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!
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.
You can find these rectangular Pyrex meal prep containers in my Amazon Shop.
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.
First time with this recipe; made as written. My soy sauce was MUCH too salty and almost wrecked the dish. The flavours were there but overpowered. Meatballs were nice, maybe a little bland. I’ll try again cuz it seems a good recipe… but with different soy sauce. My side was peas ‘n carrots. Family said it was ok but needed tweaking.
I LOVE this recipe. I make it a couple times a month, and often its one of my go-to recipes to bring a meal to a friend, new mom, etc. It is always well loved. I’ve used ground beef, pork, chicken, turkey, even venison for the ground meat. They all turn out well! Thank you for a great recipe!
This meal is soo good but do you know why my corn starch never dissolves??
Since we aren’t cooking with you, it would be mere speculation. Are you dissolving it in a slurry? XOXO -Monti
I always dissolve the cornstarch in cold water first, then add and bring to a boil. Just make sure the water is cold! :)
Really enjoyed this! The meatballs were flavorful and moist. The sauce was perfect and not too sweet and paired wonderfully with the rice and broccoli! Will use this teriyaki sauce for other dishes for sure. So happy I found your site!
So I just replaced the brown sugar with 1/4 cup granular sugar, 1/4 cup molasses and 2 Tablespoons sriracha. It took the sauce to a whole new level.
Interesting! Now I want to try molasses!
I LOVE this recipe!! Not too complicated, and the flavours are immaculate. I substituted the pork for chicken and it’s incredible. I’ll be making this regularly.
Another delicious meal from Budget Bytes- this one will definitely be on rotation here, it was quick, easy, and has great flavor. My kids devoured every bit of it. Saving the left over sauce to have with fried tofu tomorrow 😋 Only thing I did different was add sesame oil to my rice. Thank you for another great recipe!!
Do you think this would still be good if I eliminate the brown sugar in the sauce?  I’m doing my best to reduce and eliminate man made sugars from my diet.
Personally, I think the brown sugar is necessary to balance the flavors in this sauce, but in the end, cooking is always going to come down to your own personal preferences. :)
I have never used an enamelware sheet pan (as shown in a few of your recipes) before and just wondering how it differs from using a metal sheet pan. Trying to decide if I want to make the investment.
I use them mostly because they photograph very well. :) The enamel can crack a little on the corners after a while, but they are otherwise pretty durable and the slick enameled surface is fairly non-stick! For budget and practical reasons, I’d probably go with something more basic if I wasn’t using them for photography.
I love this recipe! (I always make it as written.) This is my go-to dinner when I need to take someone a meal and I’ve now started to include a copy of it because it’s such a hit! Thank you :)
I was really excited to try this, but it wasn’t up my alley. I thought the sauce was too sweet and the meatballs too salty. I only had italian breadcrumbs (the only gluten free ones my grocery store carries), so that may have played a part. My daughter ate it up though, and she doesn’t like rice, so it obviously was a hit with her :)
I made the sauce with tofu, rice, and veggies. I’m glad I read the comments first because I cut the sugar in half. I would probably reduce the sugar even further next time, but overall it had good flavor and I’m adding it to my rotation!
This was extremely easy to make. I halved the sugar based on reviews and I’m glad I did, it would of been way too sweet without. I’ve made this into freezer meals with steamed broc and carrot. I’m going to experiment with different sauces in the future.
Super delicious! Everyone liked it in our house. Made the meatballs with ground turkey since our store had a BOGO deal.Â
This is one of my favorite go-to recipes on Budget Bytes. The best!!!!