These Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs are juicy and so flavorful with an easy homemade teriyaki glaze. They come together quickly, making them an easy dinner idea for a busy weeknight over a bed of steamy rice or as a crowd-pleasing appetizer. You’ll love this healthier option using ground turkey and baking instead of frying.
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Helpful Reader Review
“This has been a family favorite for the last 3 years I believe… My picky little boys LOVE this dinner and request it often! It’s in our weekly dinner rotation- thanks for the awesome recipe!” – Mary ★★★★★
Homemade Teriyaki Meatball Recipe
Everyone loves these Teriyaki Meatballs. My family meets every Sunday night for a potluck-style meal at my parents’ house, and bite-sized appetizers are always the first things eaten. This is one of my favorite dishes to bring since the meatballs are quick to make and the recipe is easily doubled (or tripled) to feed our crowd. These fly off the plate!
Swapping pork and beef for ground turkey in this teriyaki meatball recipe cuts calories, making these a lighter option. Then I bake the meatballs at a high temperature in the oven instead of frying them, so they still have a delicious crust without drying out.
The teriyaki sauce takes just 5 minutes to mix and reduce on the stove, and then you’re ready to coat the meatballs. If you have any left over, I like to use it over Salmon, like in my Teriyaki Salmon Recipe, in Chicken Lettuce Wraps for lunch, or as a dip for my Egg Roll Recipe.
Ingredients for Teriyaki Meatballs
The recipe comes in two parts: the turkey meatballs and the Teriyaki sauce. Both are independently delicious (picture a chef’s kiss), but together… perfection.
- Ground Turkey – leaner than beef, ground turkey has a reputation for being dry/bland–but not here. The other meatball ingredients add so much flavor and keep the meat moist. You can swap this with ground pork, ground beef, or ground chicken if you prefer.
- Panko Bread Crumbs – Here’s one of those ingredients that hold moisture and create a great meatball texture since it’s crunchier than regular breadcrumbs. You could swap with regular breadcrumbs in a pinch, but use a little less so the meatballs don’t get dense. You can also use gluten-free panko crumbs for GF meatballs.
- Flavor – green onion, ginger (grated or ground), and garlic
- Egg – works with the panko to keep the teriyaki meatball from falling apart and moist. For egg allergies, you can try one of these substitutions for eggs recommended by Tasting Table
- Sesame Oil– adds great flavor and some moisture to the meatballs.
Ingredients for Teriyaki Sauce
While the turkey meatballs bake, I whip up an easy homemade Teriyaki sauce. You guys…this sauce. It makes me want to lick the pot. But I don’t because it tastes even better over rice with savory meatballs. You can find all of the sauces I used here in the international section of most grocery stores.
- Brown sugar offsets the savory, salty, and umami flavors in the sauce.
- Soy sauce – I use regular soy sauce, but you can use a gluten-free tamari or even low sodium. If using low sodium, reduce the sugar slightly.
- Hoisin sauce – adds depth, thickness, sweetness, and extra umami. You can also get gluten-free hoisin for GF.
- Sesame oil – take a quick trip down the international grocery aisle to find these delicious Asian recipe staples. I use toasted sesame oil, which has a strong nutty flavor and is sometimes labeled “pure,” but you can check the ingredient list on the bottle to make sure it states “toasted.”
- Aromatics – garlic and ginger – use fresh for the best flavor.
How to Make Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs
- Preheat – prep a rimmed baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 400
- Mix the meatball ingredients in a large bowl until just combined. Don’t overmix the meat or it can become tough. If the mixture seems dry, add milk or water 1 Tbsp at a time.
- Roll the meatballs into 1 1/4″-1 1/2″ balls and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 13-18 minutes or until cooked through. Turkey Meatballs are finished cooking when their juices run clear and the inside measures 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. Be sure not to overcook the meatballs.
Natasha’s Pro Tip:
For more crisp edges on the meatballs, you can place an oven-safe rack on top of the foil-lined baking sheet to keep the meatballs raised out of the juices while cooking.
- Make the Teriyaki Sauce – add sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Combine the cooked turkey meatballs and Teriyaki sauce in a large mixing bowl. Serve immediately.
Helpful Reader Review
“These turned out great! I love how fast, inexpensive, and so yummy these meatballs are. In my past experience, ground turkey would always turn out dry, but these were very juicy.” – Kseniya ★★★★★
How to Serve Teriyaki Meatballs
These turkey teriyaki meatballs are just so versatile. I like to garnish with sesame seeds and chopped chives for a beautiful presentation. Then, I serve them alone as a quick snack, over rice for dinner, or on a plate with toothpicks as a delicious appetizer. Here are a few ideas on what to enjoy with this recipe:
- Over Cooked Rice, Cabbage Fried Rice, Quinoa, ramen noodles, or egg noodles.
- With Asian Chopped Salad Recipe, Roasted Broccoli, Vegetable stir fry
- Served on No Knead Bread or in Hamburger Buns as a meatball sub or meatball sandwich
Storage and Reheating
If you manage to have any leftovers (how?), you can store the meatballs easily for lunch or a quick snack the next day.
- To Refrigerate: once the meatballs cool, store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: cool the meatballs and then place them on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Flash freeze them by placing them into the freezer for 2-3 hours. Once frozen, store them in a freezer-safe zip-top or container for up to 3 months. You can freeze with sauce or keep the sauce separate.
- To Reheat: place frozen meatballs in the Air Fryer or Oven at 375 or reheat in a saucepan. If the sauce gets thick, thin it out with a bit of water.
Baked Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs are one of my favorite appetizers to serve at large family potlucks and also one of my family’s favorite 30-minute meals for weeknight dinner. These leaner take on crowd-pleasing meatballs will certainly become a go-to for your family as well!
Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 16 oz lean ground turkey
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs, or use GF crumbs
- 1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or grated
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
For the Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce, or use GF hoisin
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce, or use GF tamari
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger or 1/8 tsp ground ginger
To serve:
- Sesame seeds and green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat – Line a 17×12 rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Combine meatball ingredients – in a large bowl: ground turkey, bread crumbs, green onion, egg, fresh ginger, pressed garlic clove, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands or a spoon to mix just until combined. The mixture should feel moist. If it seems dry, add milk or water, 1 Tbsp at a time.
- Roll meatballs – into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" balls and bake at 400 for 13-18 mins or until juices run clear or a meat thermometer reads 165˚F. Meanwhile, make the sauce.
- Make Teriyaki Sauce – Simmer the sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently or until slightly thickened.
- Combine Meatballs and Sauce – Transfer warm meatballs to a mixing bowl, drizzle with warm sauce, and toss to combine. Serve over rice, garnished with chives and sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
- Refrigerate Leftovers – Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze – Flash freeze meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet until solid and then store in an airtight container or freezer zip-top bag.
- Reheat from frozen – Place in the oven at 375˚F or the air fryer until heated through. You can also reheat in a saucepan. If the sauce gets too thick, add a splash of water to thin it out.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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Natasha, I am planning to try to make this as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. I am going to my family’s home, so I don’t need to feel awkward about asking to use the oven, etc. My plan is to prep the meatballs and make the sauce completely on Wednesday. Then bake meatballs and reheat sauce on Thursday. So, I suppose my question is, will this change any instructions? Or is this a bad plan for some reason? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi James, that should work fine and I hope you enjoy the meatballs! 🙂
This turned out so good. I try to stay off high fodmap foods so I omitted the garlic and used UDIs white bread for bread crumbs. It was actually really good even before I poured the sauce over it. With the sauce of course, its better. So glad I found this. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Nerissa, thank you for such a nice review and you are very welcome 😁.
I have the PICKIEST 1 year old. I make these meatballs, except flatten into patties, dredge in breadcrumbs, and pan fry. He won’t touch a thing on his plate, but he will gobble these right up. Mom and dad get the sauce as a dip for their turkey “nuggets.”
I’m so happy to hear that your picky eater loved the recipe. Thank yo for sharing that with us 🙂
Hi
I made it tonight. We loved it! I mixed a tiny amount of pork with the turkey and added some orange juice to the sauce to stretch it. Served it with rice and broccoli. Will definitely make it again
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
GReat .Did it twice . Double portion lol
Oh awesome! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
This was delicious!! The sauce is amazing. Do you think it would work if I just sauté some chicken, slice it up and then mix with the sauce? I love your recipes 😊
Sauce would work great with chicken as well. Let me know how you like it 😀.
So, no salt for the meat mixture? I am making it right now.
I did not add salt to the meat mixture because the sauce has plenty of salt flavor in it. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Delicious and very easy!! I did double the sauce recipe since my family like to have extra to pour over rice. Natasha, would it be possible to get nutrition facts added at a later time like calories, fat, etc? Thanks again!
🙂 Natalia
Hi Natalia, I don’t typically include calorie counts because of the time constraint that I have. I really need to hire some help to do that for me! 🙂 When I need a quick answer though; I have used caloriecount.com (their recipe analyzer is free).
Thanks for the recipe, but am I suppose to add teriyaki sauce, because I don’t see it as one of the ingredients.
Jo-Ann, there is no need to add teriyaki sauce since you make one from scratch.
Hi Natasa
Do you think can use chicken instead turkey mince? I’m not a huge fan of turkey. Thank u 🙂
Yes, ground chicken would probably taste even better, particularly ground chicken thigh meat 🙂
I cant have hoisin sauce, what can I use as a substitute
Hi Marianna, I haven’t really tested any substitutions in this recipe so I can’t say for sure. An easy fix is to use your favorite store-bought teriyaki sauce like Yoshida’s for example, warm it up and toss with the meatballs. Hoisin is difficult to substitute without substituting for several ingredients to replace it because it adds thickness and flavor to the sauce – it’s sort of like an Asian BBQ sauce.
Made these and substituted the hoisen sauce for regular bbq sauce+ another tablespoon of soy sauce and a squirt of siracha .. I have no idea how close it was to the original recipe, but it was amazing. Thankyou. I always come to your site for dinner inspiration.yum.
I’m glad to hear that Katie! Thanks so much for following!
My family loved these! And it was a quick dinner! Love those when you have little ones! Thanks Natasha!!
I’m so happy your family loved it! Yes I definitely know how great that is when you have little ones!! 🙂
This looks sooo good! Could I make it with beef instead of turkey and would the baking in the oven be the same temp and minutes too?Thank you!
Hi Veronica, I think 100% beef might be a little dry for these meatballs. If you make the meatballs the same size, they should bake in about the same amount of time. Test one for doneness to make sure and bake until no longer pink in the center.
Thank you Natasha!
Wow, really, I can’t get over that delicious taste! So simple and yet – sooo great. Thank you for this recipe – it’s a real keeper
Thank you so much for the awesome review! I’m so happy you loved the recipe 🙂
Turkey meatballs and sauce were delicious. I served them over fried rice. Since there are only two of us, the recipe made enough for another meal. Thanks.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. I definitely wouldn’t mind leftover meatballs! 🙂
this looks quite awesome!! thank you! just wanted to know, Is there an alternative to baking them? can one pan fry or cook them otherwise?
Yes, you can definitely pan fry them if you wish 🙂
We love meatballs and teriyaki flavored sauce….perfect recipe! The sauce looks so good and would work with so many different recipes. Pinned. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing and pinning. You’re so nice! I hope you love this recipe. The sauce is very versatile 🙂
Absolutely delicious!!!!even my picky husband loved it and hes not a turkey lover 😉 Loveeee your chinese/asian food especially the sweet and sour chicken thank you Natasha!
Nina, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Natasha the meatballs are very tasty. I like your souse. Recipe just amazing. All your recipes are sssooo easy and sssooo good. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nina, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
If I wanted to make these low carb, would it work to use almond flour (or meal) in place of the panko? Thanks!
Hi Danie, I haven’t tried that substitution so I’m not sure if they would be too dry or not. The bread crumbs make the meatballs really tender and I don’t think it would be as good without them. If you test it out, let me know how it goes!
I do that too, but I just leave the panko out entirely which does make it drier but doesn’t bother me. The kids still eat them. But I’m eager to try this recipe because it’s teriyaki flavored and my kids love teriyaki!!!
Oh awesome! Laura, thanks for sharing that!
Man these meatballs look good! It’s not even lunchtime, but I’m ready for a bowl of rice and meatballs lol
Thank you Marina! I always find myself starving after being online and looking at food. Thank you for that awesome compliment! 🙂