This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Teriyaki Turkey Bowl was good. Would make the recipe again.
Thank you Tanya!
I’ve made this this dish twice now and it was a hit with the family both times! I love how adaptable this recipe is. We used orzo instead of rice and the texture and flavor combination is spot on. I did experiment and made some cauliflower rice to try it with….it wasn’t bad, but it definitely changed the flavor profile. This is a great easy weeknight dinner! If you like it as much as we do, there won’t be leftovers.
Fantastic feedback Paige!! Thank you so much for stopping by.
This was not complicated or hard, it just took a lot longer to make than advertised. Maybe all the chopping and the fact that I doubled the recipe. It was “delicious,” according to my vegetable-averse daughter. I used two thirds of the sugar. If you want to cut back on sugar even more, you would have to cut back on the vinegar because I started with just a bit of sugar but the vinegar was overpowering. Start with a quarter at a time and keep tasting. This is a keeper of a recipe in that I could make it all in advance before my guests arrived and just warm things up quickly once we were ready to have dinner. And it does pack a lot of veggies in and my daughter still gobbled it up. You could also add or swap out different vegetables depending on what you have on hand.
Absolutely love the feedback Leah! Thanks for stopping by.
Just made this tonight! I used sugar snap peas instead of broccoli. It was delicious! Definitely a keeper!
So delicious! A healthy meal my while family will eat. I’ve even subbed in shredded zucchini for the broccoli over the summer and it’s still been so good!
Love the feedback Alyson! Thanks for stopping by.
My family loved this recipe. Something different for a change. I’ll be keeping this recipe for sure. Thanks
You are so welcome Donna! Thanks for stopping by.
Absolutely delicious! The directions were perfect and so easy to follow!
Love that feedback Peggy! Thanks for dropping by.
I thought the proportions of veggies and the amount of spices were just right! I will be making this again for sure!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Kim.
This was so great. I loved it especially because it tasted very fresh and not salty like teriyaki can be. It was done a lot faster than I anticipated and such minimal ingredients. Adding this in the weeknight dinner rotation
Fantastic feedback Samantha! Thank you so much for stopping by.
Turned out great! Will be making this again I’m sure.
I didn’t have the red wine vinegar and used apple cider vinegar instead. Next time will try to get the red wine.
Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome Darlene! Thanks for stopping by.
This recipe was delicious…better than I thought it would be. All three of my children LOVED it too. This will be added to our most popular dinner recipe rotations
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Erin.
This is my go to teriyaki for ground turkey recipe!! It’s awesome!! Whole family loves it!!
That’s awesome Joyce! Thanks for stopping by.
The dish turned out great!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Stacy.
This was delicious! I left out the onion, used rice wine vinegar, and added sesame oil! Very good recipe!
Love the feedback Crissy! Thanks for stopping by.
Made this tonight, and the entire family loved. I added some chopped cilantro, and chopped peanuts, omitted the white sugar.
Love the feedback Victoria! Thanks for stopping by.
Very tasty ! Everyone in the family liked it
Nice! Thanks for stopping by John.
Tried this tonight, and it was really delicious! I subbed Worcestershire sauce because I didn’t have any soy sauce, and used onion, carrots, and red pepper as my veggies. I cooked the carrots with the onion. I cut back a little bit on the sugar. Definitely will be making again!
So good!!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Kathi.
Corn starch substitire6as it’s not very healthy?
You can use flour instead.
Love, love it!
Thank you Rebecca!