soup maker that is going to blend the ingredients, a little sliced fresh pineapple is even better.

Potato – Just one small potato will replace the cornstarch and will naturally thicken your teriyaki sauce.

Seasoning – You only need Chinese 5 spice because there is salt in the soy sauce and with the other ingredients, this will just give it the X factor. This is the one we recommend.

For kitchen gadgets I am just using my Ninja soup maker. If you live in the US this is known as the Ninja hot and cold blender. They are amazing and you dump your ingredients and then come back when it has beeped.

How To Make Teriyaki Sauce From Scratch?

• Peel and slice. I start with peeling and dicing my potato, and then the same for the garlic and ginger. Though you can place chunks of garlic or ginger in the soup maker as it will blend as it cooks.
• Dump it in. I then love to dump all the ingredients into the soup maker. It can be in any order and you don’t need to mix them first.
• Cook. Set the soup maker to a smooth soup and then it will blend your sauce as it cooks.
• Cool. Then as it cools your sticky teriyaki sauce will get thicker. You can then store it in your fridge for up to a week or freeze it for later.

That is just how simple it is to make your own teriyaki sauce and I am sure you wish you had been doing it for years.

How To Use Teriyaki Sauce?

You have just made the best homemade teriyaki sauce and you are probably wondering what to use it with.

Well, for us Milner’s we love to keep the teriyaki sauce in the fridge and then add it to a few meals.

With this small bowl that you see below, we cooked Ninja Foodi salmon and added a teriyaki glaze. Then we made a batch of teriyaki vegetables.

You can also follow our air fryer stir fry ideas and even use it for tacos as a replacement for barbecue sauce.

Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!