Skip The Takeout: This Easy Teriyaki Chicken Bowl Is Ready In 30 Minutes
Forget takeout! These teriyaki chicken rice bowls have juicy grilled chicken, fresh sautéed veggies and the stickiest homemade teriyaki sauce, all ready in about 30 minutes. It’s faster than takeout, uses simple ingredients, and makes an Easy weeknight dinner everyone can customize.
A Craving Solved
Yesterday I said to my husband, I want takeout-style teriyaki chicken, but I need an Easy dinner I can make at home. And voila, we made these awesome teriyaki rice bowls! The reality is, you want takeout but don’t have the time to pick up, budget to eat out or desire to eat fast food. So what do you do when you’re craving takeout?
This recipe aims to solve that problem, offering a quick and affordable alternative to ordering in. The first time I made teriyaki chicken at home I was so disappointed by the dry chicken with a watery sauce that was overly sweet and nothing like my favorite takeout. We had to test a lot of different recipes and styles (ditch the slow cooker this time) to come up with a 20-30 minute dinner idea that’s a cheap recipe on a busy weeknight.
Key To Success: The Sauce
Buying a low sodium sauce helps it not be too salty that you need to load it with brown sugar and still maintains the flavor. But there was still one problem: thin and watery sauce was not what I remembered from our local restaurant. I need a thick, glossy and sticky sauce. The perfect amount of cornstarch or ez gel solved that problem with just a few turns of the whisk and heat set to simmer!
Quick Look
- Time: 30 minutes
- Protein: Chicken thighs
- Sauce: Homemade teriyaki
- Veggies: Carrots, zucchini, squash + onion
- Best for: Quick dinners and meal prep
Why You’ll Love This Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl
- Ready in 30 minutes: Chicken, veggies, rice and homemade sauce without spending all night in the kitchen.
- Better than takeout: That sticky homemade teriyaki sauce makes the whole bowl.
- Kid-approved: This is one of the few dinners every single one of my kids devours.
- Easy to customize: Swap the vegetables, protein or rice and make it your own.
Ingredients You Will Need
Teriyaki Chicken
- Soy Sauce: The salty, savory base of our homemade teriyaki sauce.
- Brown Sugar + Honey: Add sweetness and help create that sticky, glossy glaze.
- Garlic: Adds plenty of savory flavor.
- Ground Ginger: Gives the sauce that classic warm teriyaki flavor.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the sauce so it clings to the chicken.
- Chicken Thighs: Our favorite because they stay incredibly juicy and flavorful. Chicken breasts work too!
For the Veggies
- Carrots: Add sweetness and a little crunch.
- Yellow Squash + Zucchini: Cook quickly and soak up that teriyaki sauce.
- Onion + Garlic: Build the savory flavor of the vegetables.
- Olive Oil: For sautéing everything until tender and golden.
For the Bowls
- Rice: Jasmine or short-grain rice are our favorites, but use whatever you have.
- Sesame Seeds + Green Onions: Optional, but so good for a little crunch and fresh flavor.