6 Keto Sushi Recipes to Eat on a Low-Carb Diet

Keto sushi is a delight for anyone missing their favorite Japanese social meal when doing the keto diet. It’s okay to wonder whether you can eat sushi without piling on too many carbs on your diet. You know you don’t want to eat things that would disrupt your ketosis or weight loss journey.

Fortunately, keto sushi is a thing! Indeed, switching some key ingredients and customizing your rolls at home will have you dipping into them in no time. You’ll also find valuable tips to eat low-carb sushi at restaurants so you can keep your social sushi nights. 

What Sushi Can I Eat on Keto?

Not all sushi is equal. Keto sushi doesn’t fall into the same category as traditional rolls with high carbs. Here’s a sneak peek of the coming recipes you can eat:

• Easy Keto Sushi (5)
• Keto California Sushi Rolls (4)
• Keto Maki Sushi Rolls (6)
• Keto Sushi Without Cauliflower Rice (7)
• Chirashi-Style Keto Sushi Bowl (15)
• Bakes Spicy Keto Sushi Cups (9)

But first, let’s understand what makes keto sushi low-carb. 

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How to Make Keto-Friendly Sushi

Keto sushi is a simple switch of key ingredients while experimenting with custom recipes at home. Traditional sushi has sticky rice, a high-carb ingredient that disrupts ketosis. Instead of that, let’s discover how to make sushi keto-friendly. 

What Are the 3 Main Types of Sushi?

First, understand the common types of sushi, which will help you to customize your recipes. There are three typical styles of sushi you find in restaurants worldwide (16):

• Maki: The popular nori (seaweed) rolls with vegetables, raw fish, and rice.
• Sashimi: The thinly and carefully sliced pieces of raw fish.
• Nigiri: The nori-free rolls with raw fish and other ingredients wrapped around rice.

Meanwhile, you get Chirashi sushi. It isn’t a typical sushi dish. Instead, raw fish, vegetables, rice, and other ingredients are scattered on a plate like a sushi bowl (16). 

What Can I Replace Rice With on Keto?

Keto sushi rice is a simple switch with cauliflower rice. Carb Manager shows that regular sushi rice has 37 g of net carbs and 0 g of fiber per cup (3).  Cauliflower rice, on the contrary, contains only 1.6 g of net carbs and 2.4 g of fiber (2). 

Replacing rice with cauliflower rice is the first step toward keto sushi. 

Quick Keto Sushi Rice Recipe

Use this keto rice recipe in any of the coming sushi recipes to fit the macros, as they use the same amount. 

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. of cauliflower florets (avoid frozen cauliflower rice)
• A pinch of salt
• White vinegar
• Keto-friendly powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Blend the cauliflower in a food processor until you have rice,
2. Warm a non-stick pan over medium heat,
3. Sprinkle your salt over the cauliflower,
4. Cook your cauliflower rice for 7-10 minutes until soft,
5. Remove from the heat, and towel dry the cauliflower to remove any excess liquid,
6. Let it cool for 30 minutes before adding it to any recipe,
7. Add the vinegar and keto sugar.

This rice is suitable for sushi rolls with nori on the outside. However, add cream cheese to keep the rice together if using rice on the outside of the seaweed. Also, ensure that the recipe includes cream cheese in the macros if you go this route (6). 

What Can You Use in Keto Sushi?

Sushi has proteins, vegetables, and toppings. Here’s a quick rundown of the best ingredients to make custom sushi rolls at home.

• Fish: Use sushi or sashimi-grade fish, such as tuna or salmon, as it’s safe to eat raw (13). Alternatively, use canned or cooked tuna, crab, or salmon for homemade sushi. You can also enjoy smoked trout, cooked shrimp, cooked scallops, or smoked salmon (4).
• Vegetables: Experiment with low-carb vegetables for keto sushi, including bell peppers, cucumbers, avocados, jalapenos, asparagus, bean sprouts, onions, lettuce, mushrooms, or radishes (15, 4).
• Fillings: Low-carb mayonnaise, wasabi, sriracha sauce, coconut aminos, tamari, sesame seeds, and low-carb/low-sodium soy sauce flavor homemade keto sushi. Enjoy sliced almonds, wasabi cream, sriracha mayo, or furikake (4).

Please note that you should avoid making sushi with imitation crab meat. Medical News Today suggests 85 grams of imitation crab contains 12.375 g of net carbs, while fresh crab has zero carbs (17). The fillers in imitation crab add carbohydrates and make it not suitable for keto.

Keto Sushi Recipes

Keto sushi is a delicacy you can indulge in at home or a restaurant when you know how to order low-carb options. But first, let’s focus on a few recipes to use at home. 

Easy Keto Sushi

Ruled has the ideal easy keto sushi recipe that takes only a few minutes to prepare (5). It uses the cauliflower rice that you made in the previous recipe, adding cream cheese for the sticky effect. These servings are larger portions, which you can reduce if you don’t eat as much.

• Serves: 3 (1 ½ rolls each)
• Prep: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cauliflower rice recipe (16 oz.)
• 6 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1 tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 5 nori sheets (seaweed)
• 1 6” cucumber
• ½ medium avocado
• 5 oz. smoked salmon

Directions:

1. Slice your cucumber on each end and stand it upright,
2. Slice off five sides of the cucumber thinly before discarding the center,
3. Keep the slices in the fridge,
4. Season your plain cauliflower rice with soy sauce, vinegar, and cream cheese,
5. Let it cool entirely in the fridge,
6. Slice your avocado into thin strips in the skin before peeling it out,
7. Place a nori sheet on a bamboo sushi roller,
8. Thinly spread your cauliflower rice over the sheet,
9. Place a cucumber and end-to-end avocado slices on the end closest to you,
10. Slice your salmon thin before placing it over the vegetables,
11. Roll the sushi away from yourself until it’s tight,
12. Place it seam-side down on a plate.

Nutrition per serving: 353.3 calories, 13.7 g carbs, 25.7 g fat, 18.3 g protein, and 8 g fiber (5) 

Read more: Is Quinoa Keto-Friendly?

Keto Sushi Rolls (California Style!)

Keto Focus has a spin on California rolls to inspire your low-carb needs (4). The original recipe uses frozen cauliflower rice, or you can replace it with the rice recipe above for a less soggy version that works better with sushi rolls. Nonetheless, these rolls will satisfy your cravings.

• Serves: 4
• Prep: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. frozen cauliflower rice
• 3 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
• 4.25 oz. canned crab meat (drained)
• 4 divided tbsp. low-carb mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. sriracha sauce
• 1 tbsp. water
• 2 tsp. wasabi paste
• 4 nori sheets
• ¼ cucumber julienne slices
• ½ thinly sliced avocado
• 4 oz. cream cheese

Directions:

1. Fry the cauliflower rice in a non-stick pan for 7-10 minutes,
2. Put the rice in a bowl before adding the vinegar and sesame oil,
3. Mix the cream cheese into the rice until well combined,
4. Set the cauliflower rice aside to cool until slightly warm,
5. Combine the crab meat, half the mayo, and the sriracha sauce in another bowl,
6. Mix the other half of the mayo with the wasabi paste and water in another bowl,
7. Place a nori sheet on your bamboo sushi roller,
8. Spread ¼ of the rice thinly over the sheet,
9. Spread the wasabi paste mix in a line closest to you,
10. Place the cucumber and avocado over the line,
11. Spread ¼ of your crab mix on top of the vegetables,
12. Roll the sheet tightly away from your body,
13. Repeat until you use all the sheets and ingredients.

Nutrition per serving: 400 calories, 9.2 g carbs, 36.4 g fat, 9.9 g protein, and 4.4 g fiber (4)

Keto Sushi Maki

My Keto Kitchen inspires this Maki-style sushi roll with tuna recipe (6). The cauliflower rice recipe from the inspired source is similar to your recipe above. Use the same recipe with cream cheese to make the rice seem sticky to hold the rolls together. 

• Serves: 4
• Prep: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cauliflower rice recipe
• 4 nori sheets
• 5 oz. canned tuna (drained)
• 2 tbsp. low-carb mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp. sriracha
• ½ tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
• ¼ tsp. chili oil
• ½ tsp. black sesame seeds
• Water

Directions:

1. Mix the tuna, mayo, sriracha, vinegar, and oil well before setting it aside,
2. Put your nori sheet on the bamboo sushi roller,
3. Spread a ¼ of your cauliflower rice thinly over the sheet,
4. Add a ¼ of the spicy tuna filling in a line closest to you,
5. Wet the edge furthest away from you with wet fingers,
6. Roll the sheet tightly away from your body,
7. Repeat with the remainder of the sheets and ingredients.

Nutrition per serving: 234 calories, 8 g carbs, 18 g fat, 11 g protein, and 4 g fiber (6)

Keto Sushi (No Cauliflower)

Wholesome Yum inspires this delectable cauliflower-rice-free keto sushi recipe (7). It has loads of flavor and nutrients your body needs to thrive during ketosis. Note, you don’t have to use cauliflower rice to eat this mouth-watering sushi roll. 

• Serves: 5 (4 pieces each)
• Prep: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. smoked salmon
• ½ medium cucumber
• ½ medium avocado
• ¼ large red bell pepper
• 20 sheets of seaweed snacks
• Water

Directions:

1. Cut your cucumber and red bell pepper into thin matchstick pieces,
2. The stick lengths shouldn’t exceed the seaweed snack sheets,
3. Cut your avocado and salmon into the same lengths but slightly wider,
4. Have 20 slices of avocado and salmon for each sheet,
5. Place 5 snack sheets in a single layer on a bamboo sushi roller,
6. Use a kitchen towel and cling wrap if you don’t have a bamboo roller,
7. Keep the bowl of water close to wet your fingers,
8. Use your wet fingers to wet the short edges of each sheet,
9. Place one piece each of salmon, avocado, bell pepper, and cucumber on the opposite side of the sheet,
10. Repeat the filler ingredient placement with each sheet,
11. Roll the sheet toward you, pressing the edges gently to seal it,
12. Place the seam side down before repeating the process with all the sheets.

Nutrition per serving: 67 calories, 3.2 g carbs, 4 g fat, 5.3 g protein, and 1.7 g fiber (7)

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Keto Sushi Bowl (A Chirashi Spin)

My Keto Kitchen has a keto poke bowl with incredible ingredients that inspire the ideal sashimi bowl (14). You don’t need to use rice with sashimi bowls, and it’s much easier to make them. This will work wonders when you need a fast meal on a busy weeknight.

• Serves: 2
• Prep: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. sashimi-grade salmon
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. tamari sauce
• A pinch of salt
• 2 cups of shredded cabbage
• 4 oz. sliced cucumber
• 1 small thinly sliced radish
• ½ diced avocado
• ¼ cup of fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp. low-carb mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. black sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Chop your salmon into cubes before throwing it in a bowl,
2. Coat the salmon with tamari, sesame oil, and salt to marinade for 30 minutes,
3. Share the cabbage, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, and radish between two bowls,
4. Top the two bowls with your marinated salmon,
5. Sprinkle the mayo and sesame seeds over the bowls,
6. Eat the bowls immediately to enjoy fresh sashimi.

Nutrition per serving: 446 calories, 10 g carbs, 34 g fat, 26 g protein, and 6 g fiber (14)

Read more: 5 Keto Cheeses That Make the Cut and Which Ones Don’t

Keto Sushi Bake

The Gluten-Free Homestead inspires this recipe for baked keto sushi cups for when you feel like something different (9). It’s an incredible idea that doesn’t need rice. Instead, you’ll bake spicy salmon-styled cups to avoid the imitation crab and rice in other sushi bakes. 

• Serves: 12
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cubed, skinless salmon
• 12 4” round ham slices
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. coconut aminos
• 2 sliced scallions (separating the white and green parts)
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. paprika
• ½ tsp. onion powder
• ½ tsp. dried oregano
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup of low-carb mayo
• 2 tsp. sriracha
• 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
• Scallion slices for garnishing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F,
2. Combine the sriracha and mayo in a small bowl and set it aside,
3. Toss the salmon cubes in another bowl with the oil, coconut aminos, and white scallion slices,
4. Season your salmon mixture with the spices,
5. Spray a muffin tin before placing each ham slice in a hole,
6. Divide your salmon mixture between the ham cups,
7. Bake the cups for 10 minutes,
8. Top each cup with your spicy mayo mix once it cools slightly,
9. Garnish your cups with the sesame seeds and green scallion slices.

Nutrition per serving: 105 calories, 1.2 g carbs, 5.5 g fat, 12 g protein, and 0.1 g fiber (9)

What to Eat Low-Carb at a Sushi Restaurant

Knowing how to order your favorite sushi at a restaurant means you don’t always have to roll your own sushi. Here are some tips on eating low-carb meals at a sushi restaurant.

• Request sushi without high-carb rice (3, 2). The restaurant may even accommodate you with a rice-free option.
• Ask if the restaurant uses imitation crab meat to avoid the added carbs (17).
• Avoid sushi with tempura vegetables or fish, which is breaded and deep-fried. Two pieces of shrimp tempura could contain 11 g of carbs  (1). Additionally, ask the waiter if they use tempura garnishing in sushi bowls before ordering one.
• Order tuna, salmon, squid, or halibut sashimi without rice (12). You’ll have all the nutrients and omega-3 fatty acids without the carbs.

For more keto-friendly sushi inspiration:

• Is Soy Sauce Keto?
• Is Sushi Healthy for Weight Loss?
• Seaweed Salad Recipe

FAQs

• How Many Carbs Are in Sushi Without Rice?

Keto sushi rolls without rice contain 3.2 g of total or 1.5 g of net carbs per four pieces (7). Additionally, the 4-piece meal will only have 67 calories, with 4 g of fat and 5.3 g of protein. It’s an ideal treat on keto, and you can customize the fillings to change the macros.

• How Many Carbs Are in a Piece of Sushi?

The USDA suggests a single piece of traditional tuna sushi contains 4.38 g of net carbs (11). Meanwhile, a piece from a California sushi roll has 5.22 g of net carbs (10). How many pieces of sushi do you eat? Consider multiplying the carbs per piece to see how traditional, rice-based sushi doesn’t work on keto.

• Which Has No Rice - Sushi or Sashimi?

Sushi comes with vinegared rice, vegetables, and other fillings. Meanwhile, sashimi has no rice or sauces (12). It’s thinly sliced raw fish, including favorites like sashimi-grade salmon, squid, tuna, and halibut. Sashimi-grade fish is fresher than most and the safest to eat raw.

The Bottom Line

Keto sushi is a treat anyone on keto with a taste for social Japanese-style food will love. You know what to avoid and what to add. Now you only need to choose your favorite recipe before rolling your sushi at home. Alternatively, if you’re short on time, make a sushi bowl.