Low Carb Sushi Without Rice

Low carb sushi seems a bit of an oxymoron since sushi is traditionally made with rice that is high is carbs and high in calories. But what if you make low carb sushi without rice?

With the rice removed you are left with only the fillings which can be simply vegetables, meat or fish or a mixture of all three.

If you are just looking for a side dish then you might like our cheesy cauliflower rice as a side recipe.

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Why Cauliflower Rice is the Answer

The problem with this is that you end up with somewhat less visually appealing sushi and are limited a little with seasonings that don’t drip out. In reality, it has ceased to become sushi really.

If you are on a low carb keto diet then cauliflower rice is an excellent substitute for sushi rice.

And if you are vegetarian on a low carb keto diet, you can add in avocado and maybe even nuts with tasty cauliflower rice to make a keto sushi roll and boost the fat content. Your keto sushi roll is a great way to stick to your diet

If you are just on a low carb diet then you are sorted because you can add fish, shellfish or even meat in the roll to get a protein-rich sushi roll with low carbs.

Using cauliflower rice has the added bonus of being able to hold any liquid seasoning you might like to add in to up the taste ante even more.

Ingedients Needed for Low Carb Cauliflower Rice

1. Olive Oil	2. Nori Sheet	3. Cauliflower	4. Lime Juice
5. Soy Sauce	6. Minced garlic	7. Brown Sugar	8. Carrot
9. Cucumber	10. Parmesan	11. Salt

How Many Carbs in Sushi?

Sushi is not perfectly consistent but we can calculate that one portion of sushi rice contains about 45 grams of carbohydrates plus the carbs in any added fillings.

To work out the difference in the amounts of carbs that you would consume eating sushi rice over the same weight of cauliflower rice I went to the store and purchased some regular sushi.

Six pieces of sushi with the topping removed weighed 155g (I used grams as it is a bit more accurate than ounces for small quantities). Heading on over to USDA and entering “sushi rice” in their calculator the result popped up showing there are roughly 204 calories and 44g of carbohydrate per serving (which is 1 cup) of cooked sushi rice.

We should also consider weight but according to the USDA 1 cup of cooked rice weighs 158g which is near enough to the 155g we have.

So six regular pieces of sushi rice without topping comes out at about 1 serving, around 200 kcal and around 45g of carbs – rounding a little for simplicity.

Obviously, whatever you add to the rice is going to increase these values but then we are going to compare our cauliflower rice as we cook it with cheese, with a similar serving of sushi rice and assume our fillings or toppings will be the same for each.

Our recipe for this cauliflower rice contains 300g cauliflower and 30g parmesan cheese along with garlic, olive oil, a little sugar, and lime juice which all comes out to 109 kcal and 11g of carbs.

This is a little over double in weight and makes about 2 servings so if we halve the quantity then we will arrive at an equivalent to the sushi rice we are comparing it to.

Concluding we find that 1 portion of sushi rice has 200 kcal and about 45g of carbs compared to our cheesy cauliflower rice recipe which has about 55 kcal and 5½g carbs.

Our Cheesy Low Carb Sushi with all the Fillings is roughly speaking ⅛ the carbs and ¼ the calories of just the plain rice you’d eat with regular sushi!

Variations on the Recipe

The recipe listed below is a vegetarian sushi roll but there is no reason you cannot change the fillings as you wish if you are not following a vegetarian diet.

Keeping to low carb we can add in prime quality smoked salmon. raw salmon or tuna, crab sticks. For keto, we can even add in a few cashews to crunch things up. Try the smoked salmon – that is delicious in this recipe as the lime juice added to the cauliflower suits it perfectly.

Really our choices are wide and varied although they will be somewhat restricted if following a diet regimen.

For the cauliflower rice, it is also quite possible to swap out the parmesan cheese with cream cheese. Parmesan has a stronger taste compared to creme cheese and you will lose the bite that the parmesan gives to the sushi roll.

How to Make Low Carb Sushi Rolls Step by Step

These low carb cauliflower-based sushi rolls are a breeze to make – so easy.

Step 1 – Chop up the Cauliflower

Cut the florets from the cauliflower and place them in your food processor bowl. Pulse for just a few seconds until the cauliflower is reduced to grain-sized pieces.

If you don’t have a food processor or just prefer to use a knife, then chop up the cauliflower florets to achieve the same small-sized pieces.

Step 2 – Reduce Water Held in the Cauliflower

Placed the processed cauliflower in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Allow to stand for about 15 minutes and the salt will draw out the water from the cauliflower which will reduce the amount that needs to be cooked out – and the risk of overcooking as a result.

Once the 15 minutes, or thereabouts, is up, rinse the cauliflower quickly under running water to wash off most of the excess salt, drain and put it in a muslin cloth.

Twist the muslin to create a ball of cauliflower and squeeze moderately hard to compress out more water.

Step 3 – Cook the Cauliflower

Chop the garlic and add to a little oil in a hot pan to sizzle until aromatic and then add in the riced cauliflower. Stir around to cook for a couple of minutes.

Then add the brown sugar and soy sauce, lime juice, and parmesan cheese. Stir quickly and you’re done cooking.

Chop up the coriander/cilantro and mix in with the cooked cauliflower.

Step 4 – Add Fillings and Roll

Prepare your fillings.

Whatever you are using you want to ensure the fillings are not wet. Dab with a kitchen towel if necessary.

Since we made vegetarian rolls for this recipe we removed the seeds from the cucumber (as these are quite wet and would make our sushi soggy).

Place one sheet of nori seaweed wrapper on your work surface and spread a thin layer of cauliflower rice over the surface. Lay your fillings on top and then roll the wrapper and filling.

To make the sushi roll you need to curl the edge of the nori sheet and then pull it back in against itself, maintaining pressure with your fingers to keep the roll quite tight. Don’t let it get loose or the fillings will fall out. At the end of your roll, dampen the inside edge of the wrapper and complete your roll.

Then simply cut into sushi sized pieces with the sharpest knife you have, wiping it clean between each cut so it slices smoothly.

Serve your low carb delight with good quality soy sauce such as Shoyu and some wasabi paste mixed-in, adjusted to your desired mustard strength.

Vegetarian Low Carb Sushi Recipe

Planning on Making this Recipe?
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