The Best Store-Bought Teriyaki Sauces Are Sweet, Tangy, and Ready for Any Dish (2024)

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Think of the Japanese products available at your local supermarket, and Kikkoman is bound to be top of mind. The storied company produces some of the best, most widely available options in the United States. And the brand’s Takumi Teriyaki is no different. The sauce is created using the traditional method—by brewing soy sauce with sweet rice wine, then adding aromatics like ginger, garlic, onions, and sesame for bold flavors and a touch of texture (read: not so thin it slips right off your food).

This teriyaki is wonderfully versatile, too. It’s a great marinade but is equally tasty as a glaze or as a dipping sauce for both proteins and veggies. It even tastes great on fish, like grilled or baked salmon, since it’s flavorful enough to stand up to the rich, fatty meat. Just note: This particular sauce contains full sesame seeds, which may not be ideal to some.

Size: 20.5 ounces | Sodium: 450 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy and wheat

A teriyaki sauce could be packed with all kinds of great flavor, but if it’s too runny to coat your food, you’re going to miss a lot of that goodness. This sweet teriyaki shines in the consistency department, because it’s nice and sticky. Whether you’re air-frying a batch of wings, grilling chicken, or broiling salmon, the sweet and tangy sauce is substantial enough to properly glaze your food. It makes a great dip, too.

We love that the all-purpose sauce comes in two sizes: a generous 17-ounce package, as well as an 86-ounce bottle (that's 5 pounds!) for big families who want to stock up on the good stuff. If there’s any downside, it’s that the ingredient list is lengthier than we like to see. It has a fair amount of artificial additives like high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, lactic, and modified corn starch, among others. It isn’t gluten-free, either, so keep that in mind if anyone in your home has dietary restrictions.

Size: 17 and 86 ounces | Sodium: 460 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains wheat and soy

Teriyaki sauce may be popular, but one thing it does get a bad rap for is its sodium content. If that’s a concern for you—and a reason you regularly avoid the condiment—reach for this version instead. Though it is on the sweeter side, Asian Fusion’s Low Sodium Teriyaki Sauce only contains 125 milligrams of sodium per servings. As a nice bonus, it also happens to be organic, gluten-free, non-GMO verified, and pareve.

It cooks well, too. The sauce has a nice, smooth consistency that thickens with heat. When baked, grilled, or sauteed, you’ll get a sauce that fully coats food and is sticky enough to crisp under a broiler. And if that sweetness is a hindrance for you, you can always sprinkle in some chili flakes and/or ginger to balance things out.

Size: 15 ounces | Sodium: 125 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: One of the best things about teriyaki sauce is just how versatile it is. Especially this formula by Yamasa Artisanal. Use it to marinate protein like chicken or beef, add it to a veggie stir fry, or simply fill a little ramekin and use it as an indulgent and flavorful finishing sauce/garnish or even a dipping sauce.

We love that this teriyaki sauce has a short ingredient list. Brewed in traditional methods with just soy sauce, water, sugars, alcohol, rice vinegar, lactic acid, and spice extracts, the sauce is simple but flavorful. It’s also non-GMO, preservative-free, and doesn’t contain a drop of MSG. The one real drawback? This teriyaki sauce is a little higher in sodium than some others, especially our low-sodium pick.

Size: 10 ounces | Sodium: 460 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy and wheat

Whole Foods fans will be glad to see the store’s 365 line on this list. Like other offerings from the store brand, their teriyaki sauce is organic. It’s also lower in sodium than many of our other picks. Still, it’s one of the more affordable options, adding to the overall value of the product.

If there’s anything to complain about, it’s the consistency. This teriyaki is one of the thinner options we considered. But that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. Because of the runny style, this sauce makes a great soy sauce alternative. For tons of umami flavor, add it to a bowl of plain rice or drizzle it over veggies. If you want a glaze for your food, you can always thicken it up with a touch of cornstarch, too.

Size: 10 ounces | Sodium: 290 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy and wheat

Kentuckyaki is a mouthful to say, but if you love a good fusion, it’s exactly what you want in your mouth. Sure, it isn’t exactly teriyaki, but it’s an excellent example of a marriage of two cuisines and what kind of magic that can make. This all-natural sauce is sweetened with Kentucky-grown sorghum syrup and has a kick of ginger and garlic for big, bold flavor that pairs perfectly with a grilled steak.

Though it’s on the thin side—you can’t count on it to glaze food in its natural state—it makes a very worthy marinade that leaves lingering flavor. And if you do want to use it as more of a sauce for your food, it does thicken a bit when cooked. Plus, you can always use an old trick: adding a slurry of flour and water or a little bit of cornstarch.

Size: 12.7 ounces | Sodium: 105 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy and wheat

"Japanese-style teriyaki sauces will typically be a simpler version made with soy and mirin," says Harrison Smith, the General manager at the Uni restaurant in Boston. And if a classic staple teriyaki sauce is exactly what you’re looking for, you won’t be disappointed with the widely-available Annie Chun’s Japanese Style option.

Whether you use it as a sauce or a marinade, this versatile teriyaki is hard to beat. Use it for marinating protein, dipping veggies, stir-frying noodles, and more. No matter how you’re using it, this teriyaki sauce will provide that same bold teriyaki flavor you know and love from your favorite Japanese restaurant. We love that, despite its great flavor, this product is also non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-free, plus doesn’t contain any MSG, preservatives, cholesterol, or saturated fat.

Size: 10.2 ounces| Sodium Content: 370 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy

It may surprise you, but most traditional soy sauces are not gluten-free, and since that’s one of the star ingredients in teriyaki sauce, it’s not generally gluten-free either. So if that’s a concern for you, look for a product like this one by Soy Vay, which is made with gluten-free tamari (a Japanese style of soy sauce).

Just note that the flavor doesn’t exactly mirror your average teriyaki sauce. Since the gluten-free tamari is made with just soybeans, it has a more pronounced flavor. Expect it to have a richer color and a stronger flavor. Unfortunately, it also has a fair amount of sodium. If you reduce the sauce too much during cooking, you may find it much too bold and salty. On the upside, the full-bodied sauce makes an excellent dipper and a worthy marinade for meat and fish.

Size: 15.4 ounces | Sodium: 570 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy, wheat, and sesame seeds

G Hughes Sugar Free Original Teriyaki Marinade doesn’t contain any of the sneaky ingredients other store-bought sauces and condiments often have lurking in ingredient lists. Sure, these additives can help give the product a longer shelf life and add color and sweetness, but some—take honey for example—can also render the item unsuitable for vegans, vegetarians, or anyone who maintains a gluten-free diet. For those individuals, this teriyaki sauce is as clean as it gets.

The sauce is sweetened with pineapple juice rather than something like honey. And although it does contain allergens like soy and sesame, it is gluten-free. It packs a punch, thanks to plenty of garlic, bolder tamari soy sauce, and vinegar. Just make sure to give the bottle a good shake before using it, as the mixture tends to separate when it sits.

Size: 13 ounces | Sodium: 250 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains soy and sesame

Teriyaki sauce is a critical pantry staple—something everyone should have on hand, whether you’re cooking fish, meat, tofu, or vegetables—it complements everything. And it’s not just a sauce for cooking or finishing, it can also be used as a marinade, permeating your ingredients of choice with loads of flavor prior to cooking. But for those who cannot consume soy, it can be tricky to find a safe, delicious teriyaki sauce.

That’s where Noble Made comes in, with its Whole 30-approved and paleo-friendly sauce. It’s not only soy-free, it’s also gluten-free and sweetened only with natural sweeteners like pineapple and apple juice. Plus there's a little tang from lemon and lime juice.

Size: 10.25 ounces | Sodium: 270 milligrams per serving | Allergens: Contains coconut and sesame

Final Verdict

For an all-purpose teriyaki sauce, we recommend the Kikkoman Original Takumi Teriyaki Sauce. It’s packed with flavor and versatile enough for a wide range of dishes. But for those who want a truly traditional Japanese teriyaki sauce, Annie Chun's Japanese Style Teriyaki Sauce is a widely-available option that’s flavorful, but is non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-free.

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