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These Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls are made with healthy ground turkey and veggies in a sweet teriyaki sauce served over white or brown rice.
We love quick and easy Asian inspired recipes, and have quite a few here on the site! Our favorites are included in our monthly dinner rotation, like Egg Fried Rice and Crockpot Orange Chicken and these delicious rice bowls.
Teriyaki turkey is one of my family’s favorites! The sweet and savory richness of the sauce really compliments the mild flavor of the ground turkey. Plus it’s loaded with veggies, which means my kids are eating them! You can pair this with steamed rice chow mein noodles, or wrapped in a tortilla or Lettuce Wrap.
Pin this recipe for later!Table of Contents
Ground Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowls
Ground turkey recipes are always a winner in our house, like Turkey, Kale and Rice Soup, Turkey Taco Stuffed Shells and Spicy Turkey Meatloaf. But these Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls always top the list of favorites.
This ground turkey is juicy and the teriyaki sauce is sweet and flavorful. Add in all the wonderful veggies and you’ve got a perfectly complete meal that makes great leftovers.
Why We Love This Recipe
- It’s a quick and easy, a healthy alternative to ground beef, and an easy substitution in tons of recipes like chili and spaghetti sauce.
- We include lots of veggies and dice them up small so it’s very kid friendly and a great way to get kids to actually enjoy eating their vegetables.
- You can easily customize this recipe to include your favorite veggies or add a different base like rice or noodles.
How to Make Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls
- Cook the ground turkey. After cooking the meat with some onions and garlic, grate few carrots and chop some broccoli very fine, and toss them in with the meat. This gave the illusion that there weren’t very many vegetables in there, but they couldn’t avoid what they couldn’t see! *Note – if you are serving this as a rice bowl, you’ll want to start cooking the rice before you start cooking the meat.
- Make the teriyaki sauce. The teriyaki sauce is made from scratch and is incredibly easy. Some readers have commented on the amount of sugar in the sauce, and you can see in the recipe notes that you can reduce to your liking. Teriyaki sauce is typically sweet on it’s own, but you can adjust the levels based on your needs. It will still taste great!
- Assemble the rice bowls. The teriyaki sauce is combined with the meat and veggies and simmered for a few minutes to let the flavors blend and get all happy. Then scoop it on top of white or brown rice, noodles, into lettuce cups or even flour tortillas for some Asian-Mexican fusion!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use ground beef instead of turkey?
Yes, you absolutely can! Ground turkey can be easily swapped for ground beef, pork or chicken. You will want to make sure to drain it really well since ground beef lets out a lot of liquid, but it will work just as well as the ground turkey.
Can I cut back the amount of sugar?
Yes. I wrote this recipe to have a sticky sweet teriyaki sauce, but some people have said they prefer it a little less sweet. Feel free to cut back as much as you like. As you are cooking the sauce, give it a quick taste – you can always add more sugar if you want it sweeter.
How to Serve
Sprinkle some sliced green onions and sesame seeds on top before serving. It’s a pretty garnish and adds a little flavor, too.
My kids love to eat their rice bowl with chopsticks. If you don’t have any, you can find them here, or try these adorable training chopsticks for kids.
Recipe Variations
Feel free to customize this recipe to fit your own personal tastes. Use leftover veggies and sauté or steam them before adding them to the turkey and sauce.
Some other veggie options:
- Bell peppers
- Snow peas
- Water chestnuts
- Bok choy
- Bean sprouts
- Zucchini
- Corn
- Cauliflower
- Water chestnuts
Storage Tips
How to Store Leftovers
- Refrigerating leftovers: This dish will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge if properly stored in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
- To freeze, allow to cool completely, then pour into a freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat as described above. Freeze rice or noodles separately from the meat.
Recipe Tips
- Ground turkey recipes are the tastiest when the meat is seasoned properly.
- Add some heat to this dish with some Sriracha or red pepper flakes.
- Not fans of rice? Use noodles instead. You can even use spaghetti noodles to mimic a lo mein and toss in some cabbage to saute it with.
- Feel free to cut the amount of sugar in this recipe. It won’t affect the flavor too much but it will swing more towards the savory side.
More Ground Turkey Recipes
- Creamy Cheesy Turkey Taco Pasta
- Turkey Taco Soup
- Spicy Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
- Easy Ground Turkey Tacos
- Ground Turkey Casserole
- Ground Turkey Enchiladas
- Ground Turkey Taco Salad
Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl
Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/2 cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup Water
- 2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Brown sugar or less as desired
- 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar or less as desired
- 2 teaspoons Minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Warm water
Ground Turkey
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup Diced onion
- 2 tablespoons Minced garlic
- 1 pound Ground Turkey
- 1 cup Broccoli finely chopped
- 2 Large carrots peeled and grated
- 2 Green onions diced, for garnish
- 4 cups Cooked white or brown rice
Instructions
Teriyaki Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and warm water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, gently whisk soy sauce, water, red wine vinegar, sugars, minced garlic and ground ginger until sugars are completely dissolved.
- Slowly whisk in cornstarch mixture and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
Ground Turkey
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. If you notice the onions beginning to scorch, immediately turn down the heat.
- Stir in minced garlic. Add ground turkey and break apart with a spatula. Cook, stirring occasionally, until turkey is cooked about halfway through; 4-5 minutes. Add grated carrots and chopped broccoli and continue to cook until turkey is no longer pink and vegetables are soft; 5-6 minutes.
- Pour teriyaki sauce over the turkey and vegetables and stir. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Divide cooked rice into bowls then top with the teriyaki turkey. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve immediately.
Notes
- Teriyaki Sauce is generally sweet. However, feel free to cut back on the amount of sugar in the sauce. 1 tablespoon of each would suffice if you prefer a more savory flavor.
- The nutritional information is based on serving this teriyaki turkey over white rice. Use brown rice or just less rice to reduce calories and carbs.
- Feel free to customize this recipe with your favorite vegetables.
- A note about SERVING SIZE: A serving is approximately ¾ cup of rice and one cup of the meat/veggies.
- The serving sizes are approximate and will vary depending on a variety of factors, like how much you cook your veggies down and what size your cuts of vegetables are. As a meal, this recipe will make 4-6 servings.
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.
Kids and family love this.
I searched “ground turkey recipes” because it was late and I needed we make something quickly to keep my boyfriend and friends from the urge to buy takeout and this was a huge hit! Not only was the food great, but we have fun doing it together. We subbed broccoli for peas and all agreed that water chestnuts or cashews would be a great add-in for next time (because we’re totally making it again). Thanks for helping us create a great meal!
Thank you for sharing your success Ariana! So glad you enjoyed it and I love your idea for adding cashews!
This is such a great, simple recipe ~ thanks! It’s in regular rotation at our house.
So glad you enjoyed it Kim!
I don’t have red wine, could we substitute with white wine?
The Red Wine Vinegar has a distinct flavor, but in a pinch you could swap for white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
I have both, thank you. Already prep everything about to start making it ?
I made this tonight and it turned out great. I reduced both sugars by half and it was still sweet enough for us. We are attempting to reduce our sugar intake. Most recipes I reduce the sugar content in half.
How Manny servings dose this make please?
It makes 3-4 servings.
Hi!
I was just wondering how this does with freezing (if you’ve tried that) for making make ahead meals?
I love this recipe, it is so good!
I haven’t tried that, but I think it would freeze fine.
This was very delicious but I cut the sugar drastically! I use 2T or brown and1T of white. It was still really sweet. My kids loved it too. Thanks!
I just made this tonight. It was delicious. I didn’t have any broccoli in the house but did have half a red, half a yellow, and half a green pepper. So I did onion and peppers and left out the carrots and broccoli. It was absolutely amazing and my boyfriend loved it. Asked for leftovers for lunch and to add to the rotation in our meals for sure!! Thanks for sharing.
That’s great! It’s super versatile and you can definitely swap out different veggies or even proteins!
I’ll admit, I started out thinking I wouldn’t like this. Because, in the past I haven’t like ground turkey. But this was DELICIOUS! My kids inhaled it and I wasn’t far behind them. I might have to change my mind about ground turkey. 🙂
I love how easy it is and that it’s a homemade teriyaki sauce. Super delicious and I’m excited about the leftovers for lunch!
So glad you liked it! Ground turkey is like chicken in that it takes on any flavor you give it!
I’m just wondering, around how long does it take to make this? 20 mins? And I bet this would taste delicious with ground chicken!
Yes, 20 minutes is about right – hope you enjoy!
Made this tonight, used beef instead!! Was awesome! And easy! My new favourite sauce!!
This is delicious! Made it for dinner tonight, and it was even better than I expected. It’s very filling, so I have plenty for leftovers. Keeping this on my regular dinner rotation. Thank you for posting this!
So glad you enjoyed it! The meat mixture is delicious in lettuce wraps too, which is perfect for leftovers!
I’m looking forward to making this but I was wondering why you had two sets of minced garlic in the recipe? When do I use the 2 teaspoons and when do I use the 2 tablespoons?
The teaspoons is for the sauce and the tablespoons are for the meat mixture. Sorry that wasn’t more clear! 🙂
Made this for the family tonight and it was a hit! It is now going to be added to our rotation. The only change was that I used less sugar and I omitted the carrots simply because we didn’t have any! Both my kids devoured it with rice and husband and I loved it, too! Loved that it was a meal that gave you low carb/yes carb choices. Many thanks!
Just made this for dinner and my family of 6 loved it! I want to share it with my mom who follows weight watchers. She needs to know the calories, fat, fiber, etc. info. Any idea on the specs of this delish dish?
Hi Amber,
Unfortunately I am not a nutritionist so I hesitate to attempt to give out nutritional information. However there are many nutrition calculators available online. Good luck!
Ok, thanks!
Amber if you put all the ingredients into your app you should be able to get the smart points for this
Perla
Just made this for dinner and am in heaven! It so good!!! I like a little heat so I added some cayenne pepper to it.
This will be going into rotation. Thanks!
Oh what a great idea! Glad you enjoyed it!! It’s one of my all time favorites. 🙂
this seemed a little overwhelming, but it wasn’t!! easy to prepare, and so yummy!! will make again!
I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but that’s just for the sauce – you could always use a bottled teriyaki sauce if you wanted! But I’m glad you gave it a shot. It’s one of my favorite meals to date!!
My husband & I enjoyed this recipe – great as leftovers too! Thanks for sharing.
Made this for my daughter yesterday for dinner and she said, “mommy this is the best meal in the world!” It was pretty tasty if I say so myself.
That’s great!!
Thank you, Kristin for this recipe! My 9 year old granddaughter will only eat mac & cheese. Since I had a frozen ground turkey breast in my freezer and had all these ingredients on hand I made it for her and she absolutely loved it!
Thanks,
Jane
This sounds delicious and will be a meal (with leftovers for work lunch) this week! I know just how you feel about trying to sneak veggies into your kids…mine were the very same way! Thanks for sharing!