We make these easy Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls pretty much weekly! They are so tasty, easy to make, and well-balanced.
My favorite thing about these chicken teriyaki rice bowls is that they are great for meal prep. It’s the kind of make-ahead meal that we love to prep on Sunday evenings for the rest of the week. It’s super convenient.
I’ve included my homemade teriyaki sauce recipe here as well. More below! It is so good.
We are very serious about meal prep over here. With our super busy schedules, if we don’t meal prep, we usually end up skipping lunch. Anyone else?
Lately we’ve been making these easy Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls on repeat, and we absolutely love them! It doesn’t take long to make and it’s quite simple.
Plus, they are highly customizable! You can basically use any vegetables you like, and swap out the chicken for other proteins.
You’ll also love the homemade teriyaki sauce. It is absolutely delicious, and it comes together in just 20 minutes. You can even make it 2 weeks in advance.
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The Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
First things first. Let’s talk about this utterly delicious homemade teriyaki sauce. It seriously takes these chicken teriyaki rice bowls to a whole new level.
It is SO GOOD. Seriously good. Throughout my life, I have tasted so many teriyaki sauces, and I’ve arrived at the conclusion that homemade is best.
If there’s one thing I dislike the store-bought teriyaki sauce is that it’s overly sweet and too syrupy. Mine is the perfect balance between sweet and savory, with the right consistency.
The sauce can be made 2 weeks in advance, and takes only 20 minutes to prepare. I usually make a big batch and store it in the fridge for later use to satisfy my cravings. So easy and convenient!
Ingredient Notes
Here’s a quick summary of the ingredients you’ll need for these chicken teriyaki rice bowls, plus a few helpful notes.
For the rice bowls:
- Chicken breasts: I use small chicken breasts, and pound them to about ½ inch thick throughout for even cooking
- Salt and pepper to taste for the chicken
- Olive oil for the skillet
- Carrots: Steamed
- Broccoli florets: Steamed
- Edamame: I usually get these from the frozen aisle. Thaw and slightly warm them up in the microwave oven as needed.
- Sesame seeds and scallions for garnish
- Steamed rice: I like to use fragrant jasmine rice (instructions in recipe card), but brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice work too
For the teriyaki sauce:
- Soy sauce: For savory umami flavors and rich dark colors.
- Mirin: Mirin is a Japanese rice wine. It’s sweet and a very slightly thick, making it a great ingredient to make flavorful glazes.
- Japanese sake: Sake is a fantastic umami flavor base and also a meat tenderizer.
- Granulated sugar: Adds extra sweetness and helps with thickening.
- Fresh garlic and ginger To infuse the sauce.
- Cornstarch, dissolved in water: Works great to thicken the sauce.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Make the teriyaki sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients, except for the cornstarch. Simmer for about 15 minutes, until reduced and slightly thickened.
- Add the cornstarch slurry and simmer for 1-2 more minutes until thickened.
Full teriyaki sauce recipe instructions can be found here!
Tip: The sauce can be prepared 2 weeks ahead of time and refrigerated. To save time, you can use your favorite store-bought teriyaki, but I’d highly recommend the homemade version.
2. Cook the rice
- In a medium pot, combine the jasmine rice (rinsed) with water.
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let it cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender and the liquid is fully absorbed. Tip: leave a small opening on the lid to allow some of the steam to escape.
How to cook rice: For every 1 cup of long grain rice, use 1 ⅓ cups water. In this recipe, I used 1 ½ cups of rice with 2 cups of water. You can do so in the stovetop or rice cooker.
3. Steam the vegetables
Place a steamer basket in a medium pot and add some water to the bottom of the pot, about 1-2 inches. Add the veggies to the basket, cover, and bring to a boil until tender, about 5-6 minutes or to taste.
Tip: If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can also boil the vegetables.
4. Cook and prep the chicken
- Pound the chicken evenly to ½ inch thick. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Cook on each side for 6-8 minutes, undisturbed.
- Remove from the skillet and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then, slice and brush with the prepared teriyaki sauce. The sauce can be warmed up right on the same skillet you used to cook the chicken.
Pan-searing chicken is very easy! Follow these tips and tricks on how to cook juicy chicken breasts to make sure they don’t come out dry.
5. Assemble
To assemble the chicken teriyaki rice bowls, scoop some steamed rice, steamed veggies, and sliced chicken brushed with sauce. Spoon more sauce over the chicken to make it extra yummy!
I like spooning teriyaki extra sauce over the rice. I love it when the delicious sauce is soaked into the tender and fragrant rice.
Shortcuts for Busy People
Life happens and you still have to put dinner on the table. I totally get it. Here are some shortcuts to save the day:
For the teriyaki sauce, you can use your favorite store-bought brand. I am personally not a huge pan of store-bought teriyaki, but if there’s one you really like, go for it!
For the rice, if you’d rather use microwavable rice or instant rice, that’s totally fine.
For the veggies, you can use pre-packaged cut up veggies or even a frozen vegetable blend. Just steam them or cook according to package instructions.
Make-Ahead Tips
Make the entire dish ahead of time and store them in sealed containers, meal prep style. It’s very easy and simple, and super convenient when the days get busy.
If you’d rather prep the ingredients in advance, you can:
- Chop the vegetables and refrigerate.
- Cook the rice the day before and refrigerate. Rice reheats really well. When you reheat, add a few drizzles of water to create steam – this will help soften the rice in the microwave oven.
Serving and Pairing Ideas
To serve, try my tender coconut rice or add an extra protein with these crispy coconut shrimp!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, up to 2 weeks in advance. Refrigerate in a sealed container.
Yes, although I really like the homemade version. Just a personal preference.
Brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa and other grains.
For this recipe, I use a 1 to 1.3 rice to water ratio. So, for every 1 cup of rice, use 1 ⅓ cups of water. I always rinse the rice multiple times in a colander first to get rid of the extra starch.
Cauliflower, snap peas, red bell peppers, sliced avocado are a few of my favorites.
Try salmon, grilled steak, tofu, or shrimp.
These chicken teriyaki rice bowls are one of our family’s favorite recipes for lunch, dinner, or meal prep. We love how versatile and customizable these are, and we especially LOVE the homemade teriyaki sauce. It’s out-of-this-world delicious!
This recipe really makes our weeks so much easier, especially when the days are packed and there’s no time to make lunch. Reheating these bowls takes only a few minutes. Definitely a life saver.
If you like Asian-inspired lunch recipes, be sure to check these out:
Tips for Success
- The teriyaki sauce can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and refrigerated. When ready to use, warm it up slightly in the pan where you’re making the chicken.
- The trick to tender and juicy pan-seared chicken breast is making sure it’s pounded evenly (use a meat mallet) to ½ inch thick and cooked for 6-8 minutes per side. Check out my full tutorial in the link.
- How to steam jasmine or other long-grain rice: For every 1 cup of rice, use 1 ⅓ cups of water.
- This a great recipe for meal prep! It keep really well in the fridge for about 3 days.
Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- Teriyaki sauce - recipe makes about 1 cup
- 4 small chicken breasts - pounded to ½ inch thick evenly
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Olive oil for pan
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup edamame, slightly warm
- Sesame seeds for garnish
- Sliced scallions for garnish
For the steamed rice
- 1 ½ cups jasmine rice - or other long grain rice
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Make the teriyaki sauce (full recipe linked). It can be made up to 2 weeks in advance and refrigerated in a sealed container.
- Steam the rice: Rinse the rice thoroughly through a colander (this gets rid of the extra starch). Add the rice to a medium pot along with 2 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low heat and simmer, covered, for about 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid is fully absorbed and the rice is tender. Tip: leave a little opening on the lid to let some of the steam to escape. You can also cook it in a rice cooker.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, about ¼ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper per chicken breast.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes.
- In a steamer basket set over a pot with about 1-2 inches of water at the bottom, steam broccoli and carrots until tender, covered.
- Slice the chicken and brush with the prepared teriyaki sauce. If the teriyaki sauce is cold, I’d recommend warming it up first. You can use the same skillet you used to cook the chicken.
- Assemble: Serve each bowl with steamed rice, chicken, and steamed vegetables, and edamame. Drizzle with more sauce to taste and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced scallions if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of plain steamed rice, try my Jasmine Coconut Rice!
- The teriyaki sauce can be made ahead 2 weeks in advance. To use, warm it up slightly over a small saucepan.
- The trick to tender and juicy pan-seared chicken breast is making sure it’s pounded evenly (use a meat mallet) to ½ inch thick. Pounding the chicken breaks tough muscle fibers and makes sure it’s the same thickness throughout for even cooking. Cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
- Rice to water ratio: For every 1 cup of rice, use 1 ⅓ cups of water. This applies to long-grain rice mainly.
- Make ahead: The entire recipe can be made ahead in advance and refrigerated. It’s a great idea for meal prep.
- Prep ahead: The rice can be cooked in advance. The veggies can be chopped in advance. The teriyaki sauce can be made 2 weeks in advance.
- Jasmine rice: Cauliflower rice, quinoa or other grains, brown rice, or my coconut jasmine rice recipe!
- Chicken: Shrimp, beef, tofu, or even salmon.
- Veggies: Cauliflower, bok choy, snap peas, red bell peppers, avocado or grilled pineapple.
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