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This healthy and Gluten Free Teriyaki Sauce is an easy alternative to storebought. Free of soy and sugar, this sugar-free teriyaki sauce is seriously delicious and Whole30 compliant! 

gluten free teriyaki sauce with chili paste, ginger, garlic, and a green onion on a board

Takeout teriyaki is delicious, but it’s packed full of sugar, and depending on who makes the sauce, it can be achingly sweet. So making my own is the easiest way to control the ingredients and get a perfectly balanced homemade teriyaki sauce.

I love the convenience of teriyaki sauce because it can transform some veggies and protein into a stir fry. It’s amazing to use in Air Fryer Drumsticks or Instant Pot Teriyaki Beef. Just like my Sugar Free Barbeque Sauce, this sauce changes the game.

If you need a fast weeknight one-pan meal, a bit of teriyaki sauce quickly becomes Baked Chicken Teriyaki Dinner or Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs. Drizzle some over these Spicy Pork Meatballs or Crispy Teriyaki Cauliflower Bites for a quick meal prep dinner.

ginger, garlic, pineapple, and coconut aminos on a wooden board for making whole30 teriyaki sauce

Ingredients in This Whole30 + Paleo Teriyaki Sauce

To make this an extra sustainable and affordable sauce, use the pineapple core and save the sliced pineapple for fresh eating or canning.

pineapple and other ingredients in a blender for paleo teriyaki sauce

sugar-free teriyaki sauce in a pan

Recipe Notes

  • You cannot use liquid aminos in this recipe. Liquid Aminos is a completely different product than coconut aminos and will result in a very salty sauce.
  • When freshly blended, the sauce will be a peanut butter color. After it has cooked down it will be dark like traditional sauce.
  • This sugar-free teriyaki sauce will last for two weeks in the fridge.
  • You can freeze the sauce for up to three months. Freeze in small portions (like in Souper Cubes) so you can use it as needed.

gluten free teriyaki sauce on a cutting board with ginger and a scallion

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WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS

One serving has 1 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.

5 from 7 ratings

Gluten Free Teriyaki Sauce

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Free of soy and sugar, this sugar-free teriyaki sauce is seriously delicious and Whole30 compliant! 

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups coconut aminos {NOT liquid aminos}
  • 2 cups fresh pineapple {cubed}
  • 5 cloves garlic {peeled and roughly chopped}
  • 1 inch piece ginger {peeled}

Instructions 

  • Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until super smooth.
    2 cups coconut aminos, 2 cups fresh pineapple, 5 cloves garlic, 1 inch piece ginger
  • Pour into a medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.
  • Boil for 2 minutes stirring the entire time. The sauce will foam quite a bit so reduce the heat if it is getting close to boiling over.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the liquid is reduced by half (~20 minutes).
  • Transfer to an air-tight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbspCalories: 28kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 0gFat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 452mgPotassium: 17mgFiber: 0gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 10IUVitamin C: 6.8mgCalcium: 3mgIron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Condiments
Cuisine: Fusion
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah

Helping you serve up budget-friendly sustainable recipes with a side of balanced living.
Come for the food. Stay for the snark.

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14 Comments

  1. I am so excited to try this sugar-free Teriyaki Sauce. I then looked at how much sodium is in this and wondered if there was a way to lesson the sodium. This recipe has 452g of sodium for only 2 tablespoons. That is a lot of sodium. I’m surprized since the recipe doesn’t use soy sauce. The coconut aminos must have a lot of sodium in it. I have never used coconut sodium. Is there any substitute we can use with less sodium? Thanks!

    1. Soy sauce has gluten in it. It cannot be used to make a gluten-free teriyaki sauce.

      If you are able to consume gluten, I would recommend a low-sodium version of traditional soy sauce.

  2. This sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it. One question about the sustainable and affordable tip – how do you use the core of the pineapple? Isn’t it too hard to chop/dice? 
    I’m all about sustainability so would love to try it but am hoping for a little guidance.5 stars

    1. The core still has a ton of juice in it. I chop mine in a food processor and you cook the mixture so it softens up.

      We also freeze chunks of pineapple core for smoothies. When blended you can’t tell the difference!

  3. I made the quarantine version of this and love it! I only had liquid aminos so I used a half a cup of that and 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Delicious and the kids gobbled it up! 5 stars

  4. The Gluten Free Teriyaki Sauce was a winner in our household!
    This was every bit as good if not better than bottled teriyaki sauce!
    This recipe contained far less sugar and tasted better than bottled, for just a few minutes hands on we had teriyaki sauce to put on chicken for dinner or stir fried veggies or any other food item you may choose to put it on. Will make every time we want teriyaki sauce!5 stars

    1. Awww, glad it worked for you guys, and YES to the lower sugar content! I cannot believe how much sugar is in bottled sauces.

  5. I made a half batch of this (since that’s how much a bottle of coconut aminos from TJ’s will make). I also strained it through a medium-fine sieve after blending it, but otherwise followed the recipe. It came out super tasty! I’m neither paleo or GF, but I always appreciate options to avoid adding heaps of refined sugar to our meals. We had chicken teriyaki bowls last night (which plenty of sauce left over after making bowls for 4 people) with this and will definitely be making them again. Thanks for a great recipe!5 stars

  6. This is soooo salty! I wonder if I did something wrong. I was actually .25 cup short of liquid amminos and it’s still inedible. Help!

    1. Hi Alisa,

      Sorry, you had trouble with the recipe but I think I nailed down the issue. The recipe calls for coconut aminos, not liquid aminos. They are two very different things with vastly different sodium contents. Given that you used liquid aminos I don’t see the recipe as being salvageable at this point. I would recommend starting over with the correct aminos and try again. Good luck!

  7. I did have a clue that teriyaki sauce had a lot of sugar, but not quite how much! Thankfully I don’t eat it too often, even though I like it. Thanks for this recipe, it will definitely be tried next time I want teriyaki. And what a great idea to use pineapple instead of sugar!!5 stars

    1. My friend shared her family’s recipe with me (it was delicious) and the soy sauce and sugar were equal – 2 cups each. It is like making “normal” jam; the sugar is usually more than the fruit. Yeesh!