Easy Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Bowls

These chicken teriyaki rice bowls are a meal-prep friendly dish. Great for a quick dinner or lunch to-go. Made with chicken and a medley of vegetables, glazed with a thickened salty-sweet teriyaki sauce, served over a bed of steamed rice.

This one-pan meal is great for meal-prepping dinner or lunch for the week. You can make this teriyaki chicken with store-bought or homemade teriyaki sauce. Totally up to you!

You'll love how easy and delicious this dish is to prepare. Made with chicken, healthy vegetables, and a delicious sauce, all over white rice.

★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★

This recipe can be as easy or as complex as you make it. There are many shortcut options built into this from-scratch recipe that will save a ton of time. Use whichever shortcuts work best for you and your schedule.

If you enjoy cooking and have plenty of time, try making your own teriyaki sauce, grating your own ginger, and cutting and cooking your own chicken.

Don't feel up to all that? Guess what? You can use bottled teriyaki sauce, rotisserie chicken (or pre-cut chicken), ginger and garlic paste.

These are just a few of my favorite cooking hacks to make life easier on the busy days. I'm not here to tell you the right or wrong way.

You do you. And I'm going to keep giving you lots of ideas for delicious meals you can explore at your own pace.

So, here's an idea: these chicken teriyaki bowls. Chicken, yummy sauce, and veggies all over rice. A whole meal, in one bowl. Boom. Makes a perfect make-ahead meal if you're into meal prepping. Or just storing leftovers to save money on buying lunch.

★ Ingredients You'll Need ★

Here's a look at everything you'll need.

Keep in mind, if you use bottled teriyaki sauce, you'll reduce the amount of ingredients you'll need to buy and store. But if from-scratch cooking is more your style, I've got you covered with a list of what you'll need to do that too.

Main Ingredients

• Rice. A great way to save prep time is by using quick-cook rice. Minute rice or even microwavable rice. Traditional rice always works too, it just takes about 20 minutes to prepare. Your choice.
• Chicken stock. Since you don't need much for this recipe, you may want to use chicken bouillon + water to mix up your own broth in the exact amount you need. Or if using a carton, refrigerate the rest and use it later for chicken noodle soup or another chicken recipe.
• Cornstarch. This thickens your sauce and helps coat the chicken and vegetables nicely. I recommend adding this and the chicken stock (mixed together to create a slurry) to store-bought teriyaki sauce to create a thickened, silky texture.
• Chicken. You can use breast or tenderloin or skip cooking the chicken and opt for a cooked rotisserie chicken. Choose a plain or garlic seasoned rotisserie chicken to complement the teriyaki sauce.
• Cooking oil. Any cooking oil of your choice works. Vegetable, avocado, coconut oil, even sesame oil works.
• Salt and pepper. Feel free to add more or less to taste.
• Broccoli. Fresh broccoli is best but you can use frozen if that's more convenient for you.
• Red and yellow bell pepper. These bring a sweeter flavor compared to green bell peppers so they are the ideal choice. Seed, remove stems, and slice in strips.

Teriyaki Sauce

You can use bottled teriyaki sauce to save time or make your own. Making your own allows you to adjust the amount of each ingredient to your liking.

• Garlic and ginger. I like to use pastes for both of these to save time but you can use fresh if you prefer.
• Soy sauce. I prefer low sodium so that salt doesn't overpower the dish.
• Honey. Add more to taste if you'd like a sweeter teriyaki.
• Rice vinegar. Add more if you want a tangier sauce.
• Toasted sesame oil. You can add more of this as well for more flavor and silky texture.

For Garnish

Green onions and sesame seeds. These are optional but make a nice garnish and add flavor and texture.

★ How to Make this Recipe ★

This recipe is quick and easy to prep, even if making your own sauce.

Here's a look at the steps:

• Prepare rice.
• Mix the corn starch slurry.
• Chop veggies.
• Cook chicken.
• Cook veggies.
• Combine sauce ingredients (or bottled sauce) with slurry.
• Add sauce, vegetables, and chicken to pan. Heat.
• Serve chicken, vegetables, and sauce over rice with garnishes.

Super simple. Doable in just 25 minutes.

★ Tips & FAQs ★

Can I marinate the chicken in teriyaki sauce to add flavor?

You sure can. If you have time and want to infuse the chicken with flavor, marinate for 1 hour to overnight. Place chicken in a ziplock bag with half the sauce, reserving the rest of the sauce for later. Let marinate, then add chicken with marinade to the pan when ready to cook.

What is in teriyaki sauce?

Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and savory Japanese sauce typically made with soy sauce, sake or mirin or rice vinegar, and sweetened with sugar, honey or sometimes pineapple juice. It's commonly used as a marinade or glaze for meats and adds a rich, flavorful touch to the chicken in the teriyaki rice bowl.

Can I use other types of meat besides chicken?

Yes, you can! While chicken is a popular choice, you can substitute the chicken with beef, pork, shrimp, or tofu to suit your preferences or dietary restrictions.

Can I use store-bought teriyaki sauce?

Absolutely! Using store-bought teriyaki sauce is a convenient option. However, making your own sauce at home allows you to customize the flavors according to your taste. If using bottled sauce, I recommend still making and adding your cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce which helps coat the vegetables and chicken for delicious bites.

Are there any vegetarian or vegan alternatives for this dish?

Yes, you can simply omit the chicken or substitute chicken with tofu, a plant-based protein, or mushrooms.

How do I store leftovers?

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a bit of water or sauce to prevent the rice from drying out.

Can I make these chicken teriyaki and rice bowls ahead of time?

Absolutely! This makes an excellent meal-prep dish. Just store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Heat up using the microwave or stovetop, stirring as needed to distribute heat. Add a teaspoon of sauce or water to re-hydrate as needed.

Prepare the teriyaki sauce in advance and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep well for several days, making meal preparation quicker when you're ready to cook the Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl.

What vegetables can I add to the rice bowl?

Looking to load up on veggies? Try adding snow peas, sugar snap peas, cauliflower, carrots, baby corn, green beans, squash and/or zucchini.

You can also add mushrooms and/or water chestnuts for added flavor and texture.

You'll want to make extra sauce if you plan to add bonus vegetables.

Can I add some spiciness to this teriyaki sauce?

Sure, you can add some heat by sprinkling on red pepper flakes or a few dashes of Sriracha sauce. Customize the amount based on your heat preference.

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This recipe for Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls was featured on South Your Mouth!