Nori Rolls with Sticky Brown Rice
Nori rolls have long been a favorite in our household, offering a nourishing and satisfying option for meals and snacks alike. They were a staple throughout my pregnancies—even during the 17 weeks of intense nausea I experienced while carrying twins, I could still enjoy them! Their simplicity, nutrient density, and versatility make them an excellent choice for any time of day.
Whether we’re heading out for a hike, spending a day at the beach, enjoying the mountains, or traveling by plane, these rolls always come along. They are the ultimate portable, healthy snack—convenient, flavorful, and packed with essential nutrients.
The combination of ingredients offers a perfect balance of flavors and nourishment. The mineral-rich nori provides a subtle saltiness, while sticky brown rice adds a touch of natural sweetness and sustenance. Customize your rolls with crisp, colorful vegetables, and, if desired, a protein boost like leftover cooked salmon or sautéed tofu.
Enjoy them sliced or whole, dipped in tamari and wasabi, or simply on their own. A bite of pickled ginger can add a refreshing contrast. However you prepare them, these nori rolls can be tailored to your personal taste and dietary preferences, making them a wholesome, satisfying option for any meal or snack.
A Nourishing Option for Special Diets
Nori rolls are naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut-, and soy-free (as long as you omit tofu and skip the tamari dipping sauce), making them an excellent choice for those following a special diet. For a flavorful twist, try pairing them with a soy-free Plum Ginger Sauce—it adds a perfect balance of sweetness and zing.
While plums may be out of season, I prepare this sauce using Italian plums harvested last September, which I store in my freezer for year-round use. If you don’t have frozen plums on hand, you might experiment with frozen peaches or fresh apples as a substitute. The natural sweetness and acidity in these fruits could provide a similar depth of flavor.
Customizing Your Nori Rolls
Now, onto the recipe! In the photo, you’ll notice I included leftover cooked salmon from the previous night’s dinner. If you prefer a plant-based option, you can add sautéed tofu or tempeh—unless you're on The Elimination Diet, in which case you'll need to skip the soy and use salmon and veggies.
For this batch, I used carrots, red cabbage, green onions, and avocado, but the beauty of nori rolls is their adaptability. Feel free to mix and match ingredients based on what you have on hand or what suits your dietary needs.
Nori Rolls with Sticky Brown Rice
Nori is a mineral-rich sea vegetable that has been dried and pressed into thin sheets, commonly used for making sushi. It can also be crumbled and sprinkled over salads, cooked vegetables, or soups for added flavor and nutrition. In addition to being a great source of essential minerals, nori contains lignans, plant compounds known for their cancer-protective properties. While traditional nori rolls are made with raw fish and white rice, they can easily be adapted with cooked fish or sautéed tofu and sticky brown rice for a wholesome alternative. A variety of thinly sliced vegetables—such as carrots, green onions, avocado, daikon radish, and red cabbage—can be added for texture and flavor. The rolls are then tightly wrapped, sliced, and optionally served with tamari, wasabi, and pickled ginger. In this version, I’ve included leftover cooked salmon, but feel free to customize them with your favorite ingredients. Enjoy experimenting with your own delicious variations!
Sticky Brown Rice
Vegetables
Other Ingredients
- Place rice into a 3-quart pot with water and sea salt (wait to add the vinegar until the rice is cooked). Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let rice stand for 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle the rice with seasoned brown rice vinegar and mix it up.
- Place a sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a clean surface. Spread a thin layer of rice to 2 inches below the top of the sheet. Place vegetables at the bottom of the sheet. Tightly roll from the vegetable end. The nori can be sealed by running your finger with a little water along the seam side.
- Repeat this process until you have the desired amount of rolls. Slice nori rolls with a serrated knife that has been dipped in water.
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About the Author
Alissa Segersten, MS, CN
Alissa Segersten, MS, CN, is the founder of Nourishing Meals®, an online meal-planning membership with over 1,800 nourishing recipes and tools to support dietary change and better health. As a functional nutritionist, professional recipe developer, and author of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, Nourishing Meals, and co-author of The Elimination Diet, she helps people overcome health challenges through food. A mother of five, Alissa understands the importance of creating nutrient-dense meals for the whole family. Rooted in science and deep nourishment, her work makes healthy eating accessible, empowering thousands to transform their well-being through food.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
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Comments
For a little verity you may like a recipe that your nori rolls inspired for our house. mexican nori rolls mix cooked rice thats been seasoned with chilli powder,cumin,garlic,and onipn with mashed pinto beans (refried beans) and just enough salsa to combine the rice and beans into a chunky peanut butter consistancy spread even layer over nori sheet and top with favorite mexican veggies (main are spinach,onion,tomatoes and olives) in thin layer do not over fill. take either a slice of cheese the width of your finger and length of nori or for non dairy slightly steemed yellow pepper and put on one edge of nori roll starting with cheese so cheese ends in the center serve as is or cut like sushi dipped in mashed avacodo mixes with salsa to taste ( my son also adds sour cream to dip mix we are trying to go dairy free but not there yet )
Ali, I just came across your website and love it. I have recently starting using nori in lots of dishes. Was wondering about your thoughts...the asian market sells many varieties and pretty inexpensive. Whole Foods sells an Organic nori for about 3x the price of asian markets. Should one purchase organic nori, or is the typical asian market nori pretty "clean"?
Thank you!
I love nori rolls and I have to add that if you purchase a bamboo mat and rice paddle (fluffer), it's an even better experience! You can purchase both for $5 total at any Asian market near you.
Hey Ali,
Thanks so much for this recipe. I just made these this afternoon and they were amazing. I'm now on day 10 of the elimination diet and I feel AMAZING!!
P.S. I forgot to spread the rice on the whole nori sheet, but it all worked out in the end. Check out my pics on my Fried Eggs and Toast Facebook fan page.
-Cheers,
Brenda
We LOVE nori rolls, especially a simple avocado & cucumber roll. For halloween, my husband used emperor's forbidden black rice, which is very sticky & smoked salmon. We are all gluten-intolerant & my husband & son don't tolerate soy. We recently discovered coconut enzymes, a raw, soy- & gluten-free soy sauce alternative that we really like for dipping. Thank you for being a source I can trust to help people eat well. I can't tell you how many times I've recommended your cookbook & !blog
I don't tolerate brown rice very well so I use quinoa in my sushi. It's SO yummy.
Wonderful! Glad you enjoy these! Yes, wasabi is fine as long as it is pure and doesn't pose a risk for cross-contamination of say gluten (all powdery, floury things are at risk). I use wasabi from Penzeys Spices - www.penzeys.com. :)
I love this recipe. I am still in phase 1 of the elimination diet, and this has become a lunch time staple for me. I am getting excited to be able to eat them with wheat free tamari in a few days -- is Wasabi okay in any of the phases? Thank you! -- Megan
I just made these, and they are awesome! Cucumber, avocado and mango! So many different combinations. Love it. It never occurred to me that you could make these using brown rice.
Keep up the great work!
Oh - I can't wait to make these tomorrow night for dinner! I love how versatile Nori Rolls are - the sky is the limit. I'm especially looking forward to making the sauce. Thank you!
~Ellen
Yum! That looks really great! I'm usually not a huge fan of seaweed but would be definitely be willing to try this! (Plus, my husband would be really excited as he loves things like this!)
Yum! That's something you'd find at our dinner table too. We love nori rolls :)
We also love to snack on dulse straight out of the bag!
Abbe - Hope these photos were enough to get you through this process. Tom and I actually have thought about doing videos - maybe real life cooking videos with the kids helping and all. :)
Esther - Glad you enjoyed! :) If you make these while the rice is warm, not hot, it should be enough to keep them from cracking. However, if the rice is too hot it will crack the nori. Hope this helps. Somehow I missed these two comments and forgot to respond! :)
LucindaSarina - Making your own sushi is so much fun, and much more nutritious if you use the sticky brown rice. My girls love to roll their own and add fillings of their choice, sliced carrots mostly. :)
-Ali
Ooh these definitely have me inspired! Sushi is my favorite food, and I really want to learn to make my own since so many at restaurants have soy sauce in them.
I just wanted to let you know I made the Nori Rolls and they were absolutely delicious! I loved the sticky brown rice, too. I will be making these again this week. I had a little trouble with the nori cracking, though, as I rolled them up. I wondered if you had a secret to keep it from cracking? Perhaps it is our dry Arizona weather. Anyway, me, my husband, mom, dad, brother and brother's girlfriend all loved them! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Thanks for posting this recipe, Ali. I have your book and have wanted to give em a try. They are a little intimidating for someone who has never seen it done before. The photos help, but it would be nice to have cooking video of this. Might you and Tom be interested in starting something like this??? Please!
~~Abbe
lifeglutenfree - We love avocados in our house too. My girls like rolls with carrots only, though my boys love the avocado and rice rolls!
-Ali :)
Yum!! I love Nori Rolls. My favorite thing to fill them with is avocado. We always do a few "just avocado" rolls :)
Matt- Yes I agree, I didn't even know what nori or sushi was when I was a kid. It would have been great to be eating it then, but at least we are now!
Shirley - Thanks, these are fantastic! No, I have not yet heard of that alternative fuel, sounds interesting! Hope you get a chance to make these sometime, I love dipping them in tamari and toasted sesame seeds. We buy our nori in packs of 50 sheets, and it is usually gone within 2 weeks. The babies, well now 14 months old, love to eat plain nori sheets as a snack and so do the girls!
Looks awesome, wish I had lunches like that when I was younger.
These look fantastic! I was very surprised to see kudzu in the plum sauce ingredients. I mean it grows around here like crazy (and people hate it!), but do you purchase yours? (BTW, I heard recently that kudzu is being used to make an alternative fuel and I though that was the best idea ever. It's called Kudzenol.) I love your love of avocados, too. LOL I confess that I've never used nori or made sushi-type meals, but I'd like to try. With the wheat-free tamari, I'd sure I'd be very happy!
Thanks,
Shirley