They say that after following a keto diet for long enough, you just don’t crave sweet sauces. But we think anyone who says that has probably never had an amazing keto teriyaki sauce.
While it’s true that your tastebuds adjust to being less accustomed to sauces that are on the sweet side, there’s something unique about a good teriyaki sauce that makes this one flavor no self-respecting foodie can forget… and you don’t have to thanks to our irresistible sugar-free teriyaki sauce.
The best thing about this low-carb teriyaki sauce recipe is you don’t need a lot of hard-to-find, specialty ingredients. You can source most of them from your local grocery store, or maybe even your very own pantry.
Who knows – maybe you’ll be enjoying delicious Keto Teriyaki Sauce with dinner tonight!
Can You Eat Teriyaki on Keto?
Anyone who follows a keto diet knows sauces are often a major source of hidden sugar. Unfortunately, teriyaki sauce is no exception.
If you’ve read our low-carb guide to Panda Express, you might have seen that teriyaki chicken can have quite a few carbs. The same goes for bottled sauces, too. That’s because teriyaki sauce often contains sugar, such as brown sugar, honey or even pineapple juice.
So can you eat teriyaki sauce on keto? Actually, yes. As we mentioned in our Panda Express guide, you may be able to fit something like teriyaki chicken into your net carbs for the day. You could also buy one of the low-carb teriyaki sauces available in-store or online – see our suggestions below.
But if you ask us, the best solution is to make your own homemade teriyaki sauce – from our recipe, of course!
Store-Bought Keto Teriyaki Sauces
There are more and more low-carb, keto-friendly foods available in stores nowadays, so we managed to hunt down a few options for a premade keto teriyaki sauce. These are ideal for when you find yourself too short on time or ingredients to make your own.
These include:
- Primal Kitchen No Soy Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade
- G Hughes Sugar-Free Teriyaki Marinade
- Guy Gone Keto Keto Sauce
As with everything, make sure to double-check the nutrition label first to see how many servings are in a bottle. One serving may be low in net carbs, but if you’re extra-generous with your sauce you may just add a few too many carbs to your dish!
The Best Sugar-Free Teriyaki Sauce
We love making delicious keto-friendly, Asian-inspired dishes, but this Keto Teriyaki Sauce is seriously special. It’s thick, sticky and sweet, just as an authentic teriyaki sauce should be. And despite being super syrup-like, this sauce contains absolutely no added sugar!
So how’d we do it? With a little keto magic, of course.
Our Superstar Keto Teriyaki Sauce Ingredients
Traditional teriyaki sauce is made sweet and thick thanks to the combination of soy sauce and sugar, which, when reduced, create that signature consistency.
However, this recipe obviously doesn’t use sugar – so we had to do a little improvising. The ingredients we swapped in can actually be used in many keto sauces, and we definitely encourage you to experiment and see what you can create!
Xantham Gum
Ever wondered how to thicken a sauce without flour? Xantham gum. Just a pinch of this provides instant thickening power, without the usual carbs from flour. That’s exactly what you want for something like this thick, sticky Keto Teriyaki Sauce.
We’ve even used xantham gum to thicken soup in the past! Check out this Cheddar Bacon Soup recipe.
Keto Sweetener
You definitely don’t need sugar to add a little sweetness to your sauce. There are so many keto sweeteners you can find these days, from granulated blends to natural monk fruit.
Which sweetener to use? For this Keto Teriyaki Sauce recipe, we recommend a granulated sweetener that can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio for sugar. This will help to create a thick sauce.
We recommend Lakanto for our low-carb teriyaki sauce, which uses erythritol or an erythritol/monk fruit blend. Allulose could also be used, but it may harden when cooled.
Soy Sauce
Yes, you can have soy sauce on a keto diet! Soybeans happen to be quite low-carb, and we use soy sauces in many of our keto recipes (like this Easy Sweet and Sour Pork).
If you don’t want to use soy sauce, you could use the following keto substitutions:
- Tamari – a gluten-free soy sauce that tastes practically identical.
- Coconut Aminos – a paleo, soy-free option that’s a little higher in carbs.
Apple Cider Vinegar
This isn’t an ingredient traditionally used in teriyaki, but it gives this sugar-free teriyaki sauce a zesty kick.
Adding acids such as vinegars is actually a great way to elevate a sauce. Try it out with this Keto Teriyaki Sauce and discover the difference it makes.
Ginger and Garlic
These two fresh ingredients add a fragrant kick which, combined with the soy sauce, gives this Keto Teriyaki Sauce its signature flavor profile.
Did you know ginger and garlic have amazing health benefits? Garlic has been shown to enhance immune function, while ginger has an anti-inflammatory response in the body that can reduce muscle pain after physical activity. You might just benefit from adding this Keto Teriyaki Sauce to your next post-workout meal!
We recommend using fresh ginger and garlic over powdered, as these taste much better and will add an interesting texture to the sauce. However, the powdered form will still work for this recipe.
Our best tip: buy them pre-minced! You can find jars of minced ginger and garlic in most grocery stores.
Serving Suggestions
This Keto Teriyaki Sauce recipe is amazing on so many different dishes. You’d be surprised at how many different keto recipes you can find for one sauce.
Dipping Sauce
You could use this Keto Teriyaki Sauce recipe as an amazing dipping sauce, which goes great with our Potstickers – perfect for dinner parties! We think these would go great as an entrée before serving our Keto Asian Noodle Bowls.
Marinating
And it’s no secret that teriyaki shines as a marinade. You could use this Keto Teriyaki Sauce to glaze some skewered meats, yakitori-style. Or even roast a whole teriyaki sauce-glazed chicken or Air Fryer Chicken Thighs, and serve alongside fresh Asian side vegetables like Chinese broccoli and eggplant.
Stir-Fries
If you ask us, nothing beats a great stir-fry. It’s one of the easiest dishes to put together, and you can pack it full of low-carb vegetables tossed in Keto Teriyaki Sauce
Check out our Keto Chicken Stir Fry recipe for inspiration, or get creative and whip up your own improvised stir-fry using whatever vegetables you’ve got hiding at the bottom of your crisper!
What About the Noodles?
Teriyaki sauce is delicious, but it’s usually served with a typically high-carb base: noodles. What’s a keto chef to do?
Fortunately, there are plenty of low-carb options that you can use in place of noodles. Our recommendations include:
- Keto noodles, or “zoodles” made from spiralized zucchini
- Konjac or shirataki noodles, also known as “miracle noodles”
- Kelp noodles
- Palmini noodles
There are keto options for rice, too. Check out these substitutes that are great with this Keto Teriyaki Sauce:
- Cauliflower rice
- Miracle rice
- Palmini rice
We recommend mixing two different kinds of keto “rice” to make a texture closer to the real deal.
Storing Your Teriyaki Sauce
Allow your Keto Teriyaki Sauce to cool before storing in a container, jar or bottle. Make sure to keep in the refrigerator.
Here’s a great meal prep tip: if you’re not going to use your entire batch of sugar-free teriyaki sauce in the near future, pour into silicone molds or an ice cube tray and freeze. When you’re ready to create your next teriyaki dish, simply take out however many sauce cubes you need and pop them straight into the pan!
Similar Keto Recipes
Looking for more recipe inspiration? You’ve come to the right place. Once you’ve tackled sugar-free teriyaki sauce, try your hand at some more low-carb dishes.
Check out some of our best Asian-inspired keto recipes:
- Easy Cashew Chicken in 15 Minutes – quick, easy and delicious!
- Korean Meatballs – a high-protein dish that’s full of flavor.
- Keto Egg Drop Soup – the perfect comforting recipe for chilly nights.
If you’re after another delicious keto sauce, give one of these recipes a try:
- Asian Wing Sauce – a tasty classic that’s finally been made keto-friendly!
- Low Carb Peanut Sauce – a Thai-inspired sauce perfect for dipping.
- Low-Carb BBQ Sauce – another traditionally high-sugar condiment that you can now enjoy on a low-carb diet.
Keto Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated approximately 1.5 tsp
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp Low Carb Sugar Substitute
- 1/4 tsp xanthan Gum
Instructions:
- Combine all ingredients except for xanthan gum in a sauce pan
- Cook on medium heat until mixture starts to bubble
- Once it starts to bubble, add xanthan gum and continue to whisk until it is thick enough to coat a spoon
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Written by
Matt Gaedke
Matt is a former college basketball player turned computer engineer who discovered his passion for health and nutrition after cutting sugar from his diet in 2016. That year he founded KetoConnect with Megha in order to share their ketogenic lifestyle through recipes, videos, and educational content. Matt is always seeking to grow and try new things, a passion he shares with his wife and two amazing sons.
