I don’t particularly like brown rice in my sushi. Don’t get me wrong, I love brown rice with just about everything else, but there is something about sticky white rice that pairs perfectly with any sushi roll. I love the sweet, almost chewy texture that it adds. But let’s face it, white rice is high calorie, not great for you, and adds unnecessary sugar, even if it is gluten free. So what’s a girl to do? Do sushi without rice! You will notice that a lot of my recipes have a sweet and savory flair, my favorite combination, and sweet potato is…what’s the equivalent to drool, Lisa Simpson? Oh yeah! Transcendent.
Allow me to expand. Sweet potato vegan sushi rolls, with cilantro and chives, smothered in a yummy balsamic glaze and a crunchy, salty topping. I actually forgot I was consuming straight vitamins and minerals. Did you know that wasabi has spirulina and turmeric in it? At least mine does (Click here for my wasabi brand of choice). More please! If you aren’t familiar with the benefits of spirulina, just one teaspoon of spirulina is like 5 servings of vegetables. Whaaaa? I’m serious. Eat more spirulina.
Vegan sushi rolls without rice are actually easier to make than normal rice sushi at home. Since there is a lot of moisture in pureed sweet potato, you can roll the sushi almost effortlessly and without a sushi mat. It makes the nori (seaweed) extremely pliable. In fact, I would recommend this recipe to any beginner making homemade sushi. I had my friend’s 2 year-old daughter help me make it. After all, it’s basically smear this here, throw this there, roll like a sleeping bag nice and tight, cut, done!
Look at her cute little fingers 🙂
The best part? You can make this sitting down at the kitchen table. Not a lot of standing is needed, just a large cutting board. Very fun to make for a party or luncheon. You could even amaze your friends with your mad skills and assemble in front of your guests like a sushi chef.
Ingredients
- 4 full sheets of Nori (seaweed or soy paper)
- 3 whole, peeled sweet potatoes
- 1 cup of asparagus (cut to match the length of Nori sheet)
- 1 cup of olive tapenade
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
- 1/2 cup of chives (no need to cut)
- 1/2 cup pea shoots (or a sprout that you prefer--no need to cut)
- 1 cucumber (sliced lengthwise into matchsticks)
- 1 carrot (sliced lengthwise into matchsticks)
- 1 avocado (sliced lengthwise into long strips)
- 1 tbsp Ginger (mince)
- 1 tbsp of cilantro (mince)
- *1 cup of rice if you like rice in your sushi
- 1 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp himalayan pink salt
- Balsamic Glaze-I like Trader Joe's since it is sweetened with juice and quick! Or you can always make your own for an extra special touch.
- Wasabi to taste
- Pickled Ginger to taste (or bits of candied ginger if you don't like vinegar)
Instructions
- Steam 3 sweet potatoes for 45 minutes or until easily mashed/pureed and refrigerate until cold
- Steam asparagus and refrigerate until cold
- *Steam rice (if you like your sushi with rice) and refrigerate until cold
- Chop carrot and cucumber into matchsticks lengthwise.
- Mince ginger and cilantro
- Puree the nutritional yeast, cashews, and salt together in a food processor
- Layout a sheet of Nori on a cutting board and spread a thin layer of pureed sweet potatoes slowly over the Nori with a spoon
- Put filling ingredients in the center of the roll
- Feel free to add the rice as part of the sweet potato if you prefer, like this.
- Dampen fingers with apple cider vinegar and roll tight
- Seal sides with apple cider vinegar
- Slice slowly with a serrated knife
- Move to a plate and top with balsamic glaze in a zig-zag and sprinkle with crunchy topping
- Serve!
If you don’t want to use seaweed due to allergies or preference, try brown rice spring roll wrappers instead.
Nutritional Facts (remember the fat is from the olives, which is great for you)
*Pictures are linked to Spark Recipes
Eat Clean, Eat Well,
Michaell
*I am an amazon affiliate and receive a small percentage if you buy any amazon links from my site. This money goes towards my food budget to make the recipes you see here. Every little bit helps! If you want to check out amazon, here’s a link to get there!
These look divine, such a great thing to bring on a picnic or outing. Those little fingers must love gobbling these up!
Hi Chantelle,
Thanks! A picnic is a great idea 🙂 I just went over to your site and fell in love with some of your recipes as well.
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe! For a long time I`ve been figuring out how to make sushi without sushi rice haha even if it sounds silly
Hi Ericka, thanks for commenting! Totally not silly not to want sushi with rice! In fact, I have another sushi recipe without rice I will be sharing soon. I think you’ll really like it! Stay tuned…
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What a fabulous idea Michaell! So glad to have found your blog! 😉
Thanks Bonnie! Such an honor to see you on my site when you have such an amazing blog yourself! Thanks for stopping by…Can’t wait to see your next recipe ;p
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