Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

This Grilled Teriyaki Chicken is the perfect summer staple. Made with an easy homemade teriyaki sauce, this chicken dinner is fast, simple and full of flavor.

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Grilled teriyaki chicken, pineapple, and baby bok choy on a serving platter with a fork.

This chicken teriyaki recipe comes with a homemade teriyaki marinade with a perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors from coconut aminos, sesame oil and honey. Be sure to marinate for at least two hours, but overnight is best, if you can plan ahead.

Nothing says summer like outdoor grilling. It’s quick, easy and you can make a ton of chicken at once. If you’re new to grilling, the main thing to remember is to clean your grill grates prior to grilling and spray with a little cooking oil or olive oil to prevent sticking. Keep an eye on your chicken and you can’t go wrong.

I like to turn this easy weeknight dinner into a complete meal by adding grilled bok choy and pineapple but feel free to go with corn on the cob, grilled peaches, etc. Anything goes, baby!

Use this recipe for meal prep and add your extra teriyaki chicken to wraps, a green salad or teriyaki chicken bowls.

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Why you’ll love this recipe

26 grams of protein.
Only a handful of ingredients.

Grilled teriyaki chicken, pineapple, and baby bok choy on a serving platter.

Ingredients and Substitutes:

These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See recipe card below for full ingredients list and instructions for grilled teriyaki chicken.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: This marinade goes great with skinless chicken thighs, chicken tenders, chicken cutlets, and chicken wings.
Coconut Aminos: I like coconut aminos because it’s less salty than soy sauce and gluten free. You can use soy sauce or tamari.
Toasted Sesame Oil: or regular sesame oil.
Honey: pure maple syrup, brown sugar or lite maple syrup will also work.
Garlic Powder: if using fresh garlic, use 1-2 garlic cloves, minced.
Ground Ginger: if using fresh ginger, use 1-2 tsp of ginger, minced.
Bok Choy: or green beans, corn on the cob or grilled mushrooms.
Fresh Pineapple: I prefer to buy a whole pineapple and cut it into rings. This is the easiest way to bbq the pineapple.

Variations

Try this with flank steak if you prefer steak over chicken.
Jazz up your sauce recipe by adding black pepper, white pepper or red onion.

Dietary Modifications

This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free as written.

How to make this easy grilled teriyaki chicken:

Step 1: prep and marinate the chicken

First, butterfly the chicken breast by cutting horizontally from one side of the chicken almost to the other side while leaving it connected at the edge, like a book.

Add the coconut aminos, sesame oil, honey, garlic powder and ginger to a ziplock or sealable bag. Place the chicken into the marinade ingredients, remove any air and seal bag tightly. Place in the fridge lying down so that the chicken lays in the teriyaki chicken marinade and marinate for 2 hours, overnight is best and preferred.

Step 2: prep the BBQ

Remove the chicken from the marinade and heat the barbeque to high heat. Scrape off any excess char on the grill grates and lower the heat to medium high. Discard any extra marinade. While the grill heats, slice the bok choy horizontally into two halves (image 1), spay with cooking spray and season with salt.

Step 3: grill chicken, bok choy, and pineapple

Place the chicken, bok choy and pineapples on the grill (image 2). Grill the bok choy and pineapples for 3 minutes, flip and grill for another 2-3 minutes until charred but not burned (image 3).

Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit with a meat thermometer (image 4). The time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken.

Collage of four images depicting the grilling process: 1) Fresh bok choy and pineapple slices on a counter. 2) Bok choy, pineapple, and grilled teriyaki chicken on a grill. 3) Grilled bok choy and pineapple. 4) Grilled teriyaki chicken with perfect grill marks.

Step 4: serve!

Finally, remove from the grill, sprinkle the chicken with toasted sesame seeds and serve with the grilled bok choy, pineapple and rice if desired.

Expert Tip!

Double the teriyaki sauce ingredients and set half aside. Use reserved teriyaki sauce to add to grilled chicken prior to serving.

Plate of grilled teriyaki chicken, pineapple, and baby bok choy.

Recipe FAQs

How to serve this teriyaki chicken?

Serve your grilled teriyaki chicken with the pineapple and bok choy and pair it with Instant Pot Fried Rice, Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, roasted vegetables or add to a salad and enjoy!

What are alternate cooking options if I don’t have a bbq?

Air fry: slice the chicken into strips, marinate and air fry at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Pan fry: slice into strips, marinate and cook over the stove until cooked through or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Bake: Bake chicken at 375 degrees until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Cook times will vary depending on thickness of chicken.

How do I properly bbq?

Always start with a clean BBQ. Heat the bbq to high heat and scrape off any excess char from the previous meal. To avoid your food sticking, I like to slightly oil my bbq once it’s clean or simply spray the meat with nonstick spray to avoid sticking. Once oiled, make sure bbq heat is on medium high and cook the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side or until reaches 165 degrees F and is no longer pink. You want the outside charred but not burned.

Check out some of our other easy recipes!

If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!