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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Followed the recipe, except used ground beef instead of turkey. Turned out so good and so tasty. Will definitely be making again!
So nice to know that. Thanks for your great feedback!
Can you substitute ground beef for the turkey?
Hi Melinda, ground beef will give you a slightly different flavor profile and beef tends to be a little drier in meatballs but I think you could make it work.
Did you try the ground beef? Wanting to do the same and need to know if I need to change any other ingredients or measurements to make it work.
Delicious meatballs! Restaurant quality and so easy to make. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Ronita!
I just made Teriyaki meatballs and Ground Beef Stroganoff (i added broccoli 🥦) and they are both delicious. Yuuuuum!!!!! Thank you for the recipes.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I have these on my list to try. I have not found many ground turkey recipes on your website. Do you have a turkey burger recipe? I’d love to try one. I didn’t know where on the website I could submit requests.
Hi Sara, I do not have a turkey burger however several of our readers have subbed beef for turkey. I would recommend looking through our burger recipes HERE and checking out the comments for turkey substitutions.
I made these tonight and they were very good. Mine were a little on the dry side but possibly I over baked them. I made them a little bigger (12 meatballs) and took them out at 160 degrees, so I was surprised. I did not make the teriyaki sauce but used a really quality bottled brand and added chopped pineapple to it. Sprinkled the sesame seeds and chopped green onions on top. Looked very yummy in the serving bowl! Served with brown rice. Will definitely make them again!
Thank you for sharing that with us Donna!
Not enough sauce! Had to double it but still not enough sauce!!!
Very tasty! My only issue is that it took WAY longer to cook the meatballs than the 10-12 mins mentioned
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Jodi.
Can you make this recipe without Panko? Have gluten allergy
Hi J, 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’ve just made them…awesome. The homemade teriyaki sauce tastes so good. Even the people who are not the real fans of fresh ginger or soya sauce would appreciate such a meal:)
I reduced the amount of sugar, 1 Tbsp is really enough.
Very nice Joanna and thanks for the tip!
I just made these and only thing is I wish I read the reviews beforehand. Delicious, I would also reduce the sugar next time I make this. I mixed mine with ground Jimmy Dean Sage pork sausage. Yum. So happy I found this recipe though!
I very rarely take the time to actually review recipes but I just have to for these. This was my third different recipe I’ve tried for the teriyaki turkey meatballs and if this didn’t work, I was going to throw in the towel and accept they were supposed to be dry and bland. I am SO glad I tried these because They are everything I was wanting and more! I made them for meal prep for my lunches this week and they are just as great on day four as they were the first day I made them! These are a winner!
I’m so glad this one worked out for you! That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Danielle!
Natasha can I make these ahead for party?
Hi Katie, we store leftover teriyaki meatballs by wrapping them in foil and refrigerating. So I imagine that should work a day or so ahead.
I 4x the recipe and the meatballs are delicious but the sauce is very sweet. Any ideas how I can alter the existing sauce to make it less sweet?
Hi John, we always stick to these proportions so my best suggestion would be to either use less sauce or reduce the brown sugar a little. I’m glad you loved the meatballs!
cut the brown sugar way down
Can you make these in a slow cooker/crockpot? If so how?
Hi Tania, I haven’t tried them in a slow cooker but it does sound nice! You might need to add a little more sauce if reheating in the slow cooker.
Wow! The flavours are insane in these! I made them and also made a side of your Cabbage Fried Rice recipe and gee they went down a treat!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Viki! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I made these meatballs and loved them but there was very little sauce. In the pictures you were able to pour the sauce over the meatballs. I had less than a 1/4 of a cup . Should I double the recipe?
Hi Terry, I’m wondering if you had it at high heat and it reduced too much? We had just a little over a 1/4 cup once the sauce was complete.
First of all, never store things in foil. That is highly dangerous because the ya metal after all. Jus throw it in a Tupperware and throw some plastic wrap on it. Other than that great recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Pineapple has something in it that will actually tenderize a tough cut of meat. Using it in a meatloaf or meatball mix might be counterproductive. Probably would have been best to grill the pineapple separately for flavor then add to the meatball recipe as an add-on.
Sorry! The pineapple comment I submitted was meant to be a reply to a Elissa’s comment. I didn’t see the comment link after each comment until after I had submitted it.
Ferrell, did you try them with pineapple? That sound even better to me. I’m making my grocery list now, planning on making them tonight for dinner and after reading this, I think I’ll be adding the pineapple. Great call
goin wit two meat so I can compare , one batch turkey one pork
Thank you for sharing that with me! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
I keep coming back to this recipe, it is great. Very easy and convenient for a weeknight meal. Not to mention, the teriyaki sauce recipe is perfect. It isnt too sweet like a lot of others Ive found. I use it as a dipping sauce for chicken poppers too
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I made these Teriyaki Meatballs for dinner and a potluck the next day. They were a hit!!! I haven’t had such an easy recipe like this to follow in a while. And when I say easy, I mean really easy! Including prep and actually making them. Just because it lacks in steps and ingredients does not mean it lacks in flavor. I would totally make these again!
The only thing I would do different is doubling up on the sauce recipe. Our leftover meatballs soaked up all the juice so we know next time to have some sauce on reserve to drizzle again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for sharing your awesome feedback with me Corinna!