Vegan Sushi Bake Recipe You’ll Want Every Week

I went through a solid month of ordering sushi bake from the same spicy tuna place near my old apartment, back before I went vegan, and when I finally sat down to figure out a plant-based version, I wasn’t expecting it to actually hit the same way. It does. The tofu picks up the spicy mayo flavor almost better than fish ever did, and there’s zero rolling, zero knife skills required, just layers in a dish and twenty minutes in the oven.

This has become the thing I make when I’m craving sushi but have absolutely no interest in standing over a bamboo mat trying to roll anything. It’s also just a genuinely good weeknight dinner, comes together fast, reheats well, and looks a lot more impressive coming out of the oven than the actual effort it takes.

If tofu texture has ever been the thing holding you back from vegan versions of your favorite foods, my guide to making tofu taste like chicken covers a lot of the same pressing and seasoning logic I’m using here, just applied to a completely different dish.

Why You’ll Love This

Tastes like real sushi, minus the fish. The tofu, once marinated in the spicy mayo mixture, genuinely delivers that same umami-rich bite you’d get from a traditional spicy tuna sushi bake.

No rolling required. Everything layers into one baking dish. If sushi rolling has ever intimidated you, this recipe skips that step entirely.

Great for a crowd. This scales up easily and serves well family-style, with everyone building their own nori-wrapped bite at the table.

Reheats beautifully. Unlike a lot of rice dishes, this one holds its texture well the next day, which makes it a genuinely solid meal-prep option too.

Recipe Ingredients

For the rice:

• 2 cups sushi rice (or short-grain white rice)
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the tofu:

• 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and drained
• 3 tablespoons vegan mayo
• 1 tablespoon sriracha, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

For topping and serving:

• Furikake seasoning
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• Extra sriracha and vegan mayo, for drizzling
• Sesame seeds
• Nori sheets, for scooping

If You Need to Substitute

No sushi rice on hand? Any short-grain white rice works, it’s really the stickiness that matters here, not the specific label on the bag.

Want it soy-free? Coconut aminos sub in for the soy sauce or tamari at a similar ratio, with a slightly sweeter finish.

No vegan mayo? A well-drained silken tofu blended with a little rice vinegar and a pinch of salt makes a decent stand-in, though the texture will be a touch less rich.

How To Make

Step 1

Rinse the sushi rice under cold water until the water runs mostly clear, this removes excess surface starch and keeps the finished rice from turning gummy. Cook according to package instructions.

While it’s still warm, stir in the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt until fully dissolved and evenly distributed, folding gently with a spatula rather than stirring hard, which can crush the grains. Set aside to cool slightly, it should still be warm when it goes into the dish, not hot.

Step 2

Press the tofu for at least 15 minutes to remove excess moisture. Wrap the block in a few layers of paper towel or a clean kitchen towel, set it on a plate, and weigh it down with something heavy, a cast iron pan or a couple of cookbooks both work.

This matters more than it sounds like it should, since wet tofu won’t take on the marinade properly and can leave the finished bake watery.

Step 3

Once pressed, crumble the tofu by hand into small, bite-sized pieces, or dice it finely with a knife if you prefer more uniform texture. A rougher, hand-crumbled texture actually soaks up the marinade a bit better than a perfectly diced version, since the broken edges have more surface area.

Step 4

In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegan mayo, sriracha, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar until fully smooth. Taste it here, before adding the tofu, and adjust the sriracha up or down depending on how much heat you actually want, it’s much easier to correct now than once everything’s mixed together.

Fold in the crumbled tofu and sliced green onions, using a spatula to coat everything evenly without breaking the tofu down further.

Step 5

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Spread the seasoned rice evenly into a baking dish, roughly a 9×13, using the back of a spoon or a rice paddle dipped in water to press it down firmly into one even, compact layer. This step is worth taking slowly, a loosely packed rice base is the main reason a finished sushi bake falls apart when you try to serve it.

Step 6

Spoon the tofu mixture evenly over the rice, spreading it out with a spatula so it reaches the edges of the dish in a consistent layer, rather than mounding in the center.

Step 7

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the top is warmed through and just starting to turn golden at the edges. If you want a bit more color and slight crispness on top, switch the oven to broil for the final 1 to 2 minutes, watching closely, this goes from golden to burnt fast under a broiler.

Step 8

Remove from the oven and let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes before topping, this brief rest helps the layers set slightly so they hold together better when scooped. Then top with a generous sprinkle of furikake, sliced avocado, cucumber, and sesame seeds.

Finish with a drizzle of extra sriracha and vegan mayo, going back and forth across the surface in thin lines rather than pouring it on in one spot.

Step 9

Serve warm with nori sheets on the side for scooping. Tear off a piece of nori roughly palm-sized, scoop up a bite of the sushi bake with a spoon, and wrap it up like a mini hand roll, this is genuinely the best way to eat it, not with a fork alone.

Tips

Don’t Skip Pressing the Tofu

This is the single step people are most tempted to rush, and it’s the one that actually determines how well the marinade sticks. Fifteen minutes under a weighted press, or even just a heavy pan on a paper-towel-wrapped block, makes a real difference in the finished texture.

Press the Rice Layer Firmly

A loose, unpressed rice layer falls apart the moment you try to scoop a portion out. Press it down firmly and evenly with the back of a spoon before adding the tofu layer, it holds together far better once baked.

Taste and Adjust the Spice Before Baking

The sriracha level in the tofu mixture is easy to adjust before it goes in the oven, harder to fix after. Taste the mixture raw and add more sriracha a little at a time if you want more heat.

How I Meal Prep This

I make a double batch of this most weeks, since it holds up better over a few days than most rice dishes I’ve tried meal prepping.

I cook the rice and tofu mixture separately and store them apart. Combining them too early makes the rice absorb moisture from the tofu mixture over a few days, which softens the texture more than I like. Keeping them in separate containers until the day I’m actually eating it keeps both components closer to their original texture.

I portion into individual containers without the fresh toppings. Avocado and cucumber don’t hold up well over multiple days, avocado browns, cucumber gets watery, so I leave those off until right before eating and just add a spoonful of extra sriracha mayo and a sprinkle of furikake to the sealed portions instead.

I reheat in a skillet or the oven, not the microwave. A covered skillet on medium-low for a few minutes, or a quick few minutes back in the oven, keeps the top from turning soggy the way a microwave tends to do with this dish. I add a splash of water to the pan if the rice looks like it’s drying out.

I slice fresh avocado and cucumber right before eating, every time. It only takes a minute, and it makes a three-day-old meal prep lunch taste like it was made that morning instead of reheated.

It holds well in the fridge for about 3 days total. Past that, the rice starts to firm up more than I’d want, even reheated, so I try not to stretch a batch further than that.

More Recipes

• Tofu That Tastes Like Chicken
• Crispy Jackfruit Wings
• Vegan KFC-Style Fried Chicken
• The Best Vegan Chili Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use brown rice instead of sushi rice? You can, but the texture won’t hold together nearly as well, since brown rice lacks the starch content that makes sushi rice sticky enough to press into a solid layer.

Is this recipe gluten-free? Swap the soy sauce for gluten-free tamari and double check your furikake brand, some contain trace wheat, and this comes together gluten-free with no other changes needed.

Can I make this ahead of time? Yes, you can prep the rice and tofu mixture up to a day ahead and store them separately in the fridge, then assemble and bake right before serving.

How do I store leftovers? Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven or a covered skillet rather than the microwave if you want the top layer to stay from getting too soft.

Can I add other toppings? Definitely, pickled ginger, shredded carrots, crispy fried onions, or a few drops of toasted sesame oil are all good additions depending on what you’re craving.

Tried this recipe? Let us know below! Leave a rating and comment, I’d love to hear how yours turned out.