Teriyaki Meatballs are baked in the oven and smothered in a sticky homemade teriyaki sauce.
They are the perfect party food and easy appetizer recipe! These crowd pleasing Easy Teriyaki Meatballs cook up in no time and even make a tasty dinner option when served with some some jasmine rice and steamed broccoli. YUM!
This post may contain affiliate links. That means that I will earn a teeny tiny (seriously, it’s ridiculously small) commission on anything that you buy, at no added cost to you. By supporting me this way, I can deliver more delicious recipes! Read my disclosure policy here.
TERIYAKI MEATBALLS
Pin it to your APPETIZER BOARD to SAVE it for later!
Follow Self Proclaimed Foodie on Pinterest for more great recipes!
How to make homemade meatballs:
There are endless ways to make homemade meatballs, but for this teriyaki meatball recipe, the process is extremely easy.
The base for an easy homemade meatball consists of ground beef, panko bread crumbs, and egg. From there you can add whatever you want for flavor and texture. Since these teriyaki meatballs have a savory Asian flavor, I added freshly grated ginger and minced garlic along with some salt. If you don’t already have a microplane for zesting and grating, you’ll need to add that to your holiday wishlist. It’s the perfect tool for ingredients like citrus and fresh ginger. I love a really good garlic press as well.
I usually mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon and then use my hands to work everything together and then shape the meatballs. The smaller the meatballs, the faster they’ll cook and the more surface area you’ll have to soak up all of that sticky teriyaki sauce.
Set the formed meatballs on a baking sheet. Make clean up even easier by lining it with parchment paper first. Cook the meatballs in a super hot oven until they’re brown and crispy on the outside.
How to make homemade teriyaki sauce:
The base of my homemade teriyaki sauce is soy sauce. To that, I add some water to dilute it a bit, dry sherry for that punch, brown sugar to sweeten it up and make it sticky, and fresh garlic and ginger to infuse that Asian flavor.
All of these ingredients get simmered together to allow all of the teriyaki flavors to develop. Then, to thicken the teriyaki sauce, I add a slurry of corn starch and water.
The final step to making teriyaki meatballs is to drop the cooked meatballs into the hot homemade teriyaki sauce, stir to coat, and serve.
Can you make teriyaki meatballs ahead of time?
Sure can! That’s why teriyaki meatballs make such great party food. Here are a few ways you can make this teriyaki meatball recipe ahead of time:
- You can cook the meatballs now and make the teriyaki sauce later. Make the meatballs the day before and keep them in the refrigerator or make them weeks before and store them in the freezer. If frozen, just be sure to thaw fully in the refrigerator before adding to the sauce.
- If you’d like to make the meatballs and the teriyaki sauce ahead of time, either make them the day before and keep refrigerated or make even earlier and freeze. Again, just be sure to thaw completely in the refrigerator before heating.
- To keep your teriyaki meatballs warm, I highly recommend keeping them in the crockpot. Heat on low and then reduce to the keep warm setting. Whether you’re making them for a potluck, holiday party, or game day get together, these easy to make homemade teriyaki meatballs will be devoured!
Love meatball recipes? Be sure to check out these favorites:
- Mushroom Blend Meatball Sliders
- Pressure Cooker Cocktail Meatballs
- Meatball Parmesan
- Double Cheesy Stuffed Meatball Sliders
- Green Chile Cheddar Meatballs
- Basil Meatballs
- And perfect for the holidays… Schweddy Balls
Be sure to watch the teriyaki meatball recipe video below!
Easy Teriyaki Meatballs
RECIPE VIDEO
Ingredients
meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
sauce:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
garnish:
- 1/4 cup green onions sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with foil and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Use hands to mix all meatball ingredients together until combined. Roll tablespoon sized balls and place on lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 13-18 minutes until browned.
- Make the sauce while the meatballs are cooking. Combine soy sauce, 1/4 cup of water, dry sherry, brown sugar, garlic and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, just for a few minutes. Turn the sauce into a glaze by separately mixing the cornstarch with the tablespoon of water and then adding it to the soy sauce mixture. Simmer on low until thickened.
- Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and toss to coat.
- Top with green onions and sesame seeds before serving.
Nutrition
This post was originally created in March 2017 and has been updated with more fun facts and tidbits for your reading pleasure.
Are you a Foodie? We have a group that’s just for you!
I invite you to join so you can share your love of food and cooking with other foodies.
We’re building a community one meal at a time!
Great Recipe! I had a little ground beef that needed to be used and cut it down to 1 serving. I would use a little more seasoning in the future but definitely a tasty treat.
J am making these tonight! I live in the dfw part of Texas, we just moved here may of 2017 from… Portland Oregon! I was there for that last winter. Man it was something else. I didn’t think that snow and ice and slush was ever going to go away. I miss Oregon and all of its beauty, but I also have realized how much I actually missed the sunshine. I hear this winter is better for you all in the northwest this year. Cheers to that! Btw love your recipes!
This winter is so mild, I’m actually a little bit disappointed. We even bought sleds, snow pants and snow shovels in anticipation!
Can you add pineapple to the recipe
To the sauce or the meatballs? I’m sure you can, but I would probably opt to use crushed canned pineapple or fresh pineapple that’s gone thru the food processor.