Top down view of two white vessels of Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce, alongside a spoon with some sauce, orange slices, and a halved pineapple, all against a black background.
October 18, 2023

Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce

October 18, 2023

Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce

Top down view of two white vessels of Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce, alongside a spoon with some sauce, orange slices, and a halved pineapple, all against a black background.

Proving once again that brown butter really does make everything taste better, this pineapple brown butter teriyaki sauce is a modern twist on a perennial favourite. Featuring pineapple juice, orange juice, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and either brown butter or vegan brown butter, you’ll want to lick this sweet and savoury sauce right off the spoon.

Ingredients for Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce: ginger, pineapple juice, soy sauce, orange juice, brown butter (or vegan brown butter), sugar. Not shown: oil, cornstarch.

Ingredients

This luscious sauce is made with:

  • unsweetened pineapple juice: Look for this in the juice section of your grocery store. You could also use the juice drained from canned pineapples.
  • unsweetened orange juice: Use store-bought or squeeze your own.
  • Soy sauce: We used regular soy sauce. If you prefer less salt, you can use sodium-reduced.
  • Ginger: We think it's best with fresh ginger, but you could substitute dried. See the Recipe Card for details. 
  • Neutral oil: You can use whatever kind of cooking oil you prefer. This is used for lightly frying the fresh ginger to take the edge off.
  • Sugar: We used white sugar, we think brown sugar or coconut sugar could be interesting, too. If you're making the vegan version of this recipe, be aware that some white and brown sugars are not vegan-friendly. To learn more, see Sugar, Sugar, Honey, Honey: Guide to Sweeteners for Plant-Based Diets.
  • Cornstarch: This is for thickening the sauce.
  • for the dairy-version:  brown butter. Brown butter is regular butter that's cooked until it releases water and the milk solids caramelize. The result: a deep, nutty, toffee-like flavour that counterpoints the acidity of the ginger and juices. 
  • for the vegan/plant-based version: vegan brown butter.We created this recipe so that plant-based people could enjoy brown butter, too. Unlike the original 1-ingredient recipe, the vegan version is 2 instead, margarine and pecans, which impart the nutty flavour.   
Top-down view of Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce in the frying pan

FAQs

What makes teriyaki sauce, teriyaki sauce?

Traditional Japanese teriyaki sauce is made from a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and sake or mirin. The name is derived from the cooking technique, which typically involves brushing meat with the sauce during cooking.

This version contains soy sauce and a small amount of sugar, but no sake or mirin. This sauce is also more of a dipping/pouring sauce and it works with so much more than just meat — think prawns, tofu, and veggies, especially, yams, sweet potatoes, and carrots. It also pairs well with fresh and crunchy vegetables like cucumber or zucchini.

Is Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce traditional?

Adding pineapple juice and ginger to teriyaki sauce are familiar variations, for North Americans at least. However, we’ve never seen another version with brown butter. Brown butter really makes this sauce, adding a silky richness that’s a great counterpoint to the sweet and acidic base.

How does a sauce with brown butter work for vegans?

It works because this sauce is delicious and we wanted vegans to be able to enjoy it too, so we came up with a recipe for vegan brown butter.

What should I serve Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce with?

Great question! Try our Buddha Bowls! It would also be awesome with tofu, chicken, prawns, pork, or veggies.

Top down view of Buddha Bowl with cherry tomatoes, mango slices, zucchini spirals, carrots, Salty Crispy Tofu topped with Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce, and fresh pineapple.

Cooking Tips

Prepare the Brown Butter First

You’ll want to have your brown butter or vegan brown butter made before you start this sauce. Both of those recipes take about 20 minutes, depending on the quantity you make. If you’ve never ventured into brown butter territory before, let us reassure you that you’ll be happy to have it around. 

Once you’ve got your brown butter ready, the recipe comes together very easily. 

The Process

You’ll start by gently frying the ginger in oil, just for a few minutes to take the raw edge off and get the oil infused. Next, you’ll stir in the soy sauce, pineapple juice, orange juice, and sugar.

To thicken the sauce, you combine the cornstarch with some sauce in a measuring cup or small heatproof dish, and then add the combined cornstarch/sauce mixture back to the pan. Stir over heat for a few minutes until the sauce thickens up. If you want a thicker sauce, you can double the amount of cornstarch – this will result in a sauce that’s thick enough to use for drizzling.

Once your sauce has reached the desired thickness, transfer it to a blender, add the brown butter or vegan brown butter, and then blitz until the ginger is thoroughly pureed. Your Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce is ready to enjoy!


Tips: The Sauce unites us 

This is a great sauce for a mixed group, as you can make this Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce vegan or vegetarian. You can easily make both versions at the same time, as the vegan brown butter or brown butter is added at the end.

It's  equally delicious poured over tofu, chicken, prawns, pork, or veggies, like yams, sweet potatoes, and carrots.

For the ultimate in customizable dinners, make it to go with these Buddha Bowls.

Top down view of two white vessels of Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce, alongside a spoon with some sauce, orange slices, and a halved pineapple, all against a black background.

Recipe Card

Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce

Prep Time 7 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
This Pineapple Brown Butter Teriyaki Sauce is a luscious twist on a perennial favourite. Featuring pineapple juice, orange juice, and fresh ginger along with either brown butter or vegan brown butter, you'll love it with chicken, tofu, prawns, and vegetables. Great for Buddha Bowls or stir fries. 
Servings 20 servings
Calories 62 kcal
Author Sylvia Eastman

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil {I used flavourless coconut oil}
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 cups pineapple juice
  • 2/3 cup orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup brown butter or vegan brown butter

Instructions

  • In a large frying pan, saute the ginger in the oil over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, juices, and sugar. 
  • Simmer for about 10 minutes, and then transfer a small amount of the sauce to a measuring cup. Add the cornstarch to the cup and stir until combined. Add the combined sauce/cornstarch mixture back to the sauce pan, and cook and stir until the sauce is your desired thickness. 
  • Transfer the sauce to the blender, and add the brown butter or vegan brown butter. Blend until the sauce is smooth. 
  • Serve over vegetables, tofu, fish, chicken or pork. 

Notes

Making Thicker Sauce

If you want your sauce to be suitable for drizzling out of a squeeze bottle, add 2 more tablespoons of cornstarch to it. 

Storage and Reheating

You can store any unused sauce in the fridge for 5 or 6 days. The sauce will thicken up when chilled. Reheat the sauce over low heat to return it to its original consistency. If necessary, you can thin it with a little additional pineapple or orange juice. 

Nutritional Information

Nutrition information is an estimate only, based on using butter, and a serving size of 2 tablespoons. 

Nutrition

Calories: 62kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 345mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Vitamin C: 6.6mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Courses, Cuisines, and Keywords

Course
Sauce
Cuisine
American
|
Japanese
Keywords
brown butter sauce
|
pineapple teriyaki sauce
|
teriyaki sauce
|
vegan brown butter sauce
|
vegan teriyaki sauce

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Hello!


We're creating a course: Baby Steps to Plant-Based Eating

Yes, seriously. Trying a plant-based diet can be overwhelming and we'd like to help. 

This course is for you if: 

  • you're curious about plant-based eating, but don't know where to start 
  • you have family or friends who eat plant-based and you'd like to be able to cook for them
  • you've dabbled with plant-based cooking, but would like to expand your repertoire 

Baby Steps to Plant-Based Eating will: 

  • answer your pressing questions
  • cultivate your confidence 
  • arm you with recipes

Want to learn more?  

Join our email list for updates about the course launch. You'll also get priority access to new recipes, and other subscriber privileges.