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You’ll be shocked by how quick and easy it is to make this Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl recipe. They look and taste delicious thanks to the tender fresh vegetables, ground turkey, and sweet teriyaki glaze.
Fan of easy rice bowls? Try these honey garlic salmon rice bowls or Cava honey harrissa chicken bowls next.
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.
Why You’ll Love Ground Turkey Teriyaki Bowls
There isn’t much to not love about this recipe, but here are just a few reasons this dish will easily become a favorite:
- Quick weeknight dinner: This recipe is as easy to clean up as it is to prep and put together. If you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal the whole family will enjoy or something easy to prep and save for lunches all week, look no further.
- Best flavor: the sweet teriyaki sauce balances with the richness of the coconut rice and savory ground turkey.
- Aromas: From the fresh coconut rice to the soy sauce, sesame oil, and roasting garlic, this recipe is chock-full of both sweet and savory fragrances.
- Versatility: If there’s an ingredient you don’t have on hand, there’s a substitution for it! From the rice base to the meat, the veggie mix, and the homemade teriyaki sauce, every element of this dish is customizable. You could make this dish once a week and always find a way to change it up!
- Hidden veggies: Aside from the low-fat, high-protein ground turkey that will keep you plenty satisfied, this recipe can hide as many veggies as you want (or that your kids don’t normally want). It’s a complete meal in a bowl!
Need another quick dinner? Try ground pork stir fry or healthy chicken pad thai next.
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.
How to Make Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through the steps with some photos and a video so you have a clear idea of what to expect. This teriyaki turkey rice bowl recipe is really easy and these step-by-step instructions will make sure it turns out every time.
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.
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!
Need Another Healthy Ground Turkey Recipe?
- Ground turkey enchiladas
- Creamy penne arrabbiata with ground turkey
- Gluten-free turkey meatloaf
- Ground turkey vegetable soup
Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowl
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
Coconut Rice
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice (Note 2 brown rice)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 (13.6 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk (can sub 1 3/4 cups of water)
- 1/4 cup water
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/3 cup soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos (Note 3)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground ginger or 1/2 teaspoon of 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 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. Fluffy with a fork and remove from the heat when it’s done.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pour the teriyaki sauce over the turkey 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, sesame seeds, and optional toasted panko breadcrumbs.
Notes
Video
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok
- Large stock pot or saucepan to make the rice (Note 1 for Instant Pot rice)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I loved this recipe. Threw in some added vegetables and doubled the sauce. It was super delicious. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Sounds amazing!
Doubled the broccoli
Delicious and filling meal
Does this mean you need 2 cups of using brown rice instead of one cup for the white rice long grain? I made it before and loved it and I just can’t remember how much rice I used.
Hello! You still use one cup of brown rice!
Amazing! Will become one of my staple rotation meals.
Love when I make it into the rotation!
So easy to make and packed with flavor!
Thanks Rhonda!
This is one of the most delicious dishes I have ever made!! The coconut rice definitely takes it up a notch, it was my first time making rice this way and WOW! . Thanks for adding the nutritional info – when you reference 1 serving do you know roughly how many grams that is? What is 1 serving?
Hey Melanie!! Thanks so much, so glad you liked it. This serves 4, so you can divide it by 4, but I don’t have exact grams! You could weight all the food and divide it by 4 to figure it out!
So flavourful!!
Used regular soy sauce and felt it was a little salty. Will be trying coconut aminos next time.
Will not buy store bought teriyaki sauce any more.
What a compliment! Thanks! You could also try low sodium soy sauce.
We have made this several times and it is always so delicious! The best and easiest rice too! Since trying this recipe, I only like to make rice this way.
It’s my favorite way to make rice! So good! Glad you like the recipe:) It’s on our rotation!
We made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I think the sauce is the game-changer here. So yummy. This is definitely being added to our meal queue.
Love that it’s added to your rotation, Emily! We make this one allll the time!
I really enjoyed this! Learning to cook more with turkey and loved the layout of your recipe and website. I added cauliflower, brocolrabi too and used hot honey for a little kick.
Sounds amazing! So glad you like my website!:)
My sauce did not thicken and I followed directions exactly, so the dish was pretty plain I had to add extra garlic, onion, ginger, salt, pepper, etc. Maybe it would’ve been fine if the sauce thickened? But nice and simple regardless I did cauliflower rice and added baby corn and some tiny eggplants my grandparents grew, weighed everything out and it was around 550cal and 50g of protein!
Hey Bianca! Thanks for sharing about the protein! That’s awesome. Did you use 1 Tablespoon of tapioca flour or cornstarch? You have to turn the heat up higher to let it simmer to get the corn starch to activate and thicken. That could be your problem! Next time double check you add enough and that it’s on high enough heat, it can take a second to get there but it will thicken! I’ve had this happen and it is lacking in flavor if the sauce isn’t thick enough to coat everything. Hope this helps!
Very tasty!!! And not hard to make!
Thanks, Jackie!!
My partner and I absolutely loved this recipe! I used Singapore noodles and will be making it again!
Thanks, Natalie!! Love that!
Absolutely delicious!!!
Thanks, Jodi!
Love the recipe! Thank you 🙂 Because I love Trader Joe’s Sweet Chili Sauce, I added a tablespoon to the entire recipe and added cashew pieces to garnish.
That sounds amazing, Nikki! Thanks for sharing.
Delicious recipe!! Very flavorful and easy. I added celery just because I love celery in asain food. Great teriyaki marinade!!
Thanks, Kathy!!
This recipe takes little time to make and it was so delicious! I didn’t change anything, made it per instructions. Love! Love! Love!
This was so good! I made a little bit extra of the sauce because I was adding more veggies and it turned out awesome. I didn’t follow the recipe for coconut rice so I can’t comment on that but the coconut rice I made was great with this dish. It’s going in our family cookbook!
That’s a huge compliment, Cassandra!! Love that this will be in your family cookbook. Thanks!
This recipe takes little time to make and it was so delicious! I didn’t change anything, made it per instructions. Love! Love! Love!
Thank you!
I used Tamari and it was way too salty! Still, we enjoyed it 😀
I’ve made this with liquid aminos and it was way too salty that way too. Low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos is the way to go!
I used mostly coconut aminos with a splash of tamari…. Yum!!
I always use coconut aminos!! It’s the best!
Amazing! Have made it once with the coconut aminos and ground turkey which I thought was much better. Also made it with tofu and tamari. It was just okay with those ingredients. Even the husband approved! Will be making this often.
Thanks, Elizabeth!! Love that you shared different ways you tried it. So good!
This is a delicious terriyaki sauce! I used the Coconut Amino Acids to cut the salt to a fraction of regular soy sauce. I also added fresh green beans and mushrooms. Not a fan of coconut rice so made a combination of wild rice/brown rice, and added some homemade chicken broth to the rice for extra flavor. Thanks for this receipe! This will be my go to terriyaki sauce, only need honey and NOT the brown sugar! This would also work great with chicken or beef or pork if you want to vary it or use what you have on hand. I definitely plan on making this again with different proteins.
Thank you, stacey! I’ve made this with chicken and pork and it’s delish. If you like this teriyaki sauce, you’ll like my pork lettuce wraps too!! Thank you for taking the time to share.
Can you use frozen veggies? I have some frozen cauliflower
Hey Erin! Yes, I’ve made this with frozen veggies and it worked just fine!
Quick, easy and delicious! Only had a “lite” coconut milk on hand but it worked
Thanks for sharing, Janet! Glad you liked it!
Extremely easy, extremely good.
I use ground chicken instead of turkey.
I’ve done it with ground chicken too! So yum!
I’ve made this several times now and it’s just never a miss! We love it so much, especially my son who is super picky! Thank you!!!!
You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to share:)
The Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowl recipe was absolutely delicious and easy to make. It’s been added to our regular rotation!
The best compliment when it gets added to the rotation!!! Thanks!
Really delicious and easy to make!
Thank you!!
Good golly Ms. Molly! This was a winner. The coconut rice was exceptional, cooked perfect! I used beef. Husband told me to add this to the rotation. I thought it would be a lot of prep but it went pretty quick. Wouldn’t change a thing!
Thank you, Sonja! Best comment! Love when I make the regular rotation!!
First time trying this and my daughter and I love it. I used cauliflower rice instead but was very tasteful.
Thanks,Nita!
Amazing! I subbed some cooked lemongrass tofu for the turkey so obviously had to adjust some cooking times and it was great! Also subbed cauliflower for the broccoli. Will definitely be making again with the turkey and broccoli.
Thanks for sharing the variations, Beth!
This was so good, it’s definitely going into a regular rotation at our house. I was hesitant about the coconut rice but went for it, and I’m so glad I did. It was delicious. Only change was I did use the lite coconut milk instead of the full fat, but we found it extremely flavorful. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks, Deborah! The coconut rice is our fave! We have this one on rotation too.
Can you freeze this?
Hey Celsy! This is definitely freezer friendly! Freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat. Thanks!
Yummy!!!! I used low sodium soy sauce and not quite as much. Will be making this recipe all the time!!!! Highly recommend!
This is a staple recipe in our house! You have to make the coconut rice with it! I made it recently for guests and they all raved about it.
So, so good!! And easy for a weeknight. This one is a keeper!
Thanks, Kristin! Totally agree! We make this at least twice a month on weeknights.
Delicious! Will put on repeat in our house.
Best compliment! Thanks, Andrea!
Simple and easy to make but still full of flavor.
You can’t lose with ANY of Molly’s recipes. Always a 10/10!
Thank you Kim! This is so nice!!
what happens if you use light coconut milk? does it change the texture? thanks
This one was so so good! I want to make it again and again.
This was crazy delicious! The coconut rice was so decadent and tasty on its own, but really paired perfectly with the teriyaki turkey. Honestly, the two of them together was greater than the sum of its parts. Absolutely loved it; it’s going to be a staple weeknight dinner.
Another fantastic recipe! I used ground beef instead of turkey because that’s what I had on hand but it was so yummy!