These baked teriyaki chicken thighs are a terrific quick and easy weekday dinner. It only needs simple ingredients (readily available) but is delicious! Tender chicken thighs are coated in a sweet and salty sauce that is so good with just a simple bowl of plain white rice!
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- King of easy dinners: You get big flavor with only a few ingredients and little effort. 5 easily available ingredients are all that's needed to make the Baked Chicken Teriyaki sauce.
- Flexible: I use skin-on chicken thighs but you can easily switch it for boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast- just change the baking time as directed under "Variations." Plus the sauce is great with pan-fried salmon, crispy tofu and mushrooms too!
- Quick and simple: the sauce takes about 5 minutes to make, you coat the chicken in it then pop it into the oven to bake and you're done!
Note: make it a complete meal by serving with 1 of these teriyaki sides.
🥘 Ingredients
For the Chicken Teriyaki チキン照り焼き, ou will need:
- bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on: The skin helps to keep the chicken more moist! I prefer not to use chicken breasts as they dry out easily and have less flavor. You can also use boneless chicken thighs or other chicken parts, but the baking time will change. (See section on "Variations" below.)
For the homemade teriyaki sauce (you can use shop-bought but why? Homemade is healthier, cheaper and tastier!):
- light soy sauce: use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari if you have celiac disease. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of room temperature water to dilute the sauce OR use low sodium soy. (It'll become more concentrated when we simmer it, and we don't want it too salty!)
- rice wine vinegar: feel free to substitute with lime juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- white sugar: Heating destroys the health benefits of honey so I find it a waste to use honey here! In addition, I don't recommend brown sugar as I find white has a cleaner taste that allows the teriyaki flavor to shine.
- minced fresh garlic: fresh garlic is so flavorful BUT it burns really easily. Make sure all the ginger is floating IN the sauce and not on top of the chicken. (If not, it'll burn!)
- ginger: I like to freshly grate fresh ginger but you can substitute with ground ginger powder if you wish.
- green onions, black pepper and sesame seeds: for garnish. Lightly toast the seeds and drizzle some sesame oil on top for more fragrance.
Note: some recipes use cornflour to thicken the savory sauce but I find it can easily make it goopy so I leave it out.
If you want a thicker sauce, mix 1 teaspoon of corn flour with 1 Tablespoon of cold water then slowly whisk the cornflour slurry into the teriyaki sauce.
📖 Variations & Substitutes
Baking Times for Different Cuts of Chicken
- Chicken breasts (Boneless, skinless, under 1 inch thick): 20 to 25 minutes in a 400F oven
- Chicken breasts (Bone-in): 35-40 minutes at 375F
- Chicken thigh (Skinless, boneless): 20-25 minutes at 425F
Or till the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the thickest part. (The baking time obviously changes with the size of the meat!))
Variations
- Teriyaki Salmon: replace the chicken with salmon (baked or pan-fried) and follow the cooking instructions in the link
- Teriyaki Tofu: switch out the chicken for fried tofu!
- Traditional: if you prefer a more authentic Japanese flavor, add sake and mirin to the sauce.
- Spicy chicken teriyaki: Whisk 1-2 Tablespoons or Sriracha or Sambal into the sauce.
- Grilled: having a summer BBQ? Grill the thighs and serve with mango cucumber tomato salad on the side!
- Air-fried: cook for about 15-20 minutes at 400F/ 204C, depending on the size.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
1a. Add all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce to a small saucepan.
1b. Simmer for 3-4 minutes on low heat till the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce is fragrant. (Don't use medium heat as the sugar may burn.)
Note: if you want a thicker sauce, whisk 1 teaspoon of corn flour into 1 Tablespoon of cold water. Slowly whisk this cornflour slurry into the teriyaki sauce (over low heat) till it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
1c. Prick a few holes/ slits in the raw chicken, pat dry the skin then coat in ¾ of the sauce. (Keep the remaining sauce in a small bowl to baste the chicken later.)
2a. Place chicken thighs in a single layer in a baking tray, making sure to brush the sides and top. The minced garlic clove should be in the sauce and none on the chicken!
2b. Bake at 400F/ 204C/ 184C fan for 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of the thighs. (If you're in a rush, you can cook at 425F for about 25 minutes but I find the meat is a bit less tender)
2d. Lower the heat to
Note: The chicken is cooked when the chicken juices run clear when a knife is inserted in the thickest part of the meat. (Or check that the internal temperature of thickest piece is 165 F.)
2c. Baste the chicken with the clean teriyaki sauce before serving. (Do NOT use sauce which has had contact with raw chicken!)
2d. Garnish with the green onion etc then serve with white rice and your favorite veggie! Leftovers- if any!- can be made into chicken congee.
🥡 How to Store
Extra teriyaki sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.
There baked teriyaki chicken thighs can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days. Alternatively, shred the leftovers and add to Hong Kong Chicken Macaroni Soup.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: The sauce is savory enough that you don't need to marinade the chicken. If you wish to do so, you can keep the chicken in the teriyaki marinade in a Ziplock bag in the fridge for a few hours to overnight before baking. Do use a low-sodium soy sauce in this case as marinating the chicken makes it saltier.
Tip #2: My chicken thighs came in a bag of various sizes which is NOT good for texture. (The smaller pieces will have dried out by the time the larger pieces are finally cooked.) Try to use chicken that is all the same size. If not, remove the smaller pieces once cooked, and return the larger ones to the oven.
Tip #3: Make a few slits in the raw chicken before covering it with the sauce. This helps the flavor to penetrate right into the meat!
🥗 Other Easy Weeknight Dinners
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Easy Baked Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- Small pot or saucepan
- baking tray
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs bone-in, with the skin on. I prefer not to use chicken breasts as they dry out easily and have less flavor but have provided the cooking times for if you wish to do so. You can also use boneless chicken thighs or other chicken parts, but the baking time will change.
For the teriyaki sauce
- ¼ Cup white sugar Some people use brown but I prefer the taste of white. (Either way, do not use dark brown sugar or your chicken will taste of molasses!)
- ¼ Cup light soy sauce Not dark, thick or sweet soy! They're different things
- ⅛ Cup rice wine vinegar Substitute: apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar.
- ½ Tablespoon water
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Garnish
- Sesame Seeds Lightly toasted. Can supplement with a drizzle of sesame oil if you wish
- 1 sprig Green Onions sliced
- Black Pepper Optional, to taste.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
Making the sauce
- Add all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce to a small saucepan. Simmer for 3-4 minutes on medium heat till the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce is fragrant. Note: if you want a thicker sauce, whisk 1 teaspoon of corn flour into 1 Tablespoon of cold water. Slowly whisk this cornflour slurry into the teriyaki sauce (over low heat) till it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Baking the Chicken
- Prick a few holes/ slits in the raw chicken then coat in ¾ of the sauce. Note: Keep the remaining sauce in a small bowl to baste the chicken later.
- Place the chicken thighs in a single layer in a baking tray, making sure to brush the sides and top. IMPORTANT: The minced garlic clove should be in the sauce and none on the chicken! If not you'll get burnt garlic which can have a bitter flavor.
- Bake at 400F/ 204C/ 184C fan for 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of the thighs, till the chicken juices run clear when a knife is inserted in the thickest part of the meat. (Or check that the internal temperature of thickest piece is 165 F.)Note: If you're in a rush, you can cook at 425F for 20-25 minutes but I find the meat is a bit less tender when you do so.
- Baste the chicken with the clean teriyaki sauce before serving. (Do NOT use sauce which has had contact with raw chicken!) Garnish with the green onion, sesame seeds and black pepper if using and serve with rice!
Notes
Variations
- Chicken breasts (Boneless, skinless, under 1 inch thick): 20 to 25 minutes in a 400F oven
- Chicken breasts (Bone-in): 35-40 minutes at 375F
- Chicken thigh (Skinless, boneless): 20-25 minutes at 425F
- Teriyaki Salmon: replace the chicken with salmon (baked or pan-fried) and follow the cooking instructions in the link
- Teriyaki Tofu: switch out the chicken for fried tofu!
- Traditional: if you prefer a more authentic Japanese flavor, add sake and mirin to the sauce.
- Spicy chicken teriyaki: Whisk 1-2 Tablespoons or Sriracha or Sambal into the sauce.
- Grilled: having a summer BBQ? Grill the thighs and serve with mango cucumber tomato salad on the side!
- Air-fried: cook for about 15-20 minutes at 400F/ 204C, depending on the size.
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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Amber says
This recipe is amazing!! Just made it for dinner. Rarely can I follow an online recipe to a t and have it turn out perfect. Crispy skin and delicious sauce. Used bone in chicken thighs, added the slurry to thicken the sauce, and garnished with seeds and scallions. I appreciate the tip too about not getting garlic in the oven, I used a strainer which made it easy. I cooked 8 thighs in two casserole dishes and added frozen broccoli around the chicken. Served over rice. Delicious.
Zen says
Thank you so much for your kind words Amber! They made my month! I try my best with the recipes, but it's not easy to create something that everyone will like, so I am always super relieved when readers are happy (especially since I don't want to waste their time and money!)
Cliff Cortes says
Love this recipe, got confused with rice “Wine” vinegar (could just be rice vinegar) and “light”soy sauce (or low sodium soy sauce), but I just usually make my meals from a can 🤦🏽♂️
Zen says
Thanks Cliff, I am so happy you liked the recipe 🙂 Oops sorry about the confusion- I will look into it, may have been an autocorrect error I missed out on 😛