Sous Vide Teriyaki Chicken

This Sous Vide Teriyaki Chicken is easy to make with a simple homemade teriyaki sauce and chicken thighs. The sauce is sweet, tangy and sticky and the sous vide chicken is perfectly tender and juicy!

You guys know we love to cook chicken using the sous vide method! From this sous vide chicken breast to a sous vide whole chicken, the controlled temperature of the water bath helps chicken stay moist and juicy.

And, since we’re slightly addicted to teriyaki chicken, I thought it was about time I tried making it sous vide style!

This recipe is inspired by my slow cooker teriyaki chicken thighs. They're just as simple to make and equally as tasty!

You’ll love this sous vide teriyaki chicken recipe because it comes together so easily. It’s perfect to make ahead for busy weeknights and it’s delicious paired with coconut jasmine rice and some air fryer broccoli!

And for more in depth information, check out this complete sous vide chicken guide!

And guys, if you're a fan of this, you've got to try this juicy, flavor packed air fryer chicken karaage!

Why this recipe works

1. This teriyaki chicken is made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which tend to be more flavorful than chicken breasts.
2. The sous vide is a foolproof way to cook chicken since the slow cooking method breaks down connective tissues and creates juicy results.
3. The homemade teriyaki sauce is better than store-bought and it’s super easy to make with ingredients you already have in your pantry.
4. The chicken thighs are marinated and cooked with the teriyaki sauce ingredients, so the chicken is infused with a sweet and tangy flavor.

What is teriyaki sauce?

Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and tangy sauce with a soy sauce base and packed with umami flavor. The texture is thick and sticky, and it goes well with chicken, pork, salmon and even lamb (like these teriyaki marinated grilled lamb chops)!

Authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce is usually made with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sake. The sauce recipe I’m using is a twist on a traditional teriyaki sauce since we’re leaving out the mirin and sake and adding garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

Ingredients

For the full list of ingredients and quantities, please see the recipe card below.

You’ll need 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. You can use bone-in and skin-on if you prefer, but I would remove the skin before marinating and cooking. You may also need to adjust the cooking time as bone-in takes longer to cook.

The brown sugar is the sweetener for the teriyaki sauce. I don’t recommend substituting granulated sugar as it won’t produce the same flavor.

Sesame oil is an oil made from sesame seeds and it has a deep, nutty flavor. While we’re only using a small amount in the sauce, a little goes a long way. Since it has a unique flavor, please don’t substitute it with another type of oil.

To thicken the teriyaki sauce, you’ll need a cornstarch slurry, which is just 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water. It’s gradually stirred into the sauce until it thickens.

Step by step instructions

Combine the chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, ginger and onion powder in a bowl and mix together.

Place the chicken thighs with the sauce in a vacuum seal bag and seal. Let marinate overnight in the fridge.

Heat a sous vide water bath to 155F degrees.

Place the bag in the water bath and cook for 2 hours.

Remove and pour the sauce into a saucepan, setting the thighs aside.

Bring to a simmer and slowly whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Simmer 1-2 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened.

Serve chicken drizzled with sauce over steamed rice and garnished with green onions.

**Leftovers are amazing used in this chicken congee! 

Expert tips

1. To ensure the chicken thighs cook evenly, make sure they are sealed in the bag in a single layer.
2. You’ll also want to make sure the marinade evenly coats all of the chicken thighs.
3. You’ll want to make sure the bag doesn’t float in the water bath. If it does, you can just open it, let the excess air out and reseal it. 
4. To prevent floating you can also use a sous vide sinker weight to weigh it down.
5. If you want a thicker teriyaki sauce, let it simmer longer or use a little more cornstarch slurry. If it’s too thick for you, stir in a little water or broth.
6. I prefer to serve the chicken thighs whole, but you can cut them into bite size pieces before combining them with the sauce.

Common questions

Serving options

Here are some of our favorite side dishes for teriyaki chicken: 

• Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
• Instant Pot Basmati Rice
• Baby Bok Choy
• Sautéed Broccolini
• Air Fryer Carrots
• Sous Vide Broccoli

More sous vide chicken recipes

If you love this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below and let us know your favorite thing about it. We'd also love to connect on Instagram! Follow us at @went_here_8_this for awesome recipes and all sorts of fun food stuff 🙂

Recipe

Sous Vide Teriyaki Chicken

Sous Vide Teriyaki Chicken is easy to make with juicy sous vide chicken thighs and a homemade teriyaki sauce that's sweet, tangy and sticky.

5 from 2 votes

Print Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Japanese

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Marinating Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 10 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 274kcal

Author: Danielle Wolter

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar
• ▢ ½ cup soy sauce
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ ¼ cup chicken stock
• ▢ cornstarch slurry 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
• ▢ ¼ cup chopped green onions for serving

Instructions

• Combine the chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, ginger and onion powder in a bowl and mix together.
• Place the chicken thighs with the sauce in a vacuum seal bag and seal. Let marinate overnight in the fridge.
• Heat a sous vide water bath to 155F degrees.
• Place the bag in the water bath and cook for 2 hours.
• Remove and pour the sauce into a saucepan, setting the thighs aside.
• Bring to a simmer and slowly whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Simmer 1-2 minutes, until sauce is slightly thickened.
• Serve chicken drizzled with sauce over steamed rice and garnished with green onions.

Expert Tips:

1. To ensure the chicken thighs cook evenly, make sure they are sealed in the bag in a single layer.
2. You’ll also want to make sure the marinade evenly coats all of the chicken thighs.
3. To keep bacteria out of the sealed bag, make sure the bag has the air properly removed. 
4. You’ll want to make sure the bag doesn’t float in the water bath. If it does, you can just open it, let the excess air out and reseal it. 
5. To prevent floating you can also use a sous vide sinker weight to weigh it down.
6. If you want a thicker teriyaki sauce, let it simmer longer or use a little more cornstarch slurry. If it’s too thick for you, stir in a little water or broth.
7. I prefer to serve the chicken thighs whole, but you can cut them into bite size pieces before combining them with the sauce.
8. If you only have bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs, you’ll want to remove the skin before marinating and cooking. You'll also need to increase the cooking time.

Nutrition

Serving: 6ounces | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 1735mg | Potassium: 416mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg

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