I’d been wanting sushi for a while, but hadn’t yet found a way to get it without rice. As I’ve found with many things, if you want a healthy option, you have to make it yourself … so I did.
If I’d known it was this easy to make sushi, I would have done it long ago! It is also much cheaper than buying it pre-made. Since I was pregnant at the time, I made it with meat and cooked fish, but any protein could work.
Seaweed is part of a healthy diet in many cultures around the world and is an excellent source of micronutrients including folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, selenium, and iodine.

Rice Free Sushi Recipe
Servings
Ingredients
- 5 sheets of nori
- 1 large carrot julienned
- 1 medium cucumber julienned
- cream cheese softened
- guacamole
- protein of choice
Instructions
- Put a piece of nori on a piece of waxed paper or sushi mat, if you have one.
- Carefully spread cream cheese along one end. This will be the outside end that you close when you roll it. The cream cheese helps it stick.
- Spread guacamole in the center of the seaweed.
- Place pieces of cucumber and carrot at the opposite end of the seaweed as the cream cheese. You want to make sure everything runs lengthwise.
- Add protein of choice in thin layer between veggies and cream cheese.
- Starting at the end with the veggies, carefully roll the waxed paper to begin rolling the sushi seaweed. This took a little trial and error, but you have to roll it and remove the waxed paper as you go. When you finish, you should have about a 1.5 inch diameter roll.
- Repeat the process with the other sheets of seaweed.
- Place all rolls together and slice into 1 inch pieces. Keeping them together helps protect the seaweed from breaking when cutting.
- Serve fresh! Yum!
Nutrition
Notes
Ever made sushi? Perhaps you have a better recipe? Tell me below!
sushi means sour rice. Can’t have rice without rice so these are just seaweed rolls but w/e
What type of healthy soy sauce (or substitute) do you recommend? Is Braggs Liquid aminos healthy?
Would tofutti be a remplacement option for the Cream cheese? I’m not sure if tofutti is ok with autoimmune.
Definitely avoid soy!
Soy is okay if it’s bern fermented like they do in Asia. Fermentation removes the things associated with negative effects. I use a double-fermented soy sauce at home.
You can also try using riced cauliflower in place of rice. You can get it at the grocery or make it yourself with a food processor. Cook it/steam it to soften it up.
Watch the fish when you are pregnant. It is contaminated with mercury. Largest predatory fish are the worst. Go for fish lower on the food chain, like sardines and shrimp. I like to eat California roll sushi. The ingredients are sliced avocado,fish and cucumber . you could wrap the outside with a layer of goat cheese and roll it in some kind of roe.
Maybe use mashed, cooked cauliflower instead of rice or cream cheese.
Cream Cheese is healthy?
It’s fine in moderation if you don’t have any allergy or autoimmune issue, but can be left out in place of guacamole, which is healthier in this recipe.
Dairy products are healthy?
Jusrt to let you know “Sushi Seaweed” is actually “Nori”. Just make sure you get the untoasted version. My two year old eats it straight out of the packet as a snack (not to my tasting though)!
I made this with a orientalish marinated chicken, wasn’t as good as fish…. But what kind of fish would I use, that’s available and really healthy?
I’ve used canned wild caught salmon, shrimp and other cooked
fishes… all were pretty good.
Mmmmm…I was craving sushi the other day. I never thought of just making it without the rice! I got all the ingediants at the store today, so I am totally having sushi for dinner tonight! Thanks for the idea!