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This Tuna Sushi Bowl is the perfect lunch option. Packed with sushi rice, canned tuna, edamame beans, avocado, crunchy veg and a spicy tuna roll dressing. Perfect for meal prep and lunchboxes, plus it’s completely gluten free and dairy free.
I absolutely love a sushi bowl and while this Tuna Sushi Bowl using canned tuna may not be the most authentic thing in the world, it’s my current lunch obsession.
Tuna sushi bowls are such a light and healthy meal, packed with lots of crunchy veg goodness. If you love my Prawn Poke Bowls, you’ll love this!
Plus with tinned tuna and a delicious tamari, sriracha and lime dressing, this spicy tuna sushi bowl just hits the spot.
So whether you’re looking for canned tuna recipes or just want some gluten free lunch inspiration, you need to learn how to make this easy tuna sushi bowl.
Just like my Chickpea and Halloumi Salad, my easy gluten free Tuna Pasta Salad or my Mexican Corn Salad, it makes a great summer lunch or picnic idea.
Ingredients
You’ll need a few components to make these tuna bowls, so here are the ingredients you’ll need for both the bowls and the marinade:
- Sushi Rice: I buy uncooked sushi rice and cook it myself (instructions below, I promise it’s easy!) but if you want to save time you could buy pre-cooked packs of sticky rice.
- Spinach: Fresh spinach leaves make up the base of the tuna bowls.
- Baby Cucumbers: If you can’t find mini cucumbers then a normal-sized cucumber will do, just chop it into smaller pieces.
- Radishes: These add such a beautiful pop of colour to any sushi bowl!
- Spring Onion: Or scallions/green onions – these are a great finishing touch.
- Black Sesame Seeds: I struggled to find these in the supermarket, but toasted sesame seeds work just as well if you can’t find them.
- Sriracha Mayo: The Flying Goose sriracha mayo is gluten free, or make your own by simply mixing sriracha sauce with mayonnaise. Omit if you don’t want it too spicy.
For the tuna:
- Canned Tuna: Using tinned tuna is a cheap and easy way to get that protein in! I use one 145g (5oz) tin per person. Usually I go for the tuna in spring water.
- Toasted Sesame Oil: Mixing this with the tuna takes away any dryness you can get and gives it the most insane flavour!
- Gluten Free Tamari: Most tamari is gluten free, and it’s the Japanese equivalent to soy sauce. However, always double check you’re using one which is certified gluten free.
For the dressing:
- Lime: The juice of one fresh lime gives this sushi bowl a lovely zing.
- Gluten Free Tamari
- Sriracha: Omit this if you don’t want any spice, it’ll still be delicious.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: Essential for that trademark, subtle sour taste I love in sushi rice. Just be careful not to confuse Rice Vinegar with Shaoxing Rice Wine. This is often used in Chinese dishes and is not gluten free.
How to make a tuna sushi bowl
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method, but here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this tinned tuna sushi bowl is to make.
To cook the sushi rice:
If you’re making your own sticky rice instead of buying a pre-cooked pack, add the sushi rice to a bowl and fill with cold water.
Use your hand to swirl the rice around, drain the cloudy water off and repeat 4-5 times until it starts to get clearer.
Cover the rice with fresh, cold water then leave to soak for 15-20 minutes.
After soaking, drain off the water. Fill a small pan with 220ml cold water then add the rice. Place the pan on the hob, with the lid on, and bring to the boil.
Turn down to a simmer and leave to simmer, lid on, for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn off the heat but leave the lid on the pan of rice for a further 10 minutes. This will make perfect sushi rice!
To prepare the tuna sushi bowl:
Drain the tuna and add to a bowl. Add the sesame oil and tamari and use a fork to flake the tuna, mixing it together in the dressing.
Juice the lime, then add to a separate bowl along with the tamari, rice wine vinegar and sriracha sauce to make the marinade. Mix well.
Shred the spinach and divide between two serving bowls. Chop the cucumbers into small pieces and finely slice the radishes, then and split evenly between the bowls, along with the edamame beans.
Split the cooked rice between the bowls, and then add the dressed tuna.
To finish, pour over the marinade, sprinkle with black sesame seeds and finish with a drizzle of spicy mayo sauce on each bowl.
Variations
Want to try something different with your gluten free tuna sushi bowl? Here are some ideas for how to mix it up:
- Brown Rice: You can use a pack of pre-cooked brown rice instead of sushi rice if you prefer. I just prefer the sticky texture of sushi rice.
- Add Seaweed: Add some sushi nori (roasted seaweed) strips on top of your sushi bowl for that authentic, spicy tuna roll finish.
- Pink Pickled Onions: I don’t think it’s particularly authentic, but I absolutely love adding a heaped spoon of pink pickled onions on my sushi bowl.
- Prawns or Salmon: To try this with something other than tuna, try using some cooked king prawns or hot smoked salmon instead.
- Boiled Egg: Again, not exactly the most authentic, but adding a soft-boiled egg to this tuna sushi bowl is delicious and adds some extra protein too.
If I try any more variations I’ll let you know! As you can see from the photos below I shared in my Instagram stories, I’ve been eating a lot of these!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this spicy tuna bowls recipe – if you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Whether or not sushi is gluten free often depends on the establishment. Soy sauce is usually the ingredient which makes it unsafe, unless a restaurant or manufacturer uses a gluten free tamari instead. Some sushi products like surimi (crab sticks / seafood sticks) also contain wheat a lot of the time as a binder. If eating sushi out you’ll have to look for a place the specifically offers gluten free sushi. But making your own sushi bowls is much cheaper and so worth it!
Yes! This tuna sushi bowl uses tamari so it is naturally gluten free and dairy free. If you buy the Flying Goose Sriracha mayo this is also vegan, so this sushi bowl can be egg-free as well.
If you like prepping a few days’ worth of food in one go, this tuna sushi bowl is perfect. Once made it will keep for up to 3 days, so you can make a few tuna sushi bowls and you’ve got lunch in the bag for the next three days! This tuna sushi bowl cannot be frozen.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Tuna Sushi Bowl
Ingredients
- 120 g uncooked sushi rice
- 100 g spinach leaves
- 4 baby cucumbers
- 4 radishes
- 1 spring onion, (green onion / scallion)
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp sriracha mayo
For the tuna:
- 2 x 145 g tins tuna in spring water, (drained)
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp gluten free tamari
For the dressing:
- 1 lime
- 2 tbsp gluten free tamari
- 2 tbsp sriracha hot sauce
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
Instructions
To cook the sushi rice:
- Add the sushi rice to a bowl and fill with cold water. Use your hand to swirl the rice around, drain the cloudy water off and repeat 4-5 times until it starts to get clearer. Cover the rice with fresh, cold water then leave to soak for 15-20 minutes.
- After soaking, drain off the water. Fill a small pan with 220ml cold water then add the rice. Place the pan on the hob, with the lid on, and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and leave to simmer, lid on, for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, turn off the heat but leave the lid on the pan of rice for a further 10 minutes.
To prepare the tuna sushi bowl:
- Drain the tuna and add to a bowl. Add the sesame oil and tamari and use a fork to flake the tuna, mixing it together in the dressing.
- Juice the lime, then add to a separate bowl along with the tamari, rice wine vinegar and sriracha sauce to make the marinade. Mix well.
- Shred the spinach and divide between two serving bowls. Chop the cucumbers into small pieces and finely slice the radishes, then and split evenly between the bowls, along with the edamame beans.
- Split the cooked rice between the bowls, and then add the dressed tuna. Finely chop the spring onion and sprinkle over the top.
- To finish, pour over the marinade, sprinkle with black sesame seeds and finish with a drizzle of sriracha mayo on each bowl.
Notes
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this sushi bowl recipe should look at each stage.
- Storing: Check out the Frequently Asked Questions above this recipe card for more information on sushi bowls, dairy and egg free, and making ahead.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Tuna Sushi Bowl!
Nutrition
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We have Sarah’s gluten free recipe book and really enjoy browsing her website. My husband and daughter are coeliac and really appreciate that Sarah is doing the hard work for us and helping in the struggle not only helping by sharing her recipes but also for the research she does. Thank you.
Thanks Mary, that’s really kind. I’m so glad you’ve found the book and recipes helpful! x