Teriyaki Salmon - Gluten Free - The BEST Homemade Teriyaki Sauce!

Teriyaki Salmon is a weeknight go-to recipe in my house.

A slab (or fillets) of fresh salmon is baked in the oven until flaky and juicy, then basted with my sweet, tangy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce that simmered away on the stove top until syrupy-thick. Finally, the two are baked in the oven and married together for a few minutes until glazed and sticky.

It's easy (ready in less than one hour!), healthy, and oh-so delicious.

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Why Should I Make Homemade Teriyaki Sauce?

• It tastes so much better than store-bought. Seriously, this sauce knocks it out of the park.
• You should already have most, if not all, of the ingredients in your pantry.
• You control the quality of ingredients that go into the sauce. A lot of store-bought teriyaki sauces contain unnecessary ingredients such as corn syrup, caramel color, preservatives, hidden forms of excess sugar such as maltodextrin, and who knows what else. These are all things I do not consume or post recipes containing here on this blog, and for good reason.
• You can control the flavors to your liking. Many store-bought teriyaki sauces are overly salty or spicy. Looking to cut back on salt? Use low-sodium soy sauce. Like things hot, hot, hot? Add in a few dashes of chili flakes.
• Make gluten-free. Most store-bought sauces contain wheat gluten from the soy sauce. I use San-J's Organic Tamari Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce because it's both organic and certified gluten-free. You can find a large container of it inexpensively from Thrive Market. (Get 40% off your first order + sometimes a gift.)

How to Make Homemade Teriyaki Sauce:

Making Homemade Teriyaki Sauce is so easy it's literally only a couple of steps.

1. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, ground ginger, minced garlic, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and an organic cornstarch slurry to a small-medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
2. When the salmon is about halfway done cooking, add sauce mixture to a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat; whisk every so often. Allow to come to a steady simmer and simmer 5 or so minutes until thick. Tip: Turn down the heat if the simmer starts to become more of a boil.
3. Once the sauce is thick, it's ready to be used. You can use the sauce as is or baste it onto the salmon/protein and bake a few minutes more until perfectly glazed and sticky. Tip: This sauce is also great on chicken and tofu.
4. Enjoy!

Storage: Store any leftover sauce that you didn't use in a mason jar in the refrigerator.

How to Make Teriyaki Salmon:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Prepare salmon. Rinse and cut into fillets, or leave an entire slab of the salmon whole like I usually do. Lay salmon on an oven-safe pan. I used my non-stick grill pan, but you can use anything from a cast iron skillet to a non-stick cookie sheet or baking dish. Feeling fancy? You could sear the salmon skin-side down on the stovetop first (in an oven-safe pan) and then finish it off in the oven. This would give you nice, crispy skin.
• Sprinkle salmon with black pepper to taste. Tip: Add little-to-no salt to a recipe that is soy-sauce based.
• Add some pats of butter and (optional) ¼ cup of water to the bottom of the pan. I like to add water when baking any kind of fish because I find it helps keep it moist and keeps the skin from sticking. Don't add any water if you decided to sear your salmon skin-side down for crispy skin.

• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until no longer opaque/cooked through the thickest part. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the salmon.
• Meanwhile, about halfway through the cooking time of the salmon, make Homemade Teriyaki Sauce (as written above). Remove from heat, but place a lid on the pan to keep the sauce warm.
• Once the salmon is cooked through, remove it from the oven and baste it with the teriyaki sauce until well-coated. Bake an additional 2-4 minutes for the sauce to become a little more glazed and sticky.

• Serve warm.

I served it with a side of white jasmine rice and shelled edamame beans - it's a heavenly combination, I'm telling you.

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