This Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken thighs is a terrific dinner, ready in under 30 minutes. Made with an easy homemade 4-ingredient teriyaki sauce, it so much better than takeout!
Looking for easy air fryer chicken thighs recipes? Try my bang bang chicken or air fryer blackened chicken recipe next!
Why You'll Love These Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
This is one of my favorite ways to make teriyaki chicken because the air fryer does all the hard work. The circulating hot air quickly caramelizes the sugars in the sauce, creating beautifully browned, slightly sticky edges while keeping the chicken thighs incredibly juicy inside. You get that restaurant-style teriyaki flavor without needing a grill or a wok.
My favorite trick is building the glaze in layers. Instead of drenching the chicken in sauce (which can burn because of the high sugar content and mostly drip off), I lightly coat the chicken before cooking. Meanwhile, I thicken the remaining sauce with a little cornstarch, then brush it over the chicken during and after cooking. This creates a glossy, sticky glaze that clings to every bite.
The best part? No bottled sauces or mirin required—just a simple homemade teriyaki sauce that tastes every bit as good as your favorite takeout. It rivals teriyaki chicken from Panda Express!
-maria doss
★★★★★
"Thank you for sharing your recipe. This is our favorite chicken teriyaki ever! My picky eater daughter really loves it! ❤️"
-SHAYNE
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Ingredients you'll need
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- Chicken - My favorite is to use boneless skinless thighs (just like this grilled chicken thighs recipe or all recipes with boneless chicken thighs) because it has more connective tissue surrounding the muscles than white meat, contains collagen and fat, cooks up moist, juicy and practically impossible to overcook.
- Soy sauce - Regular salt soy sauce adds the perfect saltiness to the sauce.
- Sugar - When sugar is exposed to high heat, it quickly breaks down and rapidly caramelizes resulting in a beautiful deep, rich brown color.
- Cornstarch - It thickens the sauce, adding viscosity.
- Ginger - It adds a pungent, sweet and spicy aroma.
- Garlic - Grated garlic loses most of it's pungency and develops an intense sweetness in the cooking process.
How to make teriyaki chicken in air fryer?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
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Tips for Success
- Soy sauce - Use regular soy and not light or dark.
- Be careful not to over cook the chicken or it will start to dry out.
- To use breasts, cook at 380 degrees for 6 minutes, flip over and cook for an additional 6 minutes, or until completely cooked. Check out more details on the timing in air fryer chicken recipes blog post.
FAQ'S
Not really! I get asked this often because the recipe uses a fair amount of sugar, but the finished sauce is surprisingly well balanced. The sweetness is mellowed by the salty soy sauce and plenty of fresh garlic and ginger, so it tastes rich, savory, and full of flavor rather than overly sweet. The sugar's main job is actually to help create that signature glossy, caramelized teriyaki glaze.
Yes, you can, but I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. They have a little more fat, which keeps them juicy and tender in the air fryer, even with the high heat needed to caramelize the teriyaki glaze. Their naturally uneven surface also gives the sauce more nooks and crannies to cling to, creating an extra flavorful coating.
Chicken breasts will work too—they're just a bit leaner, so they can dry out more easily. If using breasts, cook them at 380°F for 6 minutes, flip, then cook for another 6 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
More Chicken Recipes in Air Fryer
Air fryer Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
For the teriyaki sauce
- ½ cup sugar white granulated
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the rest
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Stir all teriyaki sauce ingredients together in a bowl or measuring cup, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until most of the sugar is dissolved.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and place them in a medium bowl. Add about half of the teriyaki sauce and toss until the chicken is evenly coated. If you have time, let it marinate for about 30 minutes for the best flavor, but even 5 minutes will do the trick.
- Meanwhile, pour the remaining teriyaki sauce into a small saucepan and whisk in the cornstarch until completely dissolved. Place over low heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for about 30–40 seconds, then remove from the heat. The sauce will continue to thicken slightly as it cools.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F. Once hot, arrange the chicken thighs smooth-side down in a single layer and cook for 5 minutes. Open the air fryer, brush the tops generously with the thickened teriyaki sauce, flip the chicken using tongs, and brush the other side with more sauce. Continue cooking for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and beautifully glazed.
- When the chicken is done, brush on one final layer of teriyaki sauce for an extra glossy finish. Slice into bite-sized pieces and serve warm over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
Serving suggestions
Serve the teriyaki chicken for dinner with just white or brown rice along with steamed broccoli, green beans, a rice dish like egg fried rice or garlic butter ramen noodles. Serve it as a Mother's day dinner recipe or as a quick 30 minute chicken recipe for weeknight.
Love easy dinner ideas? Check out our round up post with easy air fryer dinner recipes or the air fryer whole chicken recipe.
Storage and reheating
Leftover teriyaki glazed chicken can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 4 days. If you'd like to meal prep, place cooked white rice in meal prep containers, along with chopped teriyaki chicken and cooked vegetables. Re heat in microwave before eating.
- To freeze - This air fryer teriyaki chicken, can be frozen for up to a month, thaw completely at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator, and reheat in microwave, until hot.
- Re heat in air fryer - Place air fryer teriyaki chicken thighs in a pre heated 375 degree air fryer and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until heated through.
If you love this, then you'll love our vegetarian version: teriyaki tofu stir fry!
MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💚 Please leave a ⭐️STAR rating and COMMENT below- I love to hear your feedback! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Facebook.
Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
Lulu
Made this for lunch today! I don't eat meat but my husband and daughter finished everything - it smelt amazing! I halved the sugar and used brown instead and it turned out perfectly, super simple clean up!
Maria Doss
Happy to hear hun, have a wonderful day - Maria
Shayne
Thank you for sharing your recipe. This is our favorite chicken teriyaki ever! My picky eater daughter really loves it! ❤️
Maria Doss
Happy to hear hun - Maria
Terri Lynn Gentry
Can you use bone-in thighs? How long would you cook them?
Maria Doss
To use bone-in thighs with skin:
1. Preheat your air fryer to 375F
2. Place the marinated chicken thighs in the air fryer, skin side down and cook for 6 minutes.
3. Turn your chicken thighs skin side up and cook for 6 to 6 minutes more, or until cooked through.
Emilie Mann
A new favorite for our fam! Made it with Mac salad and rice and it was delicious
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear! Wishing you a very happy new year - Maria ♡
Crystal
Made this with 4 chicken thighs and got lazy so used store bought sauce. Super good but I feel like the thighs shrank up a bit in the air fryer. My husband said the portions were too small.
Ava
Wow! Just wow. My boyfriend loves teriyaki chicken and instead of spending $14 a day I can meal prep this for him. The sauce was simple but so good and tastes restaurant quality. I replaced white sugar with turbinado sugar and added pineapple juice. It was so sticky and a perfect consistency. The chicken was cooked to a tender finish. Thank you so much.
Tracy Mitchell
This was amazing….the chicken was tender and had a lot of flavor!