Sweet potatoes are roasted up with maple syrup and sesame oil, rolled in rice coated nori sheets and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds to make these flavorful sweet potato sushi rolls.
I think I discovered the trick to sushi rolling! It's so simple: just don't overthink it. In fact, underthink it. Read the instructions, walk away, then go to it without a whole lot of agonizing about how your sushi is going to turn out.
I got three rolls out of this recipe, the first of which you see in the photos. It's not bad, but my second and third rolls, which happened after snapping photos of the first, were amazing, and I threw those rolls together halfway through cleaning up my messy kitchen, without the slightest care as to how they would look, and of course, both turned out to be the most perfect little sushi rolls in history.
Enough about rolling. You can get all that from the recipe, or by checking out some good YouTube videos. Let's talk about the sushi. It's been so long since I posted a sushi recipe, and sweet potato sushi has been on my list forever. Tempura fried sweet potato sushi is my favorite sushi to order from a restaurant. It's fantastic and so decadent. And while I am in the know these days when it comes to tempura making, I'm also feeling a bit lazy. And it's January, so I'm betting most of you aren't on board with deep frying at the moment. So I did the next best thing and roasted up my sweet potato with some maple syrup and sesame oil.
I love these rolls because they strike what I consider to be the ideal balance between cozy winter food (sweet potatoes) and healthy, light fare (sushi). I love veggie sushi all the time, but raw veggie rolls aren't my first choice this time of year. If you roll these fast enough (remember what I said above about not overthinking it!) you might even get to eat them while your spuds are warm, which is great. Serve them up with a piping hot bowl of miso soup and you'll be a happy camper.
📖 Recipe
Roasted Sweet Potato Sushi
Ingredients
For the Roasted Sweet Potato Filling
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 large (1 pound) sweet potato
For the Rice
- 1 cup sushi rice
- 1 ⅓ cups water
- 1 ½ tbsp. rice vinegar
- ¾ tbsp. salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Stir oil, maple syrup and sesame oil together in a small bowl.
- Peel sweet potato and cut, lengthwise, into strips that are just under ½ inch thick, as if you were making sweet potato fries. Rub with oil and maple syrup mixture, or place into a bowl and toss to coat. Arrange strips on baking sheet. Bake about 25 minutes, until tender, gently turning halfway through.
- While sweet potatoes bake, place rice into a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold, running water for 1-2 minutes.
- Place rice into a small saucepan with water, vinegar and salt. Place over high heat. Stir a few times to incorporate. Bring to a simmer, lower heat, cover and allow to continue simmering for about 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before uncovering.
- Place a bamboo mat
onto work surface and fill a small dish with water for wetting your hands. Place one of your sheets on the bamboo mat. Using wet hands, cover nori with a thin layer of rice. Arrange a third of your sweet potato strips in a single line along the width of nori, about one inch away from you. Arrange a few scallion pieces right alongside the sweet potato strips. - Take the bamboo mat and end of nori closest to you and tightly roll it over your fillings. Tuck the end of the nori in and continue rolling, using the mat to press your roll tight. Once completely rolled, slice into eight pieces.
- Repeat using your remaining nori sheets and fillings.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.
onto work surface and fill a small dish with water for wetting your hands. Place one of your sheets on the bamboo mat. Using wet hands, cover nori with a thin layer of rice. Arrange a third of your sweet potato strips in a single line along the width of nori, about one inch away from you. Arrange a few scallion pieces right alongside the sweet potato strips.Would you like to save this?
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Made it with tiny lemon wedges and a drizzle of honey on top! It’s the best!! Had this with some air fried teriyaki tofu ❤️ (yes you eat the rind)
I added a strip of spicy Panko breadcumbs for a crunch texture.
isn't 3/4 of a tablespoon too much salt??
It is a lot, but that's the correct amount. Sushi is saltier than you think. :) You can cut down if you're watching your sodium.
Can I substitute the sesame oil for another oil??
It's in there for flavor, but the recipe will still turn out fine without it. I'd just omit it if you don't have any available. :)
I found this recipe looking for vegan sushi to bring to a party,after feeling bored by cucumber and avocado rolls.
I just rolled a double recipe into 52 maki and devoured all the end pieces.
This is absolutely delicious and the sweet potatoes together with sesame seed and scallions even taste vaguely fish-like.
Also the dark orange taters and green onions in a white rice sushi roll look stunningly beautiful.
This is sure going to be a hit at the party
Thanks for the brilliant recipe!
I'm so glad you like it! Thanks so much Martin, and I hope it really is a hit at the party!
These look absolutely delicious, can't wait to give them a go! Japenese food is definitely my favourite cuisine, all the beautiful and aromatic flavours.
Thanks Emily! I'm all about Japanese food too. :)
We always make our own vegan sushi rolls for valentines day. It's always an experiment. Last year we included Natto!
Thanks for this new recipe idea.
Namaste ~
Oh! I've been meaning to try natto forever. Thanks for reminding me. :)
I absolutely love the idea of roast potato sushi! It has been ages since I made sushi, I'll have to have another go :)
Congrats on the OMV interview!
I have been meaning to buy a sushi roll mat, and now I feel like there's no reason I shouldn't. This sushi is so original, love it!
I don't bother with a mat - I've tried it and I find it more complicated. Clean work surface and pretending I'm rolling up a poster works like a treat!
I've heard that a dish towel works too, but have yet to try. I'll have to play around with rolling without a mat next time I make sushi. :)
I use a damp towel and it works great! Never need to buy a mat!
I'll have to try that!