California Roll

4.62 from 13 votes
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Easy homemade California roll with sushi rice, crab, avocado and seaweed. Learn how to make California rolls with the step-by-step picture guide.

California roll sushi or California maki roll, ready to serve with a pair of red Japanese chopsticks.
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How To Make California Rolls

California roll is one of the most popular sushi recipes in the United States. It’s a real Japanese sushi roll with sushi rice wrapped with nori (seaweed) and stuffed with cooked imitation crab meat (or real crab meat), cucumber and avocado.

If you travel to Japan, you will realize that you can’t find this sushi recipe in Japan. In fact, this sushi roll was invented in California and not Japan, hence its name.

In this post, you will learn the step-by-step picture guide on how to make sushi rolls.

California roll on a plate with picked ginger.

California Roll Ingredients

The main ingredient of sushi is sushi rice. You can’t make sushi without sushi rice. Some sushi is rolled with nori seaweed, hence they are called sushi rolls.

Sushi rice in a Japanese bowl.

What’s in California Roll?

  • Nori or toasted seaweed.
  • Imitation crab meat that comes in sticks or chunks. They are widely available at grocery stores nationwide. You can also use real crab meat or crab lump meat.
A packet of imitation crab meat, a California Roll ingredient.
  • Fresh cucumber.
  • Avocado.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.

To make California roll sushi at home, you will need a few basic tools. You can shop online for a sushi kit. When rolling the sushi rolls, you want to make sure that each roll is really compact and tight. Practice makes perfect, and in no time, you will be a pro!


Frequently Asked Questions

Are they healthy?

They are healthy because they are not greasy and made with nutritious ingredients such as seaweed, cucumber and avocado.

How many calories per serving?

This sushi recipe is only 322 calories per serving.

A California roll sushi recipe cut into 3 pieces, ready to serve with chopsticks.

What To Serve With California Roll

This meal is best served alone or with a main dish and appetizers. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

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4.62 from 13 votes

California Roll

Easy homemade California roll sushi with crab and avocado. Learn how to make California rolls with the step-by-step picture guide.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 people
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Ingredients  

Sushi Rice:

  • 1 cup sushi rice, Japanese short-grain rice
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon Japanese rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • toasted white sesame

Filling:

  • 3 oz (90g) artificial crab meat or real crab lump meat
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 squirt lemon juice
  • 1 small cucumber, seeded and cut into 3.5-inch strips
  • 1 avocado, peeled and cut into strips

Condiments:

  • soy sauce
  • wasabi
  • pickled sushi ginger

Instructions 

  • Rinse the sushi rice with cold water until the water becomes clear. Discard all the cloudy water and add 1 1/2 cups clean water to the rice. Cook the sushi rice in an electronic rice cooker. After the rice is cooked, scoop the rice out onto a plate, let cool.
  • Mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small bowl. Make sure the sugar is dissolved. Add the vinegar mixture to the rice, stir evenly. Set the sushi rice aside.
  • Chop the Crab Delights and mix with mayonnaise and lemon juice. Stir to combine well.
  • Lay the bamboo mat on a flat surface and cover it with plastic wrap. Lay a small sheet of nori (3.75 inch x 8 inch) (9.5cm x 20cm) on the bottom part. Using a spoon, scoop the rice onto the seaweed and distribute it evenly in a thin layer.
  • Use the back of the spoon to press and flatten the surface of the rice. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top of the rice and use the back of the spoon to press the sesame onto the rice.
  • Turn the seaweed over. Arrange 4 strips of cucumber and 2 strips of avocado, follow by the crab. Make sure you don't overfill. Roll the California Roll using the bamboo mat and make sure that you tug the sushi rolls very tight. Keep rolling using the bamboo mat until you have a nice roll.
  • Cut both ends of the sushi rolls using a sharp knife, about 1/2 inch (1cm) off each end. Wipe off the residue on the knife and wet with some water before cutting each end. Wipe off the residue again and wet with some water before you start slicing the sushi rolls into pieces. Each roll should yield about 5 – 6 pieces of sushi.
  • Repeat the steps above to make 4 sushi rolls. Arrange the sushi on a plate and serve immediately with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Nutrition

Serving: 4people, Calories: 322kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 2mg, Sodium: 200mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Bee Yinn Low

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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10 Comments

  1. laura says:

    i never thought i would find someone that had the recipe for california rolls. this is so cool. i making myboyfriend family recipe folders so i colect recipes .
    im excited to addd this recipe to the folders

  2. Nancy says:

    I made at home, my family love the recipes.

  3. Yeh Ximin says:

    5 stars

  4. sheenam | thetwincookingproject says:

    How yummy does that look!!!!

  5. Steve Taylor says:

    5 stars
    All I can say is WOW!
    I made this delicious sushi rolls for my kids with my sushi making tools by Susheff and we were all blown away! My wife looked at me and said “I’m never making sushi again!”. It was super easy to make and incredibly impressive to serve. Great recipe! Thank you!

  6. Morgan Tarpley says:

    5 stars
    Hello! I am doing a math project on California Rolls and I was wondering, for my research, approximately how thick the outside layer of rice should be.

  7. Sylvieann says:

    Bee, thanks for this step by step California Roll recipe. Simple enough for a sushi maker beginner like me. :-) And particular appreciation for the most recipes in one place I have ever seen. I love all of them!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Sylvieann, aww thanks so much. Yes, the step-by-step picture guide makes it easier to make this California roll.

  8. Becky Losh-North says:

    Do you happen to have a recipe for a “spicy crab sald”? Our local asian restaurant makes one that is just out of this world and was trying to find athe recipe.