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    Home » Recipes

    Apr 20, 2022 · Modified: Apr 11, 2023 by Carita · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    The Best Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab

    The Best Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab recipe trending on Tik Tok is here! Deconstructed sushi is layered like a casserole filled with sticky sushi rice, spicy crab mix with sriracha and jalapeño. Best served family style, this recipe will be in heavy rotation in your home.

    Next, try my original Crab Sushi Bake or, this Dragon Roll Sushi Bowl recipe. I also have a Philly Roll Sushi Bowl recipe that is a must-try!

    Sushi bake with spicy crab plated on a small white plate topped with avocado, spicy mayo and black sesame seeds. Out of focus in a wooden bowl is seaweed salad and casserole dish with sushi bake.
    Sushi Bake Plated

    Spicy crab sushi bake is a social media craze for a reason. This mouthwatering dish is packed with sweet, tender crab meat, Japanese rice, and a delectable spicy mayo sauce.

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Sushi Bake Recipe
    • What is Sushi Bake?
    • Sushi Bake Ingredients
    • The Best Rice for Sushi Bake
    • How to Make Sushi Bake
    • SUSHI BAKE INSTRUCTIONS CONTINUED
    • Tips for the Best Sushi Bake
    • What goes with a sushi bake?
    • Sushi Bake Variations & Substitutions
    • How to Store Leftovers
    • Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab

    Table of Contents

    • Why You'll Love This Sushi Bake Recipe
    • What is Sushi Bake?
    • Sushi Bake Ingredients
      • SUSHI RICE
      • SPICY CRAB MIXTURE
      • SPICY MAYO
      • EEL SAUCE
      • TOPPINGS
    • The Best Rice for Sushi Bake
    • How to Make Sushi Bake
      • HOW TO PREPARE SPICY CRAB MIXTURE
      • HOW TO MAKE SPICY MAYO
      • HOW TO MAKE EEL (UNAGI) SAUCE
      • HOW TO PREPARE RICE FOR SUSHI BAKE
    • SUSHI BAKE INSTRUCTIONS CONTINUED
    • Tips for the Best Sushi Bake
      • How to Serve Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab
    • What goes with a sushi bake?
    • Sushi Bake Variations & Substitutions
    • How to Store Leftovers
      • HOW TO REHEAT
      • HOW LONG DOES THIS RECIPE LAST?
      • I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS EASY SUSHI BAKE RECIPE RECIPE!
    • Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab
      • Ingredients  
      • Instructions 

    Why You'll Love This Sushi Bake Recipe

    • Absolutely Delicious. If you love sushi or have been hesitant to try it, this recipe is for you! This has the tastiest parts of sushi without the raw fish.
    • Super Customizable. Keep what you like and omit what you don't. This recipe has many variations and substitutions to make it your own!
    • A Special Treat. Made with real crab meat, this baked sushi recipe is indulgent. Serve it for holidays and special gatherings, when you want to impress your guests.

    What is Sushi Bake?

    Sushi bake is a baked casserole filled with all the ingredients you'd expect in traditional sushi rolls. This warm dish is served with toppings like avocado and toasted sesame seeds, and is served on nori/seaweed sheets for easy consumption.

    Sushi bake recipes include of all your favorite sushi additions such as fresh or imitation crab, salmon, shrimp, spicy mayo, avocado, crunchy onion, and more.

    While the sushi casserole has been around a few years, lately this craze is trending on Tik Tok and Instagram. There are several variations of this recipe, but today this recipe is centered around fresh and canned crab made into a spicy mixture with mayo, cream cheese, and jalapeño.

    Sushi Bake Ingredients

    It is important to note, this is just a blueprint, that is to say use ingredients that you have access to. Certainly, add in what you prefer in sushi! Here’s what you’ll need to make the best sushi bake with spicy crab.

    SUSHI RICE

    • Rice
    • Water
    • Rice Wine Vinegar
    • Sugar
    • Salt
    • Oil (grapeseed)
    Sushi rice ingredients for sushi bake. Small bowls from left to right of rice vinegar, oil, water, rice, salt and sugar.
    Sushi Rice Ingredients

    SPICY CRAB MIXTURE

    • Crab. I used snow crab and canned lump crab meat.
    • Spicy Mayo. Your regular mayo will work fine but I highly suggest using Japanese mayo, like kewpie mayo, as the base of your sauce for a rich flavor. See below for more details.
    • Cream Cheese. Use room temperature.
    • Cajun Seasoning.
    • Jalapeno.
    • Green Onion.
    • Sesame Oil.
    • Lemon Juice.
    Sushi bake ingredients on a flay late in small white and clear bowls. From left to right, small bowl of spicy mayo, cream cheese, Cajun seasoning, crab meat, jalapenos, sesame oil and lemon juice.
    Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab Ingredients

    SPICY MAYO

    This mouthwatering sauce is drizzled over the plated sushi bake. It's savory, spicy, with a hint of toasted nuttiness. Simply combine the ingredients and place it in the fridge until you are ready to use them.

    • Mayonnaise
    • Sriracha
    • Sesame Oil
    • Garlic (optional)

    EEL SAUCE

    Eel sauce, also known as unagi sauce, can be purchased at your local Asian grocery store. But making it is very simple. It has a distinct, sweet, salty, umami flavor that is drool-worthy.

    • Soy Sauce
    • Sake
    • Sugar
    • Mirin

    TOPPINGS

    • Avocado
    • Sesame Seeds
    • Crunchy Onion
    • Spicy Mayo
    • Eel (Unagi) Sauce
    • Green Onion
    • Furikake Seasoning
    Additional toppings for sushi bake with additional toppings. From left to right in a flat lay style, seaweed sheets packaged, wooden bowl of green onions, bottled furikake, small white bowl with sesame seeds, small white bowl with fried green onions, small white bowl with black sesame seeds and two avocados.
    Sushi Bake Toppings

    The Best Rice for Sushi Bake

    Sushi bake tastes fine with regular cooked rice so but if you have the time, definitely use sushi rice. It enhances the overall flavor and provides true sushi flavor and texture.

    CalRose Rice in a white bag with red writing explaining contents inside. Bag is opened and lying flat with rice poured out onto the surface for viewing pleasure.
    CalRose Short Grain Rice

    Short grain rice or rice labeled, "sushi rice" works best when preparing this rice. To explain, sushi rice is prepared with additional ingredients to give it the sticky and flavorful texture that it holds. Medium to long-grain rice is not able to withstand the added ingredients as well as short-grain rice.

    I prefer Calrose Rice and you can find this brand by clicking here. This rice only needs to be soaked once and is ready to serve in about 20 minutes.

    How to Make Sushi Bake

    First, prepare the sushi rice. Follow the package instructions on your bag of rice carefully.

    While the rice cooks, it is advantageous to complete more steps. With that said, prep additional ingredients by chopping the green onion, and jalapeno, slicing the avocado, and measuring out all remaining ingredients.

    Cooked sushi rice in an aluminum bowl with a wooden spatula.
    Sushi Rice in a Bowl

    HOW TO PREPARE SPICY CRAB MIXTURE

    While the rice continues to cook, in a bowl add the snow crab (and canned lump crab if applicable). Next, add green onion, jalapeño, Cajun seasoning, cream cheese, lemon juice, sesame oil, and spicy mayo.

    White bowl filled with Spicy crab mixture un-mixed. Each ingredient is placed in a section in the bowl for visual purposes.
    Spicy Crab Mixture
    Spicy crab mixture in a white bowl with mixed ingredients.
    Spicy Crab Mixture Mixed

    Stir until thoroughly combined. Set aside until further use.

    HOW TO MAKE SPICY MAYO

    If you are preparing the spicy mayo at home, now is a good time to prepare it. Allowing the sauce to marinate makes for great flavor. You can certainly purchase store bought though and get great results.

    Start by adding mayo, sriracha, sesame oil and garlic to a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Adjust spiciness and flavor to your liking and refrigerate until ready for use.

    HOW TO MAKE EEL (UNAGI) SAUCE

    Begin by pouring the sugar in a small to medium sized skillet. Next, pour in the sake and mirin and stir until dissolved.

    While the mixture is coming to a boil, add in soy sauce, stir and bring back to a full boil. After that, reduce heat to a low simmer and allow sauce to thicken.

    Eel sauce in a white ramekin. Spoon is ladled over the white ramekin pouring eel sauce into cup.
    Eel Sauce

    After about 10 minutes, turn heat off and let cool. As sauce cools, it will thicken. Set aside until later use!

    HOW TO PREPARE RICE FOR SUSHI BAKE

    After the rice has boiled and cooked through, in a separate bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, oil and stir. Add liquid mixture to rice and stir until thoroughly combined. Allow rice to cool until assembly.

    SUSHI BAKE INSTRUCTIONS CONTINUED

    Now that all the components to make sushi bake are complete, it is time to prepare the final steps in the recipe. First, in a baking dish spray with cooking spray or cover in oil to assist with the rice not sticking.

    Next, add the prepared sushi rice to the bottom of the pan. Be sure to use a flat cooking utensil to ensure the rice is evenly packed down.

    Sushi bake progression image. Six photos in a collage showing step-by-step images of sushi bake. Image one shows cooked sushi rice, image two, furikake seasoning, third image, crab mixture, fourth image, topped with furikake, fifth image is baked sushi bake and last image is dressed sushi bake with toppings and scooped out.
    Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab Progression

    Last, sprinkle sushi rice with furikake seasoning (should be an even layer across casserole dish).

    Now, pour in spicy crab mixture being sure to evenly disperse the mixture. Sprinkle with additional furikake (optional) and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until crab mixture is bubbly and brown on top!

    Tips for the Best Sushi Bake

    • Use short grain rice. You can find sushi grade rice at your local grocery store in the international/Asian aisle.
    • Depending on package instructions, rinse (until rice water runs clear) and/or soak the rice for best results.
    • Vinegar, sugar and additional ingredients give great- authentic sushi flavor and texture, do not omit!
    • Add additional sushi rice ingredients after the rice is immediately cooked. The ingredients will dissolve and mix best while the rice is hot.
    • Use an appropriate pot to cook your rice if you don’t own a rice cooker.
    • Allow the rice to cool before assembling the casserole. (I was too anxious the first attempt and burned my fingers, ouch!)
    • Prep all ingredients for easy cooking.
    • Allow the casserole to cool at least 15 minutes before serving for best results.
    • Make sure casserole dish is oiled/greased down. If not, the rice will stick to the casserole dish.

    How to Serve Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab

    Now that the sushi bake is cooked through, drizzle additional spicy mayo and add eel sauce over the casserole. Next, garnish with furikake (optional) and green onions.

    It is important to note, the sushi bake is best served cooled. This also allows the casserole to form into a better texture for serving.

    Hand holding baked sushi bake wrapped in seaweed sheets. Sushi bake is topped with sliced avocado, spicy mayo and sesame seeds.
    Sushi Bake with Hand

    Once, cooled using a spatula, simply carve out portions of the sushi bake onto a small plate. Garnish with thinly sliced avocado and any additional desired toppings.

    If using seaweed or nori sheets, simply place the sushi bake on top of the sheet and enjoy!

    What goes with a sushi bake?

    • Flavored seaweed sheets
    • Seaweed Salad
    • Salad with ginger dressing
    • Wasabi
    • Pickled Ginger
    Sushi bake in a glass baking dish with cooked ingredients and toppings with one scoop exposing the inside of the casserole.
    Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab Scooped Out

    Sushi Bake Variations & Substitutions

    There are many substitutions to make this recipe more to your liking and budget. Here is how:

    1. Protein - Substitute snow crab with shrimp, scallops, salmon, tuna, imitation crab meat, or go meatless to make this vegetarian!
    2. Sushi Bake Cups - For a tasty bite sized appetizer, add the sushi bake mixture to greased muffin pans. Start with seaweed sheets as the base and layer the ingredients.
    3. Seaweed Sheets - Unable to locate seaweed sheets? Often, nori sheets can be found at most local markets on the Asian aisle.
    4. Don't Bake - While the craze right now is "sushi bake" this recipe is certainly just as tasty served chilled and will resemble the true flavor and feel of sushi.
    5. Additions - Add fresh fruit like mango. Fun toppings like fried onions and fun sauces like unagi sauce would be delicious too!
    Sushi bake plated with ginger and wasabi. Spoon is pouring prepared eel sauce over plated sushi bake.
    Sushi Baked with Spicy Crab Eel Sauce

    How to Store Leftovers

    While I’m certain you will have minimal leftovers because this dish is absolutely delicious, you can store crab sushi bake.

    1. Transfer any leftover casserole into an airtight container and store in the fridge.
    2. Be certain to only store the casserole portion of the recipe (the rice and crab mixture).
    3. Store additional toppings and sauces separately.

    HOW TO REHEAT

    This recipe tastes better with time. The flavor will deepen, and the integrity of the texture surprisingly lasts too! Here is how best to reheat sushi bake.

    1. Microwave on a safe plate or bowl covered for about one minute.
    2. A trick my Grandad did which I think adds value, sprinkle a bit of water over the dish before microwaving. Or add once cube of ice. This helps to steam the rice back to its original texture.
    3. Once reheated through, then add additional sauces and toppings.

    HOW LONG DOES THIS RECIPE LAST?

    Once stored, this dish can last in the refrigerator for three to five days. But I always use my old school rule of thumb that if it smells funny, throw it away!

    Plated sushi bake on a white plate drizzled with spicy mayo, avocado and black sesame seeds.
    Sushi Bake Plated

    I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS EASY SUSHI BAKE RECIPE RECIPE!

    If you try this recipe, I'd love to see it! Share it with me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

    Sushi bake with spicy crab plated on a small white plate topped with avocado, spicy mayo and black sesame seeds. Out of focus in a wooden bowl is seaweed salad and casserole dish with sushi bake.

    Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab

    Carita
    The Best Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab recipe trending on Tik Tok is here! Deconstructed sushi is layered like a casserole filled with sticky sushi rice, spicy crab mix with sriracha and jalapeño. Best served family style, this recipe will be in heavy rotation in your home.
    3.50 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer, Brunch, Main Course
    Cuisine American, Asian, Japanese
    Servings 4 people

    Ingredients
      

    Sushi Rice

    • 2 cups Rice short grain/sushi rice
    • 1 tablespoon Sugar
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • ¼ cup Rice Vinegar
    • 2.5 cups Water

    Spicy Mayo

    • 3 tablespoon Mayonnaise
    • 1 tsp Garlic Paste
    • 1.5 tbsp Sriracha
    • 1.5 teaspoon Sesame Oil

    Spicy Crab Mixture

    • 1.5-2 tablespoon Crab snow, imitation or canned lump crab
    • 3 tablespoon Spicy Mayo prepared earlier
    • 4 oz Cream Cheese room temperature
    • 1 tablespoon Cajun Seasoning
    • 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
    • ¼ cup Jalapeno
    • 1 tablespoon Green Onion

    Eel (Unagi) Sauce

    • ½ cup Soy Sauce
    • ½ cup Mirin
    • 1-1.5 tablespoon Sake
    • ⅓ cup Sugar

    Additional Toppings

    • 1-2 tablespoon Furikake Seasoning
    • 1 small Avocado
    • 1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
    • .15 oz Seaweed Sheets
    • ¼ cup Fried Onions

    Instructions
     

    Sushi Rice

    • Prepare rice according to package instructions.
    • After the rice has boiled and cooked through, in a separate bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, oil and stir.
    • Add liquid mixture to rice and stir until thoroughly combined. Allow rice to cool until assembly.

    Spicy Mayo

    • Start by adding mayo, sriracha, sesame oil and garlic to a bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.
    • Allowing the sauce to marinate makes for great flavor. You can certainly purchase store bought though and get great results.
    • Adjust spiciness and flavor to your liking and refrigerate until ready for use.

    Spicy Crab Mixture

    • In a bowl add the snow crab (and canned lump crab if applicable).
    • Add green onion, jalapeño, Cajun seasoning, cream cheese, lemon juice, sesame oil and spicy mayo.
    • Stir until thoroughly combined. Set aside until further use.

    Eel (Unagi) Sauce

    • Begin by pouring the sugar in a small to medium sized skillet.
    • Next, pour in the sake and mirin and stir until dissolved.
    • While the mixture is slowly coming to a boil, add in soy sauce, stir and bring to a full boil (the heat may need to increase a bit for the full boil).
    • After that, reduce heat to a low simmer and allow sauce to thicken. This may take up to 15 minutes but times may vary.
    • Turn the heat off and let cool. As the sauce cools, it will thicken more. Set aside until later use!

    How to Make Sushi Bake with Spicy Crab

    • First, in a baking dish spray with cooking spray or cover in oil to assist with the rice not sticking.
    • Next, add the prepared sushi rice to the bottom of the pan. Be sure to use a flat cooking utensil to ensure the rice is evenly packed down.
    • Last, sprinkle sushi rice with furikake seasoning (should be an even layer across casserole dish).
    • Now, pour in spicy crab mixture being sure to evenly disperse the mixture.
    • Sprinkle with additional furikake (optional) and bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until crab mixture is bubbly and brown on top!
    • Drizzle additional spicy mayo and add eel sauce over the casserole.
    • Next, garnish with furikake (optional) and green onions.
    • It is important to note, the sushi bake is best served cooled. This also allows the casserole to form into a better texture for serving.
    • Once, cooled using a spatula, simply carve out portions of the sushi bake onto a small plate.
    • Garnish with thinly sliced avocado and any additional desired toppings.
    • If using seaweed or nori sheets, simply place the sushi bake on top of the sheet and enjoy!
    Keyword baked sushi, best sushi bake recipe, crab sushi bake, easy sushi bake recipe, how to make sushi bake, Sushi Bake, sushi bake ingredients, sushi bake recipe, sushi bake recipe imitation crab, sushi bake recipe salmon and crab, sushi bake recipes, sushi bake variations, sushi bake with spicy crab, tiktok sushi bake

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cassie says

      February 16, 2023 at 8:55 am

      2 stars
      The bake came out alright but holy cow is this recipe a mess. It calls for Jalapeno that you never even use. Asks for Green onion that’s not on the ingredients list, so I didn’t pick it up. And 8oz of seaweed sheets!? They’re like $4.00 where I live. You DEFINITELY don’t need that much. I used 1 and still got a good result. Another thing that drove me crazy was that you first add spicy Mayo to the crab mixture and set it aside. THEN you make spicy Mayo. Also my eel sauce took almost 40 minutes and a whole extra 1/3 cup of sugar and another Tbsp of Mirin. I was very frustrated going through these steps. I had to adjust so much.

      Reply
      • Carita says

        March 01, 2023 at 3:19 pm

        Hi Cassie! I appreciate your feedback. There are several steps to this recipe and I have adjusted the order to allow the recipe to flow smoother. The eel sauce will thicken as it cools, it shouldn't take 40 minutes to prepare though. I hope you enjoyed either way and thanks for visiting my site.

        Reply
    2. Abigail says

      May 29, 2023 at 2:38 am

      5 stars
      Loved this dish! Although the recipe called for 2Tbsp crab, I used 8oz of imitation crab (whole package) and it was perfect. I left out jalapeños and eel sauce. Will be making again! (&again!)

      Reply
      • Carita says

        June 25, 2023 at 8:01 pm

        So glad you loved it. I will have to try imitation crab next time. 🙂

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Carita a true southern girl at heart. My love for cooking started as a child watching my grandmothers cook with such ease in the kitchen. Creating delicious meals doesn't always require hours in the kitchen. I have taken all that I've learned and work to develop simplified versions of staple recipes for you to share with family and friends!

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