If you're tired, hungry, and considering cereal for dinner again—stop right there. This teriyaki ground beef rice bowl with eggplant is here to save your night. It's salty-sweet, veggie-packed, meal-prep friendly, and comes together faster than you can scroll through takeout options.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Teriyaki flavours. Get that sweet?savory hit like in Teriyaki Chicken Poke Bowl or Teriyaki Beef Noodles.
Mince. Affordable and easy—like spaghetti bolognese—but here it’s ground beef meal prep gold.
Rice. A budget grain backbone, like in Cashew Chicken and Rice, and Orange Chicken and Rice.
Asian flavours. Bright kicks reminiscent of Kung Pao Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork.
Ingredients
Ground beef. The MVP of busy weeknights—quick to cook and full of flavor. I recommend lean beef mince as it will often have less water content (and will retain most of it's weight). But, if this is not affordable, use what you can buy.
Eggplant. You don't need to salt this as the salt from the teriyaki sauce helps make the eggplant texture great in this dish.
Brown onion. This is optional, but I highly recommend for added flavour.
Garlic and ginger. Use fresh if you can, or swap for paste to save time.
Rice. Use what you have—white, brown, jasmine, short grain. Even microwave packets work in a pinch.
Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity. See below for substitutions and variations.
Substitutions and variations
Protein. Substitute for any other mince you like - or even crumbled tofu or TVP for vegetarian options. Just note that cooking time may vary, and the water content may be different (so you'll need to add more/less water with the sauce).
Soy Sauce. Substitute for low-sodium or tamari (gluten-free option) if needed. Tamari is thicker so you may need to add more water.
Mirin. This is the vinegar element. If you don't have mirin, you can substitute for white wine vinegar or white vinegar for something very similar.
Teriyaki Sauce. You can also use store-bought teriyaki sauce if you're low on time/ingredients.
How to make teriyaki beef and rice
Step 1: Cook rice in the method you choose.
Step 2: Prepare vegetables by dicing onion and chopping eggplant into 1inch cubes.
Step 3: Sautee diced onion in a hot skillet with some oil, let it get soft and golden (approx. 2 minutes)
Step 4: Add eggplant and let it roast up around the sides, then lower and cook until you start to see the eggplant decrease in size.
Step 5: Add mince and break it up and cook until fully browned.
Step 6: Mix together teriyaki sauce ingredients then add to the skillet. It should thicken and cling to everything.
Step 7: Add on top of rice and top with sesame seeds or green onions if you’re feeling fancy.
Top Tip
Cook the eggplant first. Eggplant shrinks and softens a lot during cooking, so give it a head start in the skillet before adding beef. This avoids crowding and keeps your beef browning instead of steaming.
Taste and tweak the sauce. Before adding it to the skillet, give the sauce a quick taste. Want it sweeter? Add more maple or brown sugar. Saltier? Splash of soy. More punch? Extra garlic or ginger.
Short on time? Use microwave rice and store-bought teriyaki sauce. It won’t be exactly the same, but it’ll still taste damn good.
Recommended Equipment
Use a wide skillet or wok as It gives ingredients space to sear properly instead of steaming—especially important when dealing with water-heavy eggplant and beef mince.
I personally like using cast iron for this dish as it gives that extra char flavour.
Meal prepping beef and rice
Meal prepping this bowl is a no-brainer—it reheats like a dream and packs a big flavor punch with minimal effort. You have your carbs (rice), protein (beef) and veggies (eggplant and onion), plus this deliciously glossy homemade teriyaki sauce for flavour.
How do you store for meal prep?
Store rice and teriyaki beef separately in airtight containers for up to 4 days to keep things fresh (and prevent soggy rice from the teriyaki sauce). You can mix it up when you go to reheat it.
Reheating
iAdd a splash of water or an icecube to the rice before reheating (this will create some steam and help it remain fluffy).
Microwave on 1 minute intervals (for approx. 2-3 minutes) or reheat on the stove (approx. 5 minutes).
Can you freeze teriyaki beef?
Freeze just the teriyaki beef for best texture for up to 6 months. You can do this in silicone muffin trays or cubes for single-serve portions. Freeze rice separately or skip it altogether and add fresh when serving.
Thaw overnight and microwave or pan-fry to reheat. I often just add it direct to the pan or microwave because beef mince breaks apart and reheats direct from frozen well.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
Absolutely. Ground turkey or chicken will still soak up all that teriyaki goodness and work perfectly for meal prep. Plus, they're usually leaner.
For sure. Bell peppers, broccoli, or snow peas would all be delicious in this rice bowl.
Add a splash of water before microwaving and cover it—steam helps bring it back to life!
Other beef recipes
Or, you can have a browse through my Beef Recipe Category for more delicious eats.
Recipe
Teriyaki Ground Beef Rice Bowl (with Eggplant)
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Equipment
- Large and Deep Pan, (or a wok)
- Rice Cooker, optional
Ingredients
- 10 g (1 tablespoon) sesame oil, subs note 1
- 500 g (1 lb) lean beef mince
- 250 g (9 oz) eggplant, approx.1
- 150 g (5 ½ oz) brown onion, approx.1
- 250 g (1 ¼ cups) rice, yields approx. 4 cups
Teriyaki Sauce (or use 1 cup store bought)
- 120 g (½ cups) soy sauce, subs note 2
- 55 g (¼ cups) brown sugar
- 45 g (3 tablespoon) mirin, subs note 3
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, see note 4
- 3 g (1 teaspoon) ginger, minced, see note 4
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) maple syrup, subs note 5
- 60 g (¼ cups) water
- 10 g (2 tablespoon) cornstarch
Instructions
Prepare
- Cook your 250 g (1 ¼ cups) rice in the method you choose or follow my tips and tricks for cooking rice.
- Dice: 150 g (5 ½ oz) brown onion and 250 g (9 oz) eggplant. Mince: 3 cloves garlic and 3 g (1 teaspoon) ginger
- Preheat skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add 120 g (½ cups) soy sauce, 55 g (¼ cups) brown sugar, 45 g (3 tablespoon) mirin, 3 cloves garlic, 3 g (1 teaspoon) ginger, 15 g (1 tablespoon) maple syrup, 60 g (¼ cups) water, 10 g (2 tablespoon) cornstarch to a jug and mix until cornstarch and sugar have dissolved. Set aside.
Cook
- Add 10 g (1 tablespoon) sesame oil to the pan and sautee diced 150 g (5 ½ oz) brown onion until soft and golden (approx. 2 minutes).
- Add diced 250 g (9 oz) eggplant and let it turn golden (approx. 2 minutes) then lower the heat to medium-low and cook until you start to see the eggplant decrease in size (approx. 5-10 minutes)
- Add 500 g (1 lb) lean beef mince and break it up and cook until fully browned (approx. 10 minutes).
- Add sauce to the pan, stir well. It should thicken and cling to everything.
- Top with sesame seeds or green onions if you’re feeling fancy.
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