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The BEST Vegan Teriyaki Sauce (Soy Free!)

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Learn how to make the most delicious Best Vegan Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce totally oil-free and soy-free! Loaded with flavor and made with coconut aminos, fresh ginger and chives, it will become your go-to teriyaki sauce.

Sesame Teriyaki vegan sauce drizzling off spoon in jar

Meet my new best friend. Sauces can be best friends, can’t they? I originally fell in love with the Teriyaki sauce made by Coconut Secret. It is really delicious and the best list of clean ingredients I’ve seen in teriyaki sauce. But, like with anything, I love to recreate my own homemade sauces. They are fresher, cheaper and can be tailor-made. Well, I think I not only nailed the store-bought version, additionally, I made it oil-free. It’s also made with Coconut aminos, instead of soy sauce, so it’s totally soy-free, whoop!

This sauce is so delicious and so popular with readers that I included it in my cookbook! I have a Teriyaki Burger in the book too and it was featured on NBC News!

THE BEST INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN TERIYAKI SAUCE

This isn’t your average tasting vegan teriyaki sauce. This teriyaki sauce has 8 delicious ingredients:

  • fresh ginger
  • fresh garlic
  • green chives
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • coconut aminos
  • maple syrup
  • brown rice flour
  • cayenne

Spoon holding vegan teriayki sauce with scattered sesame seeds

THIS TERIYAKI SAUCE WILL BECOME YOUR GO-TO

Eating this with a spoon is likely going to happen for you too, just warning you now. If you aren’t familiar with teriyaki sauce, basically it is a sweet and salty Japanese sauce that is much more sweet than say, a peanut sauce. It has a syrup consistency and really sticks to your food. I lived in Japan many, many years ago, but I don’t know if I ever had any while there. My version is naturally sweetened by using pure maple syrup, instead of refined sugars like brown or white sugar. Much better flavor too, in my opinion.

This vegan teriyaki sauce will go on just about anything your heart desires. In other words, you will want to add it on top of fluffy brown rice, peas and some carrots and drizzled some of this bad boy sauce on it, added extra chives and sesame seeds and it was like the best party in my mouth I’ve had all year. The recipe require just 8 ingredients (+ water).

MORE VEGAN SAUCE RECIPES

  • Vegan Poblano Pepper Cream Sauce
  • Texas BBQ Sauce
  • Lemon Ginger Sauce
  • The Best Thai Peanut Sauce

*This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!

Vegan Teriyaki sauce with spoon and jar

The Best Vegan Teriyaki Sauce (Soy Free!)

Brandi Doming
Best Vegan Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce totally oil-free, gluten-free and soy-free! Loaded with flavor and made with coconut aminos, fresh ginger and chives, it will become your go-to teriyaki sauce.
5 from 41 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Asian, Gluten-free, Vegan
Yields 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (180g) coconut aminos (this is sweeter and less salty than soy sauce and important-SEE NOTES)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup (60g) water
  • heaping 1/2 tablespoon finely minced ginger (8g)
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon (3g) finely chopped chives
  • 1/2 tablespoon (5g) toasted sesame seeds
  • 1/16 - 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour
  • I use this scale.

Instructions
 

  • Add all of the ingredients, except the rice flour, to a small pot and whisk together well. Now whisk in the brown rice flour until there are no lumps.
  • Turn the heat to medium and once the entire surface is bubbling, let it cook for about 5-7 minutes as it starts to reduce a bit. Whisk around the edges a couple of times while it cooks. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes. It should have a runny syrup consistency as it cools. If it's not a syrup consistency after a few minutes, cook just a couple more minutes. It should not be overly thick, but easily pourable, so it works well for dishes and drizzling. Traditional Japanese Teriyaki is not thick. Use over your favorite dish. I served it over some fluffy brown rice and peas and carrots, then topped with extra chives and sesame seeds. This would also be great over cauliflower wings as a great dipping sauce.
  • To serve this with peas and carrots, zucchini or broccoli, simply cook them in a pan over the stove in a little bit of water, pinch of salt and pepper, and garlic powder until tender. I cook my broccoli in a large wok separately to reach desired tenderness.

Notes

Make sure you are using strictly "coconut aminos". I like the coconut secret brand found at Sprouts, Whole foods, Target or online or the Big Tree Farms "Coco Aminos" is good, too. Make sure you are not using "liquid aminos" or regular soy sauce, or it will be WAY too salty.
Tried this recipe?Tag @thevegan8 on Instagram and use tag #thevegan8!
Keyword healthy teriyaki sauce recipe, homemade teriyaki sauce, teriyaki sauce soy free, vegan gluten free teriyaki sauce, vegan teriyaki sauce

Filed Under: Appetizers, Dips/Sauces, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Nut Free Tagged With: Chives, garlic, Ginger, Sauce, Sesame seeds, Teriyaki

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Comments

  1. Lisa

    May 12, 2020 at 1:12 am

    5 stars
    I made this for the first time tonight and it is soooooo good. I don’t know why I waited so long to make it but I will never buy it from the store again. This was easy and it’s so much better.

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      May 12, 2020 at 9:04 pm

      So awesome to hear that Lisa!!

      Reply
  2. Karey

    June 3, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    Just making this now, scaled down to go with one meal. Please let us know about refrigeration and freezing, as it would be nice to make it ahead and have it on hand. Thanks!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      June 3, 2020 at 8:48 pm

      Hi Karey, yes, you can freeze this for a few months in the freezer and just thaw in the fridge! Works well!

      Reply
  3. KJ

    August 6, 2020 at 12:40 am

    5 stars
    Vegan 8 did it again!!! Wish I could give this 10 stars. Absolutely delicious ~ best teriyaki sauce I’ve ever had.

    Reply
  4. Lisa

    August 13, 2020 at 12:05 pm

    Just found your blog and loving the recipes, will be buying your book.
    Just wondering can u keep the left over sauce in fridge?

    Thanks
    Lisa

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      August 13, 2020 at 7:00 pm

      Thank you! Yes, definitely, you can even freeze it.

      Reply
  5. Carly

    August 25, 2020 at 2:17 am

    5 stars
    Yummy! So happy to find a soy free recipe that’s delicious. I skipped the cayenne and added toasted sesame oil. Yum. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Michelle Lynn

    October 31, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    Do you think Arrowroot would work in place of the rice flour?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 1, 2020 at 10:55 pm

      I’ve never tried it but you can try it. I’d use half the amount since starch tends to thicken twice as much as flour.

      Reply
  7. Penny

    November 5, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    Brandi, I madethis version of The BEST Vegan Teriyaki Sauce last night. It is extremelt salty to the point that I don’t know if I’ll be able to use it. Since the only item that has sodium in it is the Coconut Aminos, I have to wonder if it could be the brand I used, which was Bragg. Do you have any thoughts as to what I can do to rescue this sauce for dinneer tonigjht? I will thin it down with a little water but I don’t want to use too much and have the sauce to liquidy. I also thought about putting a raw potato in it when I heat it again. I don’t know if tha really works but I have heard that it does in spoups and gravies that are too salty.

    I woyuld appreciate your feed back.

    Thanks,
    Penny

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 5, 2020 at 8:45 pm

      Hi! Are you sure you used “coconut” aminos and not “liquid aminos”?? Braggs makes a liquid aminos which is just as salty as soy sauce. They also make a coconut aminos but it has a lot more sodium in it, 140 mg per teaspoon, whereas the brand I use, coconut Aminos has only 90 mg of sodium per teaspoon, so that definitely would be it. Ive only ever used the Coconut secret brand, which can be found at lots of grocery stores or Walmart or target. The only thing that can balance out saltiness is more sweetener and water. It’ll be tricky though if it’s super salty.

      Reply
  8. Penny

    November 6, 2020 at 2:11 am

    5 stars
    Hi Brandi, It definatly used the Coconut Aminos. When you consider that Bragg brand is 140 mg per tsp and the Coconut Secret brand is 90 mg per tsp, the difference of 50 mg is tremendous since you use 3/4 cup. That is a difference of 1800 mg of sodium for the recipe!!! Wow! I was able to adjust mine to the point that my husband wants to eat it with a spoon!! I added water and maple syrup but becasue it was so salty, I had to add considerable water and syrup. So, I ended up adding more garlic, ginger and brown rice flour until it reached a point that I found it acceptable. It is still a bit saltier than I wanted but hubby loves it and that’s what counts. Thanks so much for responding so quickly and for the delicious recipe. I can’t wait to make it again using the Coconut Secret brand of Coconut aminos!!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 6, 2020 at 2:22 am

      So glad it worked out! Yeah such a bummer that brand had so much sodium! You’ll notice a much better balanced flavor next time with the coconut secret brand!

      Reply
  9. Karen Rosella Bailey

    November 7, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    Looks great! How do you adapt this for 1 person serving?

    Reply
    • Karen Rosella Bailey

      November 7, 2020 at 10:13 pm

      Desperately want to try it!

      Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 7, 2020 at 11:37 pm

      I wouldn’t suggest doing that because the spices and garlic amount would be entirely too small trying to reduce it for one serving. You can try just cutting the recipe in half. The sauce is freezable, so it doesn’t go bad.

      Reply
  10. Danielle Basara

    December 28, 2020 at 2:51 am

    5 stars
    The most delicious Teriyaki sauce I have ever had!! The recipe was so easy to follow and came out amazing!! I made the veggie and rice teriyaki bowl and my 7 year old daughter kept stealing it from me. She begged me save her a bowl for lunch tomorrow!

    Reply
  11. Marcy

    January 13, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    I am going to try arrowroot and if I don’t have chives, what is a good substitute?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 13, 2021 at 9:27 pm

      I’ve never tried arrowroot, so I hope it works. It may thicken it more than the rice flour, so watch that it doesn’t overcook and become slimy. You can use green onions.

      Reply
  12. Shirley

    January 15, 2021 at 2:39 am

    5 stars
    I was so excited when I saw Bragg’s Coconut Nectar at the grocery store. I can’t get coconut aminos where I live in Canada. I quickly came home to make your Teriyaki sauce. So delicious!!!!!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 15, 2021 at 7:39 am

      Yay, glad you loved it! Coconut nectar is much thicker and sweeter than coconut aminos, but glad it still worked out!

      Reply
  13. GB Nana

    February 22, 2021 at 2:54 am

    5 stars
    DELICIOUS! I’ve used this over stir fry and as dressing for my Chinese “chicken” salad using butler soy curls for the chicken over a bed of shtedded napa cabbage topped with toasted sesame seeds toasted sliced almonds with this teriyaki sauce drizzled over it….it doesn’t take much. It is WONDERFUL any way I’ve served it…. thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      February 23, 2021 at 1:59 am

      That is so awesome, thanks for the amazing feedback!

      Reply
  14. Kristen Edwards

    May 14, 2021 at 9:31 pm

    Would psyllium husk powder work as a thickener instead? How many grams would you suggest?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      May 14, 2021 at 10:13 pm

      I have no idea, I have never used that ingredients. It would probably make it too gooey though. You can just use regular flour or cornstarch instead, half the amount.

      Reply
  15. Natalie

    May 19, 2021 at 12:44 am

    5 stars
    I’ve tried a few GF/DF teriyaki sauce recipes. They’re all perfectly fine but THIS ONE is the WINNER! My store was out of brown rice flour so I used a GF 1:1 four and it worked great. Also omitted the cayenne (#NoNightshades) and poured the sauce over takeout chicken teriyaki (I asked my local spot to cook the chicken sans their house sauce). This would be fantastic with veggies, fish or PINEAPPLE. Oooh! Now I wish I would have added some pineapple!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      May 19, 2021 at 12:50 am

      Yay Natalie! Really happy to hear how much you enjoyed this!

      Reply
  16. Debbi

    June 7, 2021 at 12:18 am

    Used this recipe for a marinade for tofu shishkabobs. Yum! Thank you! 😊

    Reply
  17. Carla Sokol

    July 12, 2021 at 9:42 pm

    I’d love to try this but cannot have maply syrup. Do you think it would work with date paste?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      July 14, 2021 at 3:48 am

      It’ll make it thicker but I think that should work!

      Reply
  18. Deb

    July 22, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    Please, is there something to use in place of the maple syrup? I want so much to try this, and just by chance I had even bought the same coconut aminos you recommended, and I have rice flour. But I cannot use maple syrup.

    Never having made this, I don’t know how important the syrup is to the flavor of it or the texture. The closest thing I have is sugar-free pancake syrup. Do you think that will work? Thanks!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      July 22, 2021 at 8:17 pm

      Agave is the next best sub! I’d strongly suggest that, I would not do pancake syrup. It’s highly full of artificial sweeteners, and probably wouldn’t taste good.

      Reply
  19. Rhonda Joseph

    July 27, 2021 at 11:36 am

    5 stars
    Delicious,easy to make. My only problem it was to thick. I’ll try using less brown rice flour. Will definitely share and try again.

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      July 28, 2021 at 2:45 am

      If the heat is too high or cooked too long, it will thicken quicker, so just adjust that and it would help.

      Reply
  20. Donna

    October 19, 2021 at 4:51 pm

    Will you clarify something for me? If I use Coconut Secret am I using it straight out of the bottle or am I using it as an ingredient in your Teriyaki sauce?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      October 19, 2021 at 10:44 pm

      If it’s the coconut aminos, it’s one of the ingredients!

      Reply
  21. Colleen

    October 24, 2021 at 10:04 pm

    Love the coconut aminos, can’t wait to make the sauce. I didn’t even know coconut aminos existed, thanks, now I do quick stir frys all the time now.
    By the way, love your hair!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      October 25, 2021 at 9:15 am

      Wonderful! Aww thank you Colleen!

      Reply
  22. Dahianne

    December 11, 2021 at 3:21 am

    5 stars
    I love this recipe and so does my family. It’s delicious. Everything I make from your site doesn’t disappoint. Do you have a pad Thai recipe or planning on bringing in one to the site? Thanks!

    Reply
  23. Mandy

    December 21, 2021 at 12:57 am

    5 stars
    This is a fantastic recipe! My family liked it a lot. I didn’t have maple syrup so I had to sub with date syrup and it came out yummy. I did add a little more water-just a dash- and it was fine. I marinated some tofu with this and we had teriyaki un-fried rice. I will definitely be putting this on the permanent recipe rotation. Delish!

    Reply
  24. Adriana

    May 11, 2022 at 9:19 pm

    5 stars
    It is delicious!!
    How many days can it be refrigerated?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      May 11, 2022 at 9:44 pm

      Thank you! I’d say about 2 weeks!

      Reply
  25. jeanne

    June 20, 2022 at 5:31 pm

    delicious but it came out too thick, what do you suggest I use to thin it out?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      June 21, 2022 at 10:30 pm

      Just add water! It will come out too thick if cooked a tad too long.

      Reply
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I'm Brandi, creator of this vegan blog and cookbook author of The Vegan 8 Cookbook. The majority of my recipes focus on 8 ingredients or less, not counting salt, pepper or water. I love to create health-focused recipes, using whole foods to improve fitness and muscle-building, with the occasional comfort meal thrown in there! I'm an expert on oil-free cooking and baking! read more →

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