Baked Teriyaki Chicken with Vegetables

This is one of my favorite family recipe, super kid friendly thanks to the bite size and the Teriyaki sauce taste. It’s easy to make, healthy and I can substitute the vegetables following the seasons and pending what is available at the farmers market. I like to serve the Teriyaki Chicken on a bed of CousCous to create a complete meal for the kids. Also rice or any other cereal is a nice side option.

Also, as I make the Teriyaki sauce from scratch, I can control every single ingredient and make it just a bit less sweet than the original recipe.

I would definitely suggest this recipe for toddlers, +12months.

If you have a baby in the family (8/10 months) and you still want to let him/her try the recipe, here you are few changes to the recipe for you:

• substitute the honey with dates puree or figs puree or maple syrup.
• for your baby I would not use a lot of Teriyaki sauce as it contains soy sauce (aka salt). You can easily remove few cubes of chicken and an handful of veggies before adding the Teriyaki sauce. Season the remaining big quantity as described in the recipe and simply add one teaspoon of Teriyaki sauce to the baby quantity. Place your baby chicken/veggie portion in one corner of the baking sheet so that it will stay separate from the other.
• Once everything is baked, place your baby portion in a container, add some hot water or vegetable broth and make a nice and smooth puree with an immersion blender.

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Baked Teriyaki Chicken with Vegetables

Ingredients

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce:

• ¼ cups low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil plus more for drizzling on vegetables
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon potato starch o cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water

Chicken and Vegetables:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 1½ pounds
• 2 broccoli heads
• 3 carrots
• 2 Cups green beans
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil

Cous Cous as side dish:

• 1 cup cous cous
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Prepare the sauce: in a container place all the ingredients and whisk well to combine.
   
2. Transfer the sauce in a sauce pan and bring to boil at medium heat, whisking.
   
3. When the sauce is bubbling and starts thickening, reduce the heat to minimum and simmer, stirring, for 1 minute. Set it apart.
   
4. Prepare all the vegetables: cut all of them in small pieces, toddler bites.
   
5. Do the same with the chicken. The small size is not only toddler friendly but will reduce the cooking time 😉
   
6. In a big bowl add the vegetables and 1 Tbsp of sesame oil. Mix. Pour 1/4 of the Teriyaki sauce. Mix.
   
7. In another bowl add the chicken and pour 1/4 of the Teriyaki sauce on top and mix.
   
8. Place the vegetable/chicken mix on a parchment paper on a baking sheet and try to spread in one layer in order to cook everything evenly.
   
9. Bake in preheated oven at 400F/180C for 15 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and add half of the remaining Teriyaki sauce.
    
11. Bake for additional 5 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked) and add other 5 minutes in broil mode to give a nice golden top.
    
12. While the chicken is baking you can prepare the CousCous.
13. In a medium pan add the water and bring it to boil.
14. When the water is boiling, turn the heat off, add the couscous and the olive oil, stir, cover with a lid and let is cook for 5/6 minutes (easy, don't you think??)
    
15. Serve the Chicken with veggies on a bed of couscous, yum!
    
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