Easy Teriyaki Chicken Casserole Recipe | One-Pan Dinner

Teriyaki Chicken Casserole: Weeknight Magic in One Dish – I have a confession to make. While I’m generally suspicious of recipes with the word “casserole” in the title (childhood trauma involving tuna and crushed potato chips, don’t ask), this teriyaki chicken casserole has become something of a weeknight savior in my house.

Teriyaki Chicken Casserole

Lumina Liu

This Japanese-inspired casserole features tender chicken, stir-fry vegetables, and brown rice, all combined with a homemade teriyaki sauce that is both sweet and savory. It is a suitable option for family meals and meal preparation.

4.8 from votes

Prep Time 20 Minutes

Cook Time 50 Minutes

Total Time 1 Hour 10 Minutes

Course Chicken

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4 servings

Calories 385 calories kcal

Ingredients

 

• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 (12 oz.) stir-fry vegetables
• 3 cups brown rice

Instructions

 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.
2. Combine soy sauce, ½ cup water, brown sugar, ginger and garlic in a small saucepan and cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove lid and cook for one minute once boiling.
3. Meanwhile, stir together the corn starch and 2 tablespoons of water in a separate dish until smooth. Once sauce is boiling, add mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken then remove from heat.
4. Place the chicken breasts in the prepared pan. Pour one cup of the sauce over top of chicken. Place chicken in oven and bake 35 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and shred chicken in the dish using two forks.
5. Meanwhile, steam or cook the vegetables according to package directions.
6. Add the cooked vegetables and rice to the casserole dish with the chicken. Add most of the remaining sauce, reserving a bit to drizzle over the top when serving. Gently toss everything together in the casserole dish until combined.
7. Return to oven and cook 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Drizzle each serving with remaining sauce. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 385.00 caloriesFat: 3.00 gCarbohydrates: 64.00 gFiber: 4.00 gProtein: 28.00 g

Keyword Teriyaki Chicken Casserole, Japanese Chicken, Chicken Casserole, Teriyaki Recipe, Asian Casserole, Healthy Dinner

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It happened on one of those evenings when dinner needed to materialize from seemingly nothing, the fridge offering only chicken breasts and a bag of forgotten stir-fry vegetables threatening to liquify in the produce drawer.

What emerged was this beautiful contradiction: a dish that manages to be both completely inauthentic teriyaki (sorry, Japan) and absolutely delicious comfort food.

It’s the culinary equivalent of wearing sweatpants to a fancy restaurant and somehow getting away with it.

The Teriyaki Situation

Let’s be honest – this teriyaki chicken recipe is not what you’d find on the streets of Tokyo. But it’s what happens when teriyaki flavors crash into American casserole convenience, and I’m not even a little bit sorry about it.

The homemade teriyaki sauce is the real hero here – thick, glossy, and clinging to every bite of chicken, vegetable and rice. It’s the kind of sauce that makes you scrape the bottom of the pan when no one’s looking.

The beauty of this recipe is that it takes components that might normally be plated separately – protein, vegetables, grain – and unifies them with that sticky-sweet-savory sauce that transforms everything it touches.

It’s meal prep and dinner in one fell swoop, which means fewer dishes (you’re welcome) and more time to tell your family about that weird thing that happened at the grocery store today.

Teriyaki Sauce From Scratch (It’s Ridiculously Easy)

I know the bottled stuff exists. I’ve bought it in moments of weakness. But making teriyaki sauce from scratch takes about five minutes and will make you feel unreasonably accomplished.

Plus, it lacks that peculiar chemical aftertaste that sometimes haunts the pre-made version.

Ingredients for Homemade Teriyaki Sauce:

• 3/4 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium, but use what you have)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (dark or light, no judgment here)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

The method is embarrassingly simple: combine everything except the cornstarch slurry in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then add the cornstarch mixture and watch as science turns your liquid into a glossy sauce that coats the back of a spoon.

It’s kitchen magic that never fails to delight me, even after making it dozens of times.

The Complete Teriyaki Chicken Casserole Recipe

This recipe falls into that perfect category of “looks like you worked harder than you did,” which is honestly my favorite kind of cooking.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 (12 oz.) package stir-fry vegetables
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• And all the sauce ingredients listed above

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. (If you’re like me and forget this step, enjoy chiseling caramelized teriyaki sauce off your pan later. Ask me how I know.)
2. Make the teriyaki sauce: Combine soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan and cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove lid and cook for one minute once boiling. Meanwhile, stir together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth. Once sauce is boiling, add this slurry to the saucepan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce thickens then remove from heat. Try not to stick your finger in it for a taste test. It’s hot. Again, ask me how I know.
3. Place chicken breasts in the prepared pan. Pour one cup of the sauce over the chicken, ensuring they’re well coated. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (165°F if you’re using a thermometer, which I highly recommend unless you enjoy the stress of cutting into chicken repeatedly to check for pinkness).
4. While the chicken bakes, cook your vegetables according to package directions. I usually steam mine, but roasting or sautéing works too. Also, make sure your rice is ready to go. Cold leftover rice actually works beautifully here, and I often make extra rice a day or two before specifically for this purpose.
5. Once the chicken is done, take two forks and shred it right in the baking dish. This is surprisingly satisfying and a great way to release any pent-up frustrations from your day.
6. Add the cooked vegetables and rice to the casserole dish with the chicken. Pour most of the remaining sauce over everything, reserving a few tablespoons for serving. Gently toss until everything is coated with that glossy sauce.
7. Return the dish to the oven for another 15 minutes, which allows all the flavors to meld together and the edges to get just slightly crispy.
8. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving (I know it’s hard to wait, but this helps the sauce thicken a bit more). Drizzle each portion with the reserved sauce.

Tips for Teriyaki Chicken Casserole Success

If you’ve made it this far, you deserve some hard-earned wisdom from my teriyaki adventures:

• Rice matters: Brown rice holds up better in this casserole than white rice, which can get a bit mushy. That said, use what you have – just know that leftover rice (i.e., cold and a bit dried out) works best regardless of type.
• Vegetable freedom: The recipe calls for a bag of stir-fry vegetables, which is convenient, but I’ve made this with just about every vegetable in my crisper drawer. Broccoli, bell peppers, and snap peas are particularly good, but clean-out-the-fridge night has produced some surprisingly delicious combinations.
• Protein variations: While chicken breasts are the standard here, I’ve used thighs (more flavor, slightly longer cooking time), leftover rotisserie chicken (skip the initial baking step), and even thinly sliced beef with excellent results.
• Make ahead potential: You can make the sauce up to a week ahead and store it in the refrigerator. The entire casserole can also be assembled up to the final baking step and refrigerated for a day before cooking. Just add about 10 minutes to the final baking time.

When Teriyaki Chicken Casserole Saved Dinner

I remember making this on a particularly chaotic Tuesday when deadlines were looming, the dog had destroyed something valuable, and my child informed me at 4:30 pm that they needed a costume for school the next day.

I threw this together in a state of near-delirium, forgot to reserve sauce for serving, and briefly considered ordering pizza instead.

But then we sat down to eat, and there was that moment of quiet that only happens when everyone is too busy enjoying their food to speak.

The sauce had caramelized just slightly around the edges of the dish, the rice had soaked up all those savory flavors, and somehow, this humble casserole turned a day that was teetering on the edge of disaster into one that ended with second helpings and satisfied sighs.

That’s the magic of a good teriyaki chicken recipe – it’s never going to win awards for authenticity or innovation, but it reliably turns simple ingredients into something greater than the sum of its parts.

And sometimes, that’s exactly the kind of cooking victory we need.