Keto Teriyaki Sauce (Sugar-free, Gluten-free)

Teriyaki sauce, the beloved salty-sweet soy sauce condiment flavored with ginger and garlic, makes a great marinade or glaze for meats, seafood and vegetables. This easy recipe is sugar-free, wheat-free and can be made soy-free with coconut aminos.

Sugar-free teriyaki sauce dripping from spoon into sauce filled bowl with ingredients behind.

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Ten years ago, when I began cooking low carb recipes for my keto diet, I decided I could pay a lot of money for specialty condiments or make my own. I’m talking about you keto BBQ sauce! 

This easy keto teriyaki sauce recipe is more affordable than buying a pre-made sauce on-line. And although I prefer using fresh ginger and garlic, subbing dried garlic and ground ginger works too.

Plus the recipe allows for generous tweaking so you can make it your own!

Teriyaki sauce ingredients: soy sauce, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes (optional), dry sherry or vinegar, fresh ginger, sugar substitute.

How To Make Sugar-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free Teriyaki Sauce

This keto teriyaki sauce is a great low carb alternative to store bought, which is full of sugar. And since I use a good low carb sugar substitute, it’s a virtually sugar-free teriyaki sauce recipe. Through trial and error I found that the best keto sugar sub for this sauce is an Allulose/ Monk fruit blend.

I prefer allulose to an erythritol based sweetener in this recipe because it gets sticky like sugar when reduced but doesn’t recrystallize like erythritol. It also has a nice clean flavor. I tried a popular brown sugar sub but it had a strange maple-like flavor that didn’t jive with the sauce.

To make this a gluten-free teriyaki sauce, I use Tamari which is wheat-free. However, using coconut aminos instead of Tamari makes a soy-free teriyaki sauce that is also sugar-free and gluten-free, so it ticks all the boxes for those with food allergies.

Sugar free teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds in bowl with blue napkin to left and ingredients behind.

How to Use Teriyaki As A Marinade

Unthickened, this recipe works well as a marinade. Sturdy meats like chicken, beef, pork, tuna or swordfish should be marinated overnight for best flavor. Glaze more delicate proteins like seafood and fish just prior to cooking and again after cooking. 

NOTE: To make the flavor a little stronger (for beef), you can increase the soy sauce by 2 tablespoons or decrease the water by ¼ cup.

How To Thicken Keto Teriyaki Sauce

There are two ways to thicken the sauce so it clings to food surfaces. My favorite way is to use a small amount of arrowroot powder. But before anyone gets upset and turns me into the “keto police” hear me out then make the best decision for you. [Xanthan gum (½ tsp.) and arrowroot powder (1 tsp.) each have a total carb count of 2 grams. ]

To Thicken with Xanthan Gum: You can use xanthan gum to thicken teriyaki sauce, but it dulls the flavor and makes it feel slippery. Make sure to mix it into the sweetener before adding it to the pot or it will clump. I suggest using ½ teaspoon.  (½ teaspoon of xanthan gum has 2 Total Carbs and zero Net Carbs.) 

keto teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds in glass bowl with blue napkin to left and ingredients behind.

To Thicken Arrowroot Powder (or cornstarch): Make a slurry with 1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder mixed into 2 tsps of water. While adding it to the sauce, whisk well, as it will thicken quickly. Arrowroot powder does not dull flavor. (1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder is 2 Total Carbs and 2 Net Carbs.)

NOTE: Arrowroot powder is technically not keto, but since such small amounts are used, the amount of carbs it contributes to a recipe is tiny when taken in the context of a whole recipe or meal. Since no other sugars are used in this recipe, it is definitely a keto teriyaki sauce recipe.

Tweaks to Make it Your Own!

  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (or to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon red chili oil
  • 1 teaspoon chili garlic paste or Sriracha
  • ¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 spice
  • Sesame seeds
  • Chopped scallions

Keto Teriyaki Recipe Ideas:

  • Keto Grilled Teriyaki Salmon
  • Teriyaki Chicken Kabob 
  • Teriyaki Shrimp Kabobs
  • Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
  • Teriyaki Shrimp Broccoli Stir Fry
keto teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds in glass bowl with blue napkin to left and ingredients behind.

Keto Teriyaki Sauce

This salty-sweet condiment flavored with ginger and garlic, makes a great marinade or glaze for meats, seafood and vegetables. This keto recipe is sugar-free, wheat-free and can be made soy-free with coconut aminos.

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Course: Condiments, Dressings and Sauces

Cuisine: Asian

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 16

Calories: 4kcal

Author: Kim Hardesty

Instructions

Procedure

  • Add the first 5 ingredients into a small pot or sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Whisk well and turn the heat down to medium-low or low and simmer for 5 minutes.

  • Add the arrowroot slurry and simmer for 1 minute more. (If using xanthan gum, it should be mixed into the sweetener in the previous step so it doesn’t clump.)

  • Taste and adjust sweetness. Pour the sauce through a strainer, pushing gently on the solids to extract flavor. Cool. (If using as a marinade, don’t strain.)

  • To adjust flavor: If it tastes good but needs a little something and you don’t know what, add 1-2 very small pinches of salt. If that doesn’t do it, a squirt of lime juice is nice.

MAKES 1 CUP OF KETO TERIYAKI SAUCE WITTH 16 SERVINGS OF 1 TABLESPOON EACH.

Notes

* Allulose (with monk fruit added to make it equal in sweetness to sugar) is the best choice for this recipe because it gets slightly sticky like sugar and doesn’t recrystallize like erythritol.
**I LOVE ginger-garlic paste and use it in all my Chinese, Thai, and Indian cooking. It’s amazing! If you don’t have it or aren’t interested in purchasing some, grate fresh garlic and fresh ginger on a microplane grater – 2 teaspoons each! -OR- use ½ teaspoon dried ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder.  
-I did not include the nutritional information for the ginger and garlic as it was strained out of the sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 4kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.29g | Protein: 0.5g | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 1mg | Sugar: 0.01g

About Kim Hardesty

Kim is a self taught cook with over 30 years experience in the kitchen. She develops and tests low carb and keto recipes in her California home. She began her low carb journey in 2009 and at the urging of friends, started blogging in 2014. Kim shares delicious low carb and keto recipes no one would believe are sugar-free. Her recipes are featured in newsstand publications and on sites all over the internet.

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