Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken

The quickest, easiest, and most flavorful Teriyaki Chicken I make in my Air Fryer. This stuff is amazing! One of my go-to quick chicken meals for weeknights. Just make some Jasmine rice, steam some broccoli, or make a quick salad, and you've got yourself an amazing Teriyaki chicken meal that is better than restaurants.

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I live in Seattle, and this city is obsessed with Teriyaki. Though it's originally from Japan, we Seattleites take pride in our teriyaki dishes. If you visit Seattle, you'll find a teriyaki restaurant on every corner and every block. I love Teriyaki, especially Teriyaki Salmon (You've got to love salmon if you live in Seattle), and Teriyaki Chicken, both classic and the spicy versions.

If you have been following my blog for quite a while now, you know how much I love my trusty Air Fryer. I use it every day. This Teriyaki Chicken that I make in my Air Fryer is absolutely fantastic! Honestly, I think it's better than restaurants cause I make the sauce at home. And I can make it with less oil since I make it in the air fryer.

Ingredients info

I make my teriyaki sauce/glaze at home. I promise you it's better tasting than store-bought sauce. So I need a few common Asian ingredients to make that. If you don't want to make the sauce at home, you could always use a store-bought Teriyaki sauce. Please refer to the next section for more info.

All the ingredients I use here are pretty common and you'd usually find them at any Asian grocery store. You can get them from

Soy sauce – I use light soy sauce or regular soy sauce. This is a must for the teriyaki sauce to add the necessary salty umami flavor. If you like the chicken to be darker in color, you can add a bit of dark soy sauce as well (dark soy sauce is less salty and is used mostly for the color)

Sugar - Adds the necessary sweetness. For a healthier choice, you can use honey as a substitute. Since honey is sweeter than sugar, use 3tbsp of honey for every 4 tbsp of sugar.

Rice Vinegar – This sour-tasting ingredient helps to balance out the sweetness of the sauce. You can use apple cider vinegar as a substitute. Please make sure to use unseasoned or salt and sugar-free Rice vinegar.

Sesame oil – Use roasted/toasted sesame oil. This adds a nice smoky flavor to the sauce.

Cornstarch – This is to thicken your sauce and also to add a nice glossy look.

Water - Since soy sauce is quite salty, adding a little bit of water helps to dilute the saltiness and make the sauce less salty and less intense in flavor.

Ginger powder and garlic powder - This is optional, but it adds a nice pepperiness to the sauce. If you don’t have powders, you can add grated ginger and garlic as well. I usually use 1 small garlic and small 1/2 inch piece of ginger to the given amount in the recipe.

How to cook with store-bought Teriyaki sauce

If you don't want to make teriyaki sauce at home, you can always use a store-bought teriyaki sauce for this. But I always find regular teriyaki sauce to be too salty. Especially if you're going to marinate meat for some time. I recommend buying a low-sodium teriyaki sauce, such as this one.

To marinate chicken, use 2 - 3 tbsp of low-sodium teriyaki sauce (or follow the instructions on the bottle since the sodium level varies from brand to brand)

If your store-bought teriyaki sauce is too thin to use as a glaze, mix 1/2 cup of it with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Heat it up for about 1 - 2 minutes until the sauce becomes thicker. You can use this as a glaze as well as a side sauce to serve the chicken.

Air Fryer Cooking Time for Teriyaki Chicken

Air fryer cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the chicken you use, as well as the brand and model of the air fryer you use. The best way to find out if your chicken is done perfectly is to use an instant thermometer.

I have a Cosori 6.8qt Air Fryer and with this one, I usually do 12 - 15 minutes of air frying at 390F.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

I almost always use my air fryer because it's much quicker and easier for me. But these actually taste even better when you grill them, which makes them a perfect dish for summer grilling. They taste better over charcoal. But any outdoor grilling brings the best flavor. I grill them on high heat (on the hotter side of the grill) until the outside has nice char-grilled marks, and then transfer them to the warm side (less hot side of the grill) and cook them until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. I brush them with teriyaki sauce a couple of times while cooking.

You can also grill them on a grilling pan. This will add beautiful grill marks as well. Sear both sides for about 3 minutes on each side, brush with teriyaki sauce, lower the heat, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.