This Rainbow Sushi Rice Bowl is a healthy, easy, vegan, and vegetarian meal prep recipe that can be served for lunch or dinner. Top these vegan bowls with your choice of a homemade Sriracha mayo, peanut butter miso, or a wasabi ginger sauce.
If you like these sushi bowls, you might also enjoy these other rice recipes: Mexican Rice Recipe, Easy Chicken Fried Rice, Sushi Rice, Cauliflower Dirty Rice.
Vegan Sushi Rice Bowl
Did you know that you can have all of the delicious flavors of a sushi roll without any raw fish (hello poke bowls!) or a fancy sushi rolling apparatus?
The crunchy and crisp vegetables…
With spoonfuls of perfect sticky rice…
All covered in your favorite Sriracha mayo, miso sauce, or wasabi ginger sauce.
Well you can have all of these flavors in the form of a sushi rice bowl!
And this recipe just so happens to be gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and can easily be made vegan, too!
Make it with Friends
A few weeks ago we had our friends over for a spontaneous dog photoshoot amidst the field of bluebonnets next to our house.
I was experimenting with How to Make Sushi Rice at home and ended up making this delightful recipe complete with three different sauces and TONS of fresh vegetables.
Everyone loved how they could add as much or as little of the ingredients as they wanted. Some added loads of raw vegetables, while another might pile on the rice, and then there I was – pouring on the sriracha mayo and miso sauce.
There was no judgement amongst great friends.
Ingredients
While this recipe does not require you to meticulously roll a bunch of sushi rolls, there are quite a few ingredients you will need to make it.
- Cooked Sushi Rice – Learn how to make sushi rice.
- Vegetables – Red bell peppers, cucumbers, avocado, red cabbage, and carrots.
- Sauces – Read below to learn more about how to make sriracha mayo, miso sauce, and a wasabi sauce.
- Basil – Fresh basil gives the bowls a wonderful freshness. You can also use or substitute with cilantro.
- Sesame Seeds – Totally optional, but gives these bowls a nice texture.
- Toasted Nuts – Peanuts or cashews will give these Asian bowls a good crunch, but are also optional.
The best thing about this recipe is that all of these ingredients can be prepped ahead and pulled out when ready to serve! It makes a great meal prep lunch or dinner recipe for a busy week or a great dinner party idea, too.
How to Make
Sushi bowls are a great vegan and vegetarian meal to serve that are actually quite fun to make!
Steps:
- Prepare rice by following this Sushi Rice Recipe.
- Prep and chop all of the vegetables into thin slices or bite-sized pieces.
- Save chopping the avocado until just before serving.
- Whisk together and blend your sauces: Sriracha mayo, peanut butter miso, and wasabi ginger.
- Serve rice with chopped vegetables and drizzle with your sauce(s) of choice.
- And don’t forget to top those sushi bowls with a sprinkle of toasted peanuts or cashews, too!
What Vegetables Can You Use?
As mentioned previously, TONS of fresh, raw, vegetables are used in this fresh and healthy recipe. This is a great alternative to your traditional poke bowls where raw fish is often used.
Sushi Bowl Vegetables:
- Avocado – This one is a must!! Avocado gives these bowls a nice, creamy texture while also adding lots of good-for-you fats.
- Cucumbers – Crispy and crunchy, you can either thinly slice cucumbers or cut them into bite-sized pieces.
- Carrots – Slightly sweet while full of nutrition! Carrots can either be grated, cut into thin slices, or you can buy the ones that are cut into matchstix.
- Red Cabbage – Red or green will work equally as well, but red (or purple) cabbage really gives these bowls a beautiful rainbow of color!
- Bell Pepper – Red or yellow bell pepper would be preferred since they add a subtle sweetness to the bowl, but green or orange will also work equally as well.
- Jalapeños – Not for the faint of heart, so only put these on if you like yours with a kick!
- Edamame, Snap Peas, Radish, Mango, Pineapple – Not in this recipe, but would be wonderful additions!
Top it with Sauces
These sushi bowls would not be complete without these irresistible sauces! Choose from a mild peanut butter miso , a slightly spicy sriracha mayo, or a medium-spice level wasabi ginger sauce.
Or, you don’t have to choose at all and you can drizzle on all three!
Sriracha Mayo Recipe
Making sriracha mayo from scratch is super simple and only requires two ingredients: sriracha and mayonnaise.*
How to Make Sriracha Mayo:
- Add ¼ cup mayonnaise and 2 teaspoons of sriracha sauce to a small bowl.
- Use more or less Sriracha sauce depending on your desired spice level.
- Whisk until well incorporated and serve with your favorite dish or sushi bowl.
*If vegan, use a vegan mayonnaise substitute.
Miso Sauce & Wasabi Sauce
Peanut Butter Miso Sauce:
The peanut butter miso sauce recipe requires a few ingredients:
- Smooth Peanut Butter – Do not get the chunky kind or one with added sugar.
- Miso Paste – Often found in your Asian food aisle or with the specialty foods. Red miso paste is what I used in this recipe.
- Ginger Paste – Crushed ginger can also be used.
- Garlic Clove – Do not substitute with garlic powder.
- Olive Oil – Avocado oil will also work great.
- Sugar – Honey or agave nectar can be substituted.
- Sriracha Sauce
Wasabi Ginger Sauce Recipe
Much like the miso sauce recipe, you will need a handful of ingredients. Many of these are similar ingredients in the other two sauce recipes you have already seen.
- Wasabi Paste – This can often be found in the Asian food aisle or specialty foods section.
- Lime Juice – Fresh lime juice is preferred.
- Rice Vinegar – Do not get rice wine vinegar as this often has added sugar and will change the finished recipe.
- Mayonnaise – Paleo or vegan mayonnaise can be substituted for regular mayonnaise.
- Cilantro
- Salt
For both sauces: Add ingredients to a small food processor, or Nutribullet, and blend or process until smooth. This will take about 1-2 minutes.
Make sure you scrape down the sides to ensure all of the ingredients get mixed together.
Sushi Bowl Bar
Have you heard of a baked potato bar? Or maybe even a taco bar?
Well it’s time to change it up a bit with a sushi bowl bar!
It’s definitely the best way to serve up this meal so everyone can pick and choose their toppings and sauces of choice.
A few tips:
- Prepare sushi rice ahead of time. Let it sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before serving.
- You want it to be slightly chilled, but not quite refrigerator temperature.
- Chop and prep the vegetables and serve them in individual bowls.
- Prep the avocado immediately before serving to prevent it from turning brown.
- Whisk and blend the sauces ahead of time and store them in sandwich-sized ziplock bags. When ready to serve, snip a corn off of the bag and let guests drizzle their sauce(s) over their sushi bowls.
- Finely chop toasted cashews, peanuts, cilantro, or basil and place in small bowls for added textures and flavors.
Other Vegetarian Asian Dishes to Try:
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Sushi Rice Bowl Recipe | Vegan
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Ingredients
Sushi Bowls:
- 6 cups cooked sushi rice
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 cup carrots shredded
- 2 small avocado or 1 large, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup cucumber seedless, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cabbage red, thinly sliced
- 2 oz. fresh basil thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno cut into thin slices
- Sesame seeds optional
- Peanuts or cashews chopped, optional
Sriracha Mayo:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise vegan if needed
- 2 tsp. Sriracha sauce
Peanut Butter Miso Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp. peanut butter smooth
- 1 Tbsp. miso paste red
- 1 tsp. ginger paste
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp. sugar or honey
- 1 tsp. Sriracha sauce
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Wasabi Sauce:
- 2 tsp. wasabi paste
- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
- 2 tsp. ginger paste
- 2 tsp. rice vinegar
- ¼ cup mayonnaise vegan if needed
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup cilantro
Instructions
- Cook sushi rice and let sit until it comes to room temperature. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Prepare vegetables and place in individual serving bowls for a sushi bowl bar or set aside until ready to serve.
Sriracha Mayo:
- Whisk together the sriracha sauce and mayonnaise in a small bowl until well combined.
Peanut Butter Miso Sauce:
- Add all peanut butter miso sauce ingredients into a small food processor or high-speed blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth.
Wasabi Sauce:
- Add all wasabi sauce ingredients into a small food processor or high-speed blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth.
- Serve each sushi bowl with 1 cup sushi rice, equal amounts of the vegetables and basil, and drizzle with desired sauces. Top with sesame seeds or nuts and enjoy!
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Notes
- Nutrition facts are calculated without optional toppings and with equivalent amounts of sauce being used on each serving.
- If vegan, substitute mayonnaise with a vegan mayonnaise.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello London,
I just want to say thank you so very much for the great Sushi Bowls recipe; it is an awesome idea!
I made a slightly altered version of your recipe for a friend, and we were both highly impressed with the taste and versatility of the finished combination of foods to choose from. We both could see how much of a hit this would be for a dinner evening with friends.
When I first tried it a few weeks ago, I found the rice wine vinegar to be unfortunately too strong for the amount of sushi rice the recipe called for, compared to what we are used to in Australia. I used only a 1/4 Australian cup of RWV & half the sugar, but the halved RWV was still too strong for my liking.
My friend mentioned she prefers only a few teaspoons of rice wine vinegar in her sushi rice, so I tried that, and the final result for the sushi rice was much more like what we are used to in Australian sushi rolls.
Also, in an effort to simplify some of the ingredient preparation for my friend, who has early stage Parkinsonism amongst other health issues, we used a store bought Asian coleslaw kit, which had shredded daikon, wombok (chinese cabbage), shallots (green onions), baby spinach, and I think mizuna.
The coleslaw kit had a very interesting fish sauce based Asian dressing, so we included that as one of sauces. We made a mild version of the Sriracha-mayonnaise sauce, & had kecap manis as a third sauce.
We also served canned chunk tuna, pan fried bacon strips & ham strips, alongside garnishes like nori strips, pickled ginger, onion flakes & cashews (I was dismayed that I had forgotten the sesame seeds, though), then went to town choosing what we wanted in our bowls along with the rice, and topped it with our choice of sauces.
My friend was skeptical about the bacon working with the meal, and I in turn was skeptical about the ham, but my, oh my, they both worked a treat!
We unanimously agreed this recipe is a must-have again, and soon!
Thank you for the great recipe idea!
🌷🌷 Angela Bennett, Newcastle NSW Australia.
Hi Angela! Thank you so much for your feedback! Sounds like you and your friend had a wonderful time and had some incredible ideas for additions!
And yes, I can totally see how too much rice wine vinegar could be a bit much for you. The recipe calls for rice vinegar, not rice wine vinegar – this might have been the issue for you? Also, some brands definitely have a much stronger flavor than others. I’m not sure what you can get in Australia, but Kikkoman is one of my favorites that is pretty easy to find and a bit milder than other rice vinegars.
I love your ideas to add all of the meat to the sushi bowl. Will definitely have to try that out next time! Thank you so much for your comment and feedback, Angela! Hope you and your friend have another fun outing/day together soon!
Yes please! Love this dinner idea and the family will too – beautiful!
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to hear what the family thinks 🙂