Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken
I love this Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken and I use Golden Monkfruit Sweetener to make it sugar-free and low-carb without sacrificing great flavor.
PIN Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken to try it later!
When my friend Bonnie told me she made Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken from the blog for her family and they loved it I first thought “I’m glad they liked it,” followed by “That recipe really needs new photos!”
So over the weekend I made this Teriyaki Chicken recipe and took a trip down memory lane, remembering a friend who moved to Hawaii and introduced me to some interesting foods when she came back to Utah. This simple Teriyaki Chicken recipe came from her, and it’s been so good that I’ve never imagined any other way of making this dish.
My cooking and recipe-writing skills have improved since I first posted this, so I made a few small changes to the original recipe. Originally I would use a very small amount of brown sugar combined with sweetener in a recipe like this. Now that I’ve discovered Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) I’d use that and skip the brown sugar.
Second, when I made Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken this time I definitely thought it was done after 45 minutes cooking time, so I made that change in the recipe. And I’d use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link) and even take it out sooner than that if the chicken had reached 165F/75C. I also improved the directions a bit, hope you enjoy!
What Ingredients do you need?
- skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- soy sauce or Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link)
- water
- Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), or sweetener of your choice
- Minced Ginger (affiliate link) or fresh grated ginger root
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link) or fresh garlic, finely diced
Want to make Teriyaki Chicken in the Instant Pot?
Check out my Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken if you like these flavors and want to try the Instant Pot version!
More Tasty Baked Chicken Dinners:
Check out my huge collection of Low-Carb and Keto Baked Chicken Dinners if you want more delicious ideas for cooking chicken!
How to Make Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe.)
- Put the soy sauce, water, Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), ginger puree, and garlic puree in a small pan and simmer over low heat about 15 minutes, or until reduced by 1/3 to 1/2.
- Trim all the visible fat from chicken breasts or thighs, then make small slits down the length of each piece.
- Use the smallest casserole dish you can and still fit the chicken in a single layer. Spray dish with non-stick spray, then lay chicken pieces in a single layer. Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the chicken.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil, and bake about 20 minutes, or until chicken is starting to feel slightly firm to the touch.
- Remove foil and turn chicken pieces over. (Don’t worry if they look a bit flat on the side that was down, because they’ll spring back when they cook a little more.)
- Use a pastry brush to brush sauce all over the top side of the chicken.
- Put back in the oven and bake 20-25 minutes more, brushing with sauce about every 5 minutes.
- If you have an Instant-Read Meat Thermometer, I’d take chicken out as soon as it reaches 165F/75C,)
- Here’s how the chicken looked when it was finished, completely cooked and well-glazed with the sauce. Serve hot.
- If you have extra sauce you can heat it and serve over the chicken.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
This Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken would be great with something like Roasted Broccoli with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds for a phase one or low-carb meal.
More Chicken Dinners to Enjoy:
Chicken Stuffed with Green Chiles and Cheese
Chicken Kabobs with Asian Marinade
Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken
Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken is a great option for a family-friendly dinner and no one will ever guess that this recipe is low in carbs!
Ingredients
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (see notes)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (Use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce if needed, see note.)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup Golden Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice (see notes)
- 1 T minced ginger or fresh grated ginger root
- 1 T minced garlic or fresh garlic, finely diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
- Put soy sauce, water, sweetener, ginger puree, and garlic puree in small saucepan and simmer about 15 minutes, until reduced by about 1/3 to 1/2.
- Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken pieces, then make a row of shallow cuts in the top side of each piece.
- Choose the smallest size casserole dish that will fit all chicken in a single layer, then put chicken in dish, top side down.
- Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the chicken, cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes, or until chicken is starting to feel firm to the touch.
- After 20 minutes, remove foil and turn chicken pieces over. (Don't worry if the top side looks flat from being pressed in the pan; it will plump up when it cooks more.)
- Use a pastry brush to brush sauce all over the top side of the chicken.
- Continue to cook about 20-25 minutes more, basting with sauce every 5 minutes.
- I'd use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link) and even take it out sooner than that if the chicken had reached 165F/75C.
- Serve hot. If you want to serve the extra sauce over rice,I'd put it back in the saucepan and simmer for a few minutes to reduce.
Notes
If you prefer chicken thighs, I'd use 8 skinless, bone in chicken thighs, well trimmed). To make this gluten-free, be sure to use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link).
I like Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for the sweetener, and now that I've discovered that I'd use all sweetener instead of the small amount of brown sugar I used to use.
This recipe was adapted from one I got years ago from a friend who had lived in Hawaii.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 226Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 1842mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 40g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you’re making Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken for the original South Beach Diet, chicken breasts are definitely recommended over thighs for South Beach. With the use of Golden Monkfruit Sweetener, this recipe would be suitable for low-carb diets.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Chicken Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest or on Facebook to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
46 Comments on “Sugar-Free Teriyaki Chicken”
Kalyn, this recipe is a great example of how easily a sauce can be made from scratch, rather than purchased in a bottle. Not only does it sound (and look – always love your photos) tasty, but it is so much healthier than what can be found at the store.
Delphine, thank you. Glad you're enjoying the blog.
Paula, I don't even remember if making those slits in the chicken breasts was my idea or if I saw it somewhere, but I've been doing it that way for years!
Nuts about food, I promise you'll like this better than any bottled Teriyaki sauce!
Never thought of making my own teriyake marinade at home. Never thought it would be so easy. And maybe I will accompany it with the roasted broccoli and garlic!
I like the slits in the chicken. Seems like that would help the meat absorb more flavor and it looks cool too.
a yummy and tasty recipe, I love it
you have a beautiful space here and lovely pictures too
Delphine
Bonnie, you are too kind, but I'm definitely happier with the new photos! Thanks for the nudge to get that done.
Your photos of the finished product looked a lot better than mine did, so I'm not sure you need new photos, but mine tasted great nevertheless!
Glad you liked it. (And oh boy do I ever want to take new photos for this recipe!)
I rarely bake chicken (I prefer to grill) but this was a really quick/easy recipe. I've never done the slits in the breasts before when baking (which seems obvious thing to do since I do that before marinading). It was very flavorful.
Ah, pity about that Kalyn. Well, my offer still holds if you can’t find the lotus seeds. Kai lan is quite similar to kohlrabi leaves. When I was in Germany and did not know where the Asian markets were yet, I used to substitute with kohlrabi leaves.
I’ve never cooked with ginger but have enjoyed it in dishes others have made. Thanks for the tip. Say, I’m thinking about remodeling my kitchen so it’s more functional. Have any of you guys done this from a cook’s point of view? The home centers and kitchen showrooms are all about show, which is fine, but I need the kitchen to work, too. I know that storage is a big deal, as it the layout for spices, pots and pans, etc. Are the roll out drawers worth the extra money? Let me know your thoughts!
Love ginger. So good for you and so flavoursome. Teriyaki has a great flavour too. I always go for the bottled one though. Sorry, been missing a few herb weekend. Must get myself together. I don’t know why, since i’ve been using herbs recently aswell.
It sounds like everyone loves ginger! It’s such an interesting flavor. Stephanie, I have to confess, I got carried away shopping at another store, so I only had time to go to the small Asian market closest to my house. They didn’t have lotus seeds, and I wonder if they had Kai Lan but they didn’t recognize the name. The people who run this store seem to me to be Japanese, so maybe it’s called something else there. Anyway, I still have them on my ongoing list of food items to look for, so when I make it to the other market (far from my house) I will look there.
Kalyn, ginger is one of my favorite things to cook with and eat. It adds so much flavor to any dish – pickled ginger on a chicken sandwich, grated ginger in stir fries and salad dressings, ground ginger sprinkled on a roasting chicken…and my very favorite – dark chocolate coated crystalized ginger…yum.
Thanks for sharing and making me think about using some this week.
Ginger is one of my fav herbs .. your post is great,Kalyn.
I adore ginger. I typically make a ginger tea at night as it is good for getting rid of “wind” and helps detox the body. You just cut thick slices of ginger and boil it with your tea. BTW, did you manage to find the lotus seeds and kai lan?
Sorry I could not participate in the Herb Blogging this week as I’ve had no time to cook but I will definitely try to post something for next week.
I will immediately put my fresh ginger in the freezer! Thanks Kalyn for the tip!
i am a fan of ginger too. try stir frying chredded ginger with some pork.
Me too Paz! When I have sushi I love to eat the pickled ginger.
I like ginger alot!
Paz