Pear Avocado Sushi Salad with Peanut Sauce

This vegan, gluten-free pear avocado sushi salad is a great compromise when you’re feeling lazy. Enjoy the taste of sushi without the work!

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Imagine rolling slices of pear, avocado, and cucumber in a rice-coated nori sheet. Slice the roll and dip a piece in peanut sauce. Yum! Sounds delicious, right? But maybe it’s more work than you’re up for… Sushi salad is the perfect compromise when you don’t feel like being fussy. With minimal effort, this Pear Avocado Sushi Salad can be just as satisfying as the sushi roll described above. It has the same healthy ingredients.

Why You Should Eat Nori

I share nori’s many health benefits in my Veggie Quinoa Sushi Rolls post. But I recently discovered another important reason to include these unassuming strips of seaweed in my diet. Apparently, consuming raw cruciferous veggies (kale, broccoli, etc.) has the potential to interfere with iodine absorption. (Iodine is vital for a healthy thyroid.) If you enjoy raw cruciferous veggies, be sure you also eat iodine-rich foods like nori.

Tasty Ingredients

You hardly notice the nori in this Pear Avocado Sushi Salad. It adds a hint of salty texture under the creamy flavor of peanut sauce.

This recipe was partly inspired by the Budda Rolls (avocado and peanut) I enjoy at my favorite Japanese restaurant. I didn’t have peanuts, so I figured peanut sauce would do. The lovely pears sitting on my counter also seemed like a good fit. Good call. They add a delectable touch of sweetness.

The salad tastes best at room temperature. To add some leafy greens to the mix, I like to serve it on a bed of baby romaine lettuce. I bet it would also be great wrapped in a large leaf of romaine.

What’s Needed?

The following small appliances make following this recipe a breeze:

• Rice cooker or Instant Pot – Both options are great for perfectly cooked rice. But I prefer the results I get with my Instant Pot.
• High-speed blender – A good blender makes the best spreads and sauces.

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Pear Avocado Sushi Salad with Peanut Sauce

This vegan and gluten-free recipe is the perfect compromise when you don’t feel like rolling sushi. Enjoy the taste without the work.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Ingredients

Peanut Sauce

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup natural peanut butter
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp. low sodium Tamari
• 1 Tbsp. brown rice vinegar
• 2 tsp. maple syrup
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• ⅛ – ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Salad

• 2 cups long grain brown rice or wild rice mix uncooked, I use the Tinkyada brand
• 4½ cups water
• 1 cucumber peeled, seeded and chopped
• 2 pears chopped
• 2 avocados peeled and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
• 2 nori sheets torn into 2 inch pieces
• 2 tsp. lemon juice

Instructions

Peanut Sauce

• Combine ½ cup of water, peanut butter, garlic, Tamari, rice vinegar, maple syrup, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes in a high-speed blender.
• Begin blending on low and slowly turn up to medium high (7 on Vitamix). Blend for approximately 30 seconds or until the sauce reaches a smooth consistency.

Salad

• Rinse rice and combine with 4½ cups of water in a rice cooker. Cook on the brown rice setting. (Alternatively, combine rice and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil on the stovetop. Reduce heat and simmer covered for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.)
• Fluff cooked rice with a fork and set aside.
• Combine chopped pears and avocados with lemon juice in a large bowl and stir to mix.
• Add sesame seeds and chopped cucumber and stir to mix.
• For easier mixing, add ⅓ of each of the remaining ingredients (cooked rice, peanut sauce, and torn nori) at a time. Stir to mix well after each addition.

Notes

The peanut sauce recipe makes approximately 1½ cups of sauce.

Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate for special dietary needs. I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 756mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 223IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg