These Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls make the perfect easy weeknight meal for busy families! Made with basic ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and freezer, these Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls will save your dinner time!
You guys know all about my love affair with easy meals. I mean, at least you should if you’ve been around here for awhile (and if you’re a new subscriber, welcome!). When my kids were babies I somehow fooled myself into thinking that life would get easier as my kids got older and more independent, and that all of a sudden I’d have more time and energy to accomplish the tasks of the day. I hate to say this, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! When kids get bigger unfortunately so do their problems, their needs, and their messes. It’s that last one that’s plaguing me right now…As I type this I’m staring at my living room floor covered in toys, books, pillows, and blankets from the fort we built this afternoon. Deep down I know how special these years are and the brevity of the time while my kids are young and at home during the day is not lost on me. I remind myself of this every day as I clean up after them and fold all their laundry, trying not to wish away these precious years.
And part of it is definitely my own fault…I’m a ‘yes’ girl, and I love to help other people and challenge myself with new things which, as my husband not-so-eloquently points out to me on the regular, creates more work for me. And while that’s something I’m definitely working on, it’s also a great excuse to streamline our family’s weekly meal plan by adding easy, healthy recipes like these Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls.
I first tried a recipe very similar to this one from the blog Yellow Bliss Road. Her recipe is delicious, but I knew there must be a way to make this recipe even easier AND even healthier. Lucky for you (and for me), I figured it out and these Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls were born. Instead of making homemade Teriyaki sauce in a separate pot, I add the sauce ingredients directly to the ground chicken as it browns, allowing the chicken and veggies to soak up all that delicious homemade Teriyaki sauce. And instead of a mountain of sugar that’s typically found in Teriyaki sauce, I use honey to create a slightly sweet but healthier version, but still with the same delicious Teriyaki flavour.
This recipe is SO versatile – you can add any veggies you want and use almost any ground meat your family would enjoy. I’ve made these rice bowls with chicken, turkey, and even with ground pork and they’ve been delicious every single time. We’ve made them with carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and even with a frozen mixed vegetable blend I happened to have in the freezer one day. Shredded carrots is our favourite veggie to use in this recipe and broccoli florets are a close second place (although this mama prefers broccoli, I can’t say the same for everyone else in the family!).
But besides the health factor and how easy this meal is to make, it’s the time factor that’s really got me excited about it. From start to finish, these Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls take about 15 minutes to make which is simply amazing if you’re a busy mom like me. If you ever find yourself pausing when answering the question, “what’s for dinner tonight?” try pulling this recipe out of your back pocket and see what your family thinks! I bet they’ll love it as much as our family does!
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil and sesame oil.
Add the ground chicken and cook over medium-high heat until almost cooked through.
Add the diced onion, garlic, carrots, ginger and pepper to the skillet with the ground chicken and stir to combine.
Continue stirring every minute or so until the chicken is cooked through, then add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add it to the skillet, along with the hoisin sauce.
Stir to combine and continue to cook over the heat until the liquid has reduced slightly and the sauce is heated through.
Serve over bowls of rice, cooked according to package directions, with some green onions for garnish.
Notes
Feel free to cook your rice ahead of time (I start the rice cooking before I prepare the chicken), or even use a quick cooking rice (like Minute Rice) to save even more time!
Made this yesterday for dinner and we loved it! I snagged some cheap ground chicken and figure this meal cost us less than $6!! With leftovers to boot! I sheepishly must admit I’ve never used fresh ginger until this recipe and it was fantastic…Thanks Chrissy!
This reminds me of something I had as an appetizer at a restaurant once. But it was in lettuce wraps served with a sweet chili sauce for dipping! 🙂 Now i’m curious to try this both ways.
I made this for supper last week and forgot to comment! Flavor was amazing! the sauciness was minimal which would be really nice for most people! My husband happens to like a really saucy stir fry, so I simply doubled the sauce ingredients and it was perfect for smothering the rice in sauce. No other changes made. Excellent! 🙂
My family of 6 really enjoyed this recipe. It was beautiful, healthy and tasty! I live in Japan (we’re missionaries, too), so the ingredients are easily available. I garnished our bowls with the sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds (which you can buy cheaply in large bags in supermarkets here). I served these with steamed sugar snap peas—yum! Really loved the grated carrots in this recipe. I never would have thought to grate them, but they really add something unique and delicious (and healthy!) to this dish. Thank you for sharing!
When kids get bigger unfortunately so do their problems, their needs, and their messes. It’s that last one that’s plaguing me right now…As I type this I’m staring at my living room floor covered in toys, books, pillows, and blankets from the fort we built this afternoon. Deep down I know how special these years are and the brevity of the time while my kids are young and at home during the day is not lost on me. I remind myself of this every day as I clean up after them and fold all their laundry, trying not to wish away these precious years.
And part of it is definitely my own fault…I’m a ‘yes’ girl, and I love to help other people and challenge myself with new things which, as my husband not-so-eloquently points out to me on the regular, creates more work for me. And while that’s something I’m definitely working on, it’s also a great excuse to streamline our family’s weekly meal plan by adding easy, healthy recipes like these Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls.
I first tried a recipe very similar to this one from the blog Yellow Bliss Road. Her recipe is delicious, but I knew there must be a way to make this recipe even easier AND even healthier. Lucky for you (and for me), I figured it out and these Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls were born. Instead of making homemade Teriyaki sauce in a separate pot, I add the sauce ingredients directly to the ground chicken as it browns, allowing the chicken and veggies to soak up all that delicious homemade Teriyaki sauce. And instead of a mountain of sugar that’s typically found in Teriyaki sauce, I use honey to create a slightly sweet but healthier version, but still with the same delicious Teriyaki flavour.
This recipe is SO versatile – you can add any veggies you want and use almost any ground meat your family would enjoy. I’ve made these rice bowls with chicken, turkey, and even with ground pork and they’ve been delicious every single time. We’ve made them with carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and even with a frozen mixed vegetable blend I happened to have in the freezer one day. Shredded carrots is our favourite veggie to use in this recipe and broccoli florets are a close second place (although this mama prefers broccoli, I can’t say the same for everyone else in the family!).
But besides the health factor and how easy this meal is to make, it’s the time factor that’s really got me excited about it. From start to finish, these Easy Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls take about 15 minutes to make which is simply amazing if you’re a busy mom like me. If you ever find yourself pausing when answering the question, “what’s for dinner tonight?” try pulling this recipe out of your back pocket and see what your family thinks! I bet they’ll love it as much as our family does!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your family’s favourite ultra easy weeknight meal?
Karly says
Holy delish. So easy and so delicious- and SO many ways to use this chicken, too! Burrito, salad, quesadilla… the options are endless!
Chrissie says
Thanks Karly! I agree – it’s a super versatile recipe! Glad you like it!
Amy says
Made this yesterday for dinner and we loved it! I snagged some cheap ground chicken and figure this meal cost us less than $6!! With leftovers to boot! I sheepishly must admit I’ve never used fresh ginger until this recipe and it was fantastic…Thanks Chrissy!
Chrissie says
So glad you loved this recipe Amy! And glad you made it on the cheap 😉 Thanks for the feedback!
krysta says
This reminds me of something I had as an appetizer at a restaurant once. But it was in lettuce wraps served with a sweet chili sauce for dipping! 🙂 Now i’m curious to try this both ways.
Chrissie says
Oooh! Great idea! That would be so good too! 🙂
krysta says
I made this for supper last week and forgot to comment! Flavor was amazing! the sauciness was minimal which would be really nice for most people! My husband happens to like a really saucy stir fry, so I simply doubled the sauce ingredients and it was perfect for smothering the rice in sauce. No other changes made. Excellent! 🙂
Caroline says
My family of 6 really enjoyed this recipe. It was beautiful, healthy and tasty! I live in Japan (we’re missionaries, too), so the ingredients are easily available. I garnished our bowls with the sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds (which you can buy cheaply in large bags in supermarkets here). I served these with steamed sugar snap peas—yum! Really loved the grated carrots in this recipe. I never would have thought to grate them, but they really add something unique and delicious (and healthy!) to this dish. Thank you for sharing!
Chrissie says
I’m so glad your family loved this recipe! And so cool that you’re missionaries as well! 🙂
Cara A says
So anxious to try this and the Kung Pao pasta. Does this freeze well? Do you have some recipes that are great for freezing?
The Busy Baker says
Yes, you can freeze them! Happy cooking!