Homemade Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs are easy to make in as little as 15 minutes! This recipe has air fryer and oven baking directions. Serve over rice or noodles with stir-fried veggies.
I'll show you how to make the meatballs and teriyaki sauce from scratch, though you can always use a store-bought sauce for a shortcut.
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More easy teriyaki recipes: Teriyaki Sous Vide Chicken Thighs
Easy teriyaki turkey meatballs
These teriyaki turkey meatballs have just a few simple ingredients. Among them are soy sauce and diced scallions, which add flavor and moisture. It takes about 6-7 minutes to mix all the ingredients and form the meatballs, then you can air fry or bake them. Air frying cook time is about 8 minutes, making these a very quick weeknight dinner! Baking time is about 15 minutes.
I make a quick and easy homemade teriyaki sauce while the meatballs are cooking. It's my go-to teriyaki sauce that I use all the time (see my teriyaki salmon recipe). I like to brush on teriyaki sauce onto the meatballs during the second half of baking, and this makes a nice sweet teriyaki glaze on the meatballs. I brush teriyaki on several times to add more flavor to the meatballs, then toss the meatballs in more teriyaki sauce while they're still hot.
If you prefer a more hands-off dinner, you can just bake or air fry the meatballs until they are done and then toss them in teriyaki sauce after cooking.
More easy meatball recipes to try: Swedish Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound 85% or 90% lean turkey (any leaner and the balls will come a little dry)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2-3 scallions, finely diced (choose thinner scallions so you have smaller scallion pieces)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼-½ teaspoon salt, to taste
- ¼-½ teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
For the teriyaki sauce:
This recipe makes extra sauce, which can be used as a stir-fry sauce for veggies and chicken or as a a marinade for chicken.
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce (use about ⅓ cup if using full sodium)
- 4-6 tablespoons brown sugar, to taste
- 3-4 tablespoons rice vinegar (or 2-3 tablespoons white vinegar)
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- ¾ cup water (or use orange juice or pineapple juice for a fruity sweeter and tangier flavor)
More ground turkey dinner ideas: Turkey Black Bean Baked Tacos
Equipment
- Large baking sheet and parchment paper OR an air fryer
- Medium-large bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Meat thermometer
- These herb scissors which make it so easy to chop scallions and you don't need to get a cutting board dirty!
- Small saucepan
- Small whisk
- Optional: fine mesh sieve if you want to strain out garlic and ginger from your teriyaki sauce to make it smooth
More quick and easy dinners with ground turkey: Turkey Cheeseburger Bowls
Instructions
Make the teriyaki sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk together. The mixture will be cloudy. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 minute, or until the sauce thickens and turns a shiny brown color. Remove from heat.
If you want, strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve, collecting the sauce into a jar.
If baking your meatballs, preheat oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the turkey meatballs and stir together until well-combined. Try not to overmix.
Use your hands to grab about 1.5 tablespoons of the turkey mixture and form small meatballs. Tip: wet your hands in a bowl of water in between every meatball to prevent the meatballs from sticking to your hands.
Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet, or follow air fryer instructions below.
Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the meatballs for 7 minutes. Transfer a few tablespoons of teriyaki sauce to a small bowl, then brush sauce onto the meatballs. Bake for 2 minutes, then brush on more sauce. Repeat 2 more times, or until the meatballs are fully cooked with an internal temperature of 165F (brush on teriyaki sauce about 4 times). For a more hands-off version: Bake the meatballs at 375F for 15 minutes or until fully cooked.
Once the meatballs are fully cooked, toss them with teriyaki sauce to coat. Serve warm, garnishing with diced scallions or sesame seeds.
More ground turkey recipes to try: Turkey Burgers with Guacamole
Air fryer instructions
Prepare the meatballs as described above. Place the meatballs onto the air fryer basket or tray.
Air fry at 350F for 4 minutes. Transfer a few tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce into a small bowl. Brush the sauce onto the meatballs, air fry for 2 minutes, then brush with more sauce and air fry for another 2 minutes, or until the meatballs are fully cooked with an internal temperature of 165F. Keep an eye on the meatballs to make sure they don't burn. (For a hands-off version, just air fry at 350F for 8 minutes, or until fully cooked.)
Once cooked, toss the meatballs with teriyaki sauce.
More quick and easy meatballs recipes: Venison Meatballs
Recipe tips
- If serving these meatballs over rice or with noodles, get those cooking before you start working on the meatballs, so everything is ready at the same time. Bone broth rice is a great choice here!
- For a super quick veggie side dish, toss cooked broccoli in teriyaki sauce.
- These meatballs freeze well, but I recommend freezing them without sauce and freezing sauce in a separate container or freezer bag. To serve, thaw the meatballs and the sauce, then toss the meatballs in the sauce before serving.
More meatballs recipes to try: Bison Meatballs
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound 85% or 90% lean turkey - (any leaner and the balls will come a little dry)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce -
- ¼ cup finely diced scallions - (1-3 scallions)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼-½ teaspoon salt - to taste
- ¼-½ teaspoon ground black pepper - to taste
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce -
- 4-6 tablespoons brown sugar - to taste
- 3-4 tablespoons rice vinegar - (or 2-3 tablespoons white vinegar)
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- ¾ cup water - (or use orange juice or pineapple juice for a fruity sweeter and tangier flavor)
Special equipment
- Large baking sheet and parchment paper OR an air fryer
- Herb scissors optional, great for dicing scallions
- Small saucepan for the teriyaki sauce
- Fine mesh sieve to strain out ginger and garlic pieces from teriyaki sauce
Instructions
- Make the teriyaki sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk together. The mixture will be cloudy. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 minute, or until the sauce thickens and turns a shiny brown color. Remove from heat. If you want, strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve, collecting the sauce into a jar.
- If baking your meatballs, preheat oven to 375F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the turkey meatballs and stir together until well-combined. Try not to overmix.
- Use your hands to grab about 1.5 tablespoons of the turkey mixture and form small meatballs. Tip: wet your hands in a bowl of water in between every meatball to prevent the meatballs from sticking to your hands.
- Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the meatballs for 7 minutes. Transfer a few tablespoons of teriyaki sauce to a small bowl, then brush sauce onto the meatballs. Bake for 2 minutes, then brush on more sauce. Repeat 2 more times, or until the meatballs are fully cooked with an internal temperature of 165F (brush on teriyaki sauce about 4 times). (For a more hands-off version: Bake the meatballs at 375F for 15 minutes or until fully cooked.)
- In a bowl or a pan, toss the cooked meatballs with teriyaki sauce to coat. Serve warm, garnishing with diced scallions or sesame seeds.
- Prepare the teriyaki sauce and meatballs as described above. Place the meatballs onto the air fryer basket or tray.
- Air fry at 350F for 4 minutes. Transfer a few tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce into a small bowl. Brush the sauce onto the meatballs, air fry for 2 minutes, then brush with more sauce and air fry for another 2 minutes, or until the meatballs are fully cooked with an internal temperature of 165F. Keep an eye on the meatballs to make sure they don't burn.(For a hands-off version, just air fry at 350F for 8 minutes, or until fully cooked)
- In a bowl or a pan, toss the cooked meatballs with teriyaki sauce.
Notes
- If serving these meatballs over rice or with noodles, get those cooking before you start working on the meatballs.
- For a super quick vegetable side, toss cooked broccoli with teriyaki sauce.
- This recipe makes extra sauce, which can be used as a stir-fry sauce for veggies and chicken or as a a marinade for chicken.
- These meatballs freeze well. I recommend freezing the meatballs and sauce in separate containers. To serve, thaw the meatballs and the sauce, then toss the meatballs in the sauce before serving.
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Kate
Thursday 9th of October 2025
We love these meatballs because the meatballs themselves taste great, and the sweet and savory combination of meatballs and teriyaki sauce is just so good. These make a great appetizer too, just serve warmed up meatballs and have toothpicks available for your guests for a tasty party treat.