Chicken is tender and flavorful with homemade teriyaki sauce in this Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick Recipe. Easy & delicious as an appetizer or main course!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Some things are perfect because of their simplicity, and this easy recipe is one of them! This is one of the best recipes I’ve had for homemade teriyaki sauce – so much better and fresher tasting than anything bottled – and we’ll use it to marinate and glaze some plain chicken breasts or chicken tenders. The results are moist, juicy and so tasty!
Here’s some good reasons to give this recipe a try:
- It’s easy to make homemade teriyaki sauce, a highly flavored glaze that both flavors and tenderizes the chicken – much tastier than what you’d buy bottled in grocery stores.
- Grilled Chicken skewers are a fun recipe to make as an appetizer… watch them fly off the platter!
- Make this for dinner and enjoy it with rice & vegetables or spiralized zucchini noodles.
- These are tasty cold too, so they’re great chopped into a salad for lunch the next day.
Do you like recipes like this? Here’s a couple more to bookmark for later: This Shredded Chicken Burrito Bowl is wonderful and uses store-bought rotisserie chicken, and these pan-seared chicken thighs are easy and wonderful and marinated in citrus juice for extra flavor.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the full recipe and list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll to the recipe card below.
- Chicken Tenders: These are easy to work with, but you could use chicken breasts instead.
- Fresh Ginger: This gives the teriyaki a wonderful fresh flavor.
- Cornstarch & Water: To thicken the teriyaki sauce.
- Garlic: A whole clove, crushed.
- Soy Sauce: This flavors and tenderizes the chicken.
- Sesame Oil: For flavor and tenderness.
- Honey: To balance the salty flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Start this recipe by making the homemade teriyaki sauce.
Here’s all you do:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and sesame oil.
- Whisk this together over medium-high heat to combine and let it simmer for two minutes.
- Make a slurry with a little water and cornstarch in a small bowl, then slowly add it to the soy sauce mixture as you whisk and it and it will immediately thicken into a glaze.
4. Set the marinade aside to cool completely, then add it to a medium-sized bowl with the chicken pieces. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or more, or overnight.
5. Next, thread the chicken on 10″ bamboo skewers (that you’ve soaked in water for at least 15 minutes so they don’t burn). You can also use metal skewers instead of bamboo or wooden skewers.
6. Using a grill pan or skillet, add some olive oil, place skewers of the teriyaki chicken kabobs undisturbed with the lid on for 3-4 minutes, basting once. Turn, then cook another 3-4 minutes. The chicken is done when it’s no longer pink inside and an internal temperature of 165F degrees.
Tips and Possible Variations
This is a really versatile recipe, it’s delicious served in a variety of ways. Here’s a few good ideas:
- Make the skewers in advance and serve them as an appetizer at parties. Be careful, they fly off the platter!
- Use chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half horizontally, then in two-inch strips before marinating. Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead if you prefer.
- Add some red onion or green onion and green pepper to the skewers if you’d like, then serve with fresh pineapple slices.
- Use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos instead of traditional soy sauce if you’d like.
- Marinate the chicken pieces in a large Ziplock bag instead of a large bowl.
- TIP: To use the reserved marinade for basting, it’s best to pull a few teaspoons out for this purpose before you begin – don’t baste the raw chicken then dip the brush back in the reserved marinade. Clean your basting brush with warm soapy first to avoid cross-contamination.
Serving Ideas
- Serve a few warm skewers on a bed of cooked or raw zucchini noodles with extra sauce on the side. Or just great with a lemony pasta like this.
- This recipe would also be great with these outstanding grilled peppers and onions.
- Use the cooked cut-up chicken in a soft pita roll with coleslaw or spring greens and Greek yogurt.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top if you’d like.
- Try the cut-up chicken pieces in a green salad with sliced cucumber.
- Serve the kebobs as is with sticky white rice and summer vegetables or a great salad, like this fantastic Kale Salad, this refreshing Blackberry Goat Cheese Salad, this Orzo Asparagus Salad or try one of these Healthy Vegetable Side Dish Recipes!
- Its also good with a warm soup like this luscious corn chowder.
- Make a dessert too, and strawberries always fit the bill. Make Strawberry Cheesecake in a Jar, these easy and delightful soft apple butter cookies (everyone will love you) or this Fresh Figs Cake Recipe, or refer to this list of these Easy Sweet Recipes to Make at Home for more inspiration!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this is a great recipe to make in advance, in fact I’d recommend it! This chicken should be marinated for at least an hour in a bowl with plastic wrap or overnight.
An airtight container is best, and they’ll be fine for 1-2 days refrigerated.
It’s a delicious mixture of chicken pieces that are marinated in soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and sesame oil, then grilled on a bamboo skewer.
More Recipes to Try
- Pineapple Slushie: Such a refreshing drink!
- Low Carb Stuffed Zucchini Boats: A well-loved reader favorite.
- Avocado Sushi Rolls: An easy, fresh appetizer.
- Recipe for Sauteed Zucchini and Yellow Squash: A great side dish recipe to have in your back pocket!
- Meatballs in Marinara Sauce: Easy, delicious skillet dinner ready in 30 minutes!
- Goat Cheese Toasts with Cranberry: Great for parties!
- Chicken Salad with Grapes and Almonds: A wonderful version of chicken salad.
- Party Olives: Everyone is obsessed with these.
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Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed or ½ teaspoon ground garlic
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1-1¼ pounds Chicken Breasts or tenders
- ¼ cup Italian Parsley or other greens to garnish, optional
- 8 Wooden skewers, 10" size, soaked in water for 15 minutes before cooking
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil for cooking
Instructions
- Start by making the marinade using a medium-sized saucepan. Add the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, ginger, garlic and sesame oil, mix this together over medium heat with a whisk or spoon to combine. Let the mixture simmer for 2 minutes. In a small bowl, make a "slurry" by mixing the cornstarch and water together with a fork, then slowly add it to the simmering soy sauce mixture while you whisk. This will thicken the sauce immediately into a glaze. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
- This recipe works well with chicken tenders which you can use as is, or if using chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally and then in 2" strips to make 6-8 pieces. in a medium-sized bowl, add the chicken. Reserve ⅓ cup of the teriyaki sauce to use for basting and dipping, add the rest to the raw chicken, cover it and refrigerate it for at least an hour, and preferably longer or overnight.
- Soak the skewers in a pan of shallow water (or a clean sink) for at least 15 minutes, then thread the chicken breasts onto the skewers. Discard the marinade the chicken breasts were in. In a grill pan (or non-stick skillet) with a lid, add a tablespoon of the oil and half of the chicken skewers making sure not to crowd them (you may need to do this in two batches). Baste the uncooked side of the chicken with a teaspoon or so of the marinade, then cover with the lid and let them cook on medium heat undisturbed for 3-4 minutes. Turn the skewers once, and let them continue to cook without moving them for another 3-4 minutes until no longer pink or the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove the skewers and set aside while you repeat these steps with the second batch. Note: To use the reserved marinade for basting, it's best to pull a few teaspoons out for this purpose before you begin – don't baste the raw chicken then dip the brush back in the reserved marinade. Clean your basting brush with warm soapy first to avoid cross-contamination. Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled over the top and more teriyaki sauce if desired.
Notes
- Note: To use the reserved marinade for basting, it’s best to pull a few teaspoons out for this purpose before you begin – don’t baste the raw chicken then dip the brush back in the reserved marinade. Clean your basting brush with warm soapy first to avoid cross-contamination.
- Make the skewers in advance and serve them as an appetizer at parties. Be careful, they fly off the platter! 🙂
- Use chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half horizontally, then in 2″ inch strips before marinating. Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead if you prefer.
- Add some red onion or green onion and green pepper to the skewers if you’d like, then serve with fresh pineapple slices.
- Use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos instead of traditional soy sauce if you’d like.
- Marinate the chicken pieces in a large Ziplock bag instead of a large bowl.
Nutrition
- Super important to read the whole recipe before you begin
- Pay attention to the ingredient list and photos for the recipe
- If possible, prep your ingredients a little before you start
- Always use a sharp knife for safety
- Use the size of pan called for in the recipe
- For savory recipes, taste and season as you go
- Buy fresh, organic ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible
This post was updated with new text May, 2024.
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