When you want sushi but you also want something rich and indulgent, make vegan cream cheese veggie sushi! Stuffed with a vibrant mix of cucumber, carrots, asparagus, and scallions, plus a slathering of rich, dairy-free cream cheese, these vegan sushi rolls are fun to make and totally addictive.
I had no choice but to make this one. After weeks of regularly ordering veggie sushi at a local place, the hostess suggested adding cream cheese. Sounded great, but no, it turned out they did not have any tubs of vegan cream cheese in the back. So next sushi night, I took matters into my own hands, using my homemade vegan cream cheese, and these scrumptious veggie and cream cheese rolls were born!
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If you love a good bagel and you love veggie sushi, this is a done deal for you. Cream cheese works surprisingly well wrapped up in rice and nori, and think about it — it's great for dipping veggies, so obviously you're going to love this combination.
Making homemade sushi is easier than you'd think, and it's often just as delicious as restaurant sushi. I have lots of homemade favorites, like my smoked tofu sushi, sweet potato sushi, shiitake mushroom sushi, and spicy eggplant sushi.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Sushi rice. Sushi rice is a short grain variety of rice that has just the perfect texture for making sushi. You can find it in the international aisle of most grocery stores.
- Water.
- Rice vinegar. You should also be able to get this in the international aisle of your supermarket.
- Salt.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan. Conventional sugar is often processed using animal bone char.
- Fresh asparagus.
- Carrot.
- Cucumber.
- Scallions. You might also know these as green onions. Chives will also work.
- Vegan cream cheese. I used my homemade vegan cream cheese, but any store-bought variety will also work.
- Nori. This is the type of seaweed used for rolling sushi. Your grocery store may also have this in the international aisle. If not, try an Asian market or buy it online.
- Sesame seeds. I used a mix of black and white sesame seeds, but either variety on its won will do.
- Prepared wasabi.
- Pickled ginger.
Tip: If you love sushi but can't seem to get the hang of rolling it, try my vegan sushi bowls instead. You can even swap out some of the toppings with the sushi fillings from this recipe.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Cook the rice. First, soak it in cold water for 20 minutes. After soaking, add it to a saucepan with water, rice vinegar, salt, and sugar. Heat it to a boil, cover the pot, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 20 minutes, until the water is all absorbed. Let it sit with the lid on for 10 minutes before uncovering and fluffing the rice with a fork.
Prepare the fillings. Cut your carrot and cucumber into matchsticks. Boil some water to blanch the asparagus. Once the water is boiling, add the spears and let them cook for just a minute, until they brighten in color. Move them to an ice water bath to stop the cooking when they're done.
Fill and roll. Place a nori sheet on your sushi mat, then cover it with a thin layer of rice. Arrange half the fillings in a strip over the rice — the cream cheese can be either piped, spooned, or rolled into a snake by hand. Start rolling from the end of the mat closest to you, tucking it tightly as you roll. Repeat the process to make a second roll.
Tip: Check out my short video on how to roll maki sushi for a demo.
Finish and serve. Slice your rolls into 8 pieces and give them a sprinkle with sesame seeds. Enjoy it right away, with some soy sauce, wasabi paste, and pickled ginger.
Variations
- Switch up the veggies. You can replace the cucumber and/or asparagus with other veggies such as bell peppers, radishes, or zucchini.
- Add avocado. Add a few slices of ripe avocado, or use it as a substitute for one of the vegetables.
- Brown rice sushi. Use brown sushi rice instead of white.
- Quinoa sushi. Use a mix of half sushi rice and half quinoa. I don't recommend using all quinoa, as it isn't starchy enough to hold together when rolled.
- Uramaki roll. Make the sushi inside out, so the rice is on the outside and the nori inside, like I did with my peanut avocado sushi. You can check out this demo on how to roll uramaki if you need help.
- Everything bagel sushi. Replace the sesame seeds with everything bagel seasoning, which you can often find in the spice aisle at the grocery store, or make it yourself by combining sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried minced onion, dried minced garlic, and coarse sea salt.
Frequently Asked Questions
The sushi itself is gluten-free. The soy sauce that it's served with contains gluten, but can be substituted with gluten-free tamari.
It sure can! It will keep for about five days in the fridge, or about three months in the freezer. Either way, be sure to store it in an airtight container.
You can, but I don't recommend doing so more than a few hours ahead of time. While the rice will keep for a few days in the fridge, it will start to dry out and lose stickiness as it sits.
Leftovers & Storage
As with all sushi, these vegan cream cheese rolls are best enjoyed right away. If you need to make them in advance or have leftovers, they'll keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about two days.
What to Serve with Vegan Sushi
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Cream Cheese and Veggie Sushi
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Rice
- â…” cup sushi rice
- ¾ cup water, plus more for soaking the rice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon organic granulated sugar
For the Filling
- 4 asparagus spears, trimmed
- 1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
- ½ cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks
- 2 scallions
- ¼ cup vegan cream cheese (store-bought or homemade)
For Rolling and Serving
- 2 nori sheets
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Wasabi
- Soy sauce
- Pickled ginger
Instructions
- Place the rice into a small saucepan and cover it with cold water. Let it sit for 20 minutes, then drain the water and return the rice to the pot.
- Add the ¾ cup of water, rice vinegar, salt, and sugar. Stir, then place the pot over medium heat. Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Let the rice cook for about 20 minutes, until the liquid is all absorbed. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit covered for 10 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the rice with a fork.
- Prepare your fillings while the rice cooks. Fill a bowl with ice water, then place a medium pot of water over high heat. Bring the water to a boil, then add the asparagus and blanch it for about 1 minute, until bright green. Transfer the asparagus to the ice water and let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes, until cool.
- Place a sheet of nori on a bamboo mat. Fill a small bowl with water and keep it handy while you roll your sushi.
- Spread half of the rice in an even layer over your nori sheet, wetting your hands with the water in the bowl as needed to prevent the rice from sticking to them. Take half of your cream cheese and use your hands to shape it into a snake (or spoon or pipe it), then arrange it over the rice, about an inch or two from the edge of the nori. Arrange half of your remaining fillings in a strip with the cream cheese.
- Carefully roll the end of the nori closest to you over your veggie strip, tucking and squeezing to get it nice and tight. Continue rolling until you reach the end (see Note).
- Take your roll and place it, seam-side down, on a cutting board. Using a large, sharp knife, cut into eight pieces. Wipe the knife down with a wet cloth between cuts. Sprinkle the pieces with toasted sesame seeds.
- Repeat the process using the remaining ingredients to make a second roll.
- Serve with wasabi, soy sauce, and pickled ginger.
Notes
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I'm a bit intimidated by the rolling too! I'll look up the videos. Thanks!
You should definitely check them out - they really helped me!! Also, you could try practicing on something simple like some cucumber strips. Good luck!
I love sushi! This would be the perfect lunch!! How hard is this?? I feel like my rolling capabilities are somewhat sub par haha. But I have that sushi roller thing!
It's really not too difficult! I'm really not that great at rolling sushi either, and for a long time I didn't even want to try it. I found the videos linked above to be really helpful, along with a little patience. I still do end up with really ugly sushi about half the time, but it still tastes good :)