Skillet Teriyaki Chicken Thighs is the easiest chicken recipe ever! And, the whole family loves it. Chicken thighs are marinated in teriyaki sauce and sautéed in a skillet.
Boneless skinless chicken thighs are one of my favorite things to cook with through the busy work week. They cook up so quickly and they are dark meat chicken, so they stay flavorful and juicy.
You might also like my Baked Teriyaki Salmon.
How To Make Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Note: The full printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
- Add soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and pepper to a bowl.
- Stir to combine.
- Add boneless chicken thighs to a sealable food storage bag.
- Pour the teriyaki marinade into the bag.
- Seal the bag and roll the chicken around to cover it in marinade.
- Marinade the chicken in teriyaki sauce for 30 minutes to two hours.
- Place the marinated chicken thighs in a skillet.
- Cover and cook.
- Flip the chicken over and cook.
- Push the cooked chicken around in the teriyaki glaze that has formed in the bottom of the skillet.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
This chicken can easily be reheated since there is no skin to get soggy. But, I actually like to eat this leftover chicken cold, on top of a big salad.
Making Ahead
It only takes a couple of minutes to make this easy teriyaki marinade. But, it could be made ahead of time. Just keep the prepared marinade in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. However, do not marinate the chicken in the teriyaki for more than 2 hours.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Rotisserie Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Pistachio Crusted Chicken
- Baked Ranch Chicken Thighs By Sweet C’s Designs
Find more of my recipes on TikTok
Skillet Teriyaki Chicken Thigh Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar (red wine vinegar also works)
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 20 oz. boneless skinless chicken thighs
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Place the chicken in a large sealable plastic food storage bag. Pour the sauce into the bag with the chicken. Seal the bag. Gently massage and roll the chicken around in the bag to get it evenly coated in sauce.
- Place the bag on a plate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to two hours to marinate.
- Use tongs to transfer the chicken from the bag to a large nonstick skillet. Discard the remaining marinade.
- Cover the skillet and place it over medium heat. Cook for eight minutes.
- Remove the cover. Flip the chicken over. Cook for an additional five minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165˚ Farhenheit.
- The excess teriyaki sauce will form a thick glaze in the bottom of the skillet. Push the chicken around in the pan so that it gets evenly coated in the glaze, flipping the chicken over as necessary.
Nutrition
Check out all my other great chicken recipes.
Better than expected! Very easy too.
This is a great recipe that tastes delicious and is super simple to make. I served it with rice and the Maple Syrup Roasted Brussels Sprouts from this site.
This is my new go-to favorite. It’s delicious, moist, flavorful and easy. Thank you!
This is the best recipe! It tastes like chicken right out of a top quality Chinese food restaurant 🙂
Can you marinate the chicken thighs in a bowl and cover with plastic instead of in a plastic bag?
Excellent recipe. My husband and I love teriyaki chicken and this one really delivers. I started using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce a couple years ago so that’s what I used here, too. Absolutely delicious and so easy to make.
This recipe looks delish! I can’t seem to find rice wine vinegar anywhere, only rice vinegar. Can you tell me the brand you use? Thank you!
i just made this same marinade,accept i used rice vinager,but i have used apple cider vinegar,i guess anything accidic will work well
Good and so easy to make. A quick dinner with some .microwave rice on these hot, summer days.
Quick marinade to make and super easy. really easy to cook in the skillet as well. Will repeat.
I don’t have a non stick pan, however I use a thin coat of coconut oil to the cold skillet. Then I heat to get it hot and add a little olive or grape seed oil. I’m not sure if it will work with this recipe. Also it doesn’t seem like it would be enough sauce. I can’t believe Jason meant to say to use baking powder to thicken the left over sauce. I think he meant to say corn starch with water to make a paste. It might burn also and I would prefer to thicken the sauce in a pan on top of the stove. I plan on making this tomorrow and contemplating using my coconut secrets soy free Teriyaki sauce.
Don’t discard the marinade. Heat to a simmer and reduce. Add a teaspoon or two of baking powder to thicken. Combine baking powder with equal amount of water to make a paste before adding to the sauce. Add sugar to
When I make this I use 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar.
Hi Amanda,
You hit the nail on the head completely with this recipe.. I have seen many but this works! Just waiting for this small restaurant to close…I’m old and retired but can still see myself selling Teriyaki (your way) rice and basic salad to stay or to go for $7.00 at Pike Place Market in Seattle. Wish me health and luck…thanks, Gary
Can you double the sauce..
Fantastic week night recipe. Quick but loads of flavor.
Cooked tonight and it was awesome! I make seriously complicated teriyaki sauces, but this simple one is restaurant quality for the simple amount of ingredients. Made rice, broccoli/Cauliflower mix and garlic soy bok choy. After I hit send, I have to take a nap I ate so much, THANKS 👍 👍 👍
Can you make this with boneless pork chops?
Thankyou for posting teriyaki thighghs..
Made last nite absolutely delicious an
And simple. (Keep eye on so doesn’t
Burn)
I really like this resepe so much
delicious
This was sooo good! I love teriyaki chicken and most recipes take much longer. I really didn’t think I could make it this fast with minimal marinating time, but this recipe proved me wrong. I followed it exactly and it was perfect – moist chicken with a flavorful teriyaki glaze. I served with rice sprinkled with green onions and veggies. This is going in my personal recipe file (the really good ones that I will use again and again)! Thanks so much!
This was wonderful and quick. My sister loved it. Can use this with pork too.
The teriyaki sauce on this chicken is incredible! This was a total winner in my house!
This marinade was so good. The whole family loved it.
My husband does not like dark meat. Do you have a recommendation for breast meat?
Yes. You could use breast. I would try using chicken breast fillets because they are thin and would work better for cooking in a skillet. Cook them the exact same way as in this recipe. They may need just a couple extra minutes to cook through to 165 degrees F.
Boy this looks good–I just bought a pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs 2 days ago to try and make paprika chicken, but this sounds a lot more up my alley–thank you!