This easy recipe for Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick is a summer family favorite. These tasty marinated skewers are grilled to perfection for the ultimate sweet, salty, and savory appetizer or dinner. Enjoy wonderful umami flavor in every bite!
Why this Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Recipe is Amazing: The homemade Asian-inspired basting sauce and marinade has a touch of garlic, ginger, & sesame for tons of flavor - plus it is gluten-free. I include both grill & oven instructions for your convenience.
The food in Hawaii has a lot of Japanese influences. At an early age I learned to crave it & started my kids off early with a love for teriyaki. Plus what isn't more fun than food on a stick - like fair or carnival food.
These chicken teriyaki skewers are a hit at parties, BBQs, cookouts, and potlucks. Set these out with ahi poke nachos and air-fried coconut shrimp for a tropical island-style appetizer buffet. Ok, now we grill!
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Ingredients
The star of this recipe is thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts. The white meat is easy to skewer, absorbs the marinade well, & cooks quickly on the grill.
The teriyaki sauce is homemade and is great on any protein & similar to what I use in my Teriyaki Flank Steak Recipe. If you love garlic, this recipe like my Garlic Butter Wings will be one of your favorites.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts - easy to skewer
- Tamari - gluten-free soy sauce for that salty umami punch
- Brown Sugar -for sweetness to balance the saltiness
- Sesame Oil - for nutty flavor or try my homemade SUBSTITUTE FOR SESAME OIL.
- Sesame Seeds - texture & more nutty taste
- Ground Ginger - a hint of spice
- Garlic - bold flavor addition & fresh is best
- Water - to soak the skewers so they don't burn or catch fire
- Cornstarch, optional
- Chili garlic sauce, optional
See the RECIPE CARD below for full amounts & Instructions.
Prepping/Soaking Bamboo Skewers
I like to use 8" bamboo wooden skewers when grilling. They are economical, sustainable, easy to find, and work great whenever you want to make any recipe that goes on a stick.
They are great for barbecues or even when you do not cook, such as fruit kebabs or when making my recipe for Homemade Tanghulu, Candied Chinese Fruit.
TOP TIP: The most important thing to know about using bamboo skewers for grilling, is you want to soak them. If you do not soak them they will light on fire as if they were little matchsticks.
Place the number of wooden skewers needed into a baking dish that is longer than the skewers & 2 inches deep. Add enough water so they are submerged and at least ½" of water is above them. Let soak while prepping the chicken & making the sauce - 30 minutes minimum.
How to Grill Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick
Before you begin cooking, a bit of prep is needed. I already covered getting the skewers ready.
Here are the easy steps for making this recipe:
- Cut & Skewer the Chicken
- Prep the Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade
- Grill the Skewers
See the step-by-step instructions with photos below plus the recipe card at the end of the post.
This recipe makes 4 servings of teriyaki chicken skewers enjoyed as a main course. If you want to scale this recipe to serve as an appetizer for a crowd, calculate how much chicken per person easily.
1 - Cut and Skewer the Chicken Breasts
Using a sharp chef's knife cut each thin chicken breast into long strips that are much wider than the skewers you are using. If you don't have one, I recommend spending a little money on a quality chef's knife for under $100
See below so that you can visualize how to add the chicken strips onto each stick. For each strip of chicken, weave the skewer through the meat 3-4 times to secure it on the stick as shown below.
2 - Prepare the Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade
Place all the ingredients, except the cornstarch and water, in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir to combine.
Continue stirring until the sugar is dissolved and all the ingredients are warm. Reduce the heat to low.
In a separate small bowl add the water and the cornstarch and stir to dissolve. Slowly whisk into the teriyaki sauce on the stove to warm. Shut the heat off once it is combined and thickened.
Like the sauce in my recipe for Ground Pork Stir Fry, this is made without any wheat products.
3 - Grill the Skewers
You will also want to get your grill going. So start your charcoal or preheat your propane, gas, or electric grill now.
Place the chicken on the grill grates. Cook on medium-high heat with the lid open. This sears the outside & makes for juicy tender meat that won't overcook & dry out. Just one of my many tips on how to be a Grill Master.
Rotate the chicken using tongs so that all sides get crispy on the outside. Cook for about 15 minutes in total. We like a good char on our chicken but cook it to your liking, just make sure they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
OVEN METHOD - see the recipe card below for how to cook this without a grill.
Serving Suggestions
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the grill and plate it. Using a pastry brush, baste the chicken on a stick with the remaining teriyaki sauce. Sprinkle on some chopped green onions.
You can also use the sauce as a dip. Serve on a buffet as an appetizer finger food or for lunch or dinner as a main course with some pickled yamagobo.
What to Serve with Teriyaki Chicken : These are great with air fryer green beans. Make a teriyaki bowl by removing them from the sticks & putting them on top of some chicken broth rice. Or try one of these recipe ideas as a side dish:
Teriyaki Chicken on a Stick
Equipment
- grill
- 8 " bamboo wooden skewers, soaked in water 2 hours (see above)
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts thin sliced
- Marinade / Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients
- ⅔ cup tamari
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar see notes about for keto substitute
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch optional, see notes above
- ¼ C water
- 2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce optional, for a spicy teriyaki sauce
Instructions
- Using a sharp chef’s knife cut each thin chicken breast into long strips that are much wider than the skewers you are using. For each strip of chicken, weave the skewer through the meat 3-4 times to secure. See the images above.
- For the teriyaki sauce - If using the cornstarch, place all the ingredients except the cornstarch and water in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir to combine. Continuing stirring until the sugar is dissolved and all the ingredients are warm. Reduce the heat to low. In a separate small bowl add the water and the cornstarch and stir to dissolve. Slowly whisk into the teriyaki sauce on the stove to warm. Shut the heat off once it is combined and thickened. (see notes above if making this keto or grain-free to omit cornstarch)
- Pour ¾ of the sauce over the skewered chicken. Rotate to coat. Refrigerate and marinate anywhere from 2-4 hours. Rotate the skewers every hour so that all sides are in the marinade.
- While your grill is warming up or the coals are getting ready, let the chicken come to room temperature by having it rest on the counter.
- Place the teriyaki chicken that is marinated and on sticks directly on the grill grates. Cook on medium-high heat with the lid open.
- Rotate the chicken using tongs so that all sides get crispy on the outside. Cook for about 15 minutes total. We like a good char on our chicken but cook it to your liking, just make sure they reach an internal temperature of 165°.
- Using a pastry brush, baste the chicken on a stick with the remaining teriyaki sauce. You can also use it as a dipping sauce as well.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Teriyaki chicken can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and up to a month in the freezer. Thaw any frozen teriyaki chicken in the refrigerator overnight to defrost.
- Reheat in the oven on 375°F for 5 minutes.
- Leftovers are great served cold & diced in wraps or on salads.
Linda Johnston says
Our grandkids are coming for the weekend. This will be aa fun meal for us to make together. Over from Wonderful Wednesday link party
Angela says
What a great idea. Have fun and enjoy your family and a nice meal.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
my mouth is watering!!! What a delicious and savory looking skewer!! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party!! Have a fabulous weekend. Hope we see you on Sunday!
Jerri says
I love teriyaki chicken! Your recipe looks yummy! Thanks for sharing at Friday Favorites. I'm featuring you this week.
Angela says
Wonderful - thanks so much, Jerri! Have a great week.
Mary says
So easy and it tasted so good. For others I do recommend having extra sauce too. My kids used it as a dip.
Angela says
So glad the kids enjoyed it too. Anything you can eat and have a dip for is a kids' favorite, right? Glad this teriyaki chicken was a hit.
Biana says
This chicken on a stick looks delicious! Such a fun chicken dish to make for dinner.
Angela says
Thank you.
Chenée says
These teriyaki skewers were so incredible! Perfectly marinated and tender.
Angela says
Great, love hearing that you thought this recipe for chicken skewers was incredible.
Tavo says
What a delicious one! I loved how you picked the flavors!
Angela says
Thank you so much.
Ritisha says
This teriyaki sauce was so good! Super flavorful and was a hit with everyone!
Angela says
I am so happy to hear everyone enjoyed this.
Beth says
This was such a delicious and very tasty dinner the other night! I love that you added oven instructions too. My family and I just loved using the extra sauce to dip the chicken in! I will definitely be making this again!
Angela says
The extra dipping teriyaki sauce is a bonus. I find kids and adults sure love anything for a dinner that you can eat with a dip.
Howard says
We made about 100 of these for a party. They were the perfect easy to hold food for the backyard get together. They tasted great hot and cold so I recommend these to anyone that is having a big event that will last hours. There were only 4 leftovers and the next day I took them off the sticks and added to a salad for lunch.
Angela says
What great party food for sure. I am glad you found a yummy way to enjoy the leftover chicken teriyaki in a salad.
Brett says
Yes to making these over and over. Great for tailgating and bbqing at the college football games. Tastes good and no utensils to eat them. I make a lot since the guys eat a lot but it is easy to make so no problem. Do you think I can marinade the chicken and freeze it in in bags? I want to do a lot and then defrost one bag at a time for Saturday game day.
Angela says
I am so glad you enjoy this chicken teriyaki so much you make it your gameday and tailgate food to bbq. You absolutely can pre-marinade the chicken and seal it up in Ziploc bags to freeze. If you are using it for college football Saturdays, I would remove it from the freezer on Thursday morning so it can defrost in the refrigerator for about 48 hours before you put it on a stick and cook it.