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The delicious, sweet teriyaki sauce and the (kind of) hidden veggies in this Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl makes this one of those healthy ground turkey recipes that your whole family will love!
We love quick and easy Asian inspired recipes, and have quite a few here on the site! Some of our favorites are included in our monthly dinner rotation, like Egg Fried Rice and Crockpot Orange Chicken.
I love Asian inspired dishes, and Teriyaki is a family favorite. The sweet and savory richness of the sauce really compliments the flavors of the turkey. Plus it’s loaded with veggies, which means my kids are eating them! You can pair this with steamed rice or noodles, or even wrap it up in a Lettuce Wrap.
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. These Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls always top the list of favorites.
My kids are not fans of vegetables. Well, quite frankly that is an understatement. They hate them. So I have had to get clever with how I add veggies to our meals.
The 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 Cook Ground Turkey
Ground turkey is a light, bright pink color when it’s raw or uncooked. As it cooks the color will change from pink to a light brown color. Seasoning is important, since it has a very mild flavor that takes on whatever flavors you add. It’s delicious with just a little garlic, onion and salt added but you can also add it to chili, spaghetti, tacos and more by changing the seasoning.
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!
How to Serve
Sprinkle some sliced green onions and sesame seeds on top before serving. It’s a pretty garnish and add 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.
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 Variations
Feel free to customize this recipe to fit your own personal tastes. Use cut up 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
I have received lots of comments over the years on how much people love this recipe, but also how they change it up and make it their own for something truly unique and delicious.
- 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 but it will swing more towards the savory side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you absolutely can! Ground turkey recipes can easily swap 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.
When you purchase lean ground turkey at the store, it has a “sell-by” date. Your meat will likely last 1-2 days past this date if properly stored in it’s original packaging in your refrigerator. To further extend the shelf life, freeze it within 1 day past the sell by date. To maximize freshness, wrap the packaged turkey in foil and place in a freezer bag. Follow these steps to ensure you always have fresh meat on hand for all of your favorite ground turkey recipes!
More Ground Turkey Recipes
- Creamy Cheesy Turkey Taco Pasta
- Turkey Taco Soup
- Spicy Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
- Smoked Sausage and Zucchini Skillet
Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl
Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/2 cup Less 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 finely chopped broccoli
- 2 large carrots peeled and grated
- 2 green onions diced, for garnish
- 4 cups cooked white or brown rice divided
Instructions
- Mix soy sauce, ¼ cup water, red wine vinegar, sugars, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a whisk until sugar is dissolved.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons warm water and cornstarch until cornstarch is completely dissolved.
- Heat sauce over medium high heat. Slowly whisk in cornstarch mixture and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and cook until soft.
- Crumble ground turkey and garlic into the pan and cook until turkey is about half cooked. Add grated carrots and chopped broccoli and continue to cook until turkey is no longer pink.
- Pour teriyaki sauce over cooked turkey and vegetable mixture and stir. Simmer for about five minutes to combine the flavors.
- Spoon meat over rice or noodles. Garnish with 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 than sweet 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.
I was looking for a recipe to use my ground turkey for (that wasn’t meatballs) and this was it! We halved the sugar and it came out SO tasty!! Definitely will be making again. Great for a weeknight meal, it’s simple and comes together fast.
Hi Erin, Thank you so much for the awesome feedback.
There’s no way this can be a 215 k cal meal when a cup of rice itself is close to 200
You’re right – thanks for correcting me. I neglected to include the rice in the ingredients list. With the rice and the teriyaki turkey and veggies divided into 5 portions it’s about 380 calories per serving.
Sooo good!! Followed recipe and it was a hit with the whole family!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Sharon.
Hi, I’m looking forward ti trying this recipe. Could you use honey instead of the sugar?
Yes you could sweeten with honey instead.
Could rice wine vinegar be substituted for the red wine? thanks!
Yes, it can.
Could rice vinegar be used instead of red wine vinegar?
Yes, it can.
Just made this tonight! It was delicious! The entire family devoured it and I also loved how easy it was to make! My 3 yr old and 1 yr old granddaughters, who are very picky eaters, enjoyed it too! Definitely a recipe to make again!
Nice! Thank you so much for your feedback Amy.
Would this recipe taste as good with ground beef instead of turkey?
It would work with ground beef. Turkey is a lot milder in flavor, and also leaner, so you will need to drain the grease if you use beef.
It’s my 3rd time using this recipe. My husband really likes it. I do use coconut aminos soy sauce replacement. So, it’s a little healthier. And I am sure I added larger amounts of veggies. I will continue using this recipe.
That’s awesome Vicky! Thanks for stopping by.
Why does it say to add garlic to the sauce then later to add to the meat? What’s best time to add it
There is garlic added to the meat and also to the sauce. It’s separated out in the ingredients list.
Dang– my mouth legit started watering looking at your pictures and this recipe! Looks beyond tasty. I never thought of making a teriyaki bowl with ground meat. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
You are so welcome Chelsea! Thanks for stopping by.
I made this for the first time tonight. It was so delicious and all my guys loved it!
That’s awesome Angela! Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Healthy and delicious. My family loved it! I had recently gone to Costco, and they were out of ground beef. Now I know what to do with ground turkey!!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Linda.
Oh. My. Goodness! I love this recipe. First, I have been frustrated with bottled teriyaki and its strange flavor. This is an amazing sauce, and the meal as a whole was a hit. Even though I doubled the broccoli amount, my son still scarfed it down without a single grumpy face or complaint (which is common when there is broccoli). I’d serve this to guests without question. Thanks!!
Nice! You are so welcome Natalie! Thanks for your awesome feedback.
I used a bag of broccolli slaw in addition to the carrots. Very good. I also used fresh ginger instead of ground.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Judy.
Hi. Am I able to use frozen broccoli florets or should they be fresh? I was going to use canned round carrots as well.
You can use frozen broccoli, but I’d recommend at least thawing it first. For both just make sure that you drain off as much liquid as possible.
This was absolutely delicious! And so quick and easy to make. This will be a weekly recipe in my house. Thanks so much!
You are so welcome Sherstin C Harrison! Thanks for stopping by.
Nice recipe!!! I added sriracha because we like spice and water chestnuts for a crunchy element. Super quick and delicious!!! Thanks!!
Thank you so much Rosalie for the awesome feedback.
This was amazing! We did it over rice but looking forward to trying it on noodles next time. I’ve been counting calories and was wondering does 1/2 cup sound pretty accurate for a serving? Thank you again
Yes, it does.
I loved this and so did everyone in my family. Thank you so much for this yummy and simple recipe. I’m really not the best cook, so I appreciate when I find fool-proof yummy recipes 🙂
You are so welcome Olga! Thanks for stopping by.
After one bite my husband declared this meal delicious. Made it with red pepper, thinly sliced carrots, chopped broccoli and snap peas cut into small pieces and served over gluten-free ramen. It’s a keeper!