Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls (Maki Sushi)

These Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls (Maki Sushi or makizushi) are filled with maple roasted sweet potato, earthy beetroot and creamy avocado wrapped up in sushi rice and nori sheets. It is the perfect combination of something sweet, savory and umami that will be loved by whole family. 

It is amazing how colourful and versatile sushi can be, same as tortilla pinwheels or samosa rolls. You have some basic ingredients but then you can mix and match the filling to your heart’s content. And they usually end of so stunning and appetizing that they are quick to disappear.

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What do you need to make sushi rolls?

I don’t think I need to introduce sushi as you can see them, buy them, and eat them literally everywhere. As there are just so many different sushi types, they seem like very intricate and hard-to-make. Well, I probably wouldn’t venture to try to make every type at home, but maki sushi aka rolled sushi is quite easy and you can add whatever filling you prefer.

So what do you need to make sushi rolls? There are obviously some must-have ingredients, but other than that it is up to your imagination.

Nori sheets

Maki sushis are rolled and wrapped in a nori sheet, which is actually a dark green and very thin paper-like sheet of pressed and dried seaweed. You can buy them in most stores. They keep well in the pantry. Nori has a very distinctive taste that will remind you of eating a seafood dish.

Sushi rice

Sushi rice aka sushi-meshi is actually short grain white rice. I have also seen and tried sushis with brown rice, wild rice or even with quinoa as a “healthier” alternative. Long grain rice tend to be drier and less sticky.

If you want to make sushi rice in the classic Japanese way using rice cooker, Hangiri (a Japanese wooden tub) and Uchiwa (a Japanese fan), try Shihoko’s recipe. However, we offer you a short cut in the recipe card to a delicious, sticky sushi rice that might be more suitable to your kitchen equipment.

Sushi filling

I would say anything and everything. Being a plant-based blog, we obviously opted for a meatless sushi roll that contains ingredients that can be familiar to the whole family. We wanted to make sure it is the right combination of sweet, savory and umami. Not to mention colourful as an added bonus. 🙂 We know a lot of kids just love sushi, so this one is for the whole family including

• maple roasted sweet potato,
• roasted beetroot, and
• avocado

Other add-ins

Japan is all about classic, simple, and minimalist in a sense that stuffing a sushi with too many ingredients and flavors is something you don’t usually see. In order to roll the sushi easily, we recommend 3-4 ingredients tops. Here are some other suggestions to consider:

• shiitake mushroom
• Japanese omelet (vegan version of course)
• cucumber
• tofu
• chives or scallion

How to roast sweet potato and beetroot fries?

We roasted some sweet potato and beetroot fries in advance that we can use to make rolled sushi. Watch this quick slideshow on how to make Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls or read on.

Make a quick marinade with soy sauce (or tamari), maple syrup, sesame oil and vegetable oil (photo #1). Peel and cut sweet potatoes into fries approx. 1/2-inch thick (photo #2). Brush the sweet potato fries with the marinade, turn and brush the other side as well (photo #3). Pre-heat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit ( 200 degrees Celsius) and roast the sweet potato fries until soft and tender approx. 30 minutes (photo #4).

Wash, peel the beetroot and cut it thinner approx. 1/4-inch fries (photo #1). Sprinkle the beetroot fries with olive oil and with some black pepper (photo #2). Toss and turn. Pre-heat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and roast the beetroot fries until soft and tender approx. 30 minutes.

A quick tip: Place them in a single layer on separate sheet pans or baking trays or parchment papers. If they are together, the beetroot will color the sweet potatoes purple during baking.

Let’s assemble our Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls!

So we have prepared the sushi rice, the roasted sweet potato and beetroot fries. We have avocado slices and nori sheets. Now, the last step is to roll our maki sushi.

• Take a bamboo mat and place a dry nori sheet on it.
• Take a 2-3 spoonful of cooked sushi rice and using your fingers (make sure your fingers are wet) spread it evenly and thinly over the nori sheets.
• Make 3 lines horizontally around 1/3 of the nori sheet by placing one line of  sweet potato fries, one line of beetroot fries and one line of avocado sliced also as fries. See below photo.
• Take the bamboo mat and roll the sushi as tight as you can manage.
• Once it is tightly rolled, cut it into 1-inch wide sushi rolls. Repeat with the rest of nori sheets. You should have approx. 25-30 sushi rolls.

How to roll exactly?

We made a video how we do it, but here is also a step-by-step photo collage to show you each step.

1. Fold the bottom of the nori sheets with the help of the bamboo mat in the height of the filling.
2. Gently roll it further until the bottom side hits the other side of the sushi.
3. Apply a bit of pressure through the bamboo mat to squeeze the filling a bit together.
4. Roll back the bamboo mat and tuck in any overflowing filling.
5. Now, wrap it up with the bamboo mat again and roll it all the way to the end of the nori sheet.
6. Apply a bit of pressure again and voila your are done! Here is your first sushi roll.

What condiments to serve?

Before I was turned into a sushi lover, during the couple of my first tries I didn’t dare to try soy sauce or wasabi. But now, I would say they are must-have condiment. So what else you can serve with sushi?

• soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free (here is our list of 5 gluten-free soy sauce substitutes)
• wasabi
• pickled ginger
• hot mustard
• chili oil

This Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls recipe is meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free and gluten-free diets. It is NOT WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based). Are you wondering “Is sushi gluten-free?” in general? Sadly, not always. We put together a post examining all popular ingredients in details to give you the best answer possible.

⇒ If you need an Easy 7-day VEGAN MEAL PLAN, click to download our free e-book with a shopping list. 

More vegan recipes you might like

You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dinner Recipes or our Quick Vegan Meals collection or check out

• Thai Red Curry Mac and Cheese
• Spicy Vegan Samosa Rolls
• Quickest Roasted Beetroot Hummus
• Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili
• Tofu Cream Cheese