Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

$8.86 recipe / $2.22 serving
by Beth Moncel
4.78 from 96 votes
Pin RecipeJump to recipe โ†’

All recipes are rigorously tested in our Nashville test kitchen to ensure they are easy, affordable, and delicious.

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!

Teriyaki meatball bowls with teriyaki sauce being drizzled on top with a spoon, a bowl of sesame seeds on the side.

This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

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.

Teriyaki Meatball bowls in rectangular glass meal prep containers

You can find these rectangular Pyrex meal prep containers in my Amazon Shop.

Share this recipe

Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

4.78 from 96 votes
Teriyaki Meatball Bowls include fragrant jasmine rice, tender pork meatballs, homemade teriyaki sauce, and broccoli florets for an easy meal prep friendly meal!
Close up of teriyaki meatball bowls with sauce being drizzled over top
Servings 4
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 40 minutes

Ingredients

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)
Email Me This Recipe
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

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.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.


Equipment

  • Enamelware Sheet Pan
  • Parchment Paper
  • Pyrex Glass Meal Prep
  • Garlic Press

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 714.88kcalCarbohydrates: 87.28gProtein: 31.8gFat: 26.68gSodium: 1985.83mgFiber: 4.98g
Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

Close up of teriyaki meatball bowls with sauce being drizzled over top

How to Make Teriyaki Meatball Bowls – Step By Step Photos

Pork and Ginger Meatball Ingredients in a bowl

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.

Shaped pork meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Divide and shape the meatball mixture into 16 ping pong sized balls, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Baked pork meatballs on the baking sheet.

Bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and the internal temperature has reached 160ºF.

Cooked Rice in a pot.

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.

Teriyaki sauce in the pot uncooked

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.

Cooked teriyaki sauce in the sauce pot

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.

Frozen broccoli florets

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.

Meatballs coated in teriyaki sauce in the sauce pot

By this time the meatballs should be finished baking. Transfer them to the pot with the teriyaki sauce and stir to coat.

Finished teriyaki meatball bowls with a fork, yellow napkin, and bowl of sesame seeds.

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.

Teriyaki meatball bowls in rectangular glass meal prep containers

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.

TRY THESE OTHER MEATBALL RECIPES:

Share this recipe

Posted in: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

Leave a Comment
  1. great recipe. i stumbled onto your blog from pinterest, and so glad i did. i am new to cooking, so your step by step photos are the best thing in the world. i used dark brown sugar for this. would there have been a difference if i used light brown sugar? my sauce turned out darker than your pictures show.

  2. FANTASTIC as can be!
    LOVED this recipe!
    SO simple, easy to do,
    So economical, and your step by step photos
    enticed me to do! Thank you!

  3. I used meatballs I got from Costco so it was super fast too! Yummy…the boys loved it!

  4. Yep, they can be frozen. I actually freeze them with the rice and everything in the bowl and then just pop them in the microwave when I’m ready to eat.

  5. Gday I know about making and freezing the rice separate…Can these meatballs be frozen? Thank you!

  6. Okay so this makes it the 4th time I’ve made these, I had to break down and finally print out the recipe to add to my favorites folder. I make this with turkey instead and it still comes out good. My family is in love with them.

  7. I like to just build the bowls as if I’m going to eat them (rice, sauce, and all) and then freeze them. You could freeze the uncooked meatballs and then take them straight from the freezer to the oven. If you bake them and then freeze them without the sauce, I would reheat them in the pot of sauce so they don’t dry out. In other words, you can do it any old which way :)

  8. Can’t wait to make these for the freezer! But I have a question, do you bake the meatballs, then add the sauce, then freeze? Or do you freeze them raw with the sauce on the side? Thanks!

  9. Oh my gosh. These were AWESOME!!! I used half ground turkey, have lentils and they were delicious and hush-puppyish. So great. I love this site!

  10. I made these and overall it was really great, however I think 40 min @ 400F is too long. I sized mine to get the same yield as you and mine were VERY dry. Pork doesn’t need to be killed, it’s already dead! I’d probably try a little closer to 30min next time, or just monitor the internal temperature.

  11. Hi Beth,
    I made these Teryaki meatballs yesterday for our dinner. At first I thought they are overly sweet but kids and hubby love them! THANKS!
    Elena

  12. Made these with ground turkey tonight and they turned out great! I had some leftover crushed pineapple that I wanted to use up so I added that to the meatballs. I baked on a silicone mat and had no problems with sticking! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes, you rock!

  13. VERY yummy! I was very surprised at myself for being able to make teriyaki sauce from scratch and not scorching it. thank you for the wonderful step-by-steps. my meatballs burned a bit, but I’ll know for next time! :D