Teriyaki Meatballs with Minced Beef

Teriyaki Meatballs made with minced beef, baked in the oven for just 8-10 minutes before being coated in a homemade sticky glaze, easy peasy!

With a total cooking time of 20 minutes, a time that includes preparation time, these delicious glazed meatballs are a fantastic midweek meal.

Baked Spicy Beef Meatballs with a Soy Glaze

These wonderfully quick and easy teriyaki-glazed beef meatballs join a host of meatball recipes here on my site.

I have everything from the "to be expected" spaghetti and meatballs to pork meatballs with beer and BBQ sauce, black pudding meatballs, keftedes Greek meatballs and minted lamb meatballs with a red wine gravy.

In many ways, this recipe is fairly similar to my Harissa Meatball Recipe. They are just as good as a warm appetiser as they are at the centre of a meal.

These teriyaki meatballs are pretty much out of the ‘greatest hits’ section of my fakeaway recipes. 

They contain a riff on the teriyaki sauces that I use in dishes like my teriyaki chicken wings, teriyaki mushrooms, teriyaki chicken noodles and teriyaki prawn recipes.

Just like both of those recipes, this is a quick dinner idea, clocking in at just 30 minutes... and that includes preparation time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use lean minced beef?

I would not because you really do need the fat content in the beef. You could get away with 15% fat content if you wanted to cut down the fat a little, but go to far and you risk dry meatballs.

What is minced beef?

A question often asked by my American and Canadian readers, minced beef is what you guys know as ground beef.

Can I use store-bought teriyaki sauce?

Sure, if you like, you may need to add a little cornflour to thicken it up.

You can rebalance store-bought teriyaki sauce with more soy, honey or rice wine before adding it to the baked meatballs.

Can I cook the meatballs another way?

Yes, they can be pan-fried or air-fried.

To pan-fry, add a little oil to a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry to get a nice colour. Then add a lid, reduce the heat and cook until the meatballs reach 65°C or 145°F before adding the teriyaki glaze.

To air-fry, place them in an air fryer basket and cook at 200°C or 400°F for 6-8 minutes.

Can I make this in advance?

Yes, the meatballs will be fine in the fridge for a couple of days, and the sauce for up to a week if stored correctly. The meatballs can be reheated in the sauce.

However, I would be much more likely to make the meatballs and refrigerate or freeze them before cooking because they are better after the first cook.

Serving Suggestions

In keeping with this quick and easy teriyaki meatball recipe, I like to ensure that my choice of side is equally simple.

If I have planned in advance, I like to serve this with egg fried rice. Another 10-minute recipe, so long as the rice is cooked and cooled in advance!

However, plain rice is also wonderful; the big and bold sauce carries more than enough flavour to compensate.

You could even do brown rice with these meatballs if you have enough time because the nutty flavour is awesome with teriyaki sauce.

How about some veggies? Both my asparagus stir fry and stir-fried broccoli recipes work really well as a side to these teriyaki-glazed meatballs.

One final recommendation: how about some nice noodles? These simple chow mein style egg noodles or my soba noodle salad would be a perfect side!

Equipment Used

I only name-check equipment brands if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/Stovetop.
• 16-18cm or 6-7" saucepan.
• Oven or air fryer.
• Baking tray.
• Mixing bowl.
• A combination of weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
• Stirring and serving spoons.