Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls

5 from 3 votes

These sweet potato sushi rolls are filled with chewy brown rice, crispy oven-baked sweet potato and umami-rich nori sheets. They make for a great vegan sushi rolls recipe that's easy to prepare right at home. Perfect for a date night in or even make them with your kids!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, asian-inspired

Keyword: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free option, healthy, Vegan

Servings: rolls

Calories: 590kcal

Author: Jessica Laroche

Ingredients

For the sushi rice

1 ½ cups short grain brown rice or choose a classic Japanese white sushi rice if you prefer, see notes
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup or agave nectar
½ tsp salt

For the crispy sweet potato

½ cup white whole wheat flour or brown rice flour for a gluten-free recipe, see notes
½ cup water
2 cups panko choose gluten-free panko if needed
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
1 large sweet potato peeled and sliced into long sticks of about 1 ½ inch thick.

For the roll

4 nori sheets
1 cup cucumber julienned
1 avocado sliced

For serving (optional)

soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free option
spicy mayo see notes
sesame seeds
wasabi
pickled ginger

Instructions

Make the sushi rice

Start by cooking the sushi rice accordingly to the packaging instructions (see notes). Once cooked, add the rice vinegar, maple syrup and salt and gently stir to combine. Set aside so the rice can cool down.

Make the crispy sweet potato

Pre-heat the oven to 400º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, add the flour + water and stir to combine until there are no clumps anymore. It should be a thick batter. In a second medium bowl, combine the panko, garlic powder and salt.
Then, taking one stick of sweet potato at the time, dip into the batter covering all surfaces, then hit the side of the bowl to remove the excess before transferring to the bowl with the panko. Then, using your hands, cover and press gently on the sweet potato so the panko stick to its surface. When completely covered, then transfer on the baking sheet. Keep going until you are done with all of the sweet potato pieces.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping half way through.

Roll the sushi

Lay the sushi mat on a surface and add a nori sheet over (rough side facing up). Then, use your fingers to cover the nori sheet with the rice (not too thick) spreading it evenly on all its surface while making sure to leave 2-3 inches free of rice on the top portion of the nori. You can slightly wet your fingers if the rice sticks to them too much.
Then, leave about 2 inches free of filling at the bottom and add the breaded sweet potato, cucumber and avocado slices (see pictures in the blog and video). Then, lift the bottom of the mat with your thumbs while holding the filling with your fingers and start rolling while tucking the fillings inside of the roll. When you get to the top, wet the surface that's free of rice and then finish the rolling. Gently press to help seal the roll and shape it.
Use a super sharp knife to cut the roll into maki (wet the blade to prevent the rice to stick to it if needed).
Drizzle a spicy mayo and sprinkle sesame seeds over the maki and serve with soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi, if desired.

Video

Notes

Brown rice cooking instructions: read the short grain brown rice cooking instruction from Lisa at Healthy Nibbles to cook your brown rice either on the stove or in the Instant pot. Use about 3 cups of cooked rice when combining with the rice seasonings.
If you prefer to use a classic Japanese white sushi rice, then read the post from Gimme some Oven to help you cook sushi rice properly. Again, use a total of 3 cups of cooked rice to add the seasonings.
To make the spicy mayo, combine vegan mayo (I use my cashew mayo) with as much sriracha as you want.
You should be able to make 4 rolls with the 3 cups of cooked rice. You will have some leftover crispy sweet potato that you can keep for snacking for later. The sweet potato unfortunately don't store very well as they lose on their crispiness with time (and can also get too chewy).
You can also double the amount of rice to cook (double the rice seasonings too!) and prepare 8 rolls, which will allow you to use most of the crispy sweet potatoes (I found that the sweet potato inside the rolls stored better, actually).
Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per roll provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.

Nutrition