Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
On July 08, 2019 (Updated June 06, 2021)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This recipe for Teriyaki BBQ Sauce is the perfect, kid-friendly BBQ sauce to have on hand for family get-togethers and weekday dinners. Best slathered on chicken and completely amazing with kabobs, it’ll likely become your go-to BBQ sauce when you want something tangy, sweet, and all-around perfect.
Homemade Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
Who doesn’t love a good teriyaki BBQ sauce? My kids LOVE this sauce on just about everything, and it makes for a great dip for chicken nuggets and vegetables. I’ve never had much luck finding a good teriyaki BBQ sauce at the store. Most are pretty thin and liquidy and are better served as a marinade, and others just don’t have that perfect teriyaki flavor.
Enter my recipe for Homemade Teriyaki BBQ Sauce! It’s the perfect mix of tangy and sweet, and it’s good and thick to slather on meat and veggies. It gives you that savory teriyaki flavor with the added sweetness and acidity of a good BBQ sauce. I think it is the perfect Asian-meets-American BBQ flavor mash-up.
How to Make Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
Most of my BBQ sauce recipes follow a pretty basic process: boil, simmer, and cool. This sauce takes a couple extra steps, but believe me when I say it is worth the extra effort.
- Sautee the onion, garlic, and ginger. In a medium saucepan pan, heat sesame oil and add minced onion, garlic, and ginger. Sautee, stirring frequently for 5-7 minutes until soft and aromatic.
- Simmer the sauce. Add in the rest of ingredients for the sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken.
- Cool and blend. Remove saucepan from heat and allow to cool slightly. Transfer the sauce to a blender. Make sure the lid is tightly secured on the blender, then blend the sauce until smooth.
Sauce can be transferred to a squeeze bottle or lidded glass jar. This BBQ sauce can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Tips for the Best Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
Check out these 3 tips to make sure your teriyaki BBQ sauce comes out tasting better than ever:
- Cook the veggies down well. Satuee the onion, garlic, and ginger well. You don’t want crunchy chunks of onion and ginger in your sauce. Cooking them also makes the flavor really pop.
- Blend thoroughly. For that smooth BBQ sauce consistency, you need to puree the sauce for a bit to break down those vegetables and the pineapple. Blend well until you have a nice, smooth BBQ sauce perfect for pouring and dipping.
- Let it sit. While this sauce is tasty fresh out of the blender, it is even better when it can sit for 24 hours. This lets all of the flavors mellow together and get nice and happy.
More BBQ Sauce Recipes
Believe me when I say making your own, fresh BBQ sauce at home is a game-changer. Check out more of my homemade BBQ sauce recipes below:
Coffee BBQ Sauce
Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce
Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce
Teriyaki BBQ Sauce Recipe
Follow the recipe, and I’ll teach you the simple steps to making your own Teriyaki BBQ Sauce at home. Hey Grill Hey is dedicated to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. You can find more of my smoking and grilling recipes and videos on YouTube, Instagram, or our Facebook Page.
Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup onion minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon ginger fresh ground
- 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat sesame oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger to the oil and cook, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and aromatic.
- Add the remainder of the sauce ingredients to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a blender. Cover with a lid and blend until the sauce is smooth.
- Transfer to a lidded jar and refrigerate. Sauce tastes best after it has settled in the fridge for 24 hours (but is still great fresh). Will keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks after opening.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, this sounds delicious, but I’m confused about the (fresh ground) ginger. I should use fresh and grated, right? Not ground dry ginger? I’ve added 1 TB of ground dry and it mucked up the nice onions and garlic and stuck to the pan. I don’t think that’s right (now I’m worried it’s also too much for dry?) so I’ll have to try again when I have fresh ginger. Please advise.
Paired this sauce with a Hawaiian style smoked pork shoulder. Together they are awesome. This sauce will enhance anything off the smoker, grill or out of the oven!!
Can I use this as a marinade as well?
I served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years and traveled the Pacific Islands thoroughly, I love them all … I’m making this for my weekends Kālua Pig or whole BBQ pig on a manual rotisserie all night long … the meat will be earthy and smoky – Mmm Mmm Good … I’m really looking forward to using your recipe, as provided … sounds lip smacking delicious … Thanks for all your great videos, recipes and Rub/Sauces … You guys are great!
Great Sauce! Love the thickness and flavor. We will be using it later when we grill up some burgers. I just got done bottling it and I am waiting for it to cool before refrigerating. Awesome! Yumm 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it!
I’m reading thru the ingredients and confused when I get to the part of 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce. I’m making the sauce so why does it call for 1/2 cup of it in the ingredients.
This is a teriyaki BBQ sauce, so teriyaki sauce is still an ingredient.
Can’t wait to try this. Thanks!!