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.
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
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
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If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
The Best Vegan Teriyaki Sauce (Soy Free!)
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.
Yummy! So happy to find a soy free recipe that’s delicious. I skipped the cayenne and added toasted sesame oil. Yum. Thank you!
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
Thank you! Yes, definitely, you can even freeze it.
Vegan 8 did it again!!! Wish I could give this 10 stars. Absolutely delicious ~ best teriyaki sauce I’ve ever had.
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!
Hi Karey, yes, you can freeze this for a few months in the freezer and just thaw in the fridge! Works well!
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.
So awesome to hear that Lisa!!
What could I use to replace the rice flour? I’m trying to get off rice for a little while 😊
1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch.
I AGREE WITH THE OTHERS WHO’VE SAID THIS IS THE BEST SAUCE EVER! WE’RE SNOWBIRDS AT THE MOMENT AND NO COCONUT AMINOS AVAILABLE AT ANY STORE. I’VE SEARCHED HIGH AND LOW SO I USED THE LIQUID AMINOS. STILL THOUGHT IT WAS FABULOUS. MAYBE I’LL FIND THE COCONUT AMINOS WHEN WE GET BACK TO THE BIG CITY, BUT ACTUALLY NOW THAT COULD BE A WHILE. I LOVE YOUR BLOG AND HAVE TRIED SEVERAL OF YOUR RECIPES.
So sorry – didn’t mean to use all caps. Thought it was your formatting!
This is so good! I love Asian style foods and sauces and I was really bummed when I realized that soy makes me feel terrible. Thank you for a delicious alternative. My toddler thought it was too ‘spicy’ so I’ll try it without the ginger next time. My husband and I both love ginger, but the kid needs a bit more time. 🙂
Awesome, so happy you loved it Shalyn!!
This looks and sounds so delicious. I will definitely be trying it. Thank you for sharing
Absolutely LOVE this sauce! We used it for tofu/veggie stir fry and it was delicious!!!!!
So so happy to hear Monica, thank you for taking the time to leave a review!!
This teriyaki sauce is SO GOOD!!! I have made it for the past 3 weeks and each time it doesn’t stay past 3 meals – and I have learned to triple the recipe to get it to last that long. If my sweetie is hungry – forget about it!
Thank you! I needed the low sodium sauce because I’m working to regulate my blood pressure without using medication. You helped me. I truly appreciate your recipes!
Yay! So happy to hear how much you love it Dawn, thank you so much for the awesome review!
Brandi, I’ve been making this sauce for over a year and it’s so delicious and perfect when you have that craving for Asian food. It’s a keeper.
So very wonderful to hear Debra, thank you so much for leaving a review!
Brandi, I’ve been making this sauce for over a year and it’s so delicious and perfect when you have that craving for Asian food. It’s a keeper.
I can’t wait to try this…I love love asian food….can you point me to the recipe of the rice dish in your pictures…..I can’t wait to try the teriyaki sauce on that dish. Thank you for all you do.
Hi Steve! If you check out step 3 under the directions I give a basic description of how I make it. I don’t really measure, just kind of eyeball how many veggies I want to eat at that time. I would do the broccoli separately since it takes a bit longer to cook. Alternatively, you could roast the broccoli if you want to add some to the dish. Just add some to a pan of parchment paper and bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes or so until tender, which will vary depending on the size of your florets. Then I just add everything to a bowl and drizzle lots of Teriyaki sauce on top!
This is an excellent no-oil teriyaki sauce! Has anyone ever been to Panda Express and got their eggplsnt and red bell pepper dish? Theirs is of course full of salt and oil, so I made eggplant and red bell pepper and onion with teriyaki sauce that rivaled Panda Express and had no salt(except what was in the Coconut Aminos) and no fat,(because I left out the sesame oil entirely and I cooked the onions and bell peppers and eggplant with no oil in a dry stainless steel pot), and it was so delicious, my husband and I ate almost the entire dish in one sitting. Thank you once again for a great 8 recipe:)
I’m so happy you loved this so much Rebecca! Thank you so much for the lovely review and that dish at Panda Express sounds soo delicious!
I can’t tell you how excited I was when I made and tasted this recipe! Every time my husband wants to take me out to eat I always choose the same restaurant and order the same thing–stir fried veggies with teriyaki sauce. This was even better than my favourite restaurant version, so now I can make this at home and try something else when I go out! I absolutely loved this and so did the rest of my family.
I made this today and it was amazing. I served it over stir fried veggies and rice. This is truly the best sauce I have ever made. It was a big hit in my family. Thank you for the recipe!
I made this twice because the first time I accidentally used coconut nectar that I had in my cabinet. The taste is also incredible-very sweet, but I knew that the calorie count would be crazy. I might try using it as a marinade for baked tofu or as a dipping sauce of some kind.
That is just wonderful to hear Wendy and such a kind compliment! I’m so happy this is the best sauce you’ve ever made, thank you for the awesome feedback!
Brandi, just made this sauce for lunch. OMG, it was amazing. I served it with “water fried” vegetables & brown rice. Thank you for such a fantastic recipe. I wish those coconut aminos weren’t so expensive, the recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup. I’m wondering if you can use Braggs regular aminos and then add coconut sugar??
SO happy to hear that! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! I actually tested a version with liquid aminos and did not like it….it is MUCH more salty and a different flavor than the coconut aminos so I wouldn’t really recommend it. I guess you could try playing around with it by adding more syrup and using a bit less of the aminos, but I wasn’t a fan of all the liquid aminos version I tried.
I just made this…..so so good!!!!
Yay, so happy to hear it Louise, thank you for the feedback!
Your Teriyaki Sauce is my go-to sauce. Delicious!
So happy to hear, thank you Barbara!
This is now my go-to Asian stir fry sauce – it is delicious, easy to make, stores well in the fridge, and did I mention delicious? Thank you so much!
Wonderful Susan! I’m so happy this is now your go-to! It is our absolute favorite around here and I’m thrilled you love it so much, thank you for the feedback!
I’m all about new easy asian-based sauces…they are my favorite! This look looks great…hoping to try it out soon Brandi!
I finally made this sauce tonight. And my son just flipped over it. When I first had him taste it, he was like OMG what is that?? Then at dinner he kept raving and talking about it asking me if there is more. He wants to take some rice and the sauce for lunch tomorrow. And told me he could eat this every day. He also insisted to lick the pan. I would say this is an out of the park knockout. I personally think this is the best sauce I’ve ever tasted.
I’m so darn happy to hear this is the best sauce you’ve ever had, wow, thank you Estee!! I said the same exact thing too, haha! SO glad your son loved it too, thank you so much for making it and leaving wonderful feedback!
Haha, thanks Levan!
This sounds like such a great combo, Brandi! My boyfriend absolutely loves teriyaki sauce, so I need to make this for him! 🙂
Thank you so much Sina!!