Missing sushi on a Whole30? These California Hand Rolls are the easiest way to enjoy sushi flavors at home without the fuss. Packed with sweet crab, creamy avocado, and crunchy vegetables wrapped in crisp nori, these hand rolls are naturally gluten-free and protein-packed.
Whole30 & Keto-Friendly Sushi
Looking for sushi without rice? These California hand rolls are the perfect solution. You still get all the classic crab and avocado flavors of a California roll, just wrapped in crisp nori with some crisp matchstick cucumbers instead of rice.
If you’ve never made hand rolls (temaki) before, they’re the most beginner-friendly sushi you can make. There’s no bamboo mat, no complicated rolling technique, and no sticky rice to deal with. Just pile the fillings onto toasted nori and roll it into a cone.
At our house, California hand rolls are a regular dinner because everyone can assemble their own. I set out bowls of crab salad, sliced avocado, cucumbers, and sprouts, and the family builds their rolls at the table. It’s fast, fun, and the nori stays perfectly crisp because you eat each roll as soon as it’s made.
Traditional California rolls are made with sushi rice, but these hand rolls skip the rice entirely. Instead, the fillings are wrapped in toasted nori for a lighter option that still delivers the classic crab-and-avocado flavor you expect from California roll sushi.
What kind of crab do you use?
In this California hand roll recipe, it’s important to source the highest quality crab available. Obviously, the best choice is to use fresh cooked crab meat that you make yourself or buy from a trusted fishmonger. The second best choice is the canned crab jumbo lump meat that is found in the refrigerated section in the seafood department. Don’t use shelf-stable canned crab meat because the texture is dry and mealy and the flavor is off.
If you can’t find high-quality crab, use cooked shrimp or salmon instead!
Toasting the nori is key!
Besides high quality crab meat, toasted nori (a.k.a. edible seaweed sheets) is the small difference between your hand rolls tasting ho-hum and amazing. At the grocery store, you can buy nori (a.k.a. dried edible seaweed sheets) toasted or not, but even if you buy toasted nori, they’ll taste better if you quickly crisp them up over a gas burner or under a broiler.
Eat them as you make them!
The toasted nori softens as soon as it comes in contact with filling, so you should definitely make the California Hand Rolls fresh. At our house, I have all the ingredients ready to go and every one grabs a piece of toasted nori to make their own hand rolls—eating them as they go. This way, the labor is divided and you can gobble up the rolls as quickly as you can make them.
Ingredients
- Standard nori sheets: I buy untoasted nori that I toast it at home when I want to
- Cooked lump crab meat: See above for my favorite crab to use. (Yes, canned can be just fine.)
- Thinly sliced green onions: Adds freshness to the crab salad.
- Paleo Mayonnaise: You don’t need to use homemade mayo, store-bought is a-ok!
- Red pepper flakes (optional): If you want a spicier hand roll, you can season the crab salad with red pepper flakes or even a squirt of sriracha if you want!
- Juice from ½ medium lime: Adds a squirt of tang and brightness to the crab salad.
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Hass Avocado: Creamy avocado slices add extra fiber to these protein-packed hand rolls!
- Japanese or Persian cucumbers: My favorite cucumbers to use are Japanese or Persian cucumbers because they are crisp and seedless. You can also use English cucumbers or regular cucumbers (just peel them and scoop out the seeds).
- Handful of radish sprouts or micro greens (optional): An optional garnish, but I love them because they can add a little peppery bite.
- Toasted sesame seeds (optional): Another optional garnish, but it adds a nice nutty bite.
How to make California Hand Rolls
If the nori sheets are already toasted and you are pressed for time, you can skip the toasting part, but even toasted nori can be perked up with a little heat.
Toast each nori sheet over a gas burner on low, by slowly fanning it back and forth until the color turns bright green.
No gas stovetop? You can also toast the nori in the oven. Turn on the broiler with the rack about 6 inches from the heating element. Place two pieces of nori on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven for only 10 seconds or until they turn green and smell toasty.
Cut each piece of nori in half width-wise so you have 16 pieces of toasted nori.
In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, scallions, mayonnaise, red pepper flakes (if using), and lime juice.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
To assemble each roll, hold a piece of nori shiny-side down, and scoop 2 tablespoons of the crab mixture onto the left side of the rectangle. The filling should be at a diagonal, running from the top left corner to the bottom center of the nori.
Top the crab with a slice of avocado, a couple of cucumber slices, and sprouts.
Fold the bottom left corner of the nori over the filling before wrapping the long part of the nori around the crab and vegetables…
…to form a cone. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Eat immediately!
More Japanese-inspired gluten-free recipes
- Gyudon (Japanese Beef Bowl)
- Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs)
- Japanese Potato Salad
- Japanese-Inspired Avocado and Chicken Salad
- Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Bowl)
- Tonkatsu
- Beef and Enoki Mushroom Rolls
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
California Hand Rolls (Crab & Avocado Temaki)
Ingredients
- 8 toasted nori sheets
- 1 pound cooked lump crab meat
- 2 scallions or green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons paleo mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large Hass avocado pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
- 2 small Japanese or Persian cucumbers cut into matchsticks
- Handful of radish sprouts or micro greens
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- If the nori sheets are already toasted and you are pressed for time, you can skip the toasting part, but even toasted nori can be perked up with a little heat. Toast each nori sheet over a gas burner on low, by slowly fanning it back and forth until the color turns bright green.No gas stovetop? You can also toast the nori in the oven. Turn on the broiler with the rack about 6 inches from the heating element. Place two pieces of nori on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven for only 10 seconds or until they turn green and smell toasty.
- Cut each piece of nori in half width-wise so you have 16 pieces of toasted nori.
- In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, scallions, mayonnaise, red pepper flakes (if using), and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
- To assemble each roll, hold a piece of nori shiny-side down, and scoop 2 tablespoons of the crab mixture onto the left side of the rectangle. The filling should be at a diagonal, running from the top left corner to the bottom center of the nori.
- Top the crab with a slice of avocado, some cucumber, and sprouts. Fold the bottom left corner of the nori over the filling before wrapping the long part of the nori around the crab and vegetables to form a cone.
- Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and erve immediately—don’t let the nori get soft!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was such a delicious lunch today! Great for my whole30 sushi craving! Thanks for sharing!
Great recipe! If you don’t use all of the crab mixture during one meal, how long will this last refrigerated? Does the quality of the crab deteriorate?
Probably only a day at most!
These flavors. Thank you for giving me something to fill the sushi void during whole 30 without sacrificing any flavor. So gd good.
Oh. My. Goodnessssss. This was CRAZY awesome. I made a huge platter of fixings to go with the crab and my hubby and I scarfed the entire thing! Lol At first we looked at it and thought, “oh well never eat all of this” … And suddenly the plate was empty. So good. We did everything from your recipe plus added some mango slices and jalepenos with a side of kimchi. To die for. Thank you.
Another win for an easy, healthy, gluten free dinner. Thanks, nom nom paleo!
This looks amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.