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With over a dozen 5-star reviews, you can be sure that these vegan tomato tuna poke bowls are just as delicious as their fish counterparts. We’ll use a special trick to cut the tomato so it completely mimics sushi-grade tuna.
save this recipe!If you love spicy tuna but also enjoy eating vegan, try this vegan tomato tuna poke bowl! You might be skeptical, but tomatoes and tuna share a very similar texture, and tomatoes’ natural acidity and sweetness fit perfectly with a classic poke marinade.
Not only is this poke bowl as tasty as traditional tuna bowls, but it’s ready in 30 minutes, and you can prepare the components a day in advance.
Reader rating
“This is an amazing recipe. I can’t believe how much the tomato’s looked like tuna!” —Andrea
Here’s what you’ll need
Jump to the recipe card for measurements–this is just an overview!
- Tomato: Tomato naturally has a meaty texture and umami taste, making it a great substitute for raw tuna. We’ll use roma tomatoes, which have less water and a meatier texture.
- Marinade: To infuse our tomato tuna with flavor, we’ll marinate it in a mixture of soy sauce, fresh ginger, sesame oil, lime juice, and sriracha.
- Sushi Rice: No good sushi bowl is complete without the slightly sweet, slightly vinegary sushi rice!
- Fillings: We’ll pile on some of the vegan sushi bowl classics, like nori, avocado, cucumber, carrot, and fried onions.
- Spicy Mayo: I have a hard time eating sushi that’s not doused in spicy mayo. We’ll make our own by quickly combining mayonnaise (traditional or vegan) with sriracha.
What is blanching?
Blanching is a culinary technique that involves briefly immersing tomatoes in boiling water, followed by transferring them to an ice bath to halt the cooking process. This method easily removes the tomato skins, revealing the vibrant flesh underneath.
Variations on these vegan sushi bowls
The nice thing about sushi bowls is how flexible they are! Here are a few possible variations.
- Change up the grains: To make this bowl a bit more nutrient-packed, you could substitute the sushi rice for quinoa, brown rice, or even cauliflower rice (though I would still recommend seasoning it with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt as we do with the sushi rice).
- Watermelon instead of tuna: If you’re not a fan of tomatoes, you can also use watermelon. You won’t need to blanch it, but I recommend using a seedless variety.
- Flexible fillings: Of course, you can fill your sushi bowls with whatever your favorite sushi vegetable fillings are. The fillings I’ve included are just my favorites!
Vegan Tomato “Tuna” Poke Bowls
Ingredients
Tomato Tuna
- 6 roma tomatoes
- ¼ cup soy sauce, 60 mL
- 2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 30 mL
- 2 Tbsp sriracha, 15 g
- 1 Tbsp lime juice, 15 mL
Sushi Rice
- 2 cup uncooked sushi rice, 240 g
- ¼ cup rice vinegar, 60 mL
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
Toppings
- Veggies: Avocado, cucumber, edamame, green onion
- Flavor Boosters: Nori, pickled ginger, wasabi, fried onions
- Spicy Mayo: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise + 1 tsp sriracha
Instructions
- Blanch Tomatoes: Score a small “X” in the bottom of each of the 6 roma tomatoes. Drop into a pot of boiling water, removing after about 30 seconds, when skin begins to peel away. Immediately plunge tomatoes into a bowl of ice water.
- Cut Tomatoes: Peel the skin from each tomato. Cut each into quarters lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Transfer to a lidded container.
- Marinate: Stir together ¼ cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger, 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 2 Tbsp sriracha, and 1 Tbsp lime juice, then drizzle over the tomato. Toss to coat, and let marinate for at least 1 hour (overnight is ideal).
- Rice: Meanwhile, prepare 2 cup uncooked sushi rice according to package instructions. Stir together ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp sugar, and ½ tsp salt. Right before serving, stir this into the rice.
- Assemble: Prepare your desired toppings. Spoon rice into each serving bowl, topping with fillings and tomato tuna (serve either in large pieces or cut into cubes).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
I NEVER would have thought of using tomato!! How cool!! Do you think this would be any good leftover or would the tomato break down too much?
Good question! These will be good for 1 to 2 days after mixing the tomatoes with the marinade (and the flavor will be even more infused in the tomatoes, double win!)
Wowza! My partner and I made this last night and it is so good!
Our tomatoes did not want to cooperate when it came to peeling them. I think mostly because I didn’t fill the pot enough to boil them so they were a bit out of the water while boiling. We ended up boiling them a lot longer than 10sec each, and our I’ve bath was more like really cold water cause we ran out of ice haha. Most of them ended up peeling fine and the few that were fussy we used a veggie peeler to finish the job. I saved the guts from the tomatoes to make a quiche later, and the tomatoes sliced well.
The flavors of everything are super awesome. The marinade is spicy but just the right amount. The rice is tasty with the vinegar mixture you pour over, and I added some rice seasoning (sesame, seaweed, etc) that really elevated the rice.
All in all, it SEEMS like a lot of work, but it really isn’t when you have two people doing it and you prep before you start. Will most likely be making these more often since they are very easy to meal prep. And! My partner plans on reusing the leftover marinade for soaking chicken when we use all the tomatoes! Win, win, win!
YAY! So happy to hear it, Tiffany! Those tomatoes can be pesky sometimes, but so worth it in the end 😛
I will give this a try. I love tuna but due to medical things it’s currently off the menu.
So happy you could find this alternative. Enjoy! 😀
Just had this for dinner tonight! Flavours were spot on. Not at all difficult to make and we drizzled a bit of the marinade over the top along with the mayo.
Obviously it’s not tuna or salmon or anything but the texture is nearly there. It’s a super satisfying way to have a poke bowl without getting take out 🙂 I zoned out a bit while I ate and forgot it wasn’t vegan for a sec.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Ah so happy to hear it, Em! 😀
awesome recipe! super easy and delicous!
This is amazing!!! So good, my wife stole all the leftovers the following day and texted me a picture of herself eating it. She’s cruel like that.
Would subbing in firm tofu for the tomato also work? For a protein boost to help this work as a work lunch?
That would work, but it won’t have that same tuna look!
AMAZING my new favorite. Wasn’t sure how it was going to work making tomatoes into “tuna” but I am very impressed. Super excited to make it again!!
I’m so happy to hear it, Kiley! Enjoy!!
This was an amazing recipe!! This is the first time I have seen making tomatoes into tuna and it turned out wonderful! Thank you!
YAY! Thanks for letting me know how it went, Alena! 😀
This is an amazing recipe. I can’t believe how much the tomato’s looked like tuna!
I did add marinated tofu also to bump up the protein content.
This meal was spot on! Definitely adding it to the rotation!
Thanks for this recipe!!
I’m so happy to hear it, Andrea! Great idea with the tofu. Enjoy! 😀