A Quick & Healthy Teriyaki Bowl for Busy Weeknights
If you’re craving a quick, better-than-takeout meal, this Ground Turkey Teriyaki Bowl is your answer! It’s a fast, flavorful dinner made with lean ground turkey, fresh vegetables, and a homemade teriyaki sauce served over fluffy coconut rice. Ready in about 30 minutes, it’s a healthier alternative to takeout and an easy option for meal prep, weeknight dinners, or quick lunches you’ll actually look forward to.
No wonder it went viral! It’s easy to meal prep, customizable, and packed with protein and veggies. The homemade teriyaki sauce has just the right balance of umami, sweetness, and richness. Top it off with creamy avocado, and or sesame seeds for extra flavor and texture.
And if you love healthy bowls, try salmon rice bowls, fiesta shrimp bowls, or Cava honey harrissa chicken bowls next.
Need another quick, Asian-inspired dinner? Try ground pork stir fry, sweet and spicy pork lettuce wraps, or healthy chicken pad thai next.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Rice: A long-grain white rice like jasmine rice or basmati rice is best. You could also use quinoa, sushi rice, or rice noodles.
- Coconut milk: You can make fluffy stovetop coconut rice or Instant Pot coconut rice.
- Ground turkey: Keeps it healthy and light. You could use ground chicken, ground pork, or ground beef.
- Veggies: Onion, broccoli, carrot, and red pepper all add a nice crunch and light sweetness of their own to this recipe.
- Soy sauce: Tamari or coconut aminos make great substitutes for soy sauce if you’re gluten free.
- Honey: Pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, or brown sugar will also work.
- Sesame oil: If you don’t have sesame oil, you can substitute olive oil or avocado oil. It’s a great staple for other Asian-inspired recipes like our Asian Chicken Wings.
- Cornstarch: Swap this interchangeably with tapioca starch as the thickening agent.
How to Make a Ground Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowl
- Combine the water, salt, and coconut milk in a pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Add the rice, stir once, and allow it to simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Time may vary based on rice and package directions. Remove it from the heat and fluff it with a fork.
- Whisk together all of the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water then whisk the cornstarch mixture with the rest of the teriyaki sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Saute onion over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Cook ground turkey in the pan, breaking it up into small pieces until halfway cooked, 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining veggies and cook until veggies are soft and no pink remains.
- Pour teriyaki sauce over the turkey and cook over medium-high heat. Allow the mixture to simmer until it starts to thicken then remove it from the heat.
- Add rice to the bottom of a bowl and top with teriyaki turkey. Top with sliced avocado, green onion, sesame seeds, and optional toasted panko.
Have leftover ground turkey? Try Healthy Ground Turkey Enchiladas, Ground Turkey Vegetable Soup, or Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf.
Recipe Variations
- Teriyaki Chicken Bowl: swap the ground turkey for ground chicken or dice chicken breasts into small pieces and sear it to cook through.
- Low carb: steam a quick batch of cauliflower rice or serve this dish over bib lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves.
- Different veggies: chopped green beans, bell peppers, snap peas, snow peas, cauliflower, celery, whole baby corn, bean sprouts, and water chestnuts would all make great veggie alternatives.
- Another protein: swap out the ground turkey for any ground protein you have on hand, like ground pork, ground chicken, ground beef, or ground venison.
- This recipe is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, making it fit perfectly into an anti-inflammatory diet.
Storing Tips
Store rice, meat, and veggie leftovers separate from the garnishes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat leftovers, except the garnishes, in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.
You can also freeze the meat and veggie portion in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat before serving over rice.
If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More Teriyaki Recipes
Ground Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowl
This ground turkey teriyaki rice bowl is a healthy, better-than-takeout meal made with lean ground turkey, crisp veggies, and a simple homemade teriyaki sauce served over coconut rice. It’s quick to make, full of flavor, and perfect for meal prep lunches or easy weeknight dinners.
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Servings: 4 bowls
Ingredients
Coconut Rice
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 (13.6 oz) can full-fat coconut milk (can sub 1 3/4 cups of water)
- 1/4 cup water
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce tamari, or coconut aminos
- 2 Tablespoons honey or brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch or tapioca starch dissolved in 1 Tablespoon of water
Ground Turkey Bowl
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- Toppings: toasted panko, avocado, green onions, or sesame seeds
Instructions
Coconut Rice
- Combine the water, salt, and coconut milk in a pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice, stir once, and allow it to simmer. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and remove from the heat when it’s done.1 cup uncooked long grain white rice, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 (13.6 oz) can full-fat coconut milk, 1/4 cup water
Ground Turkey Teriyaki
- Whisk together all of the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water then mix it with the rest of the teriyaki sauce ingredients and set aside.1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger, 1 Tablespoon corn starch or tapioca starch
- Drizzle the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Once it’s hot and shimmering, add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.1-2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 medium yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the ground turkey to the pan and cook, breaking it up into small pieces until halfway cooked, 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped broccoli, shredded carrot and diced red pepper, and continue to cook until the vegetables are soft and the turkey is cooked through, with no pink remaining.1 lb ground turkey, 1 cup chopped broccoli, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 red bell pepper
- Pour the teriyaki sauce over the turkey and stir fry veggies, and turn the heat up to medium-high until the mixture is bubbling then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer to thicken the sauce. Remove it from the heat to assemble the bowls.
- Add the cooked coconut rice to the bottom of a bowl and top with teriyaki turkey. Garnish with sliced avocado, green onion, sriracha, or sesame seeds.Toppings: toasted panko, avocado, green onions, or sesame seeds
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!
Notes
Chicken Teriyaki Bowls. Swap the ground turkey for ground chicken or dice chicken breast into small cubes.
Protein Options: You could also use ground beef, shrimp, tofu, or make this teriyaki salmon.
Instant Pot. Follow these instructions for fluffy Instant Pot Coconut Rice.
Brown Rice. We tested this recipe with white and brown rice and found the consistency of the white rice was much better with the coconut milk. Use all water instead of coconut milk if you want to use brown rice in your bowl.
Soy Sauce. We like to use Tamari or Coconut aminos because both are gluten-free, but we almost always opt for coconut aminos because it’s soy and wheat-free.
Low carb: use less rice in the bowl, steam a quick batch of cauliflower rice, or serve this dish over bib lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves.
Extra veggies: try chopped green beans, snap peas, snow peas, cauliflower, celery, whole baby corn, bean sprouts, or water chestnuts.
Storage: store leftovers or meal prep the dish in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave until heated through. Store toppings separately.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 586kcal | Carbohydrates: 55.2g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 28.1g | Cholesterol: 78.2mg | Sodium: 1757mg | Fiber: 3.9g | Sugar: 11.7g | Vitamin A: 306.6IU | Vitamin C: 24.9mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was fantastic!! Only substitution was ground chicken for the turkey (to avoid a grocery trip).
The coconut rice was simply amazing and elevated the dish to another level. I doubled the sauce and was glad I did. I used all of your suggested toppings too. Simply perfect. Your recipes are excellent-especially your rice bowls. Thank you.
Wow, thank you so much Jennifer!!
Delicious and so easy!! I followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out wonderfully. I highly recommend for busy weeknights! #whatwemade
Thank you so much, Maggie!
This is a keeper recipe! Super easy prep. Delicious flavor. And also very satisfying! We will definitely repeat this one frequently! #whatwemade
Thank you Jill!!
Another fantastic recipe! i made it for company and of course they asked for the recipe. i used ground beef and tamari, subbed honey for swerve and used tapioca starch due to what i had on hand and trying to stay keto. replaced the carrots with zucchini and snap peas. served with sesame seeds, green onions and avacado! printed and will make again!! #whatwemade
Thank you so much for sharing!!
This was surprisingly delicious, and so quick to make! I omitted the onions and garlic because my husband is sensitive to those, but it still had a ton of flavor. We’ll definitely be making this again! #whatwemade
Glad you loved it, Emily!
Fabulous Flavors, LOVE this!
#whatWEmade
Thanks Sandy!