Y'all, I'm obsessed with these air fryer sushi rolls! They're crunchy, filling, and fun to make!
I use white rice to make these rolls, but you can use white, brown, or a mix to make your own favorite version of air fryer sushi rolls.
If you want another great, veggie filling for your air fryer sushi, make my sweet potato rolls! They're delicious with a crunchy topping, too!
Variations
These rolls are stuffed with toasted sesame kale salad and creamy avocado, then rolled in sriracha mayo and panko breadcrumbs and air fried. You could really make a whole meal of these babies.
If kale salad and avocado isn't your dream combo, feel free to mix things up! Here are some of my favorite sushi stuffers:
- roasted sweet potato, sliced into strips, with green onion
- vegan cream cheese, green onion, cucumber strips, and avocado for a bagel roll
- air fryer tofu cut into strips
- sautéed mushrooms
Truly raid your produce drawer and get creative!
You can also mix up your sauces. Below are instructions for making sriracha mayo, but you can also dip your sushi in:
- bang bang sauce
- sweet chili sauce
- plain soy sauce/tamari/etc
- ginger peanut sauce
This is another chance to raid the fridge and get creative! The ability to mix and match is one of the things I love about making sushi!
Sushi rolling tips
The rolls and the sriracha mayo are much easier to make than you'd think. If you're new to making sushi, I recommend that you watch the video, so you can see the technique for making sushi rolls at home.
Really, there are just a few keys to making good, homemade sushi:
- Keep your fingertips moist. This helps keep the rice from sticking to your fingers and makes it easier to roll up your sushi. I like to keep a little bowl of water on my work surface, just for my fingertips.
- Get a nice, even layer of rice. Press that rice down well! It's an important part of the glue that holds your roll together.
- Leave a little bit of un-riced seaweed on one end of your nori sheet, so you can seal the rolls.
- Press gently as you roll. Don't press too hard, or your nori will split. You'll see in the video that I pressed too hard on roll #1, and there's a small tear. Luckily, once it's coated and fried, you can't see the little rip in the finished product
- Use a very sharp knife to slice, and do not press too hard with your knife. Take your time cutting up your sushi rolls! It's more of a sawing than a slicing.
If you want to see sushi rolling in action, I recommend checking out the recipe video below to see how to put your roll together. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be cranking out sushi like a pro!
More vegan sushi recipes
📖 Recipe
Air fryer sushi rolls recipe
Ingredients
For the Kale Salad
- 1 ½ cups chopped kale - ribs removed
- ½ teaspoon rice vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds - toasted or not - your call!
For the Kale Salad Sushi Rolls
- 1 batch Pressure Cooker Sushi Rice - cooled to room temperature
- 3 sheets of sushi nori
- ½ of a Haas avocado - sliced
Make the Sriracha Mayo
- ¼ cup of your favorite vegan mayonnaise - I used Vegenaise.
- sriracha sauce - to taste
For the Coating
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
Make the Kale Salad
- In a large bowl, combine the kale, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, ground ginger, and soy sauce. With clean hands, massage the kale until it turns bright green and wilted. Stir in the sesame seeds, and set aside.
Make the Kale Salad Sushi Rolls
- Lay out a sheet of nori on a dry surface. With slightly damp fingertips, grab a handful of rice, and spread it onto the nori. The idea here is to get a thin layer of rice covering almost the entire sheet. Along one edge, you'll want to leave about ½" of naked seaweed. Think of this as the flap that will seal your roll shut.
- On the end of the seaweed opposite that naked part, lay out about 2-3 tablespoons of kale salad, and top with a couple of slices of avocado. Starting on the end with the filling, roll up your sushi, pressing gently to get a nice, tight roll. When you get to the end, use that naked bit of seaweed to seal the roll closed. If needed, get your fingertips wet, and moisten that bit of seaweed to make it stick.
- Repeat steps 2-3 to make 3 more sushi rolls.
Make the Sriracha Mayo
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the vegan mayo with sriracha, until you reach the heat level that you like. Start with 1 teaspoon, and add more, ½ teaspoon at a time, until you have the spicy mayo of your DREAMS!
Fry and Slice
- Pour the panko breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl.
- Grab your first sushi roll, and coat it as evenly as possible in the Sriracha Mayo, then in the panko. Place the roll into your air fryer basket. Repeat with the rest of your sushi rolls.
- Air fry at 390F for 10 minutes, shaking gently after 5 minutes.
- When the rolls are cool enough to handle, grab a good knife, and very gently slice the roll into 6-8 pieces. When you're slicing, think of gently sawing, and don't press hard with your knife. That will just send kale and avocado flying out of the ends of your roll.
- Serve with soy sauce for dipping.
Vegan Heaven
These look so delicious, Becky! I REALLY need an air fryer!!
Becky Striepe
Thank you!
Dreena
Gosh, you are creative with the air fryer! Is there anything that we *can't* do with it? Maybe ice cream. Wait... maybe?? #deepfriedicecream... ??!!
Becky Striepe
Ooh I've been wondering about that! I should try it, so you don't have to!
Sarah
This sushi is SO creative! I would never have thought to put the sushi in the air fryer! And I love the addition of kale!
Becky Striepe
Is there anything we can't improve with a little kale? Haha
Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy
I saw the video for this!! LOVE IT! I need an air fryer!!
Alisa Fleming
I don't have an air fryer, but these are still an amazing idea. I love that filling.
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Alisa!
Uma
Looks creative and delicious:) I like all kind of vegan creative recipes!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Uma!
Sarah, Vegan Chickpea
This is so creative and fun! I just got some vegan sushi from Whole Foods, but honestly, this looks waaay better! Wish I could have some now!
Becky Striepe
Aw, thank you, Sarah! Homemade is always so much fun.
amy
Oh, that looks good. I really need one of those air fryers.
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite
I love sushi rolls! All kinds and all sort of flavors. These look delicious!
Hannah
You're blowing my mind by using sriracha mayo to coat them. Such a good idea, and I'm sure it's delicious!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Hannah! I was pretty jazzed about that part! :D
Jenn
They certainly do look crunchy on the outside - just the way I like them. Bonus that they don't need to be battered and fried! YUM!
Mary Ellen | VNutrition
Seriously the coolest recipe I've seen in a long time. Sushi AND air frying? Amazing!!!!
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much, Mary Ellen!
Kristina
I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THESE. we make sushi pretty often, and since the air fryer purchase, I've had the tempura sushi (that was always a favorite) in the back of my mind... THIS looks way easier than tempura, and just as tasty if not moreso! :)
Becky Striepe
Thank you! It's so easy. Enjoy it!
Dianne
I love how easy you make these look. I was just thinking that I need to start making sushi at home, and now I really need to do it!
Becky Striepe
Every time I do, I wish I did it more. It's so easy!