Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (2024)

Last modified: . Originally posted: By Sophia DeSantis

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This homemade vegan sushi recipe will have you making your favorite delicious rolls at home in no time! The step by step directions make it easy to follow without any fancy tools.

We love eating sushi but it's so expensive. Making these vegetable sushi rolls at home saves us money but allows us to keep our regular veggie sushi habit!

Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (1)
Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (2)

This post was originally published on May 14, 2020.

This vegan sushi recipe is a family favorite. I love how the boys can make it their own, and it's a super fun family activity to make! You can even eat this as a sushi bowl if you have someone that prefers the throw in a bowl type of dinner.

Ingredients for Making Vegan Sushi

The right ingredients are key to making great sushi that holds together and tastes amazing. Here are the suggested ingredients for this easy vegan sushi recipe:

For the rolls:

  • Sushi rice - First off, you need to use short grain sushi rice. This is sticky so it will help keep your roll together. You could also use a black rice and cook it well, as that tends to be sticky too. It won't work as well as regular white sushi rice but it's a good alternative.
    • You can also make a 50/50 blend of sushi rice and cauliflower rice to add in extra vegetables.
  • Nori sheets- To hold the sushi roll together you need to use nori sheets, which are basically sheets of dried edible seaweed that wrap around the rice and fillings ingredients.
  • Filling ingredients - you can use a wide variety of fillings, see below for lots of ideas!

You also need to flavor the rice. The traditional ingredients to flavor sushi rice are:

  • Rice vinegar
  • Sugar
  • Salt

Vegan Sushi Fillings

The choices for filling ingredients are endless and can be anything you like. This is where you get the flavor and deliciousness of vegan sushi rolls.

Here is a list of our favorite ways to fill our vegan sushi recipes!

Raw veggies

  • Avocado
  • Cucumbers
  • Carrots
  • Green onions
  • Bell peppers
  • Sprouts
  • Asparagus
  • Mushrooms
  • Lettuce
  • Tomato (surprisingly good!)
  • Radish
  • Purple cabbage
  • Red onion
  • Jalapeño

Cooked veggie ideas

  • Marinated mushrooms in soy sauce/Tamari
  • Marinated sweet potatoes in soy sauce/Tamari
  • Fried tempura style veggies
  • Roasted carrots

Other filling ideas

  • Crispy tofu
  • Marinated tempeh
  • Mashed chickpeas or white beans with mayo (or the base of this cream sauce) and sriracha
  • Pickled veggies
  • Vegan cream cheese
  • Mango
  • Mint
  • Cilantro
  • Sesame seeds
Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (3)

How to Make Vegan Sushi

Making sushi is easier than you think, and you truly don't need a fancy set up. Here is how we make our own amazing vegan sushi rolls!

If you don't want to form them into the classic sushi roll shape, you can also just add all of the ingredients to make a vegan sushi bowl instead!

  1. Lay down the nori sheet, spread rice over the top and line up your fillings on one end. A bamboo sushi mat is helpful, but not completely necessary.
  2. Tuck one side over the ingredients and tighten up the tuck.
  3. Slowly roll as you keep tightly tucking. If you are using sticky sushi rice then the end will easily seal, but you can also dip your finger in water and seal the end of the nori that way.
  4. Cut with a sharp knife and serve!
Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (4)
Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (5)
Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (6)
Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (7)

Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (8) NOTE: You can print the FULL recipe with all ingredients & detailed instructionsbelow!

Tools for Sushi

While many people say you need specific equipment to make your own vegan sushi, I have been successful many times without anything special. So these tools are not needed, but are fun to have if you want!

If you use the right ingredients, like sushi rice instead of regular rice, and you don't overfill the rolls, you can get a nice tight result just using your hands.

However, if you're feeling fancy, here is some fancy stuff you can use:

You can also get a whole sushi making kit!

How to Prep Veggies for Sushi

When cutting your veggies for a vegetable sushi roll there are a few things to consider:

  • You want to make sure that you are using a very sharp knife to be able to make accurate cuts with ease.
  • Cut them into long thin strips. You can either cut matchstick like strips or keep them long like asparagus.
  • Leave the skin of veggies like cucumber for added texture and color.
  • Prepare the veggies in advance so they're ready to go when it's time to roll!

Dipping Sauce for Vegan Sushi

The other thing I love about making sushi at home is the variety of dips you can make! Anything goes, so get creative! Here are some classics and non traditional favorites:

  • Soy sauce or Tamari for gluten-free
  • Soy sauce or Tamari mixed with wasabi paste
  • Fresh wasabi root (if you have never tried this it's a must try and many sushi places keep it secret in the back)
  • Ponzu
  • Chili garlic sauce
  • Spicy cilantro cream sauce (use the base of this to mix with anything!)
  • Tahini sauce
  • Vegan teriyaki sauce
  • Vegan buffalo sauce (even mixed with the cream sauce base above)
  • Vegan remoulade
  • Peanut sauce
  • Chopped green onions sautéed with garlic and mixed with soy sauce/Tamari
  • Pickled ginger

Tips For Making Sushi With Kids

Making homemade vegan sushi can be a fun family affair, at least until the little one starts throwing the filling ingredients at his brothers. At that point, just drink some sake.

But before that happens, here are some fun ways to involved the kids:

  • Let everyone pick filling ideas they like.
  • Arrange all the filling options in bowls or piles so they are easy to grab.
  • Give each kid a nori sheet and help spread the rice over the top since that can be tough for little ones.
  • Give them each a bowl or basket and let them select the filling ingredients they want.
  • Have them arrange them on one end of the rice covered nori sheet
  • Help them roll it up by covering your hand with theirs to ensure it will be tight.
  • Give them dip choices so that they can enjoy their creations!

Common Questions

Is sushi vegan?

None of the sushi containing fish is vegan. However some restaurants have vegan roll options, or can accommodate with easy substitutions.

Is California Roll vegan?

Unfortunately it is not, California rolls contain crab or imitation crab, which is made from fish.

What is vegan sushi made of?

Vegan sushi can be made with mushrooms and sweet potatoes instead of fish. Other options include tofu, tempeh, hemp hearts, and veggies.

More Easy Vegan Recipes

Keep your dinners interesting and try these simple yet delicious plant based recipes:

  • Easy Vegan Fried Rice Recipe
  • Vegan Kung Pao Tofu
  • Vegan Noodle Miso Soup with Vegetables
  • Japanese Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing
Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (13)

Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (14)

Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe

Sophia DeSantis

This homemade vegan sushi recipe will have you making your favorite delicious rolls at home in no time! The step by step directions make it easy to follow without any fancy tools.

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Shop Ingredients

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Japanese

Servings 4

Calories 278 kcal

Ingredients

Sushi Base:

  • 4 Seaweed/Nori sheets or thinly sliced cucumber
  • 4 cups cooked sushi rice (see note)
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

Cooked fillings:

  • 1 cup sh*take mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon Tamari , soy sauce for non gluten-free
  • 1 cup sweet potato cut into matchsticks
  • 1 tablespoon Tamari , soy sauce for non gluten-free

Raw fillings:

Serving suggestions:

  • Tamari , soy sauce for non gluten-free
  • wasabi
  • fresh pickled ginger
  • Creamy Peanut Sauce

Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Instructions

Base:

  • Mix vinegar, sugar and salt in a bowl and heat on the stove or the microwave until the sugar is dissolved.

  • Add the mixture to the cooked rice and mix well.

Fillings:

  • Make the marinated sweet potato and mushrooms by pouring the tamari over them and allowing them to marinate a bit while you prep the rest of the roll ingredients.

  • Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes until crisping on edges. You can also saute them in a pan until crisp and cooked through.

Build the sushi:

  • Build by spreading 1 cup of rice onto nori sheet.

  • On one end lay filling ingredients of choice in a thin line. You want between 2-4 pieces of each filling ingredient. Don’t use more than 4 or 5 fillings ingredients or it will get too big to roll.

  • Tightly roll and cut.

  • Serve with dipping sauces like Tamari (soy sauce for non gluten-free)

Notes

  • Sushi rice is what gets it to stick well, you can use black rice as a second alternative too. Brown rice will not stick as well, keep that in mind.
  • You can pick and choose the fillings based on what you want. Don't use too many per roll or it will be overstuffed and break.
  • I made 4 rolls using the sweet potato, mushrooms, avocado, cucumber, carrot, and green onions. Serving size is 1 roll.
  • Nutrition facts are for sushi rolls only.

Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 7gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 813mgPotassium: 509mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 7672IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.

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Easy Homemade Vegan Sushi Recipe (15)

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  1. Eileen

    Great recipe!
    I used maple syrup instead of sugar, and it was delicious!!
    Thank you for helping me make my own sushi!!

    Reply

    • Sophia DeSantis

      SO happy you liked it Eileen!!

      Reply

  2. Sarah

    I've always been intimidated to try but finally did and they were so good!

    Reply

  3. Elke

    Thanks for the Recipe and I hear you Sushi can get expensive when you constantly buy it.

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite

      It so can! And it's really easy to make at home. Hope you enjoy!

      Reply

  4. Jen

    I've needed a solid sushi recipe, this looks amazing. Can't wait to try it.

    Reply

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