Name: Teriyaki Ground Turkey Rice Bowls
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce; 1/3 cup water; 1/4 cup honey; 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil; 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic; 1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (or ground ginger (use half as much)); 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch; 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice (, or jasmine rice (uncooked)); 1 tablespoon vegetable or avocado oil; 1 pound ground turkey ((93/7)); 1/2 yellow onion (, diced); 2 cups broccoli florets (, fresh or frozen, finely chopped); 1 cup carrots (, shredded ); 2 tablespoons water (for fresh broccoli only); sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds (for topping)

My teriyaki turkey rice bowls have a sweet, salty, sticky teriyaki sauce clinging to every bite of ground turkey, piled over a mound of fluffy white rice. The sauce is homemade from pantry staples and whisks together in one measuring cup, and the broccoli and carrots are chopped small so they cook in minutes. Every ground turkey rice bowl gets extra sauce soaking down into the rice, which I think is the best part.

Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl At A Glance

Prep

10 min

COOK

20 min

Total

30 min

Serves

Pan

12-inch skillet

Main ingredients: ground turkey, long grain rice, broccoli, carrots, soy sauce, honey

Bowls of teriyaki ground turkey over rice beside a skillet filled with teriyaki turkey

Teriyaki Transforms the Turkey

When I lived in Japan for a couple of years, I fell in love with teriyaki sauce and the way it improves the taste of nearly every meat with its umami flavor.

So when I set out to make a rice bowl for dinner using ground turkey, I just had to try it with teriyaki. I love the version I came up with because you just whisk the sauce in a measuring cup and pour it straight into the skillet. No extra saucepan! I also chop the broccoli small and shred the carrots, so the vegetables tuck right in with the turkey. The sweetness and salt are perfect, and the sauce is thick and sticky. I think you’re going to love this recipe as much as I do.

Let’s dig in!

Tips and Notes Before You Start

Whisk the sauce before you turn on the stove. Once the turkey is cooking, everything moves fast.
Chop the broccoli small. Pea-size to dime-size pieces cook through in a few minutes and mix right into the turkey.
Frozen broccoli works. Chop it while it’s still frozen and skip the water and the lid.
The turkey will look pale before the sauce goes in. Lean turkey gives off liquid instead of browning, and the teriyaki brings all the color.
There’s plenty of sauce. My first batch was sticky but I wanted more to soak into the rice, so this version makes half again as much.

What You’ll Need for Ground Turkey Rice Bowls

Labeled ingredients for teriyaki ground turkey rice bowls: ground turkey, white rice, broccoli, low-sodium soy sauce, honey, onion, rice vinegar, shredded carrots, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, oil, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch — Everything for four turkey rice bowls, including a homemade teriyaki sauce.

Ground turkey. I used 93/7, which is lean enough that there’s no fat to spoon off. If you don’t have a turkey that lean, just be prepared to remove some fat while cooking.

Low-sodium soy sauce. Soy sauce is the base of the teriyaki sauce, and the low-sodium version keeps it from getting too salty once it cooks down. If you only have regular soy sauce, you can still make this … just use about two-thirds as much and make up the difference with water.

Honey and brown sugar. Honey is what makes the sauce sticky and glossy, and a little brown sugar adds some molasses depth. The sweetness was just right for us, but if you like it less sweet, start with less honey. You can always stir in more at the end.

Rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. These give the sauce its teriyaki flavor.

Cornstarch. This is what thickens the sauce. It goes right into the cold sauce, so there’s no separate slurry to mix.

Broccoli. Fresh or frozen both work. Frozen was all I had the evening I made this, and I chopped it while it was still frozen, because it’s firm enough to cut cleanly that way. Once it thaws, it turns soft and harder to chop.

Carrots. Bagged matchstick carrots, or two carrots shredded on the large holes of a box grater (which is what I do). Be careful not to use the small grater holes, which turn the carrot into a wet mush that disappears into the sauce.

Rice. Plain long-grain white or jasmine rice is the classic, and it soaks up the extra sauce.

Is This Recipe Gluten Free or Dairy Free?

It’s already dairy free, so there’s nothing to swap if you’re avoiding milk or lactose. For gluten free, use tamari in place of the soy sauce. Most tamari is made without wheat, but check the label to be sure. Everything else in the bowl is naturally gluten free.

How to Make Teriyaki Ground Turkey Rice Bowls

Get the rice going first, since it takes the longest. Use a rice cooker or make it in a sauce pan following the directions on the package. By the time it’s done, the turkey will be too.

Step 1: Whisk the teriyaki sauce

Homemade teriyaki sauce being whisked in a glass measuring cup — The whole sauce comes together in one measuring cup.

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a large measuring cup, cornstarch included, and set it next to the stove. A measuring cup with a spout makes it easy to pour later. Don’t worry if the cornstarch settles to the bottom while it sits. You’ll give it another quick whisk right before it goes in.

Step 2: Cook the turkey

Raw ground turkey pressed into an even layer in a cast iron skillet with a slotted spatula — Press the turkey into one even layer.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the turkey and press it into one even layer with your spatula, then leave it alone for 4 to 5 minutes. Once the bottom has cooked, it breaks into crumbles easily.

Ground turkey in a cast iron skillet surrounded by the liquid it released while cooking — All that liquid came out of one pound of lean turkey.

You’ll see the turkey give off a surprising amount of liquid. This is totally normal for lean ground turkey. Break it into small crumbles and keep cooking, stirring now and then, for 2 to 3 more minutes, until no pink remains and most of that liquid has cooked away.

Cooked ground turkey broken into small crumbles in a cast iron skillet — Cooked through, crumbled, and most of the liquid is gone.

Your turkey will look pale at this point, more like cooked chicken than browned beef. That’s okay! The teriyaki sauce gives it all that rich color at the end.

Step 3: Add the onion

Diced onion added to the center of the cooked ground turkey in a cast iron skillet — Push the turkey aside and let the onion soften.

Push the turkey to the sides, add the onion to the middle of the pan, and cook it for about 2 minutes, until it starts to soften. Then stir it in.

Step 4: Add the broccoli and carrots

Chopped broccoli and shredded carrots added to ground turkey in a cast iron skillet — The broccoli and carrots go in together.

Add the broccoli and carrots. How you cook them depends on your broccoli.

For fresh broccoli, add the 2 tablespoons of water, cover the pan, and let it steam for 2 minutes. Then uncover and stir for about a minute more, until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender and the water is gone.

For frozen broccoli, skip the water and the lid. Frozen broccoli lets off its own water as it thaws, so a lid would just trap it in the pan. Cook it uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring now and then, until it’s hot all the way through and the pan looks dry again.

Either way, make sure the pan is mostly dry before the sauce goes in. Leftover water thins the sauce, and the turkey won’t come out sticky.

Step 5: Pour in the sauce and let it thicken

Homemade teriyaki sauce being poured from a measuring cup over ground turkey, broccoli, and carrots in a cast iron skillet — Give the sauce one more whisk, then pour it all in.

Whisk the sauce one more time to pick up the cornstarch from the bottom, then pour it over everything and stir.

Ground turkey, broccoli, and carrots in thin teriyaki sauce right after it was added to the skillet — Right after the sauce goes in, before it starts to bubble.

Don’t worry if it looks thin and soupy right after it goes in. Let it bubble, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, and the cornstarch will thicken it into a glossy sauce that clings to the turkey. As soon as it gets there, take the skillet off the heat. Be careful not to keep cooking it after that, because cornstarch sauces go from glossy to gluey quickly.

Overhead view of teriyaki ground turkey with broccoli and carrots in a cast iron skillet with a wooden spoon, beside small bowls of sesame seeds and green onions — Thick, glossy, and ready for the rice.

Close-up of sticky teriyaki ground turkey with shredded carrots and broccoli on a wooden spoon — Sticky sauce on every crumble.

Step 6: Build the bowls

A bowl of white rice topped with teriyaki ground turkey, green onions, and sesame seeds next to the skillet — Rice on the bottom, turkey on top.

Spoon the rice into bowls and pile the teriyaki turkey on top, with any extra sauce from the pan drizzled over the rice. Finish each bowl with sliced green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. The green onions add a fresh bite against the sweet sauce, so I wouldn’t skip them.

How to Store and Reheat Turkey Rice Bowls

For meal prep, divide the rice and turkey among four containers and keep the green onions and sesame seeds separate so they stay fresh. Get them into the fridge promptly. You don’t need to wait for them to cool. Leave the lids a little loose until they’re cold, then close them. They’ll keep for up to 4 days, and my guide to how to store leftovers explains why.

To reheat, sprinkle a spoonful of water over the rice, cover the container loosely, and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through. The water steams the rice so it doesn’t dry out. You can also warm the turkey in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.

Ground Turkey Rice Bowl FAQs

Why is my teriyaki sauce runny?

It usually needs another minute or two of bubbling, since cornstarch only thickens once the sauce is hot. Extra water left in the pan from the turkey or broccoli will also thin it.

Why is my sauce thick and gluey?

It cooked too long after it thickened. Take it off the heat as soon as it’s glossy. If it’s already too thick, stir in a tablespoon or two of water.

Can I use store-bought teriyaki sauce?

Sure! Use about 1 1/2 cups. If it’s thin, simmer it a little longer, or stir in a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of cold water to thicken it.

Can I use ground chicken or ground beef?

Totally! Ground chicken cooks just like the turkey. If you use ground beef, just spoon off the fat before you add the onion.

What other vegetables can I use?

Diced red bell pepper, snap peas, or shredded cabbage can stand in for some of the broccoli. Keep the pieces small so they cook in the same few minutes.

How to Trust This Recipe

I know it’s not always easy to believe what you see these days. So I like to take a special photo at the end that shows my unedited food in my kitchen under normal lighting to help you trust that this is real food made by real people and made in a real home kitchen. Here are our teriyaki turkey rice bowls, ready to enjoy for dinner!

An unedited image of our teriyaki turkey rice bowl as it was being served for dinner.

The above photo was taken with ProofMode, which attaches Content Credentials (the C2PA standard) to the image, so anyone can check that it’s a real photo taken by my iPhone on my farm on a particular date and place. You can download the proof files here and learn how to verify them.

If you make these, I’d love to hear whether you went with fresh broccoli or frozen, and what toppings ended up on your bowl.

Happy cooking!

Love,
Jennifer