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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.

light gray bowls with rice and healthy ground turkey teriyaki, chopsticks, sesame seeds, white napkin, green onions

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.

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Ground Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowls

Ground turkey recipes are always a winner in our house, like Turkey, Kale and Rice SoupTurkey 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.
Cooked ground turkey recipe in a skillet with vegetables and teriyaki sauce. Cast iron skillet.

How to Make Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls

  1. 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.
  2. 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!
  3. 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 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 light brown.

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.

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
a hand with chopsticks, bowls with healthy ground turkey teriyaki, vegetables and rice

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.
bowl with lean ground turkey, rice and vegetables

More Ground Turkey Recipes

Recipe
Social media image of Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls

Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl

4.74 from 1193 votes
These Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls are made with healthy ground turkey and veggies in a sweet teriyaki sauce served over white or brown rice.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4 servings

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
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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

Calories: 380kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 28gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 994mgPotassium: 606mgFiber: 2gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 4261IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 2mg

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.

Kristin Maxwell

Kristin Maxwell is the creator and main recipe developer, writer, and photographer of Yellow Bliss Road. A self-taught cook and self-appointed foodie, she specializes in easy, flavorful and approachable recipes for any home cook.

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4.74 from 1193 votes (809 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Jeanne Spaulding says:

    It was perfect. Sauce was amazing. Hubby gave it a 10 out of 10!

    1. Kristin says:

      Thank you Jeanne! Awesome comment, thanks for stopping by.

  2. Laura says:

    Amazing! Have made this several times and my family devours it

    1. Kristin says:

      Nice! Thanks for stopping by Laura.

  3. Ana says:

    Love this recipe! Added chopped water chestnuts and zucchini! It’s a keeper! The sauce is wonderful and it’s easy to put together!

    1. Kristin says:

      Thank you Ana! Awesome feedback thanks for stopping by.

  4. Noel says:

    Awesome recipe! Loved it:). Turned out great☺️

    1. Kristin says:

      Thank you Noel! Nice!

  5. Kristi says:

    Delicious recipe! I made this for dinner and it turned out great. Love the homemade sauce for it!

    1. Kristin says:

      Thank you Kristi! Thanks for stopping by.

  6. Crystal says:

    The homemade sauce is absolutely delicious, I wouldn’t change a thing. Hands down the best!

    1. Kristin says:

      Thank you Crystal! Awesome comment.

  7. zoritoler imol says:

    Very good written post. It will be supportive to anybody who usess it, including me. Keep doing what you are doing – for sure i will check out more posts.

    1. Kristin says:

      Thank you zoritoler!

      1. Jen says:

        This is a regular at our house – we love it!! So tasty and easy and healthy 😋 Thanks!

        1. Kristin says:

          You are so welcome Jen! Thanks for stopping by.

  8. Caroline DiCioccio says:

    Kudos to the person who put this recipe together- it was awesome!! I just want to thank you for being able to find something that I feel is not only healthy but so delicious- thank you!!!

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Caroline! Thank you so much for stopping by to share.

  9. Kay Gill says:

    Loved it. Added diced home grown zucchini and shredded cabbage. Served with slices cucumbers and hard (soft-ish) boiled eggs, scallions and Cilantro would be nice.

  10. Kelly says:

    This recipe will be on regular rotation in my house! Flavor is amazing! I added fresh mushrooms but only because I had to use them up.

    1. Kristin says:

      That’s awesome Kelly! Thanks for stopping by.

  11. Tina says:

    This was sooo delicious! Other than using a gluten free “soy” sauce and adding a bit more of the veggies, I followed it as is. I had nothing left. My son went back for 3rds. Thank you. This is a keeper.

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Tina! Love your feedback, thanks for stopping by.

  12. Laura T says:

    Wow! Your recipe is incredible. This will definitely be added to our dinner rotation. Thank you for sharing this!

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Laura! Thanks for stopping by to share your experience.

  13. Kim Charters says:

    This is now one of our go to meals during the week 🙂 Tonight I added zucchini and squash bits too. I typically don’t add the full sugar amount. Thanks for this!

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Kim! Thanks for stopping by to share.

  14. Akiko Hyodo says:

    Do the nutrition facts include rice, or just the turkey and sauce?

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      All of that information is included in the recipe card.

  15. Samantha H says:

    Delish. Simple receipe. Taste good! Thank you

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Samantha, thanks for stopping by.

      1. Salene says:

        Can I use rive wine vinegar in place of red wine vinegar? I am excited to try this recipe. Thanks for posting.

        1. Adrienne - Yellow Bliss Road says:

          Yes, that should work fine.

  16. Summer says:

    Can you use store bought Teriyaki Sauce instead of making from scratch? If so, how much of the store bought would you use. Thank you!

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Yes you can use a store bought teriyaki. You can use as much or as little as you like.

  17. Talea says:

    I’m so glad I came across this recipe on Pinterest! I tripled the recipe to have more leftovers and it was delicious! I forgot to add the granulated sugar and it still came out great.

    1. Kristin says:

      Nice! Awesome feedback Talea, thanks for stopping by.

  18. Troy Ratcliffe says:

    I love this recipe I didn’t have broccoli so I added bell peppers. I made this 3 times already in 2 weeks. Very good health meal full of protein. Thanks this is my go to.

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Troy! Thanks for stopping by.

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