Julie Clark
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Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
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Teriyaki turkey meatballs are easy to make and ready to eat in about 30 minutes. You’ll love their simple seasonings and homemade teriyaki sauce.
Homemade meatballs may seem like a lot of work, but they make such a quick dinner for weeknights. And they even make a great appetizer for parties.
Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs are a unique twist to traditional Italian meatballs. They have a sweet and tangy Asian flair. Serve over rice with a steamed veggie on the side if you’d like. You’ll have dinner in about 30 minutes! If you love teriyaki chicken, you’ll love these meatballs.
About this Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs Recipe:
- Flavor: Turkey meatballs can sometimes be bland, so we flavored the meatballs themselves with lots of garlic, ginger and onions. The teriyaki sauce itself is lightly sweet and tangy. If you love teriyaki chicken, you’ll love this recipe.
- Texture: The meatballs have a traditional meatball texture. They have egg and bread crumbs so that the bind together, which makes them slightly dense.
- Method: Although some meatballs are cooked on the stovetop, I prefer to bake the teriyaki meatballs in the oven.
What is teriyaki sauce made of?
There are just 6 ingredients in this simple teriyaki sauce.
- Soy sauce. Use tamari if you cannot have soy sauce.
- Brown sugar.
- Mirin. Mirin is a lightly sweet Japanese rice wine that is in many Japanese dishes. It adds a little sweet and richness do dishes.
- Water.
- Garlic. You can get away with garlic powder in the meatballs, but use minced garlic for the sauce.
- Ginger. I like to keep ginger paste on hand for when I don’t have fresh ginger.
How to Make Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
- Prepare. Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the teriyaki sauce. Add all sauce ingredients to a small sauce pan on the stove top over medium heat and stir well. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat slightly and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Remove from heat. It won’t look thickened at first, but as it cools it will thicken slightly, into a lovely homemade teriyaki glaze.
- Mix. Add all the meatball ingredients to a large bowl and mix until evenly combined. (Using your hands will yield the best results for even and efficient mixing). Using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, portion and roll the mixture into balls and place on baking sheet 1” apart.
- Bake. Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. Internal temperature of the meatballs should be 165ºF.
- Toss the meatballs in the sauce. Then sprinkle more sesame seeds and green onion on top.
Recipe Variations
- Use ground chicken, ground beef or ground pork instead of ground turkey in this teriyaki meatball recipe if you’d like.
- Want to use something other than brown sugar to sweeten the sauce? Try honey or pineapple juice.
Love meatballs?
Do you love to make meatballs at home? Try our Instant Pot meatballs and pizza meatballs.
Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
Teriyaki turkey meatballs are easy to make and ready to eat in about 30 minutes. You'll love their simple seasonings and homemade teriyaki sauce.
Servings 4
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 16 ounces lean ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup minced green onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
For the teriyaki sauce:
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin can also use rice vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger or 1" ginger paste
For serving:
- white rice
- sesame seeds
- green onion
Instructions
Make the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Add all the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until evenly combined. (Using your hands will yield the best results for even and efficient mixing). 16 ounces lean ground turkey, 1 large egg, ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, ¼ cup minced green onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, portion and roll the mixture into balls and place on baking sheet 1” apart.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. Internal temperature of the meatballs should be 165ºF.
Make the teriyaki sauce:
- While the meatballs are baking, add all sauce ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat and stir well. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat slightly and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Remove from heat. It won’t look thickened at first, but as it cools it will thicken slightly. ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons mirin, ¼ cup water, 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic, 1 ½ teaspoons minced ginger
- Once the meatballs come out of the oven, add to a mixing bowl and toss well with the teriyaki sauce.
- Serve warm over rice with more sesame seeds and scallions to garnish. Drizzle with any leftover sauce.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- This recipe also works with ground chicken.
- You can make this gluten free with gluten free breadcrumbs and tamari in place of soy sauce.
- These meatballs can be frozen. Freeze separated on a baking sheet, then transfer to container or plastic bag and place in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in fridge, then heat in the crock pot, microwave or oven.
Nutrition
Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 2113mg | Potassium: 463mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 134IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg
I just made this my hubby and myself loved it lots of flavor and easy to make I did use half ground pork and half ground turkey and made the recipe according to yours it will be a regular at our house.