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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.
Made it and it turned out so delicious!! This was a way great to incorporate lots of veggies for meat lovers. Would have liked if the ingredients were separated as it was hard to tell how much garlic went into the sauce and turkey. Other than that, easy to follow and make! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
Tried this as I was at a loss of what to make with ground turkey I got on sale. I switched out Soy Sauce for Teriyaki Sauce. I didnt have ginger so added a little Newmans Own Sesame Ginger. Turned out amazing! Family loves it. Thank you!
I had to make it without the brown sugar, because I was out of it, but still made the sauce. So I went ahead and added an extra 2 tbsp of teriyaki sauce, also. My husband absolutely loved it. We had enough for leftovers for the next night. Very delicious!
Not sure if my ground turkey was bad or I just didn’t care for the brand I bought, but I could not eat this at all. I might try with ground chicken next time or a different brand turkey.
Sorry to hear that Dawn! Everyone raves about this recipe so I hope you’ll give it another try.
Hi what is the calorie count on this dish per serving? Please
Hi Dee, I am not able to provide calorie counts for my recipes, but there are lots of great nutritional calculators online.
I ran out of soy sauce just before I started cooking, so I used Sriracha teriyaki sauce instead. I also used more carrots and onion to add more crunch. The result was amazing! Thank you the great idea!
Thank you Kristin this was a hit in my home, everyone loved it!
I used less sugar -3 tbsp of coconut sugar- total
I only had regular soy sauce ;(… it was in the salty side so if you don’t have low sodium I recommend you use less soy sauce and replace with some water maybe?
I double the veggies including the onions.
And by mistake I tripled the garlic. It was amazing even with all my changes and mistakes;)
THANK YOU !
Both my boys- the 3yr old and the 40 yr old – just asked me if I would make this again next week. Score!!!
Made this last night and my husband and I loved it! It’s going in our regular dinner rotation. I loved the addition of vegetables, and I think it’s a great recipe to swap out different veggies we have on hand that week. Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad to hear it Kristen!
I tried this tonight, using 1/2 the sugar it called for, and my family loved it! My 3 very picky kids ate all of it and no leftovers. Will have to double recipe next time.
Glad to hear it!
Found this last minute, happened to have all the ingredients on hand, so I whipped it up. Family loved it, I added diced water chestnuts for little extra texture. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Made this tonight! My boys and husband loved it! No leftovers! Thanks
So happy to hear that!
I like this recipe, I was looking for something different to try with ground turkey. I added some napa cabbage that I needed use up – I liked it with and without the cabbage. I used truvia brown sugar blend and stevia for the sugars and used less than called for as I did not want it to be too sweet. I also used fresh ginger.
So delicious!! Worth the time!!
I love this recipe – I have made it almost weekly since I found it. I just tried it with spaghetti squash instead of rice and it is delicious!
This was an amazing very healthy meal. I prepared this for my fiance’ and she absolutely loved it! Very simple to make and easy with time. Thank you so much for sharing.
So glad you both enjoyed it Robert!
Hello,
I was just thinking 1lb wiukdnt be enough for my Family. If I use 2lbs ground Turkey would I must double everything else?
Yes you would want to double the sauce.
Made tonight but didn’t have broccoli. Served with LoMein noodles and snow peas for a side. Will definitely make again and use for lettuce wraps. Added crushed red pepper flakes to give it that kick! Thanks for the easy directions!
Hello!
If i’m using store bought teriyaki sauce, how much should I use for the same amounth of meat/veggie?
Thanks!
Yes, just adjust the amount of sauce to your desired taste.
This is a new family favorite. Made it last week, and my hubby is already asking for it again. I may need to double so there are enough leftovers for both of us! 😉