Ground Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowl

This teriyaki salmon and this fiesta lime shrimp bowl recipe are the inspiration behind today’s easy healthy meal.

If you’re serving this for guests, let them think you labored hard over this one, even though it’s done in under 30 minutes. The final product is cookbook-cover-worthy and the aromas make your kitchen smell delicious from start to finish.

A quick meal that’s easy and healthy is worth its weight in gold. These rice bowls deliver all three and make great leftovers to eat for lunch the next day (meal prep!). Aside from the rice, you make the entire turkey filling and vegetable mixture in one bowl. We like to use a large wok to hold all the filling, just like in these ground pork lettuce wraps.

What Is Teriyaki Sauce?

You may be surprised to learn that many consider teriyaki an American fusion dish and that it actually has American roots. The salty-sweet teriyaki marinade we know today is inspired by a 17th Century Japanese method for marinating and grilling fish.

In fact, the name “teriyaki” comes from the Japanese words teri, meaning “shine” and yaki, meaning “grill”. It’s believed that the Japanese-American immigrants who settled in Hawaii recreated the dish (which was originally a much lighter marinade of soy sauce and mirin) to include fresh ginger, brown sugar, pineapple juice, and green onions.

While you can certainly still use teriyaki on fish, like my Easy Teriyaki Glazed Salmon, if you like the flavor, some other dishes you may want to try are this Grilled Hawaiian Teriyaki Burger or this One Pan Healthy Chicken Teriyaki.

Grab These Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients for these turkey teriyaki rice bowls. The produce is fresh, easy, and affordable to find in your local grocery store. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.

Coconut Rice

• Rice: A long-grain white rice like jasmine is perfect for the coconut rice recipe, but brown rice, quinoa, or even rice noodles would work as a base for this dish as well.
• Coconut milk: The full-fat coconut milk added to the rice really takes this dish to the next level. The coconut flavor comes through in every bite and complements the teriyaki so well without overpowering it. You’ll want to take your spoon right to the pot! You can make fluffy stovetop coconut rice or Instant Pot coconut rice.

Ground Turkey and Veggies

• Ground turkey: The ground turkey keeps this meal healthy and light.
• Garlic: The garlic adds just enough flavor to your ground turkey.
• Veggies: Onion, broccoli, carrot, and red pepper all add a nice crunch and light sweetness of their own to this recipe.
• Garnishes: Trust me when I say you don’t want to skimp on the toppings here. Not only do they make the final dish look beautiful, the toasted panko, avocado, green onions cut on the bias, scallions, and sesame seeds each add their own dimensions to this recipe. Other toppings you may choose to add are peanuts, kimchi, or cilantro.

Teriyaki Sauce

• Soy sauce: Tamari sauce or coconut aminos make great substitutes for soy sauce. If you’re staying away from wheat, use tamari sauce and if you’re avoiding soy, opt for the coconut aminos.
• Honey: The honey gives the teriyaki the sweet profile. 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. However, the sesame oil has a strong flavor that is hard to match and it’s a good staple to have on hand for other Asian-inspired recipes like our Asian Chicken Wings.  
• Aromatics: Use a mix of garlic powder and fresh ground ginger, but fresh garlic and ground ginger are great replacements.
• Cornstarch: Swap this interchangeably with tapioca starch as the thickening agent. 

Video: Watch How to Make Teriyaki Rice Bowls

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.

Drizzle the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Once it’s hot and simmering, add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.

Crumble ground turkey in 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 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.

Once you see how easy this dish is to put together, you may want to try another Asian-inspired bowl recipe. If so, be sure to check out this Salmon Rice Bowl next.

Have leftover ground turkey and craving a different flavor? Check out these Healthy Ground Turkey Enchiladas or my Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf.

Recipe Variations and Modifications

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.