Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Name: Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs. chicken thighs (or breasts) (cut into 1" cubes); 2 tbsp cornstarch; 1 cup water; 1/3 cup brown sugar; 1/3 cup soy sauce (*low sodium recommended ); 2 cloves garlic (minced ); 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger (minced ); 1 tbsp honey; 1/2 tsp sesame oil; 8 skewers; sesame seed; chopped green onion

Published: Jul 11, 2019 · Modified: Mar 30, 2023 by Amanda Cooks & Styles · This post may contain affiliate links · 110 Comments

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers – The most delicious marinated teriyaki chicken grilled to perfection and finished with a delicious teriyaki sauce. Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and fresh chopped green onions over steamed rice.

JUMP TO RECIPE

This recipe calls for boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts if that's all you have) marinated a teriyaki sauce in the fridge for a few hours. After they are done marinating in those delicious teriyaki flavors, they are cooked on the grill for a super tasty barbecued Asian meal.

Serve these super easy teriyaki grilled chicken skewers with steamed rice, veggies and more. We served ours with steamed white rice and a fresh cucumber salad – it was spectacular! I will link some of my favorite side dishes to serve with this recipe for you below.

Marinating the chicken in teriyaki sauce locks the flavors of the teriyaki into the chicken. Cooking them on the grill gives them the most delicious grilled flavors from the barbecue!

Ingredients you need to make homemade Teriyaki Chicken Skewers:

Chicken Thighs/Breasts - Boneless, skinless. I recommend using chicken thighs in this recipe, but you can also use chicken breasts.

Water - This goes into making your teriyaki sauce.

Soy Sauce - I highly recommend using Kikkoman low sodium soy sauce. I've tried other brands and this one tastes the best to me (not sponsored).

Cornstarch - This helps to give you a nice glazed teriyaki sauce.

Garlic Cloves - Fresh garlic is best in this recipe.

Ginger - I used fresh ginger, but you can use ground. Just use half the amount.

Brown Sugar - Light or dark brown sugar both work great.

Honey

Sesame Oil - A good quality pure sesame oil is best.

Rice Vinegar - If you don't have rice vinegar you can also use white wine vinegar as a substitution.

Skewers - Soaking your skewers in water will help to prevent burning while grilling!

Green Onion (optional topping)

Sesame Seed (optional topping)

Tools to have on hand for this recipe:

small saucepan - To make the teriyaki glaze.
cooking spoon - For stirring your glaze while it cooks.
measuring spoons + cups - To properly measure all of your ingredients.
mincer - To mince the garlic. You can also just finely chop the garlic.
skewers - To skewer the teriyaki chicken.
grill/barbecue - For grilling the chicken skewers.

How to make the best Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Skewers:

First make the sauce: Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. In a medium saucepan, add remaining ingredients along with the cornstarch/water mixture. Stirring frequently, bring sauce to a simmer. Cook until sauce lightly thickens. Sauce will be dark brown. Once sauce has thickened up, remove from heat and let cool completely. (place in fridge to speed up the process)

Once the sauce is completely cooled, place cubed chicken in a large ziplock bag. Pour half of the sauce over the chicken and gently shake to coat chicken. Let chicken marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Place remaining sauce aside for later.

When the chicken is done marinating, place your chicken on skewers and heat the grill to medium heat.

Once the grill is hot, place skewers on lightly oiled grill. Turn the skewers every 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (internal temp 165 degrees), about 20-30 minutes. During the last few turns baste with remaining teriyaki sauce.

Remove skewers from grill and serve with chopped green onion and a sprinkle of sesame seeds(optional)

Here are some of my favorite BBQ Side Dishes to serve with these skewers!

Fried Rice or steamed white/brown rice – Super simple take out style homemade fried rice with carrots and peas.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad – Creamy and delicious Hawaiian macaroni salad is an excellent side dish to serve with grilled huli huli chicken, pork and more!

Creamy Classic Coleslaw– My classic coleslaw recipe is made with a delicious slightly sweet and creamy homemade coleslaw dressing.

BBQ Loaded Hasselback Potatoes – Slathered in garlic butter and topped with melted cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, sour cream and green onion, these are mouthwatering good.

Classic American Potato Salad – The perfect side dish for your upcoming summer BBQ’s! Made with hard boiled eggs, this classic potato salad is creamy and delicious and extremely easy to make!

Roasted Rosemary Garlic Potatoes – Fresh rosemary and garlic baked red potatoes with a light golden crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

If you enjoyed this recipe, here are a few more recipes I think you'll love:

BBQ Pork Skewers with Filipino BBQ Marinade – Delicious grilled pork skewers in a homemade sticky, sweet, and spicy Filipino style BBQ marinade.

My Favorite BBQ Burger with Potato Chips – This mouthwatering burger starts with a buttery toasted bun topped with barbecue sauce, a grilled burger patty topped with melty cheddar cheese, and finally finished with crispy potato chips! So simple, yet so delicious.

Grilled Spicy BBQ Chicken Thighs – Juicy grilled chicken thighs basted in a spicy homemade barbecue sauce.

BBQ Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs – Seasoned chicken thighs wrapped in thick cut bacon, basted in a sweet sauce and then grilled to crisp perfection.