Sushi Bake

Sushi bake is a savory and creamy deconstructed sushi roll baked in a casserole dish. Perfect for potlucks or simply as an easy weeknight dinner, this will for sure be a crowd-pleaser!

To eat, simply spoon a generous amount of the sushi bake onto a piece of seaweed, top with sliced avocado, and then pop it in your mouth. It’s a flavor-explosion all in one bite.

What is sushi bake?

Sushi bake is a delicious casserole meal where layers of rice and seafood are all baked together into one dish for easy scooping. It’s perfect for those lazy weeknights and incredibly fun to eat with friends and family!

I like thinking of it as a deconstructed California Roll…All the flavors of the classic sushi roll are melded together, just without the rolling part. It also ends up being super creamy and rich once it comes out of the oven, so I really have to control myself from eating the entire dish on my own.

It’s honestly become my new favorite obsession during this time of year. My family’s been pestering me nonstop to make sushi bake again and again, it’s just THAT good. The best part is that this recipe is completely customizable, so it’s great for fitting your taste preferences and whatever’s available in your pantry.

Give this a try and I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Ingredients for sushi bake

• Seafood: the standard toppings for sushi bake are usually crab or salmon. For this recipe, I used a combination of both. For a more budget-friendly option, I ended up using imitation crab, but feel free to go for the real stuff. You could also experiment with other toppings such as tuna, mackerel, shrimp, or even scallops!
• Cream cheese & Kewpie Mayonnaise: this is what’s going to give our sushi bake its signature richness and creaminess. If you aren’t already familiar with kewpie mayo, it’s essentially a Japanese-style mayonnaise that primarily uses egg yolks and rice vinegar as its seasonings. It lends dishes a more rich, savory, and slighty tangy taste, which is absolutely amazing with sushi. If you can’t find this in your local Asian grocery store, you can definitely substitute it with just the standard Western mayonnaise.
• Sushi rice (short-grain rice): short-grain rice is the standard kind of rice you’d find in sushi. It’s slightly more sticky, starchy, and chewy in texture. We’ll be seasoning the rice with a combination of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.
• Furikake: this is another classic Japanese seasoning that usually goes on top of rice-based snacks, vegetables, or fish. You can typically find them being sold in most Asian groceries and they can come in a wide variety of flavors, but the standard stuff is usually a mix of sesame seeds, dried fish flakes, and nori (seaweed).
• Roasted seaweed snacks: these are the vehicles that will complete the sushi bake. You can buy these in bulk for fairly cheap in most Asian groceries. I love these since they’re already cut into bite-sized pieces and they’re typically already seasoned with a bit of salt for added flavor. If you can’t find them, you could also use standard nori (seaweed) sheets that are used for rolling sushi (just be sure to cut them into smaller rectangle shapes).

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 F.

Prepare the sushi rice:

Combine together the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Microwave for 20-30 seconds to help the sugar and salts dissolve.

Pour this mixture over the cooked rice and gently fold with a rice paddle or spatula to season. Set aside.

Prepare the salmon-crab mixture:

Combine the cooked salmon, imitation crab, cream cheese, kewpie mayo, green onions, sesame oil, and sriracha together in a bowl. Gently fold until the mixture is even and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the sushi bake:

In a casserole or baking dish, spread the seasoned sushi rice on the bottom of the dish. Evenly sprinkle the furikake seasoning over the rice.

Layer the salmon-crab mixture on top and smooth the surface.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then broil for an additional 3-5 minutes until the top is slightly browned and bubbly.

Top the sushi bake with additional furikake seasoning, sriracha, kewpie mayonnaise, and green onions. Enjoy warm or cold and serve with seaweed snacks and sliced avocado.

Variations

Sushi bake is an incredibly forgiving recipe and it’s super easy to customize depending on what you’re craving! Here are a couple variations you could add to your sushi bake for a completely different flavor profile:

• Diced mangoes
• Cucumbers
• Tuna
• Scallops
• Shrimp

What about leftovers?

Leftovers can last for up to 2-3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I prefer my sushi bake warm, so I’ll typically portion out a couple slices and microwave it for about 20-30 seconds to soften the rice. Every household’s microwave powers are different, so play around with the timing to find your sweet spot!

Looking for more tasty weeknight dinners? Here’s a couple of my favorites:

• Honey Walnut Shrimp
• Coconut Chicken Adobo
• Asian Oven-Baked Ribs
• Creamy Sesame Noodles