Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce {Whole30 + Paleo Teriyaki Sauce}
This healthy and Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce is an easy alternative to storebought. Free of soy and sugar, this healthy teriyaki sauce is seriously delicious and Whole30 compliant! So easy to make, this sugar-free teriyaki marinade will be the star of your next stir-fry.
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.
Just like my Paleo + Whole30 BBQ Sauce, this sauce changes the game.
I love the convenience of teriyaki sauce because it can transform some veggies and protein into stir fry. It’s amazing in Instant Pot Teriyaki Beef.
If you need a fast weeknight one-pan meal, a bit of teriyaki sauce quickly becomes Baked Chicken Teriyaki Dinner. Drizzle some over these Spicy Pork Meatballs or Crispy Teriyaki Cauliflower Bites for a quick meal prep dinner.
Does Teriyaki Sauce Contain Gluten?
Most teriyaki sauce available for purchase is full of gluten. Many brands use soy sauce and soy sauce contains soy, wheat, water, and salt.
Is Teriyaki Sauce Whole30 Compliant?
Sadly, most store-bought teriyaki sauces are not Whole30 compliant. This homemade gluten-free version uses coconut aminos instead of soy as its base and juicy fresh pineapple instead of sugar.
Need help getting started off with your Whole30 round on the right foot? Download my totally free Trader Joe’s Whole30 Shopping List and Whole30 Costco Shopping List. I have done all the work for you with checking ingredients and figuring out safe foods.
Ingredients in This Whole30 + Paleo Teriyaki Sauce
- Coconut Aminos
- Fresh or frozen pineapple (related: How to Freeze Pineapple)
- Fresh garlic (meal prep hack: How to Freeze Garlic)
- Fresh ginger (meal prep hack: How to Freeze Ginger)
To make this an extra sustainable and affordable sauce, use the pineapple core and save the sliced pineapple for fresh eating.
Can I Use Liquid Aminos?
No. Liquid Aminos is a completely different product than coconut aminos and will result in a very salty sauce.
How to Make This Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
*Detailed & printable recipe card at the bottom of the post
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until super smooth.
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 remove from heat if it is getting out of control.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the liquid is reduced by half (about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally.
Transfer to an air-tight container and store in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
- Need to make more or less of the recipe? Click and slide the “servings” number on the recipe card and the ingredients will adjust as needed. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
- 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.
Variations on Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce
- Add a drizzle of sesame oil during cooking for a sesame teriyaki.
- Make it spicy! Yes and please. Dried red pepper or compliant hot sauce of your choosing.
More Recipes Like This:
- Check out all these Pantry Staples You Can Make Yourself
- Cilantro Chimichurri
- Chipotle Sauce
- Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing
- Life-Changing Green Goddess Dressing
- Whole30 Pesto {Dairy-Free Basil Sauce)
- Homemade Whole30 Mayo
- Healthy Ranch Dressing
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving has 1 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce {Whole30 + Paleo Teriyaki Sauce}
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut aminos
- 2 cups fresh pineapple
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece ginger peeled
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until super smooth.
- 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 remove from heat if it is getting a bit out of control.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the liquid is reduced by half (about 20 minutes).
- Transfer to an air-tight container and store in the fridge.
Notes
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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.
The core still has a ton of juice in it so it’s rock hard. 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!
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!
LOVE the idea of using chicken broth in place of other liquids!
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!
Awww, glad it worked for you guys, and YES to the lower sugar content! I cannot believe how much sugar is in bottled sauces.
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!
So glad you enjoyed it, Lindsay! That reminds me, I need to make another batch. 🙂
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!
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!
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!!
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!