Vegan Sushi Bowls
This vegan sushi bowl recipe features all your favourite sushi ingredients packed in a bowl and topped with delicious spicy mayo.
Nailed the sushi flavors and satisfied my sushi craving! I will definitely be making this again!
—Jen
What are sushi bowls?
Sushi bowls are similar to vegan poke bowls and are basically a deconstructed sushi roll, or maki. They offer the flavours and components of sushi but instead of being wrapped in nori, the ingredients are arranged in a bowl format.
Sushi bowls are visually appealing, easily customizable, fresh and healthy, and a popular choice for those that love the taste of sushi.
Bowls in general always make a great choice, some of my other favourites are these Vegan Dinner Bowls, Veggie Power Bowls, Harvest Bowls and Hummus Bowls. They’re so good for meal prep too!
This sushi bowl recipe is vegan, so it does not contain raw fish. Edamame is added for protein but you can also add another protein source, such as tofu.
The recipe also features rice, sweet potato, carrot, cucumber and creamy avocado for a delicious combination of fresh and cooked ingredients. Try the spicy vegan mayo to really bring everything together!
Ingredients
The full ingredient list with measurements is located in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Rice: Use white rice, brown rice, black rice or sushi rice. I like short-grain brown rice or basmati rice.
- Fresh Ingredients: The recipe calls for carrot, cucumber and avocado but these can be swapped for your favourites or you can add ingredients like bell pepper, cabbage or radish.
- Sweet Potato
- Nori: Use crumbled seaweed sheets (nori) or roasted seaweed snacks, or slice either into thin strips using scissors.
- Edamame Beans: Shelled frozen edamame works great for a convinient option.
- Sesame Seeds: You can use black or white sesame seeds.
Swaps & Additions
- Additional Veggies: Try shredded red cabbage, green cabbage, thinly sliced red bell pepper, thinly sliced radish or pickled red onion.
- Crunch: Coconut bacon provides a smoky and crispy element.
- Sweetness: Toss in some ripe mango slices for a burst of sweetness that beautifully contrasts with the umami flavors.
- Grains: Try quinoa or cauliflower rice instead of white or brown rice.
Alternative Sauces
- Soy Wasabi Sauce: If you love your sushi with wasabit, try a drizzle of wasabi soy suace over your bowl. To make, mix your desired amount of soy sauce with wasabi powder or wasabit, to taste.
- Nut-Free Vegan Spicy Mayo: If you don’t want to do the spicy cashew mayo or don’t have a blender, use this simple spicy mayo made from mayo, hoisin, tamari and sriracha.
- Soy Ginger Dressing: Mix 4 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tsp each ground garlic and ginger. Drizzle over the bowl.
- Other Sauces: Try drizzling your bowls with noodle salad dressing, teriyaki sauce, peanut sauce or miso tahini sauce to switch things up.
Adding Tofu or Tempeh
Below are some suggestions if you’d like to add tofu or tempeh for extra protein. I suggest the poke tofu, basic crispy baked tofu, sriracha baked tofu or sweet chilli tofu.
- Tofu Poke: Tofu cubes marinated poke-style style.
- Sriracha Baked Tofu: Spicy baked tofu.
- Crispy Baked Tofu: Basic crispy baked tofu.
- Marinated Tofu: Banh mi marinated tofu. If making this, use the marinade recipe but cut the tofu into cubes or thin strips.
- Tofu Katsu: Breaded tofu.
- Sweet Chili Tofu: Fried tofu in an Asian-inspired sweet chili sauce.
- Sweet and Spicy Tofu: Baked tofu in a sweet and spicy sauce.
- Black Pepper Tofu: Baked Tofu in a sticky black pepper sauce.
- Baked Tempeh: Marinated and baked tempeh.
Step-by-Step Instructions
If you’re making the cashew spicy mayo, the cashews require soaking. If you have a high-speed blender you can soak for less time (1-2 hours) or do a quick soak for 10-15 minutes in boiled water, if not, 4-8 hours of soaking time is suggested.
After soaking the cashews, drain and rinse and proceed with the recipe.
For an alternative spicy mayo, you can either add a little sriracha to your choice or mayo or use this mayo-based spicy mayo sauce (no blender needed).
Step 1: Make the spicy mayo, if using.
After soaking the cashews, blend with the remaining spicy mayo ingredients until smooth and creamy. This can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge, if needed.
Step 2: Cook the rice, sweet potato and edamame.
Rinse and cook your choice or rice according to the package instructions. The suggested amount is 1/2 cup cooked rice per bowl but feel free to use more or less depending on your nutritional needs. I usually use more like 1 cup cooked rice per bowl.
Peel and cube 2 cups of sweet potato, again you can use more or less if you prefer and the amount doesn’t need to be exact.
Steam the sweet potato until tender, this should take about 10-15 minutes once the water comes to a boil. They should be tender when pierced with a fork.
Prepare the edamame according to package instructions.
Step 3: Prepare the fresh ingredients.
Dice the cucumber and avocado and julienne or thinly slice the carrot in ribbons with a vegetable peeler.
Step 4: Assemble the sushi bowls.
Start with a scoop of rice in each bowl then top with the rest of the ingredients and anything else you desire, drizzle with spicy mayo and enjoy.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, as long as you use coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce.
How to Store
- Fridge: Leave off the avocado and store sauce separately, otherwise assembled bowls can be stored up to 4 days.
- Mayo: Store in the fridge for up to 1 week, thin with water if needed.
- Meal Prep: Make the edamame, rice, mayo and sweet potato in advance and store in the fridge for up to 5 days, assemble as needed.
More Recipes to Try
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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Vegan Sushi Bowls
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These sushi bowls are here to satisfy any sushi craving that might come your way. If you don’t feel like take-out or making your own rolls, throw all your favourite sushi ingredients in a bowl and call it a day!
Ingredients
For the Spicy Mayo
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 4 hours
- 5 tbsp water, plus more as needed to adjust consistency
- 1 tbsp lime juice or rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
- 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
For the Sushi Bowls
- 2 cups cooked white or brown rice (1/2 cup per bowl)
- 2 cups cooked, shelled edamame (1/2 cup per bowl)
- 2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potato (1/2 cup per bowl)
- 1 cup julienned or grated carrot (1/4 cup per bowl)
- 1 cup diced cucumber (1/4 cup per bowl)
- 1 ripe avocado, diced (1/4 per bowl)
- 8 tbsp crumbled or thinly sliced nori sheets or roasted seaweed snacks (2 tbsp per bowl)
- 4 tbsp sesame seeds (1 tbsp per bowl)
- finely chopped green onion, for topping, optional
- dash of soy sauce, for topping, optional
Instructions
- Soak Cashews: To make the spicy mayo, soak the cashews for at least 4 hours covered with water in a bowl, then drain and rinse. If you have a high-speed blender, you can skip soaking or do a quick soak by pouring boiled water over the cashews in a bowl and soaking for 10-15 minutes. If you do not have a high-speed blender, 4-8 hours of soaking time is suggested. The longer you soak the cashews, the creamier the spicy mayo will be.
- Blend Spicy Mayo: Add the drained, soaked cashews to a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Start blending on low then slowly increase speed and blend on high until smooth and creamy. You may need to stop a few times to scrape down the sides.
- Prepare Cooked Ingredients: When you’re ready to make the recipe, start cooking your choice of rice according to package instructions. Peel and cube the sweet potato and boil or steam until fork tender. Cook the edamame according to package instructions.
- Prepare Fresh Ingredients: Grate or julienne the carrot and dice the cucumber and avocado.
- Assemble Bowls: Assemble the bowls by starting with a scoop of rice and arranging the rest of the ingredients on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion, drizzle with the spicy mayo and soy sauce, if using.
Notes
Alternative Sauces: As an alternative to the cashew spicy mayo, you can just add some sriracha to vegan mayonnaise for a quick and easy sauce option. Plain soy sauce is just fine too or try a bit of wasabi or wasabi powder mixed into soy sauce.
Measuring: The bowl ingredients are all approximate, there’s no need to be exact!
Storage: If prepping in advance, leave the avocado off until serving and if possible, store the mayo separately. The rice and veggies can be assembled in advanced and stored up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 463
- Fat: 19 g
- Carbohydrates: 63 g
- Fiber: 11 g
- Protein: 14 g
This recipe was originally published on July 23, 2018 .
I made this recipe, and it’s delicious! Definitely satisfies sushi cravings.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Wow, this was so good! We added flaked imitation crab for an extra “sushi” taste. Definitely making again!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! New vegan and my husband said “make this again”. Win! Passed along to friends. Thank you!
Haha, that’s awesome. So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for sharing it!
So I’m making tonight and not sure how to implement the tofu bc it isn’t in your recipe.
There’s no tofu in the recipe. I forgot to edit the intro. But if you want, you could toss it with soy sauce, pepper and garlic powder and bake or cook in a pan until crisped, then add to the bowl.
This recipe was such a hit! I have a 9 year old, 2, and 1 year old and everyone ate every last bite! I doubled the recipe for the spicy mayo and used about a tsp of sriracha and it had the perfect amount of heat for everyone.
I made this last night and I have to say, it was amazing! The sauce is going to be a staple for me.
Awesome! I love this sauce too. It’s so addicting!
Do I throw the raw cashews into the blender or do I soften them up first by boiling them?
If you have a high-speed blender there’s no need to soak or boil them first. If you have a lower-end blender, then giving them an overnight soak or 10 minute boil will help create a smoother sauce. Enjoy!
Can I substitute edamame for something that is soy-free?
You can just leave it out and add a bit more of one of the other ingredients if you like. Enjoy.
Made this tonight with both spicy mayo and soy wasabi sauces – it was amazing! Definitely took care of my sushi craving and super easy. I used the nori snacks and they worked perfectly. Will make this one again and again.
Awesome! So glad you liked it. I agree nori snacks are perfect on this. Love it with both sauces too!
This looks soo nice! I’ve been having sushi bowls a lot lately but the spicy mayo sounds like an addition I NEED to try! Thank you for sharing!!
Hope you like it! Let me know if you try.