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Our Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs are tender, flavorful, and coated in a perfect homemade teriyaki sauce. These turkey meatballs are quick, ready in under 30 minutes, and are the perfect weeknight dinner over rice or noodles.
This recipe keeps things simple but still leaves room for flexibility. If you prefer beef meatballs, ground beef works just as well. Fresh ginger and garlic add the best flavor, but you can substitute dried versions in a pinch. Either way, you’ll have a dish that your family will love!
Try This Next: My Orange Chicken or Korean Short Ribs are other easy, flavor-packed meals your family will love!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy. Ready in less than 30 minutes, including the sauce.
- Full of flavor. Fresh ginger, garlic, and sesame oil make the meatballs and sauce shine.
- Versatile. Works as a main dish or appetizer, and you can swap turkey for beef or pork.
- Family-friendly. Savory, sweet teriyaki sauce appeals to kids and adults alike.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
Before You Begin
Preheat your oven before mixing the meatballs so everything comes together quickly. Line a sheet pan with foil for easier cleanup. While the meatballs bake, whisk the sauce ingredients in a saucepan so the teriyaki is ready when the meatballs come out of the oven.
Tools and Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Baking sheet lined with foil
- Small saucepan
- Whisk
- Measuring spoons and cups
How To Make Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with foil.
In a large bowl, combine turkey, panko, egg, green onion, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Mix until well combined.
Roll into 1 1/4-inch balls and place on the sheet pan.
Bake for 12 minutes, or until the meat is fully cooked through.
While the meatballs bake, combine the brown sugar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture has thickened.
Toss the baked meatballs in teriyaki sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over steamed rice or noodles for a complete meal, or serve with toothpicks as an appetizer. Try topping with extra sesame seeds or swapping turkey for chicken or beef. You can even double the sauce to drizzle over veggies or stir-fry.
Storage Tips
The Best Way to Store Leftovers
Storing: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through. Freeze plain baked meatballs up to 2 months, then add sauce when reheating.
Make Ahead: Bake the meatballs and then refrigerate them. Warm gently with sauce before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Use a cookie scoop for evenly sized meatballs.
- Don’t overmix the meatball mixture, or they’ll be dense.
- Line your sheet pan with foil for easy cleanup.
- Taste the sauce and adjust sweetness or saltiness as desired.
- Fresh ginger and garlic add the best flavor, but dried spices work if that’s what you have.
- Feel free to substitute ground beef, pork, or chicken for the ground turkey.
- If you don’t have fresh ginger, use ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger in both the meatballs and the sauce.
More Meatball Recipes
- Buffalo Ranch Meatballs
- Spicy Honey Garlic Meatballs
- One Pan Parmesan Meatballs
- Spicy Pineapple Barbecue Turkey Meatballs
- Easy Homemade Meatballs
Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
Turkey Meatballs
- 16 oz Ground turkey
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 Large egg
- 2 tablespoon Chopped green onion
- 2 teaspoons Sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Freshly grated ginger
- 2 Minced garlic cloves
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/4 cup Brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 2 Minced garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Freshly grated ginger
Toppings
- Thinly sliced green onions
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine all ingredients for meatballs in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
- Roll meatballs into balls that are 1 1/4″. Place on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and bake for 12 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- While the meatballs are cooking, combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Transfer cooked meatballs to a mixing bowl and pour sauce over. Lightly mix before serving. Top with green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
2 teaspoons of sesame oil sounds like a lot. Am I overthinking this?
It adds to the flavor – I don’t think it’s overpowering but you can add less if you are worried about it.
Can you do this recipe in the crockpot?
Try this – Roll the meatballs as directed, than place in the bottom of the crock pot. The combine the ingredients for the sauce and pour over the meatballs. Cook on high for 3-4 hours. Let me know how it comes out – I haven’t personally tried this method, but I think it should work.
OMG! I’ve made turkey meatballs before but this has just become my favorite recipe for them! I was a bit skeptical because of the turkey but they taste so so good! I didn’t not make any substitutions and I think they were perfect as is. Half the recipe made about 15 meatballs for me.
That’s awesome Marissa! Love the feedback, thanks for stopping by.
Such an easy, delicious recipe! It got dinner on the table quickly and my husband said it looked very impressive, just like the picture. I doubled the sauce and think it would be delicious on other meats and veggies for sure!
Love the feedback Tracy! Thanks for stopping by.
Super yummy! Served with a coconut curry veggie stir fry from Target. A perfect pairing!
Quick question: what is the individual servicing size? I see 100 cal, but is that for 12 meatballs? Thanks!
Hi Lydia, The recipe makes 12 meatballs, and that would be 101 calories per meatball, including the teriyaki sauce.
Absolutely loved this recipe, for me personally I would double up on the sauce.
Such lovely flavours, will definitely make this again
Nice! Thank you for stopping by Denyse.
So tender and delicious! The sauce was so good, it was sticky and coated the meatballs just like the picture. I am already planning on doubling it and making it for family next time they’re here. A winner!!
Nice! Thank you for the awesome feedback Tracy.
Love these meatballs
So yummy! I think I will cook a little less because they were a tad dry. And I will up the sauce by half because I loved it so much. Put toothpicks in each and served as an appetizer. Just marvelous!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Kristine.
Kristin, these teriyaki meatballs were fantastic! My husband and I enjoyed. Thank you for this delicious recipe. This will be in rotation!
You are so welcome Sherona! Thanks for stopping by.
The most delicious meatballs and teriyaki sauce. Easy to put together too. Added Trader Joe’s chicken pot stickers. Perfect meal!
Thanks Kathleen! Awesome feedback!
This was amazing! So good! Very flavorful. Recipe came out perfect and was a huge hit!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Lauren.
I stumbled across this recipe and realized I had all the ingredients, which was a very good thing as we’re all in the “shelter in place “, and didn’t need to venture out. It was delicious and quite easy to prepare. I added broccoli to the sheet pan for a complete meal.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Michelle.