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This Teriyaki Beef Recipe is tender, juicy, and packed with sweet-savory Hawaiian flavors! Easy to make with a homemade teriyaki sauce, perfect for grilling or stovetop.
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If you’re craving a taste of Hawaii, this Teriyaki Beef recipe is a must-try! Tender beef strips soak up the homemade teriyaki sauce and create a sweet, almost candy-like flavor. This beef is SO addictive and is a family favorite in my home! It’s easy to make, requires just a handful of ingredients, and is perfect for busy weeknights or weekend BBQs.
I first fell in love with Teriyaki Beef when I lived in Hawaii, and I’ve been making it ever since. The combination of thinly sliced beef, homemade teriyaki sauce, and the subtle sweetness of pineapple is simply unbeatable. Whether you’re serving it with rice, making a plate lunch, or even throwing it on skewers, this recipe is a keeper!
Ingredients You’ll Need
What I love about this recipe is how simple the ingredients are. You probably have most of them in your kitchen already!:
- Skirt Steak or Carne Asada: About a pound, thinly sliced. Pound it extra thin using a kitchen mallet.
- Pineapple Juice: I almost always use the juice from a can of pineapple chunks so I can use the juice for the marinade and then skewer and grill the pineapple later.
- Soy Sauce: Adds a savory element.
- Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar gives the sauce a rich color and deep flavor.
- Garlic Cloves: Minced or grated for an aromatic punch.
- Minced Ginger: Fresh ginger is best, and you can store it in the freezer for later.
- Sesame Seeds: Optional, for garnish.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Just a pinch for a little heat (if you like it spicy).
Want to add veggies? Go for it! Green onions, sliced carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, snow peas, asparagus, onions, or broccoli florets all work great.
How to Make Hawaiian Teriyaki Beef
1. Flatten the Beef – Get that beef as thin as you can without it tearing apart. I like to get it almost as thin as deli meat slices.
2. Prepare the Marinade – In a mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger until the sugar dissolves completely. Set aside about a half cup of the sauce, cover, and refrigerate.
3. Marinate the Beef – Place the thinly sliced beef in a resealable bag. Pour the marinade over the beef, making sure each piece is well coated. Press out all the air, seal, and pop it in the fridge. Let it marinate for at least 6 hours, or overnight for the best flavor. (No longer than 24 hours!)
4. Cook the Beef
- Grill Method: Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Grill the beef for 1-2 minutes per side until cooked to your preferred doneness.
- Stovetop Method: Heat a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the beef in batches, searing each piece for a few minutes until browned and cooked through.
5. Serve & Enjoy – Place the grilled beef in a large bowl, and cover with the reserved half cup of teriyaki sauce. Mix well to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes (if using). Serve hot with steamed rice, grilled fresh pineapple, or as part of a Hawaiian plate lunch!
Tips and Tricks
- Pound the Beef Flat – The thinner the beef, the more flavor it absorbs!
- Marinate for Maximum Flavor – About 2-4 hours is all you need because the meat is so thin.
- Grill or Stovetop – If using a pan, get it hot for a good sear. Because the beef is so thin, it’ll cook up in just a couple of minutes!
- Try Kabobs! – Cut up some sirloin steak into chunks, skewer the beef chunks with pineapple, and marinate as directed. Then throw on the grill for a delicious and fun twist.
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Ditch the bottled sauce, this sauce is so much better than store-bought! This homemade teriyaki sauce is rich, flavorful, and incredibly easy to make. Here’s how:
- Mix: Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and pineapple juice.
- Thicken (Optional): If you want a thicker sauce, whisk a cornstarch mixture into the sauce, then bring to a boil.
- Use it Everywhere: This sauce isn’t just for beef! Use it for chicken, shrimp, burgers, or stir-fried veggies.
Don’t Discard the Marinade
One thing I noticed when I was living in Hawaii is that any time someone was making a grilled teriyaki dish, they never threw out the marinade. If you think about it, it’s so wasteful so discard a good marinade when it can be saved! Ingredients, especially in Hawaii, are expensive and that’s a lot to toss. Take that marinade and boil it for at least 5 minutes and you’ve got yourself a delicious sauce to serve with your beef and over rice. By boiling it, you are eliminating any possible bacteria making it perfectly safe to use as a sauce. Trust me, you will never throw out your teriyaki marinade again.
Frequently Asked Questions
A stovetop skillet, grill pan, or even a Foreman grill will work just fine. You just won’t have the smoky grilled taste.
I usually use canned pineapple because the juice is perfect for the marinade. But fresh pineapple works great too!
This recipe serves 4-6 people. I love extra sauce, so I’ll often double the sauce recipe for extra dipping and drizzling.
I like to use skirt steak, flank steak, or unseasoned carne asada.
Teriyaki Beef
Equipment
- Outdoor Barbecue Grill
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skirt steak (unseasoned carne asada works great)
- 1 cup pineapple juice (see notes below if using the juice from a can of pineapple chunks or slices)
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
Instructions
- The key to getting this teriyaki beef perfect is to get it as thin as possible. Bring the steak to room temperature and cut it into 4-6 pieces, with each piece being about the size of your hand.
- Place each piece of beef between two sheets of plastic wrap and use a kitchen mallet (the flat side) to pound it as thin as possible without it breaking apart. Aim for 1/8" thickness or thinner.
- For the marinade, mix together remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir until sugars dissolve. Reserve about ½ cup of the marinade and refrigerate for later.
- Place beef in a Ziploc bag and pour remaining marinade over. Press out all the air, seal, and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Remove beef from marinade (don't discard the marinade) and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before grilling.
- You can use the marinade from the beef to make a sauce as long as you cook it immediately after marinating. Heat the marinade in a saucepan over medium-high heat and boil for at least 5 minutes before serving. Keep an eye on it because it may bubble up while cooking. Reduce the heat and simmer it longer if you want to reduce it to a thicker sauce. I usually just let it simmer away while I am grilling the beef.
- Over prepared grill on medium-high heat, grill steak a minute or two on each side until cooked to your desired doneness. With the steak being so thin, you don't have to grill it for too long. Brush with reserved marinade while grilling.
- When beef is cooked through, tightly wrap in foil and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve with sauce on the side.
Video
Notes
- Using juice from a can of pineapples: Most of the time, I get my juice for the marinade from a can of pineapple, chunks or sliced. After draining off the juice I marinate the pineapple separately, then skewer and grill it to serve with the beef. This isn’t required but it’s definitely worth the couple extra steps!
- You can also use sirloin steak, cut into chunks. Thread marinated beef onto skewers and grill.
- Nutrition information does not include rice.
Nutrition Information
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- Reheat: Microwave, stovetop, or toss on the grill for a quick warm-up.
- Use Leftovers: Chop up the beef and stir-fry with veggies for a quick, delicious meal!
More Teriyaki Recipes
More Authentic Hawaiian Recipes
If you love this recipe, you’ll definitely want to try these Hawaiian favorites:
Sounds like it is amazing — hoping to try this soon for adult children — BIG thing for me is the recipe for the teriyaki sauce — allergies mean I need to make much of what I use — keeping the chemicals/preservatives out of my diet.
In this dish, “ Hawaiian beef teriyaki “ I don’t think you used skirt steak as you stated in the listings. Is seems like from what I see, it’s rather a sirloin steak.
So which one is it?😂
We used skirt steak!
Do you use fresh pineapple or canned?
We use canned most of the time, out of convenience, but fresh pineapple can also be used. Thanks for asking!
Fresh when available
Great Teriyaki recipe. I doubled it and modified slightly:
20oz crushed pineapple
2 cups low sodium soy sauce
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, microplaned
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, microplaned
Combine ingredients in bowl and whisk until combined. Put beef into large plastic baggie and pour just enough of the teriyaki over beef to marinade. Pour remaining teriyaki into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until desired consistency is achieved. Remove from heat and strain in to a storage bottle and refrigerate.
Thank you for sharing this!
My family loved this recipe and they keep begging me to make it again, thank you so much for sharing!
This came out so juicy. A new addition to my dinner rotation.