A cilantro lime rice base topped with marinated ahi tuna, a fruity pineapple salsa and a homemade spicy mayo dressing. This Seared Tuna Poke Bowl is all things fresh and flavorful.
Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl
Fresh fish can definitely be intimidating. We’re all afraid it has the potential to make us sick if we don’t cook it right (which it does), but sushi-grade fish can also be amazing with just a simple sear.
So I’m sharing this Ahi Tuna Poke recipe to equip you with the confidence to make the homemade poke bowls of your dreams!
The best sushi bowls have lots of flavors. That’s why this bowl has multiple components that all work together. We start with a cilantro rice base, topped with fresh pineapple salsa, fresh veggies, and creamy avocado. Then of course, we’ll add our fresh ahi tuna steaks and top the bowl off with a drizzle of spicy mayo.
These ahi tuna bowls are nutritious, satisfying, and simply gorgeous, too! And if you’re looking for more rice bowl recipes, also check out this Homemade California Poke Bowl, this Spicy Salmon Bowl, or this Salmon Mango Salad that I think you’ll love, too.
Recipe Ingredients
- Ahi Tuna Steaks – You’ll want to purchase high quality, sushi grade tuna often found frozen in most grocery stores. I suggest bigeye tuna or yellowfin tuna, which are both considered ahi tuna.
- Marinade – The tuna marinade is a combination of lime juice, mustard, soy sauce, and sesame seeds + oil.
- Pineapple Salsa – This is a fresh combination of fruit, jalapeño, onion, and chili powder for a beautiful contrast of flavors.
- Sauce – Yogurt and mayo make for a creamy sauce, while adding a bit of sriracha for a kick. You can also use a store bought spicy sauce.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Protein: This recipe is delicious with grilled shrimp, salmon, or chicken, too! To keep it vegetarian, substitute the tuna for edamame or seared tofu (in the same marinade).
- Sauce: If you don’t want to make your own sauce, buy a store bought spicy mayo. Or to make it dairy free, use plant-based yogurt and vegan mayo.
- Salsa: Instead of pineapple, switch it up with this Mango Salsa or keep it simple with just diced mango or pineapple.
- Rice: I used my Cilantro Lime Rice recipe as the base to my seared tuna poke bowl, but you could substitute plain white rice, brown rice, sushi rice, coconut rice, cauliflower rice, etc. Or skip the rice all together and serve over a bed of greens for a low carb meal.
How to Make This Recipe
1. Prepare the Cilantro Lime Rice before making the rest of the bowl.
2. Place the ahi tuna steaks in a plastic bag. In a small mason jar (or mixing bowl), add in soy sauce, lime juice, and mustard. Shake/Whisk together until combined. Pour it into the plastic bag on top of the steaks. Seal the plastic bag, place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. After marinating, remove the ahi tuna steaks from the plastic bag and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Heat a large cast-iron skillet to medium high heat and add the oil. When the oil is fragrant, add the marinated tuna to the cast iron skillet. Sear tuna for 30 seconds to 2 minutes on each side. Let the steaks rest for 2 minutes and then thinly slice. They should still have a reddish color in the center.
4. Sauce: Add everything to a small bowl and whisk together.
Note: You can save the extra poke sauce marinade to drizzle on top of your bowl for extra flavor, too.
5. Salsa: Finely dice pineapple, jalapeno, and red onion. Add to a medium bowl and fold in diced cilantro, lime juice, and chile lime seasoning. Stir together. Set aside until ready to use.
6. Assemble the bowl: Dice all of the vegetables: red pepper, cucumbers + avocado and green onions. Add the rice to the bottom of the bowl. Top with vegetables, pineapple salsa, ahi tuna, and sauce! ENJOY!
Expert Tips
- There is a lot of moving parts to this recipe and I highly suggest going in the order the recipe is written in to complete each part.
- The tuna marinade is followed by making the sauce because you’ll already have some of the ingredients out.
- Making the salsa is followed by dicing the bowl veggies since you’ll already be chopping at your cutting board.
- There’s no need to clean measuring cups/spoons, knives, cutting boards, etc. between each step since all of the ingredients are going into one bowl, anyway.
- I usually double the sauce ingredients to have extra throughout the week to enjoy on eggs, chicken, sandwiches, etc.
Recipe FAQs
These tuna poke bowls will hold up well prepped and assembled in the fridge for up to 3 days! I do suggest, however, keeping the avocado separate to avoid browning.
If you buy sushi-grade fish, that your confident is fresh, you don’t have to sear it. If you’d prefer the raw fish, cut the filets into bite size pieces and let the chunks of fresh tuna soak in the marinade for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Usually it’s a combination of temperatures, but it’s up to you. It’s common to have warm rice and with cold toppings, but in the case of the seared tuna, it may still be warm from the skillet when you’re assembling this bowl. If you’d prefer the fish cold, set it in the fridge while you’re chopping the remaining ingredients.
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Seared Tuna Poke Bowl
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet
- Rubber Spatula
- 2 Mixing bowls 1 small, 1 medium
- Whisk
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Measuring cups and spoons
- gallon size freezer bag
Ingredients
Ahi Tuna
- 2 ahi tuna steaks
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce, coconut aminos for gluten-free
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Pineapple Salsa
- 1 cup pineapple, diced
- 1/2 small jalapeño
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1 tbsp cilantro, diced
- 1/2 tbsp chile lime seasoning
- 1/2 lime, juiced
Sauce
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup lite mayo
- 2 tsp ketchup
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce, coconut aminos for gluten-free
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Bowl
- 2 cups Cilantro Lime Rice
- 1/2 avocado
- 2/3 cup cucumber, diced
- 2/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 Tbsp green onion, diced
Instructions
Rice
- Prepare the Cilantro Lime Rice before making the rest of the bowl.
Tuna
- First place the ahi tuna steaks in a plastic bag. In a small mason jar (or mixing bowl), add in soy sauce, lime juice, and mustard. Shake/Whisk together until combined.
- Pour it into the plastic bag on top of the steaks. Seal the plastic bag, place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- After marinating, remove the ahi tuna steaks from the plastic bag and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet to medium high heat and add the oil. When the oil is fragrant, add the marinated tuna to the cast iron skillet. Sear tuna for 30 seconds to 2 minutes on each side.
- Let the steaks rest for 2 minutes and then thinly slice. They should still have a reddish color in the center.
Sauce
- Add everything to a small bowl and whisk together.
Salsa
- Finely dice pineapple, jalapeno, and red onion. Add to a medium bowl and fold in diced cilantro, lime juice, and chile lime seasoning. Stir together. Set aside until ready to use.
Bowl
- Dice all of the vegetables: red pepper, cucumbers + avocado and green onions.
- Add the rice to the bottom of the bowl. Top with vegetables, pineapple salsa, ahi tuna, and sauce! ENJOY!
Nutrition
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find Ahi Tuna Rice Bowl calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
love this for easy recipe!!
the freshness!!!!!! loved this for meal prep
This is HANDS DOWN the absolute best recipe I’ve ever made. Better yet, a great lent option. Thank you!
JoJo – thank you SO much for this glowing review. I especially love the fruit slaw with it!!