This gluten free California Roll Salad combines all the elements of a California Roll into a salad, making it perfect for your next potluck. It's an impressive salad that always gets rave reviews and has people asking for the recipe. Made with regular long grain rice, not sushi rice, you just might have all the ingredients in your kitchen.
This Califiornia Roll Salad is big making it perfect for a party. My top three 'big salads' include this one, Spicy Sesame Noodle Salad (my Block Party salad) and a late summer Harvest Jewelled Salad just because it's so pretty.
Jump to:
Ingredients
Many salads are gluten free, but not really. I've listed the ingredients here then keep scrolling to learn where gluten might be hiding. Once your pantry is 100% gluten free, then you're cookin'!
- long grain rice (not short grain sushi rice)
- unseasoned rice vinegar
- sugar
- vegetable oil
- long English cucumber
- carrot
- green onions
- pickled ginger
- toasted sesame seeds
- canned, fresh or frozen crabmeat
- avocado
- toasted nori sheets
- gluten free soy sauce
- gluten free wasabi paste or powder
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Seasoned vs Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
Rice vinegar is available as either seasoned or unseasoned. Seasoned rice vinegar has added sugar and salt so buy unseasoned. A good policy for shopping is to buy the plain version whenever you can and season it in your kitchen. Marukan brand rice vinegars are gluten free and GMO free.
Pickled Ginger
Pickled ginger, sometimes called sushi ginger, is thinly sliced young ginger in a brine of sugar and vinegar. Young ginger turns a pink hue from the pickling process but most brands add colouring to enhance the pink colour. (Damn it!) Pickled ginger is sold in plastic tubs or jars in the deli or Asian section and has an expiry date. It will last up to a year in your fridge but find a few recipes that use it and keep it moving.
Toasted and Natural Nori Sheets (Seaweed)
Edible seaweed is shredded, pressed into thin sheets and then dried. The sheets are sold in square packages, regular or toasted. My recipe calls for the toasted ones so that’s what I buy. They can be re-toasted to bring out the natural grassy flavour but I don't bother. Nori sheets will last indefinitely in the pantry. I also use them to make this Smoked Salmon Sushi Pizza.
Fake Crabmeat or Sea Legs
When you cook gluten free you learn more about food manufacturing than you ever cared to know. Fresh, frozen and canned crab are all naturally gluten free. Fake crab, sea legs and similar products my not be gluten free. A good policy for a healthy gut is to avoid fake food.
Soy Sauce and Tamari
Gluten free soy sauce and tamari are readily available at most grocery stores. Label readers learn quickly that the cheapest brands are full of chemicals. Pay attention to different brands of both gluten free soy sauce and tamari. I love learning with friends over a taste test and you can read how I did that in this post, Soy Sauce vs Tamari Tasting.
Wasabi Paste vs Powder
Wasabi is a Japanese variety of horseradish. It's expensive so most brands are made of mustard or non-Japanese horseradish. The label will say something like wasabi-style paste and it may contain wheat. S&B brand sells tubes of wasabi paste labeled gluten free if you can find it.
Wasabi powder comes in a tiny tin that can be made into a paste in about five seconds. It'll last in your pantry forever so I only use the powder. Both S&B brand and Eden Foods wasabi powder is gluten free.
Storage
Like so many salads, this one is best the day it's made and one day after. Yet I'm all about gourmet leftovers and it's a big salad. Every time I make it I save a hefty portion for myself. I pack some directly into a Mason jar as soon as I make it and enjoy every bite over the next few days.
Top Tip
Bookmark this post, Gluten Free Asian Pantry, to make sure you're only using safe ingredients. Share your favourite brands with family and friends who cook for you (yes, anyone can choose the gluten free brand). Then expect to make all the Asian dishes you love.
Gluten Free California Roll Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ cups long grain rice
- ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar (first amount)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoon salt
SALAD
- 3 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar (second amount)
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 long English cucumber , quartered lengthwise then sliced
- ½ cup finely shredded carrot
- 4 green onions , cut into 1-inch lengths, each length cut into thin strips
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped pickled ginger
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds*
FINAL ASSEMBLY
- 1 can crabmeat, drained (5 oz/120 g)
- 1 avocado , quartered and cut crosswise into thin slices
- 2 toasted nori sheets* , cut into thin strips about 2-inches long. Reserve a handful for garnish.
SALAD DRESSING
- 3 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoon gluten free wasabi paste**
- 1½ teaspoon ginger juice from jar of pickled ginger
Instructions
RICE
- Bring rice and water to a boil in medium saucepan. Put the lid on, turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- In small saucepan combine first amount of rice vinegar (¼ cup), sugar and salt. Bring to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
- Transfer cooked rice to a large bowl and pour warm vinegar mixture over top. Stir with a fork pushing rice up the sides of the bowl allowing it to cool.
ADVANCE SALAD PREP
- Using a fork, stir in second amount rice vinegar and oil.
- Fold in cucumber, carrot, pickled ginger, green onion and sesame seeds. Salad can be prepared up to this point 1-2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.
SALAD DRESSING & FINISHING
- Fold crab, avocado and nori strips into salad and transfer to a large glass bowl.
- In a small bowl stir all dressing ingredients until smooth.
- Sprinkle salad with remaining nori strips and drizzle with dressing. Serve within 4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
In a small bowl stir together 1 tablespoon of wasabi powder (that's 3 teaspoons) and 1½ tablespoon water. Wait 1 minute then serve with homemade sushi rolls or use in any recipe like this smoked salmon sushi pizza or my California Roll Salad.
__________________________________________________________________________
New here? I've got help to get you from overwhelmed and frustrated to confidently cooking gluten free food the whole family wants to eat. Subscribe and get your free resource, 29 Tips for GF flour.
🎉 I made it into the Top 100 Gluten Free Blogs for 2025 and the Top 40 Gourmet Food Blogs. To learn all the ways I can help you click here, Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet.
_________________________________________________________________________
Steshni Corea
Would love a vegetarian version of this!