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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.
Family favorite!!!! Everyone will eat it! Absolutely love this recipe! I add other veggies and the kids don’t really notice them.
Awesome Mary! Thanks for stopping by.
This was sooo yummy and will become a staple in our house for sure! We did one cup broccoli and one cup cut green beans for veggies. We also did 1.5 tbls of each sugar- perfect sweetness!!
Nice! Awesome feedback Emilie, thanks for stopping by.
Delicious!! I followed recipe except for subbing 1tbl rice vinegar + 1 tbl Mirin for red wine vinegar cuz its what I had. It came out so good & I ate so much. Thank you for this great recipe!!
You are so welcome Janice! Love the feedback, thanks for stopping by.
Delicious! I only used half the sugar. I added hot pepper flakes.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Jeanie.
My husband has to be on low sodium diet. I would love to make this however it says this contains 994mg sodium. Is this with using the sodium soy sauce?
Yes, it is. Soy sauce is basically salt. Even though the bottle says “less sodium” or “low sodium” and about 40% less sodium than regular, it still has quite a bit.
This was delicious!!!!! I added a little less sugar as suggested in your notes. Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome Deborah! Love the feedback, thanks for stopping by.
This has become a family staple and is requested regularly by my kids and husband.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Krista.
Just started WW and thought this recipe sounded good and on the healthier side. I only made changes that I felt were beneficial for me, and I loved it. First time using ground turkey. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Such a delicious and easy meal!! Can you freeze this?
Yes you can freeze it. The meat should be fine, however the veggies may experience a slight change in texture upon thawing.
This has become a favorite in our house. It’s so flavorful and super easy to make.
My entire family loved this recipe, plus the little cousins, which included a 2, 4, and 5yr old! Saving this one to add into our rotation – I substituted snap peas for the broccoli and carrots.
We make this regularly and it’s so delicious. We try to avoid a lot of sugar, so I use 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of monk fruit. I also added chopped cauliflower because I had some on hand. This recipe is always a hit!
Awesome feedback Tracey! Thanks for stopping by.
This recipe is a winner and a keeper! Such a hit with my crew! Served over Chinese noodles.
That’s awesome Elaine! Thanks for stopping by.
Loved this recipe!
Thanks for stopping by Kari!
Made this last night for dinner and we loved it, will be making again, thanks
You are so welcome Diane! Thanks for stopping by.
Love this recipe! In my monthly rotation- I usually add chopped zucchini, shitake mushrooms and shallot in place of onion!. I like served in lettuce wraps or over modifies and my daughter and husband love with rice. You can really make it with whatever veggies you have etc.
Can I use ground chicken instead of ground turkey? Or would it change the flavor too much. I’m excited to try this. Thank you.
Ground turkey and chicken have similar flavors and could easily be swapped. Enjoy!
Made this at the recommendation of a friend – so yummy! Cut sugar in half and I think it’s perfect. Added some zucchini also just because I had it. Will definitely make again!
Fantastic feedback Debbie! Thanks for stopping by.
Loved this recipe! I only had apple cider vinegar available and it still turned out great! A little tangy, but delicious
Nice! Thanks for your feedback HJ.
Loved this! I added broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, zucchini and substituted the sugars for coconut sugar. It was delish!
Thank you Christina!
Can’t wait to try! Can I use rice vinegar instead of red wine?
Yes, of course. Enjoy!
It was amazing! I loved it! I added double the veggies. Thanks for an amazing recipe
You are so welcome Mandy! Thanks for stopping by to share.