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gluten free teriyaki chicken on white plate with chopsticks
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5 from 9 votes

Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken - Gluten-Free

Teriyaki chicken is one of the easiest, most flavorful ways to prepare chicken, and with tamari in the sauce, it is gluten-free. With only seven basic ingredients and cooked in the air fryer, this chicken can be on the table in 20 minutes. It's better than take-out!
Course Dinner, Main Dish
Cuisine Hawaiian, Japanese
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 4
Author Beth Allingham

Equipment

  • Air fryer
  • Tongs
  • Zester
  • Santoku knives
  • Meat thermometer

Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken breasts boneless and skinless
  • ½ cup tamari for Whole 30, use coconut aminos
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup sugar we use ¼ cup; for Whole 30, use 2 dates, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic pressed or minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger grated
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
  • 1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil dark roasted
  • 1 tablespoon green onions for garnish
  • 2 teaspoons sesame seeds optional, for garnish

Instructions

  • Prepare ingredients.
    ingredients for teriyaki sauce
  • Combine all ingredients except for meat and garnishes in a small bowl.
    mixed teriyaki sauce in glass bowl
  • Place the chicken or other meat into a flat pan (Pyrex baking pan if you are going to bake it) large enough to spread it in a single layer. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
    chicken marinating in teriyaki sauce
  • Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees F.
  • When the air fryer is preheated, spray the cooking chamber with cooking spray (I use avocado oil spray).
  • Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade with tongs and place them in a single layer in the fryer basket. Cook at 360 F for 8-10 minutes. You can flip the pieces partway through, but depending on your air fryer they may cook evenly enough that you won't need to.
    chicken finished in the air fryer
  • The chicken will be more tender at the shorter time - check at 8 minutes using an instant-read meat thermometer to be sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. In my experience, the chicken is likely to reach that temperature very quickly and the risk is of overcooking the tender breast meat!
    finished and garnished teriyaki chicken
  • Conventional oven:
  • Place the pan with the marinated chicken breasts (smooth side up) and the sauce into the oven. Baste with a little sauce just before placing in the oven. Bake uncovered at 350°F (177˚C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature is 165˚F (74˚C). Cover with foil for the last 10 minutes if the chicken seems to be drying out on top.
  • Crock pot:
  • In the crock pot, the sauce will be diluted by juices that come out of the breast meat. The juices flow out of the chicken because the salt in the sauce draws them out by osmosis. The chicken is still delicious and can be more tender than in baking or air frying, but you may wish to simmer the sauce after removing the chicken from the slow cooker. In my slow-cooker, the chicken takes 2 ½ hours on the Medium setting to cook; 6 or so hours on Low.

Notes

The original recipe for teriyaki sauce and marinade is on Hawaiian Electric Company's website. As they note: the sauce is good as a marinade or sauce for short ribs, chicken, hamburger, meat jun, Spam musubi, or fish. Makes about ½ cup.