This is an easy way to enjoy delicious sushi at home in about 30 minutes. Perfectly seasoned sushi rice is topped with fresh vegetables, chives, avocado, sesame seeds and wild-caught tuna fillets. Add extra flavor with a creamy, spicy sushi sauce or a tangy wasabi-soy sauce for variety.
Sushi is one of those foods that everyone seems to love—but it can feel intimidating to make at home, especially on a weeknight. Store-bought sushi and specialty restaurants solve this by offering variety, since family members often have very different tastes: raw fish lovers, cooked fish only, vegetarian fans, wasabi die-hards and those who avoid it entirely.
To keep things simple and family-friendly, I turned sushi into a bowl-based dinner. Instead of rolling, all the favorite flavors are piled into a make-your-own sushi bowl bar. It’s faster, more flexible, and perfect for letting everyone build a bowl they’ll enjoy. These bowls are also economical and easy to adapt to dietary preferences.
Why the make-your-own sushi bowl bar works so well
- The ingredient list is completely flexible—use whatever fresh toppings you enjoy.
- You can season the rice and the vegetables with the same simple seasoning sauce for cohesive flavor.
- Two quick sauces—one mayonnaise-based spicy sauce and one wasabi-soy sauce—give people options and take only minutes to prepare.
- Leftovers store well and make excellent, ready-to-eat lunches the next day without reheating.
How to make delicious sushi bowls in just over 30 minutes
One of the best parts of this method is how little active cooking it requires. Aside from preparing the rice and warming the seasoning sauce, everything else is chopping, mixing and assembling—perfect for warm weather evenings.
If you’re wondering about the tuna: this recipe uses shelf-stable, high-quality jarred tuna for convenience and consistent flavor. You can use sushi-grade raw tuna if you prefer and have access to it, but many households appreciate the ease and safety of a well-made jarred product.
Ready, set, go.
- Cook the rice and prepare the seasoning sauce.
- Mix the Sushi Sauce and the Wasabi Soy Sauce in separate bowls.
- Chop the vegetables.
- Open the jars of tuna.
- Toss the rice and vegetables with the seasoning sauce.
- Lay everything out buffet-style and let everyone build their bowls.
Bonus tip
Leftovers are a big win here: the rice and vegetables absorb the seasoning overnight, and the bowls are excellent cold for lunch without reheating.
More recipes you might enjoy
Try other bowl and seafood-inspired meals for variety: smoked salmon sushi bowls, miso buttered pasta with salmon, potato salad with creamy green sauce and tuna, Thai curry shrimp and rice, scallops with roasted corn and chorizo, couscous veggie bowls, or cauliflower and chickpea coconut curry.
📖 Recipe
Weeknight Sushi Bowls in About 30 Minutes
35 minutes
35 minutes
Ingredients
For the Sushi Rice and Seasoning Sauce:
- 1 lb (about 2 ½ cups) sushi rice
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
For the Sushi Sauce and Wasabi Soy Sauce:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons sriracha (or more to taste)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons wasabi paste (or more to taste)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 3 teaspoons honey
Sushi Bowl Toppings:
- 1 English cucumber, unpeeled, sliced into thin matchsticks
- 8 oz carrots, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
- 0.5 oz fresh chives, diced (about ⅓ cup)
- 1 avocado, peeled and diced (add to seasoning right before serving to prevent browning)
- Pickled sushi ginger
- Sesame seeds (black or white)
- Roasted seaweed snack, cut into strips
- 2 jars high-quality olive oil tuna or other preferred canned/jarred tuna
Instructions
Prepare the rice and seasoning sauce:
- Rinse the rice in a fine mesh colander under cold water for a couple of minutes to remove excess starch. Add the rice to a medium saucepan with 2 ½ cups cold water. Cover and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, keep covered, and let stand for 15 minutes.
- While the rice cooks, combine both vinegars, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high, stirring frequently, just until it comes to a boil. Pour the seasoning sauce into a bowl and chill briefly so it cools quickly.
Make the Sushi Sauce and Wasabi Soy Sauce:
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sriracha, lemon juice and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- In another small bowl, mix wasabi paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and the remaining ¼ cup toasted sesame oil. Stir well and keep at room temperature until serving.
Prep and serve the bowls:
- Spoon the rice into a large bowl and drizzle about ½ cup of the seasoning sauce over it. Gently toss with a fork to coat the rice evenly.
- Place cucumber, carrot, chives and avocado in separate small bowls. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning sauce over each and toss gently to coat.
- Cut the roasted seaweed snack into strips and arrange on a plate.
- Set the rice, vegetables, pickled ginger, sesame seeds, seaweed strips and the open jars of tuna on the table along with both sauces. Let everyone build their own sushi bowls.
Notes
- Toppings are only limited by your imagination—thinly sliced radishes, sautéed mushrooms, bell peppers, jalapeños, edamame, or pickled vegetables all work beautifully.