If you thought sushi without fish or seafood was impossible, think again! Not only is it possible, but it is incredibly delicious. This easy sushi rolls recipe takes you step-by-step through how to prepare colorful and flavorful maki sushi in your own kitchen in just an hour!
There are so many delicious sushi options for vegans that you will wonder how it took you so long to discover them! Be sure to try our tasty sweet potato sushi rolls, rice paper sushi without seaweed, and tofu sushi rolls recipes.
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What to expect?
Say goodbye to the thought that you need raw fish to make sushi! This sushi recipe omits the fish and seafood and replaces them with various bright and nutritious veggies such as spinach, bell pepper, cucumber, shiitake mushroom, beet, and avocado.
You may have only thought of fishless sushi like avocado maki or kappa maki (aka cucumber maki), where there is only one filling. However, we show you how to make delicious rainbow maki with vegetables only.
Why this is the best sushi without fish recipe:
- You do not need to be a sushi chef to make this recipe! It is super easy and ready in just an hour.
- It is incredibly versatile. Add the condiments and fillings you love the most for the perfect sushi!
- It is very flavorful with the perfect combination of sweet, savory, and umami.
- It stores in the refrigerator well so you can enjoy your sushi up to four days later.
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Ingredients
One of the best things about a no fish sushi is its versatility. While some must-have ingredients are present in every sushi roll, the rest is really up to you! Below we share the essential ingredients for the filling and rice, plus a few alternatives and optional condiments to customize your sushi to your taste!
- Nori sheets – You can also use rice paper or soybean sheets as an alternative. See our sushi without seaweed recipe for rolling sushi in rice paper wrappers.
- Sushi rice (rice, vinegar, sugar, and salt) – You can also use other short-grain rice such as brown rice, wild rice, or even quinoa as alternatives.
- Spinach (fresh)
- Red bell pepper
- Cucumber (small)
- Shiitake mushroom
- Avocado (ripe)
- Beet
- Sesame oil
- Romaine lettuce leaves
- Sesame seeds
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
There are three parts to preparing sushi without fish: Making the sushi rice, preparing the fillings, and rolling the sushi. Rolling the sushi is the most challenging part, but no worries! We have included step-by-step instructions below for how to make the perfect rolls or watch our video.
Making sushi rice
- Rinse the rice under cold water using a fine mesh sieve until the color becomes clear. Let the rice soak in the water for 15 minutes, then drain it and let it stand for another 10 minutes.
- While the rice is sitting, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Heat the mixture and then leave it to cool.
- Pour the rice into a pot with water and bring it to a boil over full heat. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the rice from the heat and let it stand for 15 minutes.
- Pour the rice into a large pan. Add the vinegar mix and gently stir with a wooden spoon, taking care not to break the rice.
- Cool the rice with a fan to allow the vinegar to evaporate. Then, cover it with a damp cloth and leave it to cool further.
Preparing the fillings
- Heat a splash of sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the spinach leaves and constantly stir until the spinach leaves reduce in size. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper on top, if desired.
- Heat a splash of sesame oil over medium heat in another frying pan, then add the sliced shiitake mushrooms. Sautee the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes. Add a sprinkle of salt and black pepper on top, if desired.
- Cut the cucumber and bell pepper into ½-inch thick bars.
- Cut the romaine lettuce leaves into 1-inch thick lines.
- Peel and cut the beet into julienne sticks.
- Lastly, peel and cut the avocado into 1-inch thick bars.
How to roll sushi without fish
- Cover a bamboo mat tightly with saran wrap and place a dry sheet of nori on top of it. Place a handful of cooked sushi rice on the nori sheet and use your fingers to spread an even, thin layer over the sheet. It is helpful to have wet fingers to prevent the rice from sticking to them too much. Optionally, you can sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
- Carefully turn the nori sheet upside down. If you are new to sushi, you can skip this step and continue placing the filling on the rice. Rolling an inside out sushi like that is harder than rolling a simple maki.
- Add the vegetables in the following order: Romaine lettuce leaves, avocado, cucumber, and bell pepper slices. Then add the sauteed spinach leaves and shiitake mushroom slices on top. Lastly, add the beet sticks.
- Take the bamboo mat and hand roll the sushi as tightly as possible.
- Fold the bottom of the nori sheets with the help of the bamboo mat at the height of the filling.
- Gently roll it further until the bottom side hits the other side of the sushi.
- Apply some pressure through the bamboo mat to squeeze the filling together.
- Roll back the bamboo mat and tuck in any overflowing filling.
- Now, wrap it up with the bamboo mat again and roll it to the end of the nori sheet.
- Apply a bit more pressure, and voila, you have your sushi roll!
- Once rolled, discard the plastic wrap before cutting it up with a sharp knife. First cut both ends, then slice the remaining sushi into 1-inch wide rolls, making six rolls per sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining nori sheets until you have 24 sushi rolls.
Cooking tips
- Use wet fingers – When spreading the rice over the sheets, it is helpful to have wet fingers to prevent the rice from sticking to them.
- Keep it simple – Sushi is usually simple and doesn’t contain many ingredients or flavors in one roll. That said, we recommend using at most 3-4 ingredients. Plus, the more ingredients there are, the more difficult it is to roll the sushi.
- This will be an “uramaki” aka an inside-out sushi, where the rice is outside and the seaweed sheets are inside. If you want to make it simpler for you, skip step 2 and turn the nori with the rice around. Place the filling on the rice and continue like that. It is so much easier to roll a maki sushi than an uramaki since the filling sticks together there better.
Variations
The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to stuffing your vegan sushi with delicious fillings (as shown in these 16 accidentally vegan sushi rolls)! Here are just a few that you can use in these easy sushi rolls, as well as other ways in which you can prepare your rolls:
- Meat substitutes – Tofu is an excellent addition to sushi. Try our smoked tofu sushi rolls.
- Other vegetables – Use other vegetables such as carrots, radish, asparagus, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, or sweet potato. Just like in our sweet potato sushi rolls recipe.
- Fruits – Sweeten your sushi with mango, mandarin orange, strawberries, kiwi, dragonfruit, blueberries, or raspberries as fillings or toppings.
- Other Japanese ingredients – Incorporate unique ingredients such as gourds, dashi or fermented soybeans, wakame (kelp), or mirin.
- Rice paper sushi – If you’re not a fan of nori seaweed, you can make your sushi with rice paper wrappers instead, as we did in our rice paper sushi without seaweed recipe.
Serving ideas
Sushi isn’t complete without a few key must-have condiments to enhance the flavor and give it an extra kick of heat. Here are a few standard yet optional condiments that you can serve alongside your sushi:
- Soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free
- Wasabi (if you really like heat)
- Pickled ginger
- Hot mustard
- Chili oil
Equipment
- Bamboo mat
- Hangiri (wooden bowl for sushi rice) – You can also use an unfinished wooden salad bowl, a large glass bowl, or a large roasting pan.
- Sushi-making kit – Preferably one with a roller machine.
- Beginner’s sushi kit
- Rice cooker
- Stockpot
Storing tips
Because sushi rice dries out quickly, sushi rolls taste best when freshly prepared. However, if you need to save your sushi for another day, here is how you can safely store it:
In the refrigerator – Store your sushi rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
In the freezer – Depending on its ingredients, you can store your sushi for months in the freezer. However, to avoid the pieces sticking together and getting soggy when defrosting, you must freeze each roll separately.
FAQs
Our recipe certainly is. If you ever order a no fish sushi in a restaurant, be sure to check whether it contains dairy products like cream cheese or Japanese omelette or not.
We do not recommend using long-grain or even medium-grain rice for sushi, as they do not have the proper moisture or stickiness required to help the sushi hold its shape.
More sushi recipes
Here you can find 16 accidentally vegan sushi to choose from or check out one of the below recipes:
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Easy Sushi without Fish (or Seafood)
Ingredients
Sushi filling
- 3 oz Spinach (fresh)
- ½ Red bell pepper
- ½ Cucumber (small)
- 2 oz Shiitake mushroom
- ½ Avocado (ripe)
- 1 + ½ oz Beet (medium)
- 1 Tbsp Sesame oil
- 2 Romaine lettuce leaves
- 2 Tbsp Sesame seeds
Sushi rice
- 10 oz Sushi rice
- 1 + ¼ cup Water
- ¼ cup Rice vinegar
- 3 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 Nori sheets
Optional condiments
- Wasabi optional (to taste)
- Soy sauce or tamari
- Pickled ginger
- Hot mustard
- Chili oil
Instructions
Cooking sushi rice
- Wash the rice in cold water, changing water until it becomes clear. Leave it to soak for 15 minutes. Drain and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, mix rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Heat the compound and leave it to cool.
- Put rice into a pot with water and cook at full heat until water boils, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave to stand for another 15 minutes.
- Pour the rice into a large pan. Add the vinegar mix and stir with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to break the rice. Cool the rice with a fan to allow the vinegar to evaporate. Lastly, cover with a damp cloth and leave to cool.
Preparing the filling
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add a splash of sesame oil with the spinach leaves. Stir constantly until spinach leaves have reduced in size. You can sprinkle some salt and black pepper on top.
- Take the spinach out and add a bit of sesame oil and the sliced shiitake mushrooms. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. You can sprinkle some salt and black pepper on top.
- Cut the cucumber and bell pepper into ½ inch thick bars.
- Cut the romaine lettuce leaves into 1-inch thick lines.
- Peel and cut beet into julienne sticks.
- Peel and cut avocado into 1-inch thick bars.
Rolling no fish sushi
- Take a bamboo mat, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and place a dry nori sheet on it.
- Take a handful of cooked sushi rice and, using your fingers, spread it evenly and thinly over the nori sheets. Make your fingers wet to avoid the rice sticking to them too much. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of it.
- Now turn upside down the nori sheet.
- Add first the romaine lettuce leaves, then avocado, cucumber and bell peppers slices. Place sautéed spinach leaves and shiitake mushroom slices on top. At last, add beet strips.
- Take the bamboo mat and roll the sushi as tight as you can manage. (You can watch our video on how we do it, or check out the step-by-step photo collage above the recipe card.)
- Once it is tightly rolled, cut both ends first, then cut it into 1-inch wide sushi rolls.
- Repeat with all 4 nori sheets. You should have 24 sushi rolls at the end.
Notes
How to roll exactly?
We made a video of how we do it, but above the recipe card, there is a step-by-step photo collage to show you each step.- Fold the bottom of the nori sheets with the help of the bamboo mat at the height of the filling.
- Gently roll it further until the bottom side hits the other side of the sushi.
- Apply a bit of pressure through the bamboo mat to squeeze the filling a bit together.
- Roll back the bamboo mat and tuck in any overflowing filling.
- Now, wrap it up with the bamboo mat again and roll it all the way to the end of the nori sheet.
- Apply a bit of pressure again, and voila, you are done! Here is your first sushi roll.
Video
Nutrition
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