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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!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.
This is great recipe! Easy and delicious! I added a bit more sugar because I guess I like teriyaki sweet, but otherwise I followed recipe as is. Will definitely make again…thank you for sharing!
You are so welcome Heather! Thanks for the awesome feedback.
The sauce looked really weird right around when I added the cornstarch and water- thought I’d have to toss it and go buy a bottle – it came together GREAT after simmering in color, texture, and flavor. So don’t let it scare you if yours has the same look!
Great feedback Rachel! Thank you.
I tried this tonight and it was fantastic. I’m adding it to my recipes. Thank you.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Kelly.
Recipe was easy to make! I served mine with carrots and green beans. I didn’t have low sodium soy sauce and I do believe it makes a difference – regular soy sauce over-powered the sweetness. Will definitely try again and use low sodium!
Awesome feedback Katie! Thanks for stopping by.
Made this tonight, used carrots, mushrooms, some shredded zucchini, and Napa cabbage, over cauliflower rice. Topped with wonton strips, family devoured it!
That’s awesome Sharon! Thanks for stopping by.
Delicious! I’m a college student, so I’m usually looking for quick and easy yet also healthy recipes and man did this check all of my boxes. This took me about 25 minutes to prepare and is one of the tastiest recipes I’ve tried out in months. I replaced the carrots with mushrooms and halved the ingredients (because I’m only cooking for one) and this lasted me 3 servings. This will for sure go on my list for weekly meals.
Thank you Sammy for the awesome feedback!
This was great! Whole family enjoyed. Didn’t have any broccoli so used mushrooms, red and yellow bell peppers, shredded carrots and chopped spinach. Used brown rice. Yum!
Awesome feedback Jenny! Thanks for stopping by.
Delicious
Thank you Marcia!
fast, easy and tasty! Plus, it doesn’t seem to matter which vegetables I add, it all gets eaten:-)
Awesome feedback Kath! Thanks for stopping by.
Great recipe!!
I would like to make this for dinner this evening and I don’t have any red wine vinegar. Is it okay to use either apple cider vinegar or some red wine? If it’s okay to use the wine would I use the same amount since it will burn off during cooking?
I think any vinegar is prob fine!
In this recipe, I would recommend rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, but yes, you could use others as you have them available.
Wanted to make something with ground turkey……saw this Wow, the teriyaki sauce was RIGHT ON. Will never buy again. Even using low sodium, a little salty to me, but I don’t really like much salt. Still give this a 5…..happened to have all ingredients on hand. Thank you so much for your work to make this so good and effort to post.
Hi Linda, thank you for your kinds words. I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe so much!
This is a family favorite. I do add water chestnuts and baby corn…Always use fresh ginger. Thank you for a great recipe
You are so welcome Ann! Thanks for your feedback.
Can you use regular white vinegar or rice vinegar instead? I don’t have red wine vinegar
I would go with rice vinegar.
This is a super yummy and easy dinner.
Don’t skip the corn starch, or in my case forget it on your first attempt, it really does help the sauce to not be watered down.
Awesome feedback Becky! Thanks for stopping by.
My family LOVED this recipe! I found you when I googled ground turkey recipes as I had some ground turkey to use up. My daughter is one of the pickiest eaters and even she said “Mom, you have to make this again”. Thank you so much…. It’s hard to please my eclectic ,picky bunch but your recipe did it.
That’s awesome Deena! Thank you for the feedback.
A new family favorite. We are a big blended family so something that satisfies all 5 of our kids is nearly impossible, this one did. I make a double batch and found i will be tripling it next time. Thank you.
You are so welcome Barbara! Thanks for stopping by.
This dish is delicious and versatile. I added a bunch of chopped veggies and it was great! Thank you for sharing this recipe. This will be a regular go to recipe in my kitchen!
You are so welcome Bita! Awesome feedback! Thanks for stopping by.
My husband and I loved this. It was easy to make and very customizable. I only used brown sugar and thought it was perfect. I felt like it needed a little something so I may add some red pepper flakes to the sauce next time. We will definitely be making again.
Thank you so much for the awesome feedback Katie.
Kristin’s done it again! This is a family favorite. I use grass-fed, organic beef from my brother’s farm & my family loves veggies so I simply cut carrots & broccoli in small pieces. I’m allergic to corn starch so I use arrowroot power, a perfect substitute.
This recipe is easy & fun to make. The only problem is that there aren’t any left-overs for my lunch the next day so I make a double batch.
Thanks Kristin!
You are so welcome Suzan! Thank you for the awesome feedback. (that made my day)
My family loved this recipe- thank you so much for sharing!
You are so welcome Ana! Thanks for stopping by.