I’m kind of obsessed with meatballs. They’re easy to make, filling, they pack well for lunches, are freezer-friendly, and can be paired with so many different flavors. Plus, I just kind of think meatballs cute (is that weird?). This time I seasoned my meatballs with some garlic and ginger, and drenched them in a homemade teriyaki sauce for these super easy and delish Teriyaki Meatball Bowls. You’re going to love the simplicity of this meal, and those juicy little pork and ginger meatballs!
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Can I substitute the Pork?
I used ground pork for this recipe because it’s inexpensive and always juicy, but you could certainly use ground turkey or chicken instead. The bulk of the flavor comes in the potent teriyaki glaze that coats the meatballs, so any milder ground meat works great. Ground beef can be used, but I find the flavors work a little better with mild white meat.
How long do the Teriyaki Meatball Bowls last?
You can store these meatball bowls in the refrigerator for about 4 days. To reheat, simply microwave for about 2 minutes, or until heated through.
Can the Meatball Bowls be Frozen?
Most of the components of these bowls are freezer friendly—the meatballs, rice, and broccoli. The teriyaki sauce, however, is not. Sauces thickened with cornstarch don’t tend to hold up to freezing and thawing. So you have a few options here. You can freeze the cooked or uncooked meatballs to quickly reheat or cook on busy nights, and then make the rest of the dish fresh, or freeze the meatball bowls whole but without the teriyaki sauce. You can then make the teriyaki sauce fresh and drizzle over top after reheating the bowls.
Other Ways to Serve Teriyaki Meatball Bowls
If you love pineapple with your teriyaki, simply stir a can of drained pineapple tidbits into the sauce, or use thawed frozen pineapple tidbits. These teriyaki meatballs also make a great appetizer! Just drench them in the sauce and serve with toothpicks.
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Teriyaki Meatball Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
PORK AND GINGER MEATBALLS
- 1 lb. ground pork ($3.49)
- 1 large egg ($0.23)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs ($0.13)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce ($0.02)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.2)
TERIYAKI SAUCE
- 1/2 cup soy sauce ($0.48)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar ($0.18)
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.20)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
- 2 Tbsp corn starch ($0.06)
FOR SERVING
- 1 cup jasmine rice ($0.66)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 2 green onions ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds ($0.08)
- 1 lb. frozen broccoli florets ($2.59)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Begin with the meatball mixture. Add the ground pork, egg, breadcrumbs, minced garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sliced green onions to a bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until evenly combined.
- Divide and shape the meatball mixture into 16 ping pong sized balls. Place the shaped meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Baked the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and have reached an internal temperature of at least 160ºF.
- While the meatballs are cooking, begin the rice. Add the jasmine rice and water to a sauce pot. Place a lid on top and turn the heat onto high. Bring the pot up to a full boil, then turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer, undisturbed for 15 minutes. After simmering for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit, with the lid still in place, for an additional 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.
- While the rice and meatballs are cooking, prepare the teriyaki sauce. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, grated ginger, water, and cornstarch in a medium sauce pot. Stir to dissolve the cornstarch. Place the pot over medium heat. Stir and cook the sauce until it begins to simmer, at which point the sauce will thicken and turn from opaque to a shiny sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Finally, if serving the meatball bowls immediately, cook the frozen broccoli florets according to the package instructions. If you're packing the bowls as meal prep, the broccoli florets can be added in their frozen state.
- Once the meatballs have finished baking, add them to the sauce pot with the teriyaki sauce and stir to coat.
- To build the bowls, divide the cooked rice and broccoli florets between four bowls or containers. Add four meatballs to each bowl, then drizzle the extra sauce overtop. Finish the bowls by adding sliced green onion and sesame seeds to each bowl.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Teriyaki Meatball Bowls – Step By Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Combine 1 lb. ground pork, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 2 sliced green onions, and 1/2 tsp soy sauce in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until they are evenly combined.
Divide and shape the meatball mixture into 16 ping pong sized balls, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and the internal temperature has reached 160ºF.
Once the meatballs are in the oven, begin the rice. Add 1 cup jasmine rice and 2 cups water to a sauce pot. Place a lid on top and put the pot over high heat. Bring the pot up to a full boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer with the lid in place for 15 minutes. After simmering for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit undisturbed for 5 more minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.
Once the meatballs and rice have started, it’s time to make the quick teriyaki sauce. In a medium sauce pot, combine 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 cloves of minced garlic, about 2 tsp grated ginger, 1 cup water, and 2 Tbsp cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved.
Place the sauce pot over medium heat and cook the sauce, stirring often, until it comes up to a simmer. When it reaches a simmer the sauce will thicken into a shiny glaze. Remove the sauce from the heat.
If you’re going to be serving the teriyaki meatball bowls right away, heat 1 pound of frozen broccoli florets according to the package directions (or just heat in the microwave). If you’re going to be packing these bowls up for meal prep, the broccoli florets can go into the containers frozen.
By this time the meatballs should be finished baking. Transfer them to the pot with the teriyaki sauce and stir to coat.
To build your bowls, divide the cooked rice and broccoli florets between four bowls. Add four meatballs to each bowl and drizzle the extra sauce over top. Finish the bowls by topping with more sliced green onion and some sesame seeds.
As with any meal prep, if you’re packing these up for later, make sure to get them into the refrigerator right away so they can cool down as quickly as possible to maintain quality and avoid food safety issues.
These were delicious! I made them tonight and my very picky almost 3 year old ate SEVEN!!! Thank you so much for the recipe! I shared a link back to your site on my blog!
I’m eating a bowl of these as I type this – oh my gossshhhhh, they are the best meatballs I’ve ever eaten. I’d pay a lot of money for these in a restaurant! The sauce is amazing, though I may reduce the brown sugar by a tiny bit next time. Also, I used 99% fat free turkey and didn’t reduce the baking time :( but they turned out just fine. I brushed a little sauce on them before baking and they developed an awesome crispy exterior. Beth, you’re the BEST!
These are AWESOME!!!!! I made them tonight for Valentine’s Day and my husband loved them! He said, “These are restaurant quality.” I used ground turkey instead of the pork. I will probably cut down the baking time a bit next time with the turkey. They were on the verge of being dry because I didn’t consider the lower fat content. But they were still GREAT!!! I didn’t have trouble with them sticking to the foil – just sprayed with cooking spray before putting the meatballs on the foil.
I made these last night, the whole family loved them! Thanks for the great recipe! I just threw them on some leftover homemade chicken fried rice.
Ishak – You could definitely do this with beef or chicken, just substitute the same amount for the pork. If you want to cook them on the stove top, just add some oil to a skillet and saute the meatballs until they are cooked through, rolling them around in the pan as they cook.
I made these with turkey and they turned out great- to the poster above that had trouble, I spread sesame oil on the foil before I put them on it, and I didn’t have any burn or sticking problems. I also discovered halfway through that I was out of corn starch, so I used flour- it tasted fine, you just have to simmer it longer. The whole family liked this one- my two-year-old ate two whole meatballs!
-Maia
Hello
I’m a uni student and I don’t have an oven. Also I don’t eat pork. Would there be a way to do this with beef or chicken, and using pots and pans?
I am the most recent Anon poster and I did adjust as suggested by acutally adding a tad more rice vinegar to the leftovers which tasted great. Made for some delicious smelling lunches this week…co-worker envy – i Loved it! And that Jasmine rice just gets better with the adjusted sauce. Next time I wiill use pork, though. THANKS BETH!
I feel like meatballs are always on my short list — asian style are my favorite, hadn’t thought of this combo! Thanks!
I used just regular rice vinegar. I’m finding that people are getting varied results for my Asian sauces and I suspect that it’s due to variations in brand (soy sauce and vinegar brands). All I can suggest is to taste and adjust :P
beth, did you use rice vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar?…my sauce was so pretty but tasted off…also if i were to attmpt again i wont use turkey – blech! the balls stuck to my foil and nearly burned…full fat pork all the way!
these were delicious! Thanks! :)
Aileen – I’m not very familiar with vegetarian meat substitutes, but I’m sure there is a ground meat replacement product that you could use! If you try it, let us know how it works! :)
Any chance there’s a good vegetarian alternative to these meatballs….. looks so yummy I’m tempted to break veg for them haha.
Hey Beth :)
I tried this tonight with a couple alterations and it turned out great! The sauce is really similar to another sauce I make, so my boyfriend was really happy about it.
I cooked the balls at 350 for a slightly shorter period of time, and instead of using sesame oil and rice vinegar, I used a tiny bit of white vinegar with mirin (no sesame oil or rice vinegar on hand). It was really delicious!