Sweet Potato Roll Sushi at Home

Enjoy vegan sushi at home with this straightforward, well-seasoned Sweet Potato Roll Sushi recipe! Crispy, baked sweet potato strips, avocado and sushi rice are wrapped up and served with sesame seeds and soy sauce for a unique, satisfying vegetarian roll. Serve this for lunch, dinner or as an appetizer!

Why you’ll love this simple sushi recipe

Sushi is one of my go-to things to eat and this sweet potato roll sushi is the reliable way to keep our beloved sushi completely vegan! What’s there not to love about sushi? You’ve got the sticky rice, avocado and any other satisfying filling you’re craving. Yum!

I knew I had to make an attempt at cooking up some vegan and vegetarian sushi that I could enjoy from time to time at home. Since there’s no need to deal with raw fish, making vegetable sushi is actually way easier than you might think! I’ve experimented with several different filling combinations that are all Deeply good. First, I learned how to make kitchen-made vegetable sushi and started with this vegan sushi roll, which includes tofu, carrot, cucumber and avocado. Then, I shared a simple avocado roll and a cucumber roll that is savory topped with an unfussy kitchen-made spicy mayo.

Now, to this sweet potato sushi roll! I’m a huge fan of pretty much anything made with sweet potato, so why not sushi? It turned out better than I could have imagined. Let’s get to all of the flavor-packed details!

Ingredients needed

One of the go-to things about kitchen-made sushi is that it’s completely versatile. I’ve listed my preferred ingredients for making sweet potato sushi, but feel free to make these your own and add in a regular ingredient or leave out any ingredient to suite your family’s taste preference. Here’s the lineup:

• Sweet potato. We’re using 1 medium sweet potato that has been cut into 2-inch strips. To make the sweet potato nice and crispy, you’ll dip the strips into a mixture of plant-based milk and flaxseed meal and then in a mixture of cornstarch and seasonings.
• Avocado. For this method, gather one avocado that has been sliced into strips. Choose a ripe avocado with dark green and black speckled color. When you apply pressure to the avocado, it should still be somewhat firm, but not hard. The avocado adds depth of flavor and a lovely creaminess, but you can omit it and use extra sweet potato or another ingredient, if you’d like.
• Nori sheets. These are available at most grocery stores and are relatively inexpensive. They’re also available to order from amazon.
• Sushi rice. A regular here using This method for my sushi rice. You surely need to use short grain rice for this method. I’ve experimented with long grain rice and it does NOT work out well.
• Sesame seeds & soy sauce. Optional, but highly recommend for serving.

How to make sweet potato roll sushi

If you’re new to making sushi at home, don’t let it intimidate you. It’s actually genuinely straightforward, and even if your rolls don’t look reliable, they’ll still taste savory! Here’s the simple process, but for the full, printable recipe, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

1. In a shallow bowl, mix together the cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.

1. In a separate shallow bowl, mix together the plant milk and flaxseed meal. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.

1. Dip each sweet potato strip into the milk mixture and then lightly toss it in the cornstarch mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all of the potato is on the baking sheet. Spray the top of the sweet potato strips with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. Flip, spray again, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

1. Spread ½ cup of the cooked sushi rice on your nori sheet, leaving about half an inch clear at the top.

1. Top with 4 strips of the sweet potato (or more depending on how thinly you sliced them) and some of the avocado. You want to divide the sweet potato and avocado evenly between 4 rolls so keep that in mind.

1. Roll it up tightly, adding a little bit of water to the edge as needed to seal the nori.
   Enjoy! Slice and serve with sesame seeds, soy sauce, and your other go-to sushi toppings!

Customize this method

These rolls are satisfying as-is, but you can mix up the ingredients and customize the recipe based on your taste and what you have available. Here’s some ideas:

• Cream cheese. There are lots of flavor-packed store bought vegan cream cheeses on the market now and A regular here it in sushi. You can add it in with the avocado and sweet potato or replace the avocado with a small chunk of it.
• Sweet potato. This dish makes a simple crispy sweet potato by dipping the sweet potato in plant milk and then a cornstarch mixture, but you can certainly simply toss the sweet potato in oil, salt, and pepper and bake it like that. Either way works well!
• Protein. You could reduce the amount of sweet potato used in each roll and add in some thinly sliced tofu or tempeh that has been marinated and sautéed. See this tofu sushi recipe for instructions.
• Other sushi add-ins. Feel free to add in another thinly sliced vegetable to the mix for a nice crunchy texture. Some options: carrot, cucumber, bell pepper, radish, sprouts, pickled onions and cucumber, red onion, jalapeño and so much more!
• Sauce. I typically keep things pretty simple and serve these sweet potato rolls sushi with soy sauce, but if you’d prefer a creamy sauce, give my spicy mayo a try. It’s notable and truly unfussy to make!

Tips for making sushi at home

Here are a few simple recommendations, so that your vegetable roll is dependable!

• Sushi mat. Aside from the ingredients, gather a sushi mat. You can get one on Amazon for only $4 (affiliate link) and I highly recommend it, if you plan to make sushi at home regularly. I’ve also seen them at Target and World Market. It’s possible to roll sushi WITHOUT the mat, but I’ve found that it’s much harder to get a tight sushi roll.
• Slicing ingredients. Be sure that all of your filling ingredients, especially if you add extras are all sliced quite thinly, so that they fit well in the center of the sushi roll.
• Unfussy cleanup tip. Before rolling the sweet potato roll or any sushi roll, I like to cover my rolling mat in plastic wrap for easier cleanup.