Vegan Bunny Elle

A little extra flair to the traditional onigiri. These rice balls are vibrant, delicious, and to-go friendly.

The iconic Japanese onigiri, aka rice balls but with my personal twist. Think the avocado inside out sushi roll! These are in the same spirit and style but done to onigiris. Yes there are a couple of extra steps to get the avocado on the outside of the rice balls but the adorable visual effect and the smile on everyone’s face are well worth the effort!

And they’re not just flair with no substance, quite the contrary, they’re as nutritious as they are pretty. Filled with a savory, flavorful, and refreshing chickpea and black bean mash, these handy rice balls are naturally high protein and gluten-free, provide loads of fiber, vitamins and minerals as well as healthy fat and carbs.

Avocado Onigiri Japanese Rice Balls

These handy rice balls are a powerhouse meal on the go! Filled with high protein chickpea and black bean mash, they’ll make your lunch box the envy of all.

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Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 cup cooked sushi rice which is short grain white rice
• 1 1/2 tablespoon sushi vinegar
• 1 cup chickpea
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 carrot finely chopped
• 1/2 small red onion finely diced
• 3 celery stalks thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoon homemade silken tofu mayo see notes
• Squeeze of fresh lemon
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Method

 

1. Get your rice ready and season with the sushi vinegar, set aside, it’s best to work with freshly made rice while it’s still warm;
2. Mash the chickpeas and black beans together, I like to leave some texture;
3. Fold in the chopped veggies, homemade mayo, and lemon juice, give it a taste before you add more salt and pepper, please note if your beans are not salt-free you might not need extra salt, so season to your prefereence!
4. Thinly slice the avocado and drizzle on some lemon juice to slow down oxidation;
5. Place a piece of saran wrap on your cutting board or counter surface, press down about 1 cup of rice, place a few slices of avocado on top, then cover with another piece of saran wrap;
6. Flip it over, now the avocado side is on the bottom and the plain rice side is on top, remove the top saran wrap, add the chickpea black bean mash, you can add as much as you like I like to add 2 ice cream scoops worth;
7. Pick up the corners of the saran wrap and close up the onigiri, shaping with your hands and make sure the opening is sealed with rice, press firmly into a ball shape;
8. Remove the saran wrap, serve immediately or keep in the fridge for up to one day, enjoy!

Video

Notes

You can use store-bought vegan mayo or make your own with silken tofu, using this recipe