Easy Christmas sushi roll, with step-by-step photos so you can get beautiful Christmas tree sushi with no stress! Or opt for the Christmas platter if you prefer!
Ingredients
- Brown Sushi Rice: Following the steps in my sushi rice recipe.
- Feel free to use regular white sushi rice if you can’t get brown sushi rice.
- We will season our rice with sugar, salt, and rice vinegar to give that characteristic sushi flavor.
- Nori Seaweed Sheets: To wrap our sushi.
- Sesame Seeds: Add a nutty crunch.
- Sweet Potato: An ingredient that easily screams “Christmas”!
- Tofu: Our protein base.
- Feel free to sub with tempeh.
- Avocado: Adds a creamy, buttery layer that balances the savory flavors.
- Mango (optional, not in the picture below): We will cut our mango to make our Christmas tree star! Feel free to skip this though!
And since it’s Christmas, we will jazz up the regular soy dipping sauce and swap it with our ginger lime sauce!
- Ginger: Adds a warm, slightly spicy kick. Please use fresh ginger for this recipe.
- Garlic Powder: A subtle savory element.
- Light Soy Sauce: The classic sushi dipping sauce as the base.
- Water: Helps adjust the sauce consistency.
- Lime: Adds a zesty tang.
- Agave Syrup: As a natural sweetener
- Sub with any liquid sweetener like maple syrup or (vegan) honey, or even plain old sugar.
If you are not a fan of the ginger-lime combination, check the Alternative Sauces section for alternative dipping sauces.
Step-by-step Instructions
Cook the Rice: Preheat your oven, then cook the sushi rice following this sushi rice recipe. Add sesame seeds, mix, then set aside to cool.
Prep the Fillings: Bake the sweet potato fries and tofu sticks on a lined baking sheet for 20 minutes at 425℉ (220℃) until tender. Slice the avocado into 0.5 inch / 1 centimeter slices.
Make the Sauce: Simmer all of the ginger-lime sauce ingredients in a small pot for 10-15 minutes, until it reduces to about one-third of its original volume. The sauce should still be runny, although feel free to reduce it even further until it gets a bit thicker.
(Optional) Prep the Mango Star: Slice a piece of mango right next to its seed, then cut next to it to get a thin mango slice. Then use a small cookie cutter or a knife to carve around the outline to form a star. Then pierce a toothpick through the bottom of the mango star.
Assemble: Lay a nori sheet on a bamboo mat, with the shiny side facing down. Spread rice over half the sheet, then place sweet potato, tofu, and avocado across the rice.
Roll the Sushi: Use the mat to tightly roll everything, sealing the nori on top with a bit of water.
Arrange: Slice each roll into 8 even pieces, by cutting in the middle into two, then repeating this. Arrange the sushi in a Christmas tree shape, and add the optional mango star on top. You can also make a Christmas tree sushi platter instead (scroll down for the picture).
Serve: Use the ginger-lime sauce as a dip (to replace your regular soy sauce), or drizzle the sauce from the top of the Christmas sushi tree!
Top Tips
- Let your rice and fillings completely cool down. Otherwise, this will soften the nori sheet, making it easier for the nori to tear.
- Clean your knife in between cuts. Simply rinse and wipe your knife so you can get clean cuts!
- Filling about half of the nori sheet with rice is enough. Our rolls only contain 3 fillings, so you don’t want to add too much rice. If you fill up the whole nori sheet with rice, you might feel as if you’re just eating rice.
- Feel free to customize the fillings! Use any ingredients that you like, or even combine different sushi fillings! You can access all of my sushi recipes here for inspiration!
- Choose whether you want vertical sushi tree, or a horizontal one (picture below)!
How to Serve Sushi at a Party? (Serving Suggestions)
Serve this as either an appetizer or a main dish. Whenever I’m serving sushi for special occasions, I always make more than one flavor so people have options! Some other fillings that you might want to try are kimchi sushi, shiitake mushroom sushi, tempeh sushi, or asparagus sushi.
For simpler rolls, try my cucumber roll, natto roll, or umeshiso roll. While for a sweeter combination, try my mango sushi or peanut avocado sushi.
And if you’re looking for a festive pairing, pair this with my 3-ingredient Christmas matcha affogato which only takes 5 minutes to prep!
Alternative Dipping Sauces
If you’re not a fan of the ginger-lime combination, or if you want simpler dipping sauces, serve your Christmas rolls with this dynamite sauce, mango sushi sauce, or yuzu mayonnaise. All could be done in under 5 minutes!
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Storage: Keep leftover Christmas rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, but enjoy them sooner for the best texture.
Make Ahead: Prepare the fillings and the sauce for up to 3 days in advance.
On the day itself, simply warm the fillings until it is at about room temperature (remember that you don’t want them hot since this will soften your nori sheet). Then assemble and roll the sushi on the day itself. You should be done in about 20 minutes if you’re used to rolling sushi!
FAQ
Looking for More Festive Recipes?
Check out these three no-cook holiday recipes: vegan/vegetarian beet tartare, tomato carpaccio, and pineapple carpaccio.
And if you’re looking for giftable edibles for the holiday, try my dark chocolate peanut clusters, chocolate-covered grapes, or this homemade chocolate spread!
EASY Christmas Sushi Roll (Christmas Tree or Platter)
Equipment
- 1 bamboo sushi mat or use a clean & thick kitchen towel
- 1 star-shaped cookie cutter (optional) you can also cut out the star using a knife, though this will be harder
- 3 toothpicks (optional) for the mango star
Ingredients
For the Sushi Rice
- cooked sushi rice from 1 cup of
brown sushi rice - 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
For the Fillings
- 1 medium large sweet potato (about 7 ounces, 200 grams), cut into fries
- 8 ounces tofu (225 grams), cut into strips
- 1 medium avocado sliced
- 1 mango for the star on top (optional)
For the Ginger Lime Sauce
- ¾ inch ginger (2 centimeters), grated or finely minced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 Tablespoons agave syrup sub with any other liquid sweetener
Instructions
NOTE: Refer to the post above for step-by-step PHOTOS if you ever get confused!
Prep Time
- Preheat your oven to 425℉ (220℃).
- Cook your sushi rice according to this sushi rice recipe. Once the sushi rice is done, add the sesame seeds and mix well. Set aside to cool.cooked sushi rice, 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- To a lined baking sheet, add your sweet potato fries and tofu sticks. Bake in the oven at 425℉ (220℃) for 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes can be pierced with a fork. You might want to flip them halfway for crispier results, but feel free to skip.1 medium large sweet potato, 8 ounces tofu
- Cut your avocado into 0.5 inch / 1 centimeter slices.1 medium avocado
- Meanwhile, make your ginger lime sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients together in a small pot. Then simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has reduced to about one-third of its original volume and the ginger has cooked down.3/4 inch ginger, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 3 Tablespoons light soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons water, 2 Tablespoons agave syrup, 1 lime
- (Optional) If using the mango star, first cut your mango right next to its seed. Then make another cut next to it to get a thin mango slice.Then either use a cookie cutter or your knife to cut a star out of a mango. Use a toothpick to pierce through the bottom of the star towards the middle top part of the star (see photos in the post above).1 mango
Rolling Time!
- Place a sheet of nori (shiny side down) on your bamboo mat. Use a rice paddle or spatula to spread rice evenly, covering just a bit more than half of the nori sheet, leaving a gap along the bottom edge.Be sure to spread the rice to the edges on the left and right so both ends of the roll stay intact. You also want to try to make the rice as thin as possible so you won't 'only taste the rice' of the sushi.
- Arrange your sweet potatoes, tofu, and avocado horizontally across the rice.
- To roll, lift the bamboo mat edge closest to you with your thumbs, using your other fingers to hold the fillings in place. Roll the mat up away from you, tightly wrapping the fillings in the nori and rice, giving a gentle squeeze to pack it all together.
- When you can no longer see the rice, moisten the top edge of the nori with a bit of water to seal it—just dip your fingers in water and brush the nori with your wet fingers. Roll the sushi once more with the bamboo mat to seal.
Serving Time!
- Cut each roll into 8 pieces. To get even pieces, cut the sushi in the middle into two. Then cut each half two, repeating this one more time.
- Arrange the sushi into a Christmas tree shape. I put one sushi in the middle, with 6 sushi around it for the first layer. For the second layer, I use 3 sushi. Then I use 1 sushi for the third layer.Feel free to make a bigger tree, or 2 smaller sushi trees like what I did here.
- (Optional) Stick the mango star on top of the highest sushi.
- For the sauce, you can either use it as a dipping sauce (to replace your regular soy sauce). Or you can also pour the sauce from the top of your sushi tree for a more festive feel!
Notes
- Please check the step-by-step photos in the post above to make this recipe easier for you! No one wants extra & unnecessary holiday stress! 😉
- Alternatively, you can also arrange the sushi tree flat on a large serving plate, instead of having them go up vertically (see post above for the picture).
- Please also see the post above for my top tips, serving suggestions, storage and make-ahead instructions, and other information!
So simple but very exciting to make! 🙂