California Roll Cucumber Salad hops on the cucumber salad trend, but adds kani and crispy rice for sushi-inspired crunch in every bite.
California Cucumber Roll Salad
This California Roll Cucumber Salad takes all the flavors of your favorite sushi roll—kani, creamy avocado, scallions, and a drizzle of soy sauce—and tosses them with crisp cucumber ribbons for a refreshing twist. A little chili crisp adds heat, while crunchy rice brings the texture you crave, making it hearty enough for a main dish salad. If you’re a cucumber lover, you’ll also enjoy my Creamy Cucumber Salad, and if you’re all about kani, don’t miss my Crab Salad Recipe for another quick, protein-packed lunch idea.
Why You’ll Love This Cucumber Salad
If you love sushi but don’t always want to roll your own, this salad is for you. It’s inspired by the classic California roll but tossed into a refreshing, hearty salad loaded with cucumber. I love how this one balances fresh vegetables with protein and crunch!
- Sushi-inspired: This deconstructed California roll is excellent when you’re craving sushi but want a lighter, lower-carb option.
- Hearty Enough for Lunch or Dinner: This salad has protein, vegetables, and carbs for a filling meal.
- Dietary Restrictions: Weight Watchers-friendly, gluten-free (if substituting soy sauce and kani), dairy-free
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients for this easy California roll cucumber salad. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Chili Crisp is a spicy Asian condiment, consisting of oil infused with chiles and other crunchy aromatics. This S&B Crunchy Garlic with Chili Oil is one of my new favorites. Or make your own, see my Asian Chicken Salad for chili crisp recipe.
- Soy Sauce gives the rice a salty, umami flavor.
- Rice: Use any kind of precooked white or brown rice. I have Instant Pot Jasmine Rice, Instant Pot Brown Rice, and Stovetop Brown Rice instructions. You can also use microwavable frozen rice.
- Cucumber Salad Dressing: Chili crisp, soy sauce, grated ginger, rice vinegar (Seasoned is better, but you can use unseasoned vinegar, too.)
- English Cucumbers have a thin skin, so they don’t need to be peeled, but you can if you want to. Slice the cucumber into thin half-moons.
- Scallions for a fresh, mild onion flavor
- Avocado for healthy fat and a creamy texture
- Kani: Try to find the surimi-style kani, which shreds, rather than the kind that comes in thick chunks.
How to Make A California Roll Cucumber Salad
The air fryer is a quick and easy way to get the rice crispy, but if you don’t have one, you can bake it in the oven. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Make Crispy Rice: Mix the rice with chili crisp and soy sauce. Line your air fryer with perforated parchment paper and air fry at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes. If you don’t have an air fryer, bake it at 400°F for 25 minutes.
- Make the Cucumber Salad: Put the remaining chili crisp and soy sauce, ginger, and rice vinegar in a large bowl. Then, stir in the vegetables and kani.
- How to Serve: Top with crispy rice and furikaki or sesame seeds.
Tips & Variations
- Use a mandolin for quick slicing: It gives you even, thin cucumber slices in seconds. Wear a cut-proof glove to protect your fingers!
- Use what you have: Garden cucumbers work great—just peel and slice them thin.
- Swap the kani: Use lump crab meat or cooked shrimp for a twist.
- Keep it gluten-free: Swap soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos and a different protein since kani isn’t typically gluten-free.
- Adjust the heat: Skip the chili crisp if you’re spice-sensitive or add extra if you love it hot.
- Make it creamy: Drizzle with spicy mayo (or mix mayo and sriracha) before serving.
- Bulk it up: Add extra vegetables, like edamame, shredded carrots, or diced bell peppers.
- Skip the crunch: Omit the rice if you want to keep it low-carb.
- Make it meal-prep friendly: Serve over rice to make it more filling.
What to Serve with This California Roll Salad
This cucumber salad is delicious and filling on it’s own. If you want to make this part of a multi-course meal, here’s some ideas:
Storage
- Refrigerate: This salad is best eaten after preparing it because the cucumbers can become soggy, and the avocado will brown. However, you can store the salad and crispy rice in separate containers for up to 2 days.
- How to Reheat: Air fry the rice at 350°F for about 5 minutes until warm and crispy. Add fresh avocado to the salad, and top with crispy rice.
FAQ
Kani is flake-style imitation crab, which primarily consists of Alaskan pollock.
Kani is much more affordable than fresh lump crab, but real crab meat would be delicious in this salad.
More Sushi-Inspired Recipes You’ll Love
For more dinner ideas, check out these five delicious sushi-inspired recipes to inspire your next meal!
- Spicy California Shrimp Stack
- Tuna Poke Salad
- Spicy Canned Salmon Rice Bowl
- Ahi Tuna Poke Stacks
- California Spicy Crab-Stuffed Avocado
California Roll Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 teaspoons chili crisp, divided
- 2 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce, divided
- ½ cup precooked rice
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, seasoned preferred but can be unseasoned
- 1 large English cucumber, sliced into thin half moons (can be peeled based on preference) about 2 cups
- ½ cup scallions, cut on a bias
- ½ cup avocado, diced (½ of a medium avocado)
- 1 cup kani imitation crab, flaked and cut into 1” pieces
- Furikake, or black and white sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- Combine rice with 1 teaspoon chili crisp and 1 teaspoon soy sauce.
- Line an air fryer basket, or sheet tray, with parchment paper. Air fry the rice at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. If baking, bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, stirring halfway.
While the rice crisps, mix salad:
- In the bottom of a large bowl combine remaining 1/2 tablespoon chili crisp, remaining 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, ginger and rice vinegar. Add cucumber, scallion, avocado & kani. Stir.
- Top with crispy rice.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
- Makes about 4 ¼ cups.
- Try to find the surimi style kani, that shreds, rather than the thick chunks.
YUMMMMY!!!
This recipe is AMAZING!!! The flavors are genuinely delicious and it tastes just like a California Roll. So simple to make too! Gina, thanks so much for this winner!!!!
Thanks Terri!
This was another great recipe and so easy. Instead of imitation crab I used salmon that I prepared in the air fryer. That was my only change. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Gorgeous but WAY too spicy!!! I cut the chili paste by 75%. Had to toss the rice and add lots more veggies to dilute the spicy dressing. Caution if you have kids. Will make again but adjust accordingly.
Did you use the chili crisp that she linked to? I am addicted to the stuff and don’t find it spicy at all – just yummy.
Excited to try! Has anyone tried this with cauliflower rice? If so, how did it turn out?
This has become one of my favorite salads. It’s perfect for lunch during lent and will be great for a summer salad and I cannot WAIT to have this with garden cucumbers! I added some wasabi peas just for a little extra crunch. It’s just delicious!
It would be helpful if the quantities within the recipe updated when you increased the number of servings. For example, the recipe is for 2 servings and it says mix 1 tsp of chili crisp with the rice. If you increase the servings to 4, it still says mix 1 tsp of chili crisp with the rice.
This is wonderful! My whole family loves this for lunch during the week. It’s super easy to prepare, fresh and delicious. I overcooked the rice the first time but no one noticed it missing (I’m going to try crispy onions next time as noted in another review). The chili crisp and the ginger give a big punch of flavor and the various textures make this a big winner. It was a little on the spicy side so we added some kewpie mayo and it was just perfect. Can’t wait to make it again!
A great dish to add into the summer early fall rotation! Added some edamame for a little more bulk and think it would also be good with some regular rice as a base. Next time I might try ahi tuna for a different protein twist…the crab was good just looking for ways to switch it up.
Love the flavor of this dish. I used shrimp because I had it in hand. I think I ate more than 1 helping , it was so good 😊
This is very good but pretty spicy prepared as directed. I used leftover Sushi rice and I think I could have omitted the chili crisp and soy sauce there and used less of the chili crisp in the dressing to suit our tastes. I don’t find those imitation crab sticks to have much flavor but they are a less expensive, healthy protein option and Gina really made them taste good. And fyi Trader Joe’s has a version of chili crisp.
fun salad with that crunchy rice topping–what a neat idea–really makes something special–added carrots and since didn’t have crab–but I had one piece of left over tilapia from your baked tilapia recipe–I just warmed it up and added that–it was a great sub I think. Great end of summer salad with a garden cucumber. Not something my husband would have thought he would like–but he did!
Awesome!
What is Chile crisp and where does one buy it?
I made this salad tonight – delicious!!!! That crunchy rice really made the dish! I made 3 portions out of this so I will have left-overs for lunch tomorrow. Thanks Gina for another great recipe!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
It is very rare that I don’t love a Skinnytaste recipe… this one, my entire family was not a fan of. The crunchy rice, and the amount of spice just threw it off.
I am obsessed with this salad. I don’t even bother to make the crispy rice anymore and just use the same amount not cooed rice instead. Quick and easy to throw together for lunch or dinner.
Made it, love it, baked rice was fantastic
Looked pretty but didn’t taste like any sushi I’ve ever had. Didn’t care for it at all.
Its a cucumber salad, not sushi. California roll inspired, sorry you didn’t like it.
Excited to try this! I was wondering if you have any alternative fish recommendations for someone with a shellfish allergy. I’m allergic to crab but would love to try this recipe.
Maybe Tuna? (I have not tested it with any other fish) You could also just omit it. Let me know what you try!
Are you allergic to fish or shellfish? there is no shellfish in there: Imitation crab is a processed product made from a pulverized paste of white fish that is flavored to taste like crab. Imitation crab is also dyed orange on its exterior to resemble cooked fresh crab meat. Check the label!
I was thinking of just adding extra veggies and edamame to this instead of crab…maybe that?
Made tonight for dinner. Very tasty. Lovely light fresh summer salad. Didn’t find that the crispy rice brought anything to the dish so after taste testing I changed the crispy rice for crispy fried onions. Very nice blend of flavours. Will make again. Served tonight with grilled Mahi Mahi.
I don’t like crab- could i used something else? Like maybe shrimp? I don’t like a lot of seafood – but i am ok with shrimp.
Would love to make this but am Gluten free. Any recommendations for a gf chili crisp?
Mr Bing I believe is!
I have not tried this recipe yet so I cannot rate it, but OMG I cannot wait to make it! Warmer weather calls for no cook and low fuss recipes and this fits the bill! Thanks again Gina for a fun new recipe!
Is the chili crisp and soy sauce teaspoons or tablespoons? It says teaspoons in ingredients but tablespoons in directions
Sorry I see how thats confusing, I just fixed.
Hi..i have all the ingredients. This looks great but Im not seeing the fix. Is it tsp or TBLS…???
Thank you
Always love your recipes
Nevermind…I went straight to your website, fyi… it is still wrong in the email link.
Thanks
this looks incredible! I have everything to make it at home – think I’m going to add some edamame and chilled poached shrimp to pack in more protein! And crispy bagged wontons in place of the rice to make it quicker – the options are endless ! Thank you for this.
Is the something that can be substituted for the chili crisp? I can’t eat that.