Vegan teriyaki stir fry is a delicious plant-based dinner or meal prep recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes! Veggies and edamame are cooked up in a sticky sweet and savory vegan teriyaki sauce.
This vegan teriyaki stir fry post has been in the works for quite awhile now, as I've been working on mastering my homemade teriyaki sauce.
You can buy the bottled teriyaki sauce, but you will be hard pressed to find one that is vegan and free from additives with crazy-complicated names. So I'm kind of excited to be sharing my vegan teriyaki sauce recipe with you today! This sauce tastes just as good as the bottled stuff, but it is made from clean ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Not only that, but you can have it prepped in under 5 minutes. How easy is that?!
And I tested this vegan teriyaki sauce with tamari as well to make sure it really does taste the same if you want to make it gluten-free.
This teriyaki stir fry is sticky, sweet and savory, and a little bit spicy. And it is totally filling and satisfying, but not in an over-full way. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or meal prep lunch!
Don't forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!
How to make vegan teriyaki stir fry
Just like any good stir fry, this recipe has three important components
- Stir fry sauce- for this recipe we are making a vegan teriyaki sauce with a few simple ingredients (more on that below). It is simple to prep and free from chemical additives that you might find in the bottled stuff. And you can even make it gluten-free!
- Veggies- I like using 4-5 cups of veggies to serve 4 people. For this recipe I used broccoli, snap peas and zucchini (super green!), but you can swap it out for any stir fry friendly veggies you have in your fridge.
- Protein- Edamame is perfect in this stir fry but you could easily swap it for tofu, or if you aren't vegan, chicken.
First, we shake up our teriyaki sauce. Next, we sautee our veggies and edamame for 5-7 minutes. Then we add our sauce and heat it all until thickened (1-2 minutes). Voila! A delicious plant-based dinner that is also clean and free from chemical additives. You can definitely feel good about eating this for lunch or dinner!
The sauce
This vegan teriyaki sauce tastes so much like the bottled stuff you're never going to guess it is so simple to prepare....and vegan...and gluten-free friendly.
Sweetener- Typical teriyaki sauce recipes include brown sugar and honey. I decided to skip both of those ingredients and use maple syrup as a sweetener. Worked like a charm and this sauce does not have a prominent maple flavor at all.
Savory flavors- After taste testing a LOT of batches and comparing the flavor to bottled teriyaki sauce, I found this sauce needed a bit of sesame oil, some garlic. This gives it delicious savory flavors and keeps it from being one note.
Tangy aftertaste- The aftertaste of my teriyaki sauce was not quite right until I added a touch of mirin or sake to the recipe. Mirin is a Japanese rice wine that is only used for cooking. It adds that final layer of flavor that is essential for a good teriyaki sauce. If you don't have mirin or sake, you could swap for cooking sherry or white wine. And if you'd prefer, you can totally leave it out. It is a subtle change in flavor, and it's still tasty without it!
Can I prepare this stir fry as a meal prep recipe? YES. Absolutely and the best thing is that this vegan teriyaki stir fry is not only fridge friendly for 4 days, but it freezes well, too! You may want to skip the zucchini for freezing as it gets a bit mushy, but hardy veggies like carrots will do well for the freeze/thaw process. I portion my vegan ginger teriyaki out into meal prep bowls and freeze for 1-2 months. It's great for when you miss your regular meal prep day.
Can I make it paleo? YES. Swap the edamame for chicken, swap the cornstarch for arrowroot flour and you should be good to go! I'd serve my paleo teriyaki stir fry over cauliflower rice or some other paleo-friendly option.
Can I make it low carb? Hmm. That's a tough one since the maple syrup is kind of essential for the sauce. I am not familiar with low carb sweeteners, but they *may* work in place of the maple syrup. Then, I'd swap the edamame for chicken and serve over cauliflower rice. Low carb meal preppers, chime in! What's your favorite low carb sweeteners for a stir fry sauce? Let me know 🙂
Equipment and tips
- You are looking at my favorite 2-compartment meal prep containers
, but a standard 2-cup glass container like this one
will also work great.
- You can use a standard non stick pan or go traditional and use a wok
for this recipe!
- Looking for more vegan meal prep recipes? Try these Cold Sesame Noodle Meal Prep Bowls, these Grilled Veggie & Black Bean Meal Prep Bowls, or this round-up with 59 Vegan Meal Prep Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
- Looking for more stir fry recipes? Check out these 7 Easy Stir Fry Sauce Recipes You Can Prep Ahead!
Vegan Ginger Teriyaki Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups vegetables (broccoli, snap peas & zucchini pictured)
- 2 cups edamame shelled
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic crushed
Vegan Teriyaki Sauce
- 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce (tamari or coconut aminos may be subbed)
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon sake (optional; mirin, sherry or white wine may be subbed)
Instructions
- Shake together all vegan teriyaki sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan.
- Add the vegetables and edamame. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened (but you still want them to be a bit crisp).
- Give the vegan teriyaki sauce a good shake, then pour into the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until sauce is thickened and all veggies are coated.
- Serve immediately over rice.
Meal Prep Bowls
- Portion stir fry out into meal prep containers along with ½ cup portions of cooked rice.
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To serve, heat in the microwave until steaming hot.