Beef Teriyaki Bowls
Beef teriyaki bowls have fresh veggies, ground beef, rice, and an easy homemade teriyaki sauce. Next time you’re craving takeout, make this flavorful homemade dish instead. It’s easy enough for busy weeknights and is very customizable.
Ingredient Notes
Bowls
- Avocado oil or olive oil – either one is fine. Use whatever you have on hand.
- Green onion – this gets cooked into the meat for more flavor as well as used as a garnish on top.
- Ground beef
- Fresh veggies – I used broccoli, red bell pepper, and carrots.
- Cooked rice – I like white jasmine rice. But you could also use brown rice or a short grain rice like sushi rice.
Homemade teriyaki sauce
- Low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- Pineapple juice
- Brown sugar
- Rice vinegar
- Aromatics – fresh ginger, garlic, and toasted sesame oil.
- Slurry – cold water and tapioca starch (same as tapioca flour) to thicken the sauce.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this beef teriyaki bowl recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No ground beef? – you can also use thinly sliced top sirloin steak (or another cut), or ground chicken like my chicken teriyaki bowl.
- Make it meat-less – use shredded extra firm tofu.
- Make it gluten-free – use low sodium tamari.
- No brown sugar? – you can also use maple syrup, coconut sugar, or honey.
- Make it soy free – make my soy-free teriyaki sauce with coconut aminos.
- Use different vegetables – such as snow peas, sugar snap peas, edamame, bok choy, cabbage, cucumber, etc.
- No tapioca starch? – you can also use corn starch or potato starch.
Helpful Tips
- Use low sodium soy sauce or tamari so the final dish isn’t overly salty.
- For an even quicker option, use a frozen vegetable mixture.
- Cook your rice ahead of time, so it’s one less thing you have to do at dinner time.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you thicken teriyaki sauce?
To thicken teriyaki sauce, you have to make a slurry by whisking together some type of starch with cold water until it dissolves before you pour it with the rest of the ingredients. Heat activates the starch and helps to thicken the sauce.
Does teriyaki have gluten?
Most store-bought teriyaki sauces are made with soy sauce, which is made with wheat and isn’t safe for people with gluten allergies. If you use tamari for this teriyaki beef recipe, it’ll be gluten free.
More Homemade Takeout Recipes
- Nasi Goreng Kampung (Indonesian Fried Rice)
- Gluten Free Pad Thai
- Korean Inspired Beef Bulgogi Bowl
- Gluten Free General Tso’s Chicken
Did you try these beef teriyaki bowls? If so, please leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Beef Teriyaki Bowls
Beef teriyaki bowls have fresh veggies, ground beef, rice, and an easy homemade teriyaki sauce. Next time you're craving takeout, make this flavorful homemade dish instead. It's easy enough for busy weeknights and is very customizable.
Ingredients
Slurry
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
Teriyaki Sauce
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Bowls
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil divided
- 1 medium red bell pepper cut into a large dice
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 large carrots sliced into thin half moons
- 2 green onions sliced
- 1 pound ground beef
- cooked white rice
Garnish
- sesame seeds
- green onions or cilantro optional
Instructions
- Make the sauce. Make the slurry by whisking together the cold water and tapioca starch in the bottom of a medium bowl until completely dissolved then add the sauce ingredients. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Saute the vegetables. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the chopped bell pepper, broccoli florets, and sliced carrot. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly cooked. Remove the veggies from the skillet.
- Cook the beef. In the same skillet, add the second tablespoon of oil along with the sliced green onion. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds then add in the ground beef. Cook until no pink remains then remove it from the skillet using a slotted spoon.
- Thicken the sauce. Pour the sauce into the skillet and allow it to cook for a few minutes to thicken, stirring frequently. Stir the cooked beef into the teriyaki sauce and remove from the heat.
- Assemble bowls. Place rice in the bottom of a bowl followed by the teriyaki beef and vegetables on top. Garnish with sliced green onions or cilantro, and toasted sesame seeds if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
See the blog post for helpful tips on storage and time saving tips as well as recipe FAQs.