When I make over a conventional recipe, I work hard to stay as true to the original as possible. And this mouthwatering chicken yakitori recipe keeps all of the luscious umami flavor while cutting out the unnecessary sugars.
Yakitori is a classic Japanese street food featuring juicy grilled chicken skewers brushed with a savory-sweet glaze. Similar to Keto Teriyaki Wings or Asian Steak Bites, it has that irresistible sticky, caramelized finish.
Eat it as an appetizer or serve with some Chili Garlic Green Beans or some Keto Sesame Noodles for a light and healthy meal!
And the best part? My whole family loves it, even my three picky teenagers. That’s a rare phenomenon, as many parents would know. They devoured the skewers hot of the grill and requested it again the very next week. It’s a huge win when I can serve something that’s low carb enough for me and gets thumbs up from the kids.
Reader’s Thoughts
“This is NOT an understatement… You are a genius and have made our keto diet manageable. Tonight we enjoyed your chicken yakitori along with the buster bar. Thank you for sharing your talents with us all!” — Karen
Why we love this recipe
- Juicy and tender: These easy chicken skewers are cooked quickly over a hot grill to lock in the juices and flavors.
- Easy to make: Prepare the sauce and marinate the chicken. Then three onto skewers and you’re ready to go!
- Flavorful sauce: It has all the salty-sweet flavor of the original without the added sugar.
- Grill or broil: It’s great for grilling season but you can also cook them in the oven.
- Low carb: Swapping out the sugar for keto-friendly sweeteners means it won’t spike your blood sugar.
- High protein: When served as a full meal, this chicken yakitori recipe has 35 grams of high quality protein per serving.
Ingredient Notes
- Soy sauce: I know many keto and paleo proponents recommend coconut aminos but it simply doesn’t have that classic umami flavor, and I find it a weak substitute for keto Asian recipes. Additionally, it has more carbs than real soy sauce or tamari (gluten-free soy sauce).
- Sweetener: I used brown sugar substitute, with a bit of allulose to make the sauce more syrupy and sticky.
- Toasted sesame oil: Toasted sesame oil has more flavor. You could use another oil like avocado if you prefer.
- Flavor: Fresh garlic, ginger and hot pepper flakes.
- Xanthan gum: This is used to thicken the sauce. You could also try using glucomannan in the same amount.
- Chicken thighs: I like using boneless chicken thighs for more succulent, juicy skewers.
- Garnishes: Toasted sesame seeds and green onions.
Overview: How to Make This Recipe
- Prepare the sauce: Combine the tamari, water, sweeteners, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the surface with the xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine. Cook until somewhat thickened then remove from heat and cool completely.
- Marinate the chicken: Combine chicken with 2/3 of the sauce and chill for 2 hours to marinate.
- Grill: Thread the chicken onto the skewers and grill over medium high heat, brushing the chicken with the marinating liquid.
- Serve: Remove to a platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with the reserved sauce at the table.
Tips for Success
Appetizer size: This makes a wonderful appetizer when served on smaller skewers. You would likely get 12 to 15 skewers out of this recipe.
Oven-baked method: You can easily cook these skewers in the oven as well. Heat the broiler to high and place on a broiling rack 8 to 10 inches from the heat. Broil about 4 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Be sure to keep your eye on them as broilers differ in intensity.
Sweetener options: You can sweeten the sauce with any sweetener you like best. However, I find that brown sweeteners give a deeper flavor and a little allulose (or xylitol) helps to give it that sticky Asian quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
These Japanese skewers are traditionally made with many parts of the chicken, including gizzards and hearts, along with thigh and breast meat. Sometimes it includes pieces of green onion as well. It’s all cut into bite-sized pieces, and then basted in a sweet and savory sauce and grilled over charcoal.
If you are using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them for at least half an hour before threading the meat onto them. Soaking them ensures that they don’t catch on fire over the hot flames.
This keto chicken yakitori recipe has 1.1g of carbs and 0g of fiber per serving.
More delicious keto Asian recipes to try
Keto Chicken Yakitori Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup brown sugar replacement
- 2 tbsp allulose, or xylitol
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger, or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, or glucomannan
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 medium scallion, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the tamari, water, sweeteners, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.
- Sprinkle the surface with the xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine. Continue to boil 2 to 3 minutes until somewhat thickened. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Place the chicken in a bowl and toss with 2/3 of the sauce. Refrigerate 2 hours to marinate. Reserve the remaining sauce for serving with the chicken.
- If you're using bamboo skewers, place in a pan with water to soak for at least an hour. You will need 6 to 8 large skewers or 12 small appetizer-sized skewers.
- Preheat the grill to medium high and grease the grates to prevent sticking. Thread the chicken onto the skewers. Place the skewers on the grill and brush the the marinating liquid.
- Grill 5 to 6 minutes per side, brushing frequently with the marinating liquid. Remove to a platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with the reserved sauce at the table.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I made this recipe for dinner tonight. Delicious! Even my non keto eating husband loved and gobbled it up. I used the extra sauce to marinate small whole mushrooms, pieces of peppers & zucchini and made skewers out of them too. Definite keeper. Thank you!
It’s one of our favorites too!
Do you think it would be ok to let the chicken marinate for 24 hours? I use whole boneless skinless thighs, if that makes a difference.
As long as it’s in the fridge!
I’m not sure if I’m just missing this or not, but how many thighs and or breasts is typically used for this recipe. I want to make it this week and just need to be sure I have enough meat. Thank you
Totally depends on the size (they vary a lot) so weight is a much more accurate way of giving you an amount. You should be able to purchase by weight, even if it’s pre-packaged.
I made this because I am trying to eat more healthy and my whole family scarfed these down!! THANKS!
You’re right, my whole family loved it! Good flavor and pretty easy to make.
Absolutely fantastic and the sauce was amazing!
This was a winner in our house….my family is still talking about how tasty it was! Definitely will make this again.
Hi, I would love to try this recipe, but I don’t have bochasweet or allulose. Can those be omitted and if so, do I increase the amount of Swerve sweetener? Thanks!
You can do that… but the sauce will re-crystallize. It’s just a fact when working with only erythritol based sweeteners.
This dish sounds to delicious. However, we do not want to start the grill just for these. Can you air fry them?
No idea, you may need to experiment.
Did you air fry them?
Excellent! I have made it twice with chicken tenders and everyone loves it. Thank you for the countless AMAZING recipes you share wit us, Carolyn!
This was so delicious, I will make over and over…Thanks so much for this great recipe….
Another 5 star winner! Non keto hubby gobbled it up. I didn’t skewer, although I love the idea for another time. I put boneless thighs in my Cuisinart double sided griller. Thanks so much for keeping our meals new and exciting!
This is NOT an understatement… You are a genius and have made our keto diet manageable. Tonight we enjoyed your chicken yakitori along with the buster bar. Thank you for sharing your talents with us all!
Yay, I am so happy someone made this. It’s seriously our new fave keto dinner.
Doubling the recipe tonight (with chicken breast as it is what I have). Going to use broiler (grill does) and serve with stir-fried cauliflower rice. Can’t wait!
Oof-grill died, not does!
We loved these! It is always such a pleasure when a recipe is enjoyed by both the keto and nonketo members of the family…AND THAT SAUCE!!! (always a nice surprise when I have all the ingredients on hand the day you post a new recipe)
I have to avoid soy products due to its estrogen content (breast cancer). Tamari is made from soybeans. Any thoughts as to acceptable substitutes?
Read the blog post! I talk about that.
For umami flavor, check out Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Co Multi-Purpose Umami Seasoning Blend. I don’t see anything in its listed ingredients that are inflammatory no-no’s for a therapeutic diet. I’d try that mixed with coconut aminos, but again, beware of carb count on coconut aminos.
This sounds like it would be a winner on my house as well. Ok to just marinate the thighs whole and then bake?
Can’t see why not! Still save some of the sauce for serving at the table.
I did mine the way Michelle suggested. The only problem – no leftovers! Yum
This was amazing, I know I’ll be making again and again! Next time I’ll use metal skewers since, even though I soaked the bamboo ones they burnt.
So glad you like them!