Quick Look: Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce
- Ready In: 10 minutes
- Makes: 2 cups
- Main Ingredients: Pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and a cornstarch slurry
- Dietary Info: Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free
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Why We Can’t Stop Making This
- Homemade teriyaki sauce is one of those recipes that instantly upgrades dinner, and this pineapple version might be our favorite yet.
- Tropical Vibes: The pineapple juice adds a bright tropical sweetness that balances perfectly with the savory soy sauce, garlic, and ginger flavors.
- Texture: It’s thick, glossy, and incredibly versatile — use it as a marinade for chicken, brush it onto grilled salmon, toss it with pineapple teriyaki meatballs but it could also be used as a marinade or sauce for baked teriyaki chicken or delicious teriyaki salmon.
- Better Than Store-Bought: Once you make it from scratch, it’s hard to go back to bottled teriyaki sauce.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Pineapple Juice: Pineapple juice adds natural sweetness, acidity, and that signature tropical flavor. For best results, use 100% pineapple juice instead of pineapple juice cocktail. If you prefer less sweetness, replace a portion of the juice with water.
- Soy Sauce: Use low-sodium soy sauce to better control the saltiness. Tamari is a great gluten-free option, while coconut aminos creates a slightly sweeter flavor.
- Brown Sugar & Honey: Brown sugar gives the sauce rich caramel-like sweetness while honey creates a smooth, glossy finish. Coconut sugar can be used as a substitute, if preferred.
- Slurry: A simple cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce and gives it that classic glossy teriyaki texture.
How To Make Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce
Step 1: Bring all ingredients to a simmer except for the cornstarch and water.
Step 2: Combine cold water and cornstarch to make slurry.
Water Temp Matters
In order to get thick and silky pineapple teriyaki sauce, be sure the water that you use for your slurry is cold! Use a meat thermometer to check that your water temp is at approx. 60°F. This is the magical temp that we noticed yielded the best textured sauce.
Step 3: Add slurry to simmering liquid.
Step 4: Whisk pineapple teriyaki sauce until it thickens.
Avoid Bitterness
Once the sauce thickens, continue stirring for 1-2 minutes and then remove it from the heat. Overheating the sauce can cause the sugars in the pineapple juice to develop a slightly bitter flavor.
Step 5: Pineapple teriyaki sauce is an amazing sauce for our teriyaki pineapple meatballs!
What We Learned Testing this Recipe
- ✨The Right Amount of Sweetness – During our first test, we used ½ C water and ½ C pineapple juice with a reduced amount of brown sugar to account for the sweetness in the juice. This yielded bitter tasting teriyaki sauce.
- 🍍 More Pineapple Flavor – During test two, we wanted to amp up the pineapple flavor so we replaced all the water with 1 C of pineapple juice and increased the brown sugar. This yielded perfectly sweet sauce with noticeable pineapple flavor.
How To Serve Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce
This teriyaki sauce with pineapple juice could be used on any recipe that calls for teriyaki sauce. We love pineapple teriyaki sauce for Blackstone chicken wings, our grilled teriyaki chicken, or on our seriously easy sheet pan teriyaki salmon. No matter what recipe you choose, it’ll give any dish a pop of citrusy and fresh pineapple flavor that’ll have everyone asking what the secret ingredient is.
Can You Use This as a Marinade?
Yes! This pineapple teriyaki sauce works great as a marinade for chicken, pork, shrimp, salmon, and tofu. Because pineapple juice naturally contains enzymes that help tenderize meat, we recommend marinating chicken or pork for no more than 12 hours, so the texture doesn’t become too soft.
Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce FAQs & Tips
Pineapple teriyaki sauce tastes sweet, savory, tangy, and slightly tropical. It has the rich umami flavor of classic teriyaki sauce with a brighter pineapple finish that pairs especially well with chicken, salmon, shrimp, and grilled recipes.
Place pineapple teriyaki sauce in a freezer safe container and store in the freezer for 3-6 months. I like laying it flat in a ziplock bag in the freezer so that I can break off the amount I need when I’m in a pinch.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup soy sauce, sub tamari for gluten-free
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ cup cold water, around 60℉
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine: In a saucepan, add 1 cup pineapple juice, ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons garlic, 2 teaspoons ginger paste, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon honey. Whisk to combine.
- Simmer: Bring ingredients in saucepan to a simmer – this should take approx. 7-8 minutes.
- Make Slurry: While the ingredients in the saucepan come to a simmer, create a slurry by combining ¼ cup cold water (approx. 60℉) and 2 tablespoons cornstarch into a small bowl or glass measuring up. Whisk together and ensure the cornstarch is fully combined.
- Thicken with Slurry: Once sauce is simmering (leave at same heat level), add the slurry to the saucepan; whisk to combine. Keep whisking while bringing the sauce back to a simmer and sauce will start to thicken- this shouldn't take very long, 60 seconds or less. If your water was a little warmer than 60℉, it will still work, just keep simmering and whisking and it will take a little longer to thicken.
- Let Cool: Remove when it reaches your desired thickness – remember it will thicken more as it cools.
- Taste + Adjust: Taste and adjust – add more brown sugar or honey for sweetness and add ½ teaspoon rice vinegar for brightness/acidity.
- Serve or Save: Use immediately or refrigerate for later use – we love using it on our teriyaki pineapple meatballs!
Notes
- Cold Water: for best results make sure the water for the slurry is COLD (60 degrees F) – it will still work if is slightly warmer, you will just need to simmer it longer while whisking.
- Consistency: once the slurry is added, it will thicken quickly. When it does thicken (about 2 minutes), pull from the burner to prevent the flavor from turning bitter or burning.
- Gluten-Free: use Tamari or coconut aminos to make this gluten-free.
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: feel free to reduce the sodium by using a low-sodium soy sauce.
- Storage: store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- How to Freeze Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce: let sauce cool completely and then transfer to freezer-safe, airtight container. Label and freeze for 3-6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Serving: we love using this with our Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs!
Bridget says
Love this sauce with a punch of citrus! Delish!