Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli Bowls

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Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli is the bowl I make when I want takeout flavor without the takeout receipt. Bite-sized chicken cooks up in a sticky homemade teriyaki sauce, crisp-tender broccoli soaks up all that glaze. It all lands over a bowl of rice in about 25 minutes. The sauce comes together from pantry staples. So I skip the bottled stuff and the mystery ingredients.

Homemade teriyaki sauce is faster than a grocery run and gives you the control to keep it lighter. It’s just soy sauce. A little brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar, thickened with a cornstarch slurry. The cornstarch is what turns a thin, watery sauce into that glossy glaze that clings to the chicken instead of running to the bottom of the bowl.

I cook the broccoli right in the same pan with a splash of water and a lid. So it steams crisp-tender while I get the chicken going. Using boneless breast cut into bite-sized pieces means everything cooks fast and evenly. A batch of rice in the cooker or a bag of microwave rice makes this a real 25-minute dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Takeout flavor, made lighter. A homemade sauce means less sugar and sodium than the bottled kind, with all the sticky-sweet flavor.
• One pan, quick cleanup. Chicken and broccoli cook in the same skillet, so there’s less to wash.
• Meal-prep friendly. It holds up beautifully in the fridge, so it’s a great one to portion out for lunches.
• Ready in 25 minutes. From pantry staples to a full bowl, it’s genuinely fast.

Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli Ingredients

Low-sodium soy sauce is the one I reach for here. Teriyaki reduces down and concentrates as it simmers, and regular soy sauce can push it into too-salty territory. Low-sodium lets the garlic, ginger, and touch of sweetness come through.

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp avocado oil (or other high-heat oil)
• 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets (about 4 cups)
• 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• Cooked rice, for serving
• 1 green onion, sliced, for garnish
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish

Recipe Variations

• Use boneless skinless chicken thighs for juicier bites; they’ll take a couple extra minutes to cook through.
• Swap or add vegetables like snap peas, carrots, or bell peppers, cooking them alongside the broccoli.
• Serve over brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice to fit how you like to eat.

How to Make Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli

1. Mix the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
2. Steam the broccoli: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and a splash of water, cover, and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. Transfer to a plate.
3. Cook the chicken: Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Add it to the same skillet and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through to 165°F.
4. Add the sauce: Give the sauce a quick whisk, since the cornstarch settles, and pour it into the skillet with the chicken. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens into a glossy glaze.
5. Combine: Return the broccoli to the pan and toss to coat everything in the sauce, cooking for another minute until heated through.
6. Build the bowls: Spoon over bowls of cooked rice, then top with sliced green onion and sesame seeds.

Recipe FAQs

Can I Use Frozen Broccoli?

Yes. Thaw it and pat it dry first, and cut the steaming time down since it’s already soft. Fresh gives you a crisper bite, but frozen is a fine shortcut.

How Do I Make the Teriyaki Sauce Thicker or Thinner?

The cornstarch controls it. For a thicker glaze, let it simmer an extra minute; for a thinner sauce, stir in a splash of water. It also thickens more as it cools.

Can I Use Store-Bought Teriyaki Sauce?

You can, though homemade lets you control the salt and sugar. If you use bottled, skip the soy sauce, sugar, honey, vinegar, and cornstarch and just simmer about 2/3 cup of sauce with the chicken.

Is This Good for Meal Prep?

Really good. Portion the chicken, broccoli, and rice into containers and it keeps for 4 days. Reheat in the microwave with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.

How Do I Keep the Chicken from Drying Out?

Cut the pieces evenly so they cook at the same rate, and pull them off the heat as soon as they hit 165°F. Thighs are also more forgiving if you tend to overcook breast.

Cooking Tips

• Whisk the sauce again right before it goes in the pan. Cornstarch sinks to the bottom, and an unstirred slurry can clump instead of thickening evenly.
• Cook the broccoli first and set it aside so it stays crisp-tender instead of overcooking while the chicken finishes.
• Cut the chicken into even, bite-sized pieces so they cook at the same rate and none dry out waiting on the rest.

The Teriyaki Sauce Ratio, and How to Adjust It

Teriyaki balances salty against sweet, and once you know the ratio you can adjust it by taste instead of measuring every time.

The backbone is equal parts soy sauce and sweetener, loosened with a little liquid and thickened at the end. Everything else is seasoning. That means the recipe is very forgiving as long as you move both sides together.

• Too salty? Add sweetener, not water. Water thins the sauce and it stops clinging.
• Too sweet? A splash of rice vinegar cuts it faster than more soy sauce does.
• Too thin? More slurry, added off the boil, then back on for a minute. Cornstarch needs heat to activate but loses thickening power if you boil it hard for long.
• Too thick? It will thicken more as it cools, so pull it one notch looser than you want.
• Using regular soy sauce instead of low-sodium? Cut the amount by about a third.

Add the sauce to the broccoli late. Broccoli releases water as it cooks, and sauce added early gets diluted by it, which is why teriyaki that tasted right in the pan can taste flat on the plate.

Storage and Freezing

To store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store the rice separately if you can.

To freeze: Freeze the cooked chicken and sauce for up to 2 months. The broccoli softens after thawing, so freeze it slightly undercooked if you can.

To reheat: Reheat in the microwave or a skillet with a splash of water to loosen the sauce back up.

How to Serve Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli

Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli is a full bowl over steamed white or brown rice, and it’s just as good over quinoa or cauliflower rice if you’re keeping it lighter. A sprinkle of extra sesame seeds and green onion on top makes it feel finished. It’s one of the go-to lighter dinners in our Healthy Dinner Ideas collection.

Loved This Recipe?

Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli is the fast, better-for-you bowl that keeps me from reaching for the takeout menu on a busy night.

Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.

More like this: Keep the chicken rotation going. These three land in the same sweet and savory territory. Try Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken, Creamy Coconut Chicken Rice Bowl, or Honey Mustard Chicken Bowls.