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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Equipment
- Enamelware Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Pyrex Glass Meal Prep
- Garlic Press
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.
Ohhhh…we just had these for dinner, and they were so good! I got 24 meatballs out of 2 chicken breasts that I ground. Like previous posters, I found that these cooked faster than the time you listed, and I ended up making a couple of subs for things that I’d used up; but my husband told me that I could make them again. That’s always a good sign!
I made these last night and they were great. I used about 12 ounces of 93% lean ground turkey and added a small zucchini that I grated. Turned out moist and delicious, though I found they only needed about 25 minutes in the oven. They stuck to the foil a bit, so next time I’ll spray it first. I also subbed brown rice for the jasmine. Great recipe!
Just wanted to add… made these again, and the leftover meatballs… I had 4, I just threw in a pan with some frozen stir fry veggies for lunch today. There was just enough sauce left to flavor my whole bowl. So great!
I made these last week and they were INSANE. So tasty! A couple of notes: I made my meatballs with a 1T ice cream scooper and got a yield of 37 which cooked in my oven in 20 minutes. I don’t know if my oven is hotter than yours in general but my meats always seem to cook faster than you list. I also left out the sesame seeds (too spendy at my market) and served over quinoa which I seasoned with some soy and extra scallions. Thanks for the delicious recipe; it’s going into our regular rotation!
Mom on a Mission – You should definitely break down and buy some. It’s what gives the meatballs their amazing flavor. You can just break off a small knob (no need to buy a lot) and it’s usually fairly inexpensive. :)
Curious, as I have never used ginger before… would it make a big difference taste wise if I went without, or should I buckle down and go find some from the store? I don’t want to throw the taste off
Wow!!!! These were amazing! Filling for sure, sweet, salty and tender! My 4 year old loved them and he always complains about dinner. Keep the recipes coming. Thank you.
Out of this world!! The husband told me it was restaurant quality dinner! I got a high-five!! :)
Just made these for dinner tonight – AMAZING!!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe :)
These were really good. I used 19oz of turkey (1 package) and it made 30 meatballs. My only complaint was they were a little dry because I missed the part about putting the glaze on ahead of time versus after cooking, and I left the green onions out because BF doesn’t like them. Next time though, I’d probably add some grated carrot to increase the moisture. The glaze is RIDICULOUSLY good, and I even scraped the leftovers of it out of the pot to freeze and use later on chicken breast for a quick dinner. Oh, I also mixed in 1/2 cup steamed broccoli for each serving, to cut down on the rice (I’m a calorie counter so I only used 1/2 cup of rice per serving instead of a whole cup).
This was dynamite! I added a clove of garlic and a couple shakes of red pepper flakes to the sauce. Sooo good!
I used ground turkey and they were excellent. I got about 25 meatballs out of the 1lb of meat. I’ll have to double the recipe next time, so I’ll have some to freeze. I combined this with the Tahini Kale Salad–yes, it’s a weird combination, but I liked it.
Lyn – There’s no real rule of thumb, it’s just about flavor. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it than light brown sugar, which will give more flavor and moisture. In a recipe like cookies that includes a lot of brown sugar, it will make more of a difference than in something like this that only uses a little. In a pinch you could probably use them interchangeably in any recipe.
Thanks Beth. In general, what is the rule of thumb of when to use dark brown sugar versus light brown sugar?
Lyn – Dark vs. light brown sugar won’t make a major difference with this recipe :) Color in pictures can sometimes be deceiving, so it might not actually be that different.