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One Pan Teriyaki Chicken

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Sweet and savory teriyaki chicken cooks in one pan and gets a flavor boost from healthy veggies and crushed pineapple–(not tons of sugar!) Marinate this chicken in the morning for a quick weeknight meal you can serve over brown rice.

skillet of homemade chicken teriyaki with veggies

Teriyaki might be one of the easiest international flavors for little kids to get excited about. And it’s easy to see why. Sweet and salty, slightly tangy, drizzled on familiar chicken, veggies, and rice, this meal has kid appeal built right in!

We wanted to create the perfect chicken teriyaki recipe for healthy families, so we made a few adjustments to the typical teriyaki marinade. We cut way back on the sugar, and we added a special fruity ingredient that makes the flavors totally pop. Your kids will love it!

With a teensy bit of advance planning, chicken teriyaki makes a fantastically fast meal you can sizzle up in your skillet on any old weeknight.

chicken teriyaki with veggies and white rice

Secrets of a Lower Sugar Marinade that Still Tastes Great

We’ve seen a lot of recipes for teriyaki chicken that include a lot of sugar–up to a full CUP. When it’s in balance, we’re OK with some sugar (though personally, we’d rather have our sugar in something like chocolate cake.) But a cup of sugar in a dinner recipe raises some red flags for us, nutritionally.

Cutting back on the sugar in a marinade recipe can be tricky, because the sugar has to balance out the salt and acid in a marinade… like really HAS to, or you’ll know instantly the flavors are off. (A previously tasty amount of soy sauce will suddenly taste overpoweringly salty.)

So here’s how we got a great balanced flavor along with less sugar in our marinade: we subbed in sweet, fruity crushed pineapple. YUM.

Crushed pineapple adds vitamins, fiber, and a fantastic depth of flavor to a marinade. You’ll add it straight from the can to your marinade, juices and all, and then you’ll find that 1/4 cup of brown sugar is all it takes to get that kid-favorite teriyaki taste.

chicken teriyaki with mushrooms and pineapple in bowls

What Veggies go with Teriyaki Chicken?

We chose zucchini and mushrooms to go with our teriyaki chicken, because both veggies have a mild flavor that really soaks up that tasty marinade in the skillet. But you’re free to substitute in whichever veggies you like. Here are some that work especially well:

  • carrots
  • celery
  • bell peppers (any color)
  • snow peas
  • onions
  • broccoli

When you’re making adjustments to the veggies in this dish, add the sturdier veggies (like carrots, peppers, and onions) earlier in the cooking process, and quick-cooking veggies (like snow peas, celery, and broccoli) closer to the end of cooking. You want your veggies to be tender-crisp at serving time.

We love to serve this chicken over whole grain brown rice, which soaks up some of the extra marinade in the pan.

drizzling marinade on chicken teriyaki with veggies

Prep Ahead Tips for Making Chicken Teriyaki a Weeknight Meal

This one-pan dinner cooks fast with a little time spent prepping ahread. Here are a few steps you can take to shorten your cook-time:

The most important make-ahead step is to get the chicken into the marinade. Do this in the morning before work/school, and you’ll have a major head start at 5pm.

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3 from 21 votes

Teriyaki Chicken

Sweet and savory teriyaki chicken cooks in one pan and gets a flavor boost from healthy veggies and crushed pineapple–(not tons of sugar!) Marinate this chicken in the morning for a quick weeknight meal you can serve over brown rice.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 4 1/2 chicken breast
Calories: 323kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cut chicken into cubes about 3/4 inch across. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, pineapple (with juices) and cubed chicken in a gallon zip-top bag or large mixing bowl. Marinate at least one hour, and up to a day ahead.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high head. Add sesame oil, scallions, and mushrooms, and cook, stirring often, until soft.
  • Lower the heat to medium; add zucchini and chicken with marinade and cook 10 minutes, until chicken is done and sauce has thickened.
  • Serve hot with sides of your choice. We like brown rice and veggies!

Nutrition

Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 1990mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g
Keyword : dairy free, lowfat, Teriyaki Chicken

www.superhealthykids.com

You can also chop your veggies in the morning or afternoon, whenever you have a few spare minutes in your day, and store them in a glass jar or covered Pyrex dish. Lastly, feel free to get that rice cooked early!

One of the best parts of prepping ahead (aside from budgeting your time YOUR way) is that you avoid creating a pile of dishes all at once. Three cheers for great food and easy cleanup!

One Pan Teriyaki Chicken | Kid Friendly Dinner | Healthy Recipes and Ideas for Kids

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

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4 Comments

Holy Cow! That makes a lot of chicken! I’ll have to try to pare it down for 2 people because it sounds super yum! That picture on the bottom right looks just like Erica!

I tried it over the weekend, it was very tasty. I modified it too and added some sesame oil, red chili flakes, garlic instead of ginger, and it was excellent, I will definately make this again.

I plan to make this dish for sure! The sodium count is way too high. I would use Braggs, same taste as soy sauce no sodium! Find it at natural food markets.