This California Roll Bowl recipe is refreshing, simple, and comes together in just 10 minutes! Crab is paired with an easy blend of rice, creamy avocado, fresh cucumber, sweet mango, and tangy spicy mayo. And everything is finely diced so there is that delicious California Roll flavor in each and every bite.
Table of Contents
About this Bowl
Do you love sushi?! Then this California Roll Bowl might just be your next date night favorite!
I love picking up a poke bowl from the store, but sometimes it just doesn’t have enough STUFF. Ya know? Like, give me some extras! So, I decided to deconstruct the ingredients of a California roll and make my own sushi bowl with all the stuff I could ever want. 🤤
This California Roll Bowl recipe is refreshing and simple with imitation crab as the main ingredient. The crab is paired with an easy blend of sushi rice, creamy avocado, fresh cucumber, sweet mango, and tangy spicy mayo. Everything is finely diced so you have delicious flavor with each and every bite.
Skip the takeout and make this dish fresh in your own home. You won't regret it! Or if you're looking to try other bowl recipes, check out this Vegan Rice Bowl, this Spicy Salmon Bowl, this Chile Lime Shrimp Bowl, or this Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl! I think you'd also love this California Fish Burrito, too!
Recipe Ingredients
- Rice: I recommend Jasmine or Basmati rice. You can cook your own, or get a package of pre-cooked rice for convenience. We will flavor it with some rice vinegar.
- Seaweed: I like to use roasted strips. But you could also use a bit of seaweed salad.
- Veggies: I included cucumber and Avocado as traditional California roll ingredients, and also some jalapeño for a little spice!
- Mango: For a bright and sweet contrasting flavor.
- Crab Meat: I used imitation crab here. There's so much flavor in this bowl, that the fish isn't the star and spending the extra cash on real crab meat is not necessary.
- Spicy Mayo: A sushi staple. So yum! You could also drizzle your imitation crab poke bowl with balsamic glaze or eel sauce.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
You can customize your poke bowl however you wish! Here are some delicious ideas:
- Fish: Try sushi-grade salmon, tuna, crab, or shrimp! They all taste great. I recommend making sure the crab and shrimp are cooked. They are not typically eaten raw.
- Grains: You can use white or brown rice, sesame noodles, or edamame noodles.
- Vegetables: I like cucumber, avocado, edamame, shaved purple cabbage, onion, carrots, radish, or green onion.
- Fruit: Try mango, lime, or cantaloupe.
- Dressings: Drizzle on some spicy mayo, soy, yumyum, or miso sauce.
How to Make This Recipe
1. First, prepare the rice. I usually buy a microwavable packet, but bagged rice is also great. Cook the rice for your base. Stir in the rice vinegar into the cooked rice, and then place in your bowl.
2. Next, prepare the mango and vegetables. Dice very finely. Slice the jalapeños for a spicy crunch. Dice your imitation crab meat.
3. Layer all of the ingredients on top of the rice.
4. Then, garnish your sushi roll bowl. Drizzle spicy mayo and balsamic glaze. Lastly, top your imitation crab poke bowl with sesame seeds and enjoy!
What is Poke?
Poke, pronounced poe-kay, is Hawaiian for “cut crosswise into pieces” or “to slice.” It refers to diced and cubed raw fish. What surprised me the most is that it's a traditionally Hawaiian dish that has been influenced by Japanese cuisine! And it's usually dressed with soy sauce, sesame oil, and onion.
A poke bowl is raw, sushi-grade fish dressed with a soy or sesame dressing and served with rice, fruit, and veggies. In this California Roll Bowl recipe, I used imitation crab meat, and I dressed my poke bowl in a tangy, spicy mayo. You could also use a yuzu-soy-sesame dressing.
Where can you get crab meat for poke? Imitation crab meat can be found packaged usually in the refrigerated section next to the meat & seafood counter. Find sushi-grade fish at your regular grocery store at the seafood counter or in the freezer section. Depending wher eyou live, you may need to venture out to a specialty fish store for fresh fish.
Recipe FAQs
Store refrigerated for up to 3 days. Since it is imitation crab poke, there's no worry of the fish going bad quickly. I would wait to add the avocado and seaweed until you're ready to eat your poke bowl to keep these ingredients fresh and crisp.
If you aren't using imitation crab poke, I highly recommend using sushi-grade fish. If you aren't into fish, try some grilled tofu or even a teriyaki chicken I think would pair well.
Finely dice all of your ingredients so there's yummy pieces of each ingredient in every bite! Also, after photographing, I tossed the whole bowl up in a mixing bowl and used kitchen sheers to dice the ingredients even more finely. Highly recommend! It was so good.
More Recipes You'll Love
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & if you really like the recipe consider leaving a comment further down. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Homemade California Poke Bowls
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Spoon
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
- 1 snack pack roasted seaweed strips
- 1 cup imitation crab meat
- ½ mango
- ½ avocado
- ½ cup english cucumber
- ¼ cup jalapeno, diced
- 4 tbsp spicy mayo
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp balsamic glaze
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- First, prepare the rice. I usually buy a microwavable packet, but bagged rice is also great. Cook the rice for your base. Once the rice is cooked, stir in rice vinegar. Then, place in your bowl.
- Next, prepare the mango and vegetables. Dice very finely. Slice the jalapenos for a spicy crunch. Layer on top of the rice.
- Dice your imitation crab meat. Add to bowl.
- Then, garnish your poke bowl. Drizzle spicy mayo and balsamic glaze. Lastly, top with sesame seeds and seaweed.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you're using MyFitnessPal, search 'A Paige Of Positivity' and find CALIFORNIA POKE 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!
Sydney says
Courtney makes customizing recipes to your liking so easy! I used tuna instead of crab and added some edamame, onion, and carrots as suggested. And also, never had I thought to put balsamic on a poke bowl but I topped mine with this and it was a game changer. These feel so fancy but are so easy!!
Lily Charlotte says
I love poke bowls but don’t love the price. This bowl was perfect for dinner and my lunch the next day. This will definitely be on my dinner rotation.
Courtney Paige says
When I don't want to pay for takeout, this is what I make. Delicious!