Honey Sesame Marinade is a scrumptious and easy way to infuse meats and vegetables with a wonderful honey sesame flavor! Take advantage of this delicious marinade to amp up the flavor of your weeknight meals, stir fry, or grilled meats and veggies. The result is salty, sweet, toasted sesame flavor-packed meal!
What KJ Loves about this Recipe
I’ve always been a huge fan of honey sesame – and this marinade is all that and more! I love that it’s an easy and hassle-free way to get one of my favorite flavor profiles infused into my meats and veggies. One of my favorite ways to use this Honey Sesame Marinade is to cube chicken, marinate it, then sauté the marinated chicken in about 1/4 cup of the marinade that I saved (didn’t touch the chicken at all). The end result is a sticky, salty, sweet honey sesame chicken dish that is perfect served over rice!
Ingredients Needed
All you need is a few simple ingredients to bring this Honey Sesame Marinade to life:
- Low-sodium soy sauce – I like to use low-sodium soy sauce for this recipe so that the salt content isn’t over the top.
- Honey – adds the perfect sweetness to this marinade!
- Sesame oil – this gives the classic “honey sesame” flavor!
- Sesame seeds – they add fun pops of white to the marinade, taste and slight texture when they get cooked!
- Garlic – the perfect aromatic for this marinade.
How to Use Honey Sesame Marinade
After you have the marinade whipped up, there are endless ways that you can use it! From different meats, veggies, to different cooking applications. Let’s break down all the ways you can use this Honey Sesame Marinade:
Meats:
- Chicken: breasts, tenders, thighs, legs or a whole chicken! Marinate the chicken, or sauté it in the sauce! The marinated chicken is also perfect on the grill or roasted in the oven.
- Steak: skirt steak or flank steak love marinades! Grill or pan-sear it afterwards.
- Beef: roasts glazed and roasted in the marinade.
- Pork: pork chops, pork tenderloin or thinly sliced pork marinated and then sautéd or grilled.
- Seafood: shrimp, cod, salmon or halibut. Instead of marinating the seafood, sauté or glaze the seafood with the marinade while cooking!
Vegetables:
- Roasted or grilled vegetables: zucchini, broccoli, green beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, asparagus and more!
- Portabella mushrooms: glaze with the marinade before grilling.
Cooking Methods:
- Sauté – add the marinated meat into a large skillet and sauté, or don’t marinate the meat and use the marinade as a sauce that you pour into the skillet instead (use about half of the sauce).
- Grill – add the marinated meat or vegetables straight onto the grill, discarding the leftover marinade.
- Roast – add the marinated meat into a baking dish and roast, or don’t marinate the meat and use the marinade as a sauce that you pour over the meats/vegetables in the dish and roast instead.
- Slow Cooker – pour the marinade over the meat in the slow cooker and cook low and slow.
- Smoke – add the marinated meat straight from the marinade on to the smoker, discarding the leftover marinade.
Marinade FAQ’s
How long should I marinate chicken or steak?
A general rule of thumb, don’t go over 24 hours. Anywhere from 1 hour to 8 hours is prime marinating time! Another thing to keep in mind is the toughness of the meat you are marinating. Chicken will marinate faster than a flank steak since it is not as dense and tough as a flank steak.
What do I do with the leftover marinade from the meat?
Unfortunately, it will need to be discarded. Since it has been infusing with the meat and vice versa, you don’t want to risk any cross-contamination issues.
How do I sauté with a marinade and use it as a sauce?
If you are wanting to use the marinade more as a sauce, then skip the whole marinating process. Here’s an example of how you can do this: cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders into 1-inch pieces, sauté the chicken until golden brown and then add in about half of the marinade to create a saucy, honey sesame chicken recipe. This application can be applied to shrimp, or thinly sliced pork and steak as well.
How long does the marinade last in the refrigerator?
Un-used marinade will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days in an air-tight container. The olive oil may harden and thats ok. Lightly shake it and bring it to room temperature to help this if necessary.
Looking for other Marinade Recipes? Check these out!
Honey Sesame Marinade
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/4 cup 1x
Description
Honey Sesame Marinade is a scrumptious and easy way to infuse meats and vegetables with a wonderful honey sesame flavor! Take advantage of this delicious marinade to amp up the flavor of your weeknight meals, stir fry, or grilled meats and veggies. The result is salty, sweet, toasted sesame flavor-packed meal!
Ingredients
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl, glass or Mason jar. Use marinade as desired.
Notes
- How to use as a marinade: marinate the chicken, steak or pork for 1 hour minimum to 8 hours maximum. Discard leftover marinade prior to cooking the meat. Marinate seafood for 1-3 hours.
- How to use as a sauce: sauté the desired meat or vegetables and add in about half of the marinade to create a sauce. If you want a really saucy outcome, add in all of the marinade.
- How to use as a sauce: place chicken in a slow cooker and pour the marinade over. Cook for 6-8 hours.
- Serving ideas: grilled meats and veggies, roasted veggies with the marinade, roasted meat with mashed potatoes and veggies, kabobs, salad toppings, pasta toppings.
- Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Marinate
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 92
- Sugar: 17.1g
- Sodium: 2817mg
- Fat: 2.4g
- Carbohydrates: 17.9g
- Fiber: 0.2g
- Protein: 3.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: Honey Sesame Marinade
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Hi, I’m KJ!
Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes for the home cook. I strive to make wholesome meals with easy-to-find ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen—but I won’t shy away from a few indulgences! (I see you: butter, bacon, cookies!)
