Can you eat sushi on keto? The answer is YES! With a few simple modifications, you can enjoy sushi at home or at your favorite restaurant on a low carb diet. Learn how to order keto at sushi restaurants or make your own keto sushi (or both!) This awesome guide has all the best keto sushi recipes and ordering tips. Keto sushi rolls, vegan keto sushi, keto sushi bowls, keto sushi burritos– you really can have it all!
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My favorite Japanese restaurant has a sign hanging on the wall that says “Sushi: That’s How I Roll”. Yup– that’s pretty much my life. I’m all about sushi and I truly can’t imagine life without it. So when I started the keto diet, you can imagine how disappointed I was that sushi was not on the low carb list.
Well I’m not one to give up easily. As the saying goes: “She believed she could sushi did”. 😉 I am now a self proclaimed keto sushi expert and I’m going to share all my secrets with you! You’ll learn exactly how to order keto at sushi restaurants, the best keto sushi options, and my favorite keto sushi recipes. You’ll enjoy everything from keto sushi rolls to keto sushi bowls (that rhymed!) while still losing tons of weight and feeling great on your low carb diet.
Sushi time? Let’s go! 🍣
Tip: There are just a few simple but clever tips you need to know in order to stay keto at ANY restaurant. Grab my exclusive PDF guide of 3 Secrets to Staying Keto at Any Restaurant by signing up for my newsletter below (I’ll never spam you plus I’ll send you lots of awesome keto freebies, gifts, and tips!)
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New to keto? Check out this Free One Week Keto Meal Plan for Beginners for 7 days of keto weight loss meals with macros calculated for you!
More tips for eating out on keto:
Eating Out on Keto: Chinese Restaurants
Eating Out on Keto: Mexican Restaurants
Eating Out on Keto: Italian Restaurants
Keto at Sushi Restaurants
It’s Friday night and you’re hanging out with friends at your favorite sushi restaurant! What do you order? What sushi can you eat on keto? Can you order sushi without rice? Let’s go into some basics first.
How many carbs are in sushi? A LOT! If you’re thinking of breaking keto and indulging in a california roll– don’t do it! You’ll throw your macros way off and kick yourself right out of ketosis. One california roll has approximately 63 net carbs per serving. Just one piece of salmon sushi has 9 net carbs. That is way too much for a typical low carb diet (unless you do carb ups on keto).
So can I eat sushi on keto? Despite the shocking number of carbs listed in the sushi rolls above, you can still eat sushi on keto. You just have to make smart choices. The top “carb offenders” in sushi are rice, sweet sauces, and anything tempura. The fish and seafood itself actually has very few carbs (often zero) as does the soy sauce you dip it in (about 0.8 carbs per tablespoon).
Here’s everything you need to avoid to stay keto at sushi restaurants:
- Rice
- Sweet sauces
- Anything tempura
- Anything breaded
- Anything labeled “crunchy” or “sweet”
- Pickled ginger (this pink stuff they serve on the side in Japanese restaurants is filled with sugar)
- Wasabi (a whopping 9.2 grams of carbs in 1 tablespoon)
Best Keto Sushi Options
So what sushi can you eat on keto? Now that we’ve addressed what you should stay away from, let’s get into the fun part– what you can actually eat!
Here are your best options for ordering keto at sushi restaurants:
- Sashimi– Sashimi is basically sushi without the rice! It consists of thin slices of raw fish (pictured above). By contrast, nigiri is thin slices of raw fish on top of sushi rice. You can order nearly any nigiri as sashimi instead by omiting the rice. Anything you find under the “Sashimi” portion of a Japanese menu should be a great keto option. If you don’t see sashimi on the menu, you can order nigiri without the rice.
- Naruto Roll– A naruto roll is a sushi roll wrapped in thin slices of cucumber instead of rice. This is a great way to make nearly any sushi roll keto friendly (just make sure there’s no sweet sauces or tempura in your roll). Many sushi restaurants can make this if you request it.
- Sushi without rice– If your sushi restaurant can’t make a naruto roll for you, another option is simply to request a sushi roll without rice. Ask if the sushi chef can simply put the inside of the sushi roll on lettuce, nori (seaweed), cucumber slices, or simply on a plate with no rice. Sushi rolls with avocado, mayo, or cream cheese will be your best bet for reaching your fat goals.
- Chirashi sushi– Chirashi sushi is simply a big bowl of sushi rice topped with raw fish and vegetables. You can request chirashi sushi or other sashimi bowls with lettuce instead of rice. Some Chirashi sushi bowls also have tamago (sweet egg) or crab stick– these both have carbs, so make sure you omit them.
What about soy sauce and wasabi? As mentioned above, soy sauce has approximately 0.8 grams of carbs per tablespoon. This is quite low, so you can definitely dip your keto sushi in soy sauce as long as you don’t overdo it. Just remember, the carbs add up if your serving size is too large so dip, don’t dunk. Wasabi, on the other hand, is trickier. The macros f0r wasabi are 83% carbs, 5% fat, and 12% protein (definitely NOT keto!) It has 9.2 grams of carbs in just 1 tablespoon, however, a little wasabi goes a long way! Most people eat less than a half teaspoon of wasabi with their sushi. If you MUST have wasabi with your keto sushi, you can add just a tiny dab to your soy sauce but it’s best to avoid it all together.
If you know your stuff, it’s surprisingly simple to stay keto at sushi restaurants. In fact although specific ingredients to avoid may differ, the basic principles for eating out on keto always remain the same. You can learn to stay keto at ANY restaurant (not just sushi ones) with the 3 Secrets to Staying Keto at Any Restaurant, which you can download from my wellness library for FREE along with lots of other keto resources and freebies.
Keto Sushi Rolls
Now that we’ve covered ordering keto at sushi restaurants, I’m going to share some of the best keto sushi recipes with you! Keto sushi is so easy and fun to make at home. You’ll love these delicious, low carb, and healthy keto sushi recipes. If you’re new to making sushi, check out this awesome Sushi Making Kit on Amazon, which includes all the materials you need to make sushi at home like a pro!
Want to make low carb sushi at home? Here are the best keto sushi roll recipes! Keto sushi rolls with cauliflower rice make a healthy low carb meal or snack! I love eating these keto approved no rice sushi rolls with spicy mayonnaise for dipping and sliced avocado on the side for extra fat!
Photo Credit: Wholesome Yum
Keto Low Carb Sushi Rolls from Wholesome Yum
Keto California Rolls from All Day I Dream About Food
Keto Friendly Sushi Rolls from Low Carb No Carb
Low Carb Cauliflower Sushi from Ditch the Carbs
Vegan Keto Sushi
Even if you’re keto and vegan, you can still enjoy low carb sushi! Here are some delicious vegan keto sushi recipes that will make your mouth water.
Photo Credit: Tasting Page
Un-Sushi Snackers from Tasting Page
Rainbow Cauliflower Rice Sushi from Code Green Wellness
Low Carb Vegan Sushi Rolls from Caralishious
Spicy Tofu Sushi with Cauliflower Rice from My Planted Plate
Keto Sushi Bowls
I love keto sushi bowls! They’re so convenient for lunch at work or an easy dinner. Enjoy these yummy keto sushi bowl recipes anytime for a healthy low carb meal. Keto sushi with cauliflower rice is such a nutritious alternative to the regular carb laden bowls.
Photo Credit: Whole New Mom
Easy Grain-Free Paleo Sushi from Whole New Mom (substitute a few drops stevia for the maple syrup)
Keto Salmon Sushi Bowl from Hey Keto Mama
California Roll Sushi Bowl from Life Made Sweeter
Low Carb Spicy Shrimp Sushi Bowls from It’s Cheat Day Everyday
Keto Sushi Burritos
Keto sushi burritos? Yes please! These keto sushi burrito recipes are as fun to make as they are to eat. Mix and match with your favorite low carb fillings!
Photo Credit: Strength & Sunshine
Paleo Sushi from Strength & Sunshine (replace beet with more avocado)
Low Carb Tuna Sushi Burrito from Carb Manager
Low Carb Sushirritos from Mandie Brice
So there you have it– all the information you need to be a keto sushi sensei! With these amazing keto sushi recipes and tips for ordering keto sushi at restaurants, you have everything you need to enjoy sushi on a low carb diet. I’ll just leave you with this last bit of wisdom: “Keep calm and sushi on!” Enjoy! 😋
BONUS: How to Stay Keto at ANY Restaurant
If you love eating out, you’re probably looking for easy tips that will help you stay keto in ANY restaurant, not just sushi ones. Well today is your lucky day because I just uploaded 3 Secrets to Staying Keto at Any Restaurant to my FREE wellness library. Just fill out the form below to get the password and gain exclusive access to tons of free keto and weight loss resources!
>> ENTER THE FREE WELLNESS LIBRARY <<
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Eating Out on Keto: Chinese Restaurants
1200 Calorie Keto Meal Plan
Free One Week Keto Meal Plan for Beginners
15 Easy & Delicious Vegan Keto Recipes
Pin for later! 😃
Pin for later! 😃
Thanks so much for including me in this recipe roundup!
You’re so welcome, Mandie! Your low carb sushirritos recipe looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it out. Take care! ❤️