Vegan Sushi Bowl – loaded with sushi rice, tofu, vegetables, and sesame seeds – makes a terrific, easy dinner. It can be made ahead and packed up for delicious lunch at the office or school, too! This easy recipe is from The Veginner's Cookbook by Bianca Haun and Sascha Naderer. It's vegan with a gluten-free option.
Vegan Sushi Bowl with Sesame-Crusted Tofu
I found myself craving sushi recently, and I didn’t feel like breaking out the bamboo rolling mats. I’m also a sucker for anything covered in sesame seeds, so, I made the vegan Sushi Bowl with Sesame-Crusted Tofu from The Veginner's Cookbook. This dish is pretty much everything I love about sushi in one delicious bowl.
I chopped the veggies and prepared the tofu while the rice was cooking, and it all came together pretty quickly. This dish was so tasty that I made it again a week later for lunch!
This vegan sushi bowl recipe is really flexible, so you can add in your favorite sushi ingredients, such as avocado or cooked sweet potatoes.
What You Need
- Sushi rice
- Water
- Salt
- Brown rice vinegar
- Firm tofu
- All-purpose flour*
- White sesame seeds
- Canola oil
- Soy beans
- Lemon juice
- Carrot
- Scallion
- Cucumber
- Nori
- Pickled ginger
- Black sesame seeds
*If you follow a gluten-free diet, make sure you flour is gluten-free.
See the recipe card for exact amounts.
How to Make a Vegan Sushi Bowl
This vegan sushi bowl is super easy to make!
- First, you cook the rice according to the package instructions. You then season it with salt and brown rice vinegar.
- Next you cut the tofu into cubes and batter it with flour and sesame seeds. Once all of the tofu is coated, you pan-fry it until it's crispy.
- You then quickly pan-fry the edamame.
- Finally, you assemble the bowls by placing the rice at the bottom of the bowl and placing the carrots, scallions, cucumber, nori, and tofu on top. You finish your bowls by sprinkling them with sesame seeds.
Serving your Sushi Bowl
Serve your sushi bowl as is as soon as your done making it. Or you can make it ahead of time and pack it for lunch at the office. I like to drizzle a little Carrot Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing on my bowls.
The Veginner’s Cookbook
I’ve been vegan for so long that it’s second nature now, but I will admit things were a little tricky in the beginning. There was no Facebook back then, blogs weren’t very prominent, and there were only a handful of vegan cookbooks available. Luckily, new vegans now have The Veginner's Cookbook by Bianca Haun and Sascha Naderer to help them start their plant-based journeys.
The first part of the The Veginner's Cookbook is full of information to help new vegans get started. There are lists of pantry essentials and handy kitchen tools. Tips on vegan substitutes are also included, as well as advice on dealing with skeptics. Bianca’s kitchen hacks and Sascha’s suggestions for handling potentially difficult situations are sprinkled throughout the book.
The second part of the book is full of recipes. As you may have figured out from the title, they are all perfect for newbie vegans. The recipes are easy to make and they use ingredients that are easy to find at just about any grocery store. These are all foods that are easily recognizable by omnis to make the transition easier, such as Mac & Cheese & Peas and Cheesy Tex-Mex Wraps.
You’ll find recipes for DIY basics, too. You can easily make your own cashew parmesan, seitan, non-dairy milk, and even crackers with Bianca’s trouble-free recipes!
Recipes in The Veginner’s Cookbook include:
- Basics
- Breakfasts
- Soups
- Main Meals
- Breads
- Snacks & Party Foods
- Sauces & Dressings
- Desserts
If you’re new to vegan cooking, The Veginner’s Cookbook is a must-have! If you’ve been vegan for a while and are looking for deliciously quick and easy recipes, you’ll want it in your library, too!
Vegan Sushi Bowl with Sesame Crusted Tofu
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Sushi Rice
- 1 cup sushi rice (200 g)
- 1 ½ cups water (360 ml)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon brown rice vinegar
Ingredients for the Sesame Crusted Tofu
- 7 ounces firm tofu (200 g)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour divided
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
Additional Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh green soy beans (50 g)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 carrot peeled and julienned
- ½ scallion thinly sliced
- ¼ cucumber julienned
- ¼ nori sheet cut in strips
- 2 tablespoons pickled ginger
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Wash the rice until the water stays clear and cook the rice according to its instructions. Season with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of brown rice vinegar and let the rice cool down.
- Meanwhile cut the firm tofu in cubes. Combine 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and water for the batter in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the white sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, and salt for the coating. Now work in batches, to coat the tofu cubes in the batter, then transfer it into the coating, shake carefully, so the tofu is coated evenly. Repeat until all of the tofu cubes are coated. Heat enough oil in a pan to cover the bottom. Once hot, place the tofu cubes in there and pan-fry them on medium-high heat until crispy, turn them and let them get crispy on all the sides.
- Pan-roast the soy beans with lemon juice, add salt to taste.
- Once everything's ready, you can start assembling your Sushi Bowl.
- Cover the bottom of your bowl with sushi rice and place the carrots, scallion, cucumber, nori strips, sesame crusted tofu, soy beans, and pickled ginger on top. Sprinkle black sesame seeds on top.
Notes
More bowl meals that you might enjoy include:
- Vegan Poke Bowl from my cookbook Eating Vegan
- BBQ Hawaiian Tofu Bowl from The Simply Vegan Cookbook by Dustin Harder
- Buddha Bowls from The College Vegan Cookbook by Heather Nicholds
- Vegan Fish Taco Bowl from Vegan Bowl Attack! by Jackie Sobon
Carla
Fried rice or stir fry are my go to quick meals.
Gloria
This looks amazing. I'm on a bowl kick lately and need to try this.
Becky Striepe
YUM! I love a sushi bowl, and this tofu sounds top notch.
Nina Rowan
Yum!
Dianne
I think you'd really like this!
Susan
Beans, rice, veggies, and salsa!
Nicole Dawson
I am just loving this cookbook as well and this was one of the recipes I wanted to try. Can't wait.
Dianne
Isn't it a great book? You'll love this dish!
Piper
My fave go to is a quick Mexican bowl with rice, black beans, avocado and whatever veggies I have in fridge.
This tofu bowl looks sooo good - I will have to try it!
Karen D
Veggie burger and fries
Julie
My favorite easy way to go is either a burrito bowl or burrito ~ especially with pre-frozen brown rice.
I love love love the look of this sushi bowl! Thank you for the recipe
Jess
Sounds delicious! Thank you very much for sharing, and providing us with a chance to win a copy! My favorite is an easy vegan pad thai
Lydia Claire
One of my favorites is Taco Salad which is more like a deconstructed taco bowl!
Jillian Too
Chili is my favorite easy dish because it's always delicious.