Make a platter of four vegan sushi varieties with a choice of fillings. Easy step-by-step photos and instructions, perfect for first-time sushi makers!
🍴Why you will love this recipe
The recipe below will help you through the process of making four of the simplest varieties: hosomaki (small cylindrical sushi with one filling), maki (thicker rolls with more fillings), nigiri (an oval shape of pressed rice topped with roasted pepper instead of fish), and dragon rolls (inside-out sushi with the rice on the outside). Such a treat for a weekend lunch or a party platter.
The idea of an 'easy' sushi platter might be a bit hard to believe, and I'm not promising this is super-speedy - perhaps 45 minutes prep time then 45 minutes assembly of the sushi. Much of the preparation could be done the night before if you don't have time to do it all in one go.
But there's nothing difficult about making vegan sushi, just follow the step-by-step photos and my video below, and you can't go wrong. (Probably).
📝 What you need
Here's what you will need - a few specialist ingredients, but I got all of these in a large-ish supermarket so you shouldn't need to go out of your way or to multiple shops to find them.
Ingredients
Sushi rice is a Japanese variety of short-grain rice. It has a particular texture and cooking style so do try to get hold of it for a really authentic sushi texture. However if you really can't find any, I've heard of people using arborio (risotto) rice with good results, though haven't tried it myself so can't make any promises!
Rice vinegar is a mild and sweet vinegar made from fermented rice. Again, it is really a big part of that authentic sushi flavour.
Sushi nori (or roasted seaweed sheets) are the dark green sheets that you roll your sushi up in. They are fairly easy to find in supermarkets. Read my 'top tips' below for a few pointers on working with nori sheets.
Sushi ginger I love this stuff!! It is a pickled ginger quite specific to Japan. I bought mine, but if you make a lot of sushi it is very easy to make your own which will work out a lot cheaper. This is a good recipe.
Fillings
You can choose to use any or all of these sushi fillings, depending on how long you have to prepare them, and how much variety you want.
Equipment
You will need a bamboo sushi-rolling mat - it is possible to make sushi without one but honestly, this makes it just so much easier.
They are very inexpensive and once you have realised how easy it is to make homemade vegan sushi you will get a lot of use out of it, I promise! Something like this one* would be ideal.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your vegan sushi
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.
Cook the rice, then when it is completely cool stir through rice vinegar, salt and caster sugar. Set aside until needed.
Prepare any of the fillings you wish to use. Slice carrots into thin matchsticks, then pickle in rice vinegar, sugar and salt until needed. Roast the peppers in an oven or air fryer.
Boil or steam the tenderstem broccoli. Peel and slice the avocado. Slice the cucumber into thin matchsticks, removing the seeds.
Lay a sheet of nori on your bamboo rolling mat, and spread with prepared rice using a wet spoon. Leave a small gap at the top. Lay your chosen fillings in a line along the rice as pictured.
Use the bamboo mat to roll the sushi up very tightly, tucking in the fillings as you go. Trim the ends of the roll and slice it into six equal pieces.
👩🏽🍳 Top Tips & FAQs
A few key tips not to miss in the instructions are:
- Wet your spoon when spreading the rice over the nori sheets - this makes everything a lot easier, I promise.
- Wet your knife before cutting every slice - I have a tall glass of water and dip the knife in between every cut. This stops the rice from sticking to it, for really clean, neat slices.
- Wet your hands when shaping the Nigiri - for the same reason, it stops the rice from sticking to you and everything you touch!
- Squeeze tightly as you roll everything up - the tighter the roll, the neater your finished vegan sushi will be.
You can find special sushi rice in most larger supermarkets. It is a Japanese variety of short-grain rice with a particular texture and cooking style for a really authentic sushi texture. If you really can't find any, I've heard of people using short-grain risotto rice with good results, though haven't tried it myself so can't make any promises!
As the sushi contains rice it is really important that you store it in the fridge and keep it for no more than one day. Read more advice on storing cooked rice from the Food Standards Agency.
Sushi is delicious served with a small bowl of soy sauce or tamari for dipping, and a pile of pickled ginger to pile on top. You can also serve a little wasabi paste alongside for a fiery kick! How about trying my 3-minute Amai Sauce as a slightly thicker dipping sauce?
⭐️ Reader Testimonials
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This was so fun and easy to make! Perfect for a stay at home date night, thanks for sharing 🙂" Noelle
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "It was amazing and my 8 year old helped. Fiancee very impressed. We didn't have a bamboo rolling mat so used a tea towel and tin foil and it worked pretty well. Definitely making this again. Great recipe and instructions, thank you." Jude
🥑 More Vegan Sushi Filling Ideas
As well as the filling ideas listed in the recipe, how about trying some of these:
- Cooked tofu cut into long strips
- Asparagus
- Shredded little gem lettuce
- Cooked mushrooms
- Picked red cabbage
- Mango
- Spring onions
- Radish
- Tomato
- Vegan cream cheese
- Vegan mayonnaise (try my vegan mayo recipe for homemade)
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
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📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan Sushi
Ingredients
For the rice:
- 300 g sushi rice
- 4 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 sheets sushi nori (roasted seaweed sheets)
For the fillings (prepare any or all of these):
- ½ yellow pepper
- ½ red pepper
- 1 carrot
- 3 stalks tenderstem broccoli
- 10 cm piece cucumber
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds and black sesame seeds (optional)
- ½ avocado
To serve:
- 2 tablespoon sushi ginger
- tamari or soy sauce
Instructions
Prepare the rice:
- Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, then tip it into a saucepan and add 450ml of water.
- Bring it to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes covered with a lid.
- Turn off the heat and leave it to stand for 30 minutes, without removing the lid.
- When the rice has completely cooled, tip in 3 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt and mix thoroughly with a fork until fully combined.
Prepare the fillings (as many as you like or all):
- Roasted Peppers: - Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4. Remove the seeds from the red and yellow peppers, and place skin side up on a baking tray. Rub or spray with a little oil, and roast for 25 minutes until soft. - Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. You can peel off the papery skin if you wish, or leave it in tact.- Alternatively you can cook them in an air fryer for 12 minutes at 180ºC.
- Pickled Carrot: - Peel and trim the ends of the carrot, then cut it into very fine matchsticks, either by hand or using a julienne slicer or peeler. - Place into a shallow bowl or tupperware container. - Mix together 3 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. Pour this over the carrot and mix to combine, then pour over a little warm water until the carrots are just covered. - Chill in the fridge until needed.
- Tenderstem Broccoli: - Boil for 3-4 minutes until just tender, or steam in the microwave for 2 minutes on full power.
- Cucumber:- Slice the cucumber into quarters, then slice off the seeds. Cut each quarter into thin strips.
- Avocado:- Remove the skin from the avocado and slice.
To make the Maki Rolls:
- Lay a sheet of nori on the bamboo rolling mat.
- Spoon rice onto the nori, and use the back of a wet spoon to spread it to the edges of the nori sheet, leaving about a centimetre at each end to allow it to stick together when rolled.
- Place your choice of fillings in a line on the rice (see photos or video above).
- Use a wet finger to slightly dampen the edges of the nori sheet, then roll it up tightly, (moving the bamboo mat out of the way as you go, so it isn't trapped inside!). Squeeze the bamboo mat as you go to make the roll as tight and neat as possible.
- Fill a tall glass with water, and dip your sharpest knife into it - you will need to wet it again every time you cut through the roll, to stop the rice sticking to it as you cut. Trim the ends off the roll, then slice the roll into 6 equal slices.
To make the Dragon Rolls:
- Lay a sheet of cling film on the bamboo rolling mat, followed by a sheet of nori.
- Spoon rice onto the nori, and use the back of a wet spoon to spread it to the edges of the nori sheet.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds over the rice, and press them down. Flip over the nori so that the rice is now face down.
- Lay your chosen fillings in a line across the nori, (see photos or video above).
- Roll everything up tightly, (moving the cling film and bamboo mat out of the way as you go, so they aren't trapped inside!). Squeeze the bamboo mat as you go to make the roll as tight and neat as possible.
- Use your sharp, wet knife to trim the ends off the roll, then slice the roll into 6equal slices.
To make the Nigiri:
- Cut six equal-sized rectangles from the roasted peppers, (save the offcuts for hummus sandwiches... yum!). Turn them skin-side down, then lay a slice of sushi ginger on each one.
- Take a dessertspoon full of rice, wet your hands, and squeeze and shape it into roughly the same shape as a pepper slice. Mould the rice onto the pepper slice with your hands.
- Cut strips of nori about half a centimetre wide, then dampen each one with a wet finger, and wrap one around each pepper and rice mound.
To make the Hosomaki (small cylindrical rolls):
- Cut a sheet of nori in half with a pair of scissors.
- Spread a fairly thin layer of rice over most of the nori sheet, leaving a centimetre to spare at the top.
- Place a thin line of one filling over the rice (see photos or video above). Don't be tempted to over-fill these, or they will be too big to roll up!
- Use a wet finger to slightly dampen the edges of the nori sheet, then roll it up tightly, (moving the bamboo mat out of the way as you go, so it isn't trapped inside!). Squeeze the bamboo mat as you go to make the roll as tight and neat as possible.
- Use your sharp, wet knife to trim the ends off the roll, then slice the roll into 6 equal slices.
To serve:
- Serve the sushi with a dipping bowl of tamari or soy sauce and some pickled ginger.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Nutrition
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Janessa says
So delicious! I love the different ideas of vegetables- I would have never thought to use roasted pepper but it was a favourite.
Claudia Lamascolo says
These are my new favorite love them this way and will make them again so good!
Louise says
So easy and delicious to make. Thank you for all the step by step instructions, they really helped.
Tara says
Oh how fun! I love how you made the sushi with a variety of vegetables. I think the ones with the peppers on top are my favorite.
Isabelle says
Hi, I'm makjng this but I'm a little confused. It says 2 teaspoons of sugar in the list of ingredients, but in the recipe it says 2 tablespoons. Which one is correct please?
Many thanks.
Isabelle
Kate Ford says
Hi Isabelle, So sorry for any confusion - typo now corrected, it should definitely be 2 tbsp. Enjoy the sushi! Kate x
Beth says
This is my kind of sushi. I'll be getting the sushi rice out later. Yum
Gina Abernathy says
Loved the step by step and how easy these are to make.
Phoebe Marshall says
This was amazing! Do you know if leftovers keep in the fridge for the next day?
Kate Ford says
Hi Phoebe, That's great! Yes you can keep it overnight in the fridge but please chill as soon as you can and eat within 24 hours. For more info on storing pre-cooked rice see the Food Standards Agency's website. Enjoy!
jude Nevard says
Hi. Is it really 2tbsp sugar in the rice? It seems quite a lot!
Kate Ford says
Hi Jude, yes it is! It balanaces out the pretty sharp vinegar. By all means substitute in another sweetener if you prefer or use less sugar - though you may want to reduce the vinegar a little too if you do that. Enjoy the sushi!
jude Nevard says
Hi. OK thanks! We weren't sure but made this anyway yesterday. It was amazing and my 8 year old helped. Fiance very impressed. We didn't have a bamboo rolling mat so used a tea towel and tin foil and it worked pretty well. Definitely making this again. Great recipe and instri9 thank you.
Kate Ford says
Brilliant! That's great to hear. My kids love helping to make sushi too, it's fun! x
Noelle Simpson says
This was so fun and easy to make! Perfect for a stay at home date night, thanks for sharing 🙂
Beth says
Yummy! My daughter and I are going to love this recipe! I can't wait to show her this recipe!
Andrea Metlika says
This sushi looks absolutely fantastic. I am one to order the veggie sushi so this is right up my alley.
Angela says
Your step by step guide is so well done. You take the guess work out of it.
Emily Liao says
Loved how easy these rolls were to make! Everyone enjoyed them.
Tony Chen says
Hey Kate that's a good idea, I'm just leaning to use sesame on my sushi rolls. That's a good idea to use a plastic wrap for when you want to flip it!
James says
Great Recipe with detailed explanations and videos! I also love to make vegan sushis but I always use brown rice to make. My wife is a newly converted sushi fanatic. When we were in Japan, I took her to a sushi restaurant and now nigiri become her favorite sushi .
Agatha says
Thanks for the step videos and ingredient ideas. Your sushi looks great!
Leo Tat says
Love the combination of colours of your sushi. My wife makes kimbap which is similar to sushi. We also use cucumber as a filling as well.