This teriyaki chicken marinade combines soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, brown sugar, garlic, and green onions for a flavorful chicken dinner! All of the sweet and savory flavors combine to make any type of chicken into a family favorite meal that everyone loves! Plus, you'll only need a handful of ingredients and it will be ready to marinate your chicken in just 5 minutes!
Easy Teriyaki Chicken Marinade Recipe
Teriyaki has always been a kid-safe flavor in our home. It is one of those flavors that everyone agrees on as a family!
My teriyaki chicken marinade is easy to whip up, bag the chicken, and let it marinate. This leaves time to wash and slice veggies, make some rice, or fry some tasty noodles!
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If you are looking for more ideas, take a look at my chicken marinade page! I've gathered a list of my best recipes that will take your favorite pieces of chicken to the next level!
🥘 Teriyaki Chicken Marinade Ingredients
All you need are these six staple ingredients to make this quick and easy marinade! Trust me, you'll want to keep these ingredients on hand because it's that delicious.
- Soy Sauce - ¼ cup soy sauce. It has that salty, umami flavor that is such a tasty marinade component!
- Rice Vinegar - 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar. This adds a mild and slightly sweet flavor that is a wonderful addition to any Asian cooking!
- Brown Sugar - 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to add some sweetness and depth of flavor to this fabulous teriyaki marinade!
- Ginger - 1 tablespoon ginger (fresh, peeled, and chopped - or ginger paste - or use 1 teaspoon dried or ground ginger). Ginger has such a fantastic warm flavor that it's another must-have in all of our Asian cooking!
- Garlic - 1 tablespoon garlic (fresh, minced garlic clove - or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder). Just a touch of garlic to really highlight all of the amazing flavors in the marinade.
- Green Onion (optional) - 2 tablespoons green onion (chopped). Some fresh, chopped green onions add their unique flavor and some texture to the marinade. The green onions are optional but highly recommended!
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Teriyaki Chicken Marinade
This simple 6-ingredient marinade can be mixed in a bowl, or simply squish all together directly in your plastic storage bag. Either way, it's going to be one of the easiest dinners you've ever prepared!
My homemade marinade will make approximately 11 tablespoons or a little more than ⅔ cup. You use it on 1 ½ pounds of chicken or scale up for more!
- Add ingredients. In a small bowl add the ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic, and 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions, if using. Mix until well combined and the brown sugar is dissolved.
- Transfer to bag. Transfer the marinade into your Ziploc plastic storage bag or freezer storage bag, then add the chicken. Seal the bag securely while squeezing out any excess air.
- Massage chicken. Massage the marinade into the meat by squishing the marinade throughout the bag.
- Refrigerate or freeze. Place the marinating chicken into the refrigerator for 4 hours overnight for best results. Freeze for up to 3 months.
This is one of my favorite marinades for making skewers or kabobs! Go ahead and use this marinade in my boneless skinless chicken breasts, thighs, tenderloins, or even sous vide chicken. Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- This marinade equals about 11 tablespoons or a little more than ⅔ cup. Most marinades need ½ cup for 1 pound of chicken meat but this amount (with this marinade) can work for up to 1 ½ pounds of chicken.
- You can swap out the regular soy sauce for low-sodium soy sauce if desired.
- If you don't have rice vinegar on hand, the best substitute to use is apple cider vinegar. White wine vinegar and sherry vinegar are also good rice vinegar alternatives.
- If you only have ground ginger on hand, remember to reduce the amount. Use 1 teaspoon of dried or ground ginger for each tablespoon of fresh ginger or ginger paste.
- You can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder if you need to swap it out for fresh, minced garlic.
- Your chicken needs to marinate for at least 20 minutes before cooking. The longer you can let the chicken marinate, the more flavorful it will be!
🥡 Storing
You can marinate the chicken for up to 2 days refrigerated. This is the maximum amount of time that I would marinate the chicken in a soy sauce-based marinade.
Although frozen chicken pieces may often be kept in the freezer for 6 months or longer, I advise keeping them in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. Allow the frozen marinated chicken to thaw while refrigerated overnight.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes! It will need to be reduced down to a more concentrated sauce, so taste while it reduces. Once the reduction reaches your desired consistency and flavor, remove it from heat. *Do not TASTE until the marinade (that was with your raw chicken) has cooked!
If you need to thicken the sauce, but you're happy with the flavor, add a cornstarch slurry. Combine 1 tablespoon each of cornstarch and cold water, and mix thoroughly. Whisk your slurry into the sauce while still warm. Remove from heat when the sauce has thickened.
I would usually recommend at least 4 hours, or overnight (8 hours) for optimal marinating. Enjoy your marinated chicken within 2 days at the max so that your chicken doesn't start to become mushy.
🐔 More Tasty Chicken Marinades
- Curry Chicken Marinade - Greek yogurt, yellow curry powder, and lime juice are combined to make an addictive and moist chicken dinner!
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade - This recipe is amazing to use when you are wanting to quickly flavor chicken for salads, tacos, and enchiladas!
- Chipotle Chicken Marinade - This delicious marinade combines all of the best Mexican flavors!
- Italian Chicken Marinade - If love the combination of basil and lemon then this recipe is for you!
- Balsamic Chicken Marinade - The balsamic, garlic, thyme, and basil flavors of this marinade will transform your chicken into an effortless and amazing dinner!
- Lemon Rosemary Chicken Marinade - If you're a fan of tangy citrus and rosemary flavors, then you have to save this recipe and try it out!
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📖 Recipe Card
Teriyaki Chicken Marinade
Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ginger (fresh, peeled, and chopped - or ginger paste - or use 1 teaspoon dried or ground ginger)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (fresh, minced garlic clove - or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 2 tablespoon green onion (chopped - optional)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, green onion, ginger paste, brown sugar, and garlic together until well combined.
- Transfer the marinade to your plastic storage bag then add the chicken. Seal the bag securely while squeezing out all of the air.
- Massage the chicken pieces and marinade through the sealed bag until well coated.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- This marinade equals about 11 tablespoons or a little more than ⅔ cup. Most marinades need ½ cup for 1 pound of chicken meat but this amount (with this marinade) can work for up to 1 ½ pounds of chicken.
- You can swap out the regular soy sauce for low-sodium soy sauce if desired.
- If you don't have rice vinegar on hand, the best substitute to use is apple cider vinegar. White wine vinegar and sherry vinegar are also good rice vinegar alternatives.
- If you only have ground ginger on hand, remember to reduce the amount. Use 1 teaspoon of dried or ground ginger for each tablespoon of fresh ginger or ginger paste.
- You can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder if you need to swap it out for fresh, minced garlic.
- Your chicken needs to marinate for at least 20 minutes before cooking. The longer you can let the chicken marinate, the more flavorful it will be!
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