This Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl is made with chunks of fresh tuna, avocado, cucumbers, spicy mayo and scallions cut on the bias served on a bed of steamed rice – YES please!!
Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl
My poke bowl obsession runs as deep as my sushi obsession, and I am not alone! In the past few years, New York has exploded with poke restaurants. The great news is that it’s just as easy to make them from scratch! The beauty of this Poke Bowl Recipe is that you can customize it to your taste. Love salmon? Use that instead. Don’t like raw fish, sear it a few minutes on each side? Don’t like spicy food, leave the spicy mayo out. Easy! More recipes like this Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl that you may like, Ahi Poke Bowls with Mango, these vegan poke bowls or this Tuna Poke Salad.
Poke Bowl Recipe
My friend went tuna fishing and gave me some fresh tuna (lucky me!), which inspired these spicy poke bowls. They are so easy to make – my version of a poke bowl recipe is made with marinated ahi tuna, sticky brown rice, crunchy cucumber, creamy avocado, and of course, plenty of spicy mayo. It’s the perfect combination of spicy, salty, crunchy, sticky, warm and cold. When I first made them, I shared them on my Instagram stories and got so many questions that I knew I had to share the poke bowl recipe on my blog.
What is Poke?
Poke, which has been popular in Hawaii for decades, is a dish traditionally made with fresh raw fish served over rice with toppings like onions and seaweed.
Are poke bowls healthy?
Yes! Tuna poke bowls can be very healthy, and a great way to get more fish into your diet. For this poke recipe, I use tuna and avocado, which have healthy fats served over brown rice for extra fiber. For the poke sauce, I use a small amount of light mayo and soy sauce, which is low in calories. I mix in cucumber and green onions, but you can always add more veggies for a nutritional boost. If you are on a weight watchers diet, these poke bowls are also weight watcher friendly.
What is usually in a poke bowl?
What I love most about poke bowls is how customizable they are! The base consists of rice or salad topped with protein choices of tuna, salmon, tofu, etc. Sauces are an essential part of a poke bowl and can consist of spicy mayo, eel sauce, etc. Below are some variations to create the perfect bowl with flavors you’ll love:
- Fish: Sushi-grade salmon or tuna, cooked shrimp, chicken, tofu
- Base: Brown rice (I use Trader Joe’s frozen rice, which heats up in just three minutes), sushi rice, black rice, cooked rice, or mixed greens, cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles for a low-carb alternative
- Vegetables: Cucumber, avocado, green onion, pickled red onions, shredded or pickled carrots, shredded cabbage, edamame, radishes, pineapple, ginger
- Toppings: Sesame seeds, furikake (Japanese seasoning), cilantro, nori, wasabi
- Sauce: Spicy mayo, sesame vinaigrette, soy sauce, wasabi mayo, eel sauce, sriracha, fresh lime juice
How To Buy Sushi Grade Fish
- Find a reputable fishmonger or market. Look for one that sells in high volume, gets in regular shipments, and has a knowledgeable staff.
- Ask questions. Always talk to the vendors before buying the fish to make sure it’s safe for raw consumption. If your fishmonger is storing unwrapped sushi-grade fish in the same refrigerated case as non-sushi-grade fish, this should be a big red flag.
- Use your senses.The fish should smell fresh like the ocean – never fishy – and the color should be vibrant.
How long does a poke bowl stay fresh?
It’s best to eat fresh raw poke the day you make it, but it will keep in the fridge up to two days.
Is the rice in a poke bowl hot or cold?
Poke bowl is made with super cold tuna or fish served over warm sushi rice, brown rice, or black rice. The contrast between the warm and cold is delightful.
What is poke bowl sauce made of?
I used spicy mayo for the poke sauce. You can also top your poke bowl with soy sauce and extra sriracha if you like it really spicy. Spicy mayo is so simple to make with just two ingredients – mayo and sriracha. You can make it as spicy or mild as you wish and use full-fat or light mayo. I use whatever I have on hand and make extra, which I keep refrigerated in a squirt bottle to make it easy to drizzle over my poke bowl.
More Tuna Salad Recipes:
- Sesame Crusted Tuna
- Seared Tuna Salad with Wasabi Butter Sauce
- Shoyu Ahi Tuna Poke
- Grilled Tuna over Arugula with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Ahi Poke Bowl
Your comments are helpful!! If you’ve tried this healthy, Poke Bowl Soup recipe or any other recipe on Skinnytaste, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below!
Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl
Ingredients
For the tuna
- 1/2 pound sushi grade tuna, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup sliced scallions
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
For the spicy mayo
- 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
For The Bowl
- 1 cup cooked short grain brown rice or sushi white rice
- 1 cup cucumbers, (from 2 Persian) peeled and diced 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 medium Hass avocado, (3 ounces) sliced
- 2 scallions, sliced for garnish
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
- Reduced sodium soy or gluten-free tamari, for serving (optional)
- sriracha, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise and sriracha, thin with a little water to drizzle.
- In a medium bowl, combine tuna with scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil and sriracha. Gently toss to combine and set aside while you prepare the bowls.
- In 2 bowls, layer 1/2 the rice, 1/2 the tuna, avocado, cucumber and scallions.
- Drizzle with spicy mayo and sesame seeds and serve with extra soy sauce on the side, if desired.
Last Step:
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Nutrition
Photo credit: Jess Larson
Easy and delish!
Excellent Tuna Poke bowl.
Our go-to easy meal! We love it so much!! Yum!!
I’ve made this 5 times now. It has become our Saturday dinner. So good!!!!
This recipe is AMAZING! I love all the flavors. I pickle my own red onion as an additional topping. So good!
I have made this many times. It is delicious. I am using edamame but since there has been a recall on cucumbers, I decided to leave them out. I made extra dressing too. Enjoy!
Yummy
Just the right flavors in a poke bowl
I love this and reminds me that delicious doesn’t mean difficult.
Everyone loves!
Family favorite! My daughter is obsessed with this one. It’s so cheap and easy to make. We can do it for all her friends when they come over.
Perfect!
Absolutely amazing! This is my go to tuna poke bowl. I will never make another kind. It’s flavourful and colorful. Everyone loves it.
This is my go to poke bowl!! Sooo delicious 😋
Amazing and super easy. My husband’s boss gave us fresh yellow tail tuna that he caught and we made it just as the recipe calls but we added over easy fried eggs and had it for breakfast. Super good. Everyone raved at how good it was.
This was the best poke bowl I’ve ever made! Thank you!
YAY
My go to for a fresh recipe!
So good!!!! Having to limit carbs. Has anyone tried this with riced cauliflower?
Yes, I’ve done cauliflower rice and it’s just as good. You can’t tell a difference. Enjoy!
Excellent and easy!!!
Had the extras on a rice cracker the next day for lunch!
This was delicious and easy – yum!!
I have made this many times. Dinner guests are always impressed. I add edamame and shredded carrots and alway make a little extra sauce. Can’t wait to eat it tonight.
My go to recipe! Love it, better than any restaurant poke, at least on the east coast! Add edamame!
Love this and so easy! I don’t like cucumbers so I used shelled edamame instead
Our go to recipe for tuna! Delicious every time.
Absolutely delicious! Adding into our recipe rotation. My husband loved it, too!
Love this
Make it all the time
So easy and absolutely yummy
Some have said best tuna poke bowl they’ve eaten
This recipe calls a a family favorite. We added 1/4 cup shrimp + 1/4 cup black beans for an extra protein punch. This recipe is fantastic!
Love this recipe! I usually have all the ingredients on hand and it’s a quick meal I can make for myself and hubs when the kiddos want something that we’re not interested in eating :). Added bonus that I can make it super spicy!
I don’t usually have sriracha on hand and just sub chili-garlic paste (tastes heavenly!)
Really good and super easy!!
I just made this today – so easy and soooo good! Thanks Gina for sharing
Excellent!
I have to admit that until now we have only eaten these in or taken out from our favorite seafood restaurants and I wasn’t sure this would be as good. It was amazing! Everyone in my family loved it – I made the recipe as is but added edamame and seaweed salad. My daughter added pineapple and mango to hers. It was easy to make and was so much better than any I’ve had before. Will definitely be a new summer staple in my house. Thank you!
This is my favorite poke recipe. I like it spicier than how it’s made, so I add extra sriracha to the mayonnaise and to the tuna. SO GOOD!
I liked it! It was super easy to make too. I made it as written but I would have liked a few more fresh veggies…other commenters added edamame and/or carrots thinly sliced and I think this would have elevated the dish. It’s a keeper though and next time I will add those few additions to add some more texture and color.
This dish is delicious! I don’t like completely raw fish, so I marinate the tuna in the two tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil, press it in white and black sesame seeds and sear on both sides. Slice it thin and make my bowl. We love this recipe. Thank you Gina! We make your Korean beef rice bowls a lot too!
I was looking for a different way to use ahi than the seared ahi salad I normally make. This really hit the spot! Very tasty with a mix of spicy/ cool and crunchy/ tender. I will definitely make it again.
SO YUMMY – the tuna mixture is delightful. Thank you!
Made this with cooked shrimp today. It was so delicious! I don’t know why I waited so long! I used the Trader Joe’s brown rice like Gina suggested. Since I don’t like it too hot I made the dressing with sweet Thai Chili sauce and a few drops of sriracha to add just a little heat.
Perfect!!
This is wonderful
I made this just using canned tuna. It was so so good!
Can i use frozen wild caught ahi tuna that is thawed. I don’t have a local store that sells fresh sushi grade fish. Thank you
This is a dinner staple for us. We’ve made it at least 10 times now. Absolutely delicious!!
Could I use smoked salmon in place of tuna for this recipe?
I made this with cooked shrimp instead of tuna since I don’t have easy access to sushi grade tuna and it was amazing!!! Taste just as good as going out for poke. Thank you for this recipe!
Delish and so easy to make.
I only wish that I could attach the picture of your brainchild recipe. You are gold for sharing this, and “obsessed” immediately became an understatement at first bite.
The following will sound odd, but I live around the corner from a fish monger who “dry ages” his fish. He is a genius, and the fish is like nothing I’ve ever had. He even sells his fish to sushi bars….anyway, I purchased half a pound of his dry aged Bluefin Tuna, and as the first bite went into my mouth, I was stunned. This was better than any Poke bowl I have ever had….including Hawaii. I used my rice cooker to make sushi rice by the way…the one that has some rice vinegar and sugar added to water. Anyway, Gina, you have done great with this one. I am so grateful to what you’ve introduced me to.
Awesome!!
Has anyone made this using quinoa as a base?
Both my husband and I loved this. He doesn’t like spicy so for his bowl I used Sweet Thai chili sauce instead of sriracha.
haha, I have the opposite problem- my hubby loves super hot and spicy foods, so I make his with more spice and I use the Sweet Thai Chili sauce for myself and my kids. My youngest can’t eat shrimp, so I make hers with imitation crab meat. Huge hit in our house, and definitely on our summer menu every week! Thanks, Gina!
This makes a great Poke bowl, I use this every time I catch fresh yellowfin or bluefin tuna.
To level up – sub out sesame seeds for Trader Joe’s “Everything But The Bagel” seasoning. Adds some new flavors to this!
Recipie is perfect for 2 as is. Easy and excellent.
This recipe was awesome! We added a few pickled onions and shredded carrots. Every bite was different and oh so good!
So good! Had to go to the Japanese grocery store for the tuna, but so worth it!
This was seriously delicious! I added radishes, cilantro, and wonton strips – it was amazing. I also chose to sear the tuna steaks, but I think it would be really good either way. This recipe is definitely going in the books!
I am getting ready to make this dish. The Weight Watchers points for blue says 6. But, at the end it say 10+. What does this mean? I want to make sure I am entering my points correctly for your recipes. Thank you.
This was a huge hit. Obviously the recipe can be used as a starting point for your own variations based on personal taste and what’s available in your refrigerator / garden at the time, but it’s just great as is.
I love all of these ideas !! However – as crazy as it may seem- I don’t like Avocado. So many recipes call for it — and I would love some ideas for a substitute. Thank you for sharing all of these !!!
Omit and add more of everything else.
I just ate mine for lunch and want to do a standing O for this recipe! This was so easy to make and so flavorful. I made one bowl for dinner last night and had the second bowl for lunch. Really amazing flavors. I went to the Crowd Cow to order but they were out and I was able to receive an order of precut tuna from Annasea. The tuna was precut and delivered really well. My bowl was amazing. Thank you!.
Easy, healthy, quick and delicious. A pleaser for both teens and hubby, which is rare. Definitely will make again.
Absolutely amazing recipe!!!! 😋😋😋
Even better than at the restaurant, no joke. I keep coming back to this one because my husband loves tuna.
(I buy my tuna from a seafood market online and it comes already cubed)
Delicious! Wish there was more in my bowl – so good and I’m still hungry. But we subbed cauliflower rice in for the rice as that makes sense that it wasn’t as filling. Also subbed shelled edamame for cucumber (not a cucumber fan) and my husband thought it was a great combo! Didn’t have black sesame seeds but regular/white sesame seeds worked just fine. Yum yum yum! Will definitely make again, maybe with 3/4lb tuna for me and my husband to share and more avo or something to make it more filling. Would be great as a lunch or a light dinner. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Made this last night and it was amazing! Simple and delicious 😊
Soooooo freaking good! I added sauteed shallots and pickled ginger in the bowl, and mixed the tuna in the spicy mayo sauce instead of drizzling on top. Probably one of the best poke bowls I’ve made!
My guy and I absolutely love the poke bowls we get from our local harris teeter, but figured we try for something even better and THIS IS IT for sure!! I agree with everyone else, frozen individually packaged tuna steaks (4oz) worked so well for us. Next time we are going to try shredded carrots instead of cucumbers (not a fan personally) but otherwise would not change a thing!!! So good, definitely worth it : )
This was a great recipe. Reminds me of one of my favs: “Tuna Ceviche Two Ways” (credit to NYT). Easy and does not make a mess of the kitchen and FUN to create & eat. My process/timing: I used individually-wrapped frozen tuna steaks ~4oz each. I put the rice on (agree that sushi rice would work best, but many substitutes will do), set out the tuna to slightly thaw and assembled ingredients, mixed the spicy mayo. The tuna is easiest to cube slightly frozen. Once cubed, I combined the tuna and marinade but left out the scallions. I wanted to keep that cold tuna vs warm rice sensation, so I transferred the marinating tuna mixture into a ziplock and put the bag to rest flat in freezer. (I do this with my ceviche too. It is essential in keeping the tuna nice and cube-y and cold.) I prepped the scallions and some tender green leaf lettuce, toasted the sesame seeds, cut up a nori seaweed sheet into thin short strips to sprinkle on top. When all was ready, the table set (chopsticks are necessary!), the wine open, I lightly dressed lettuce with a ginger dressing and put this simple salad in the poke bowls (blue & white China). I mixed the scallions into the tuna and set out buffet-style–avocado chunks, sesame seeds, rice, cucumber, seaweed strips, anything else you want to offer. Now, ready for a Make-Your-Own Poke Bowl! Me & hubby (it is Covid times so just us). Host/Poke lover (me!) shows the way to layer warm rice, cold tuna, avocado, drizzle spicy mayo, sprinkle sesame seeds & seaweed strips. So relish and such fun to eat!
It was such an easy recipe to make and super DELICIOUS…. We love sashimi and sushi. Never thought I could make restaurant quality Tuna Poke (Better than restaurant, really!) at home. This recipe will be on our regular menu. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!!
Fabulous. I was missing several key ingredients but the basic structure of the recipe still resulted in a delicious meal. This recipe is going on regular rotation! Thank you so much for showing me what to do with those intimidating ahi tuna steaks.
Living on the South Fl coast, on a good fishing weekend we’ll catch ahi tuna. I’ve made this recipe many times & love it! Easy & delicious on a hot summer day with the addition of edamame & pickled ginger as addtl toppings. My question is I have 2 lbs of fresh wahoo. Wondering if I could substitute the wahoo for ahi? We normally eat the wahoo as sushi or sashimi or seared so the raw aspect doesn’t concern me, its the flavor combo.
this looks soo good
great recipe! one comment – sushi grade is not really truly a thing. Not for the average consumer.
You just want fish that was flash frozen when caught, and caught wild. Fishmongers will tell you; bags of frozen sushi should say so. Honestly it’s frozen so even then it’s usually all good.
for example costco and whole foods would never label their tuna sushi-grade. If they ever did they’d charge so much more it. It is true that sushi restaurants get premium fish, and the most famous have a direct source of fish and all that.
normal people can safely buy tuna that either was frozen (now thawed) or is still frozen. make sure it all smells either like the ocean or nothing really, never stinky fish.
in a lot of ways you could compare sushi-grade to the term ‘all natural.’ kind of meaningless!
Delicious! Thank for easy and great recipe!
Hello!
I can’t wait to try this recipe but the fishmonger I go to does keep all the seafood he sells in the same refrigerated case- no matter whether it is sushi grade or not. Should I worry very much? Why does it make a big difference?
Thank you so much! Love your site.
all you need to know from him is if it was frozen when caught or safe for raw consumption. I think in the whole usa there was like 60 cases of parasitic stuff in raw fish. If your monger says its fresh, it’s very likely gtg for a recipe like this. Like all meat, there is a level of trust about freshness – just smell it!
This Poke Bowl was wonderful. I did add shredded carrots but other than that, followed the directions. So so good on a summer evening. We can’t wait to try the other bowls. Be sure to make the sriracha mayo! So yummy!
I made this tonight with a few tweaks. I added fresh lime juice instead of water to the sauce (which I doubled because I knew my husband would love it) and halved the sriracha in the tuna toss sauce. I also used toasted sesame seeds because it what I had on hand. We put the ingredients over riced cauliflower with garlic and lemon and my husband asked where I have been hiding this recipe. A new keeper in our dinner rotation. He dipped a boiled egg and some fresh pear tomatoes in the sauce before dinner was ready and was super impressed.
So good!
This is my first time leaving a comment on a recipe but I just had to say thanks for this recipe! It was so good and simple to make! 🙂 And the sriracha mayo was a great contrast! Don’t make this Poke Bowl without it!
Awesome!
This looks delicious but I’m unable to get sushi grade salmon or tuna where I live. Could I substitute smoked salmon? Thanks.
you could try it, or maybe grilled tuna as it would come great with soy sauce and sesame oil. I just don’t see smoked salmon with soy sauce.
So delicious. Helps to have a sushi knife to cut the fish. Salmon is great substitute. I could eat this every day!
Love it! I added shelled edamame, black beans and crispy wonton strips as a garnish~Yummy
You forgot the edamame!!
This is fabulous! Fresh flavors, spice, super filling…and pickled ginger put it over the top! (Highly suggest the ginger y’all!) Thanks for the yum recipe!
Can you marinate the tuna overnight in the sauce?
Delicious! Love your recipes!
I loved this! I just added half the amount of siracha sauce to the mayonnaise and chopped macadamia nuts for texture.
Delicious! I added lime juice to the tuna and used cauliflower rice seasoned with furikake.
Wow. This was absolutely delicious and so so so quick and easy. Could definitely swap out for any protein as the tuna was $35/lb where I am!
These are so delicious! I made with chicken since I don’t know and was nervous about finding the right tuna. I got sushi rice off Amazon and it all came together so well! Love the scallions and avocado. Thanks for another delicious meal!
I made this with tofu since we don’t eat fish, but everyone loved it. This includes my one-year-old! Will try again for a quick dinner.
You should absolutely not be feeding a 1 yr old tofu. Thats terrible parenting
You’re absolutely wrong. Don’t judge people if you don’t know what you’re talking about.
OMG, have made it for the 3rd time. It is so lush! Thank you for this recipe. Love from the Netherlands.
A local grocery sells sashimi-grade tuna vacuum packed so I always keep a few packages in the freezer. This recent autumn hot spell made poke sound like a great lunch choice. I get poke from a local restaurant that has a smorgasbord of toppings but I needed to streamline that to something manageable.. This recipe is reasonably simple but not lacking in flavor and texture. I used brown rice but cauli rice or a salad base would make it keto-friendly.. A definite keeper. Sure hit the spot on a hot afternoon. Thanks., skinny..
Absolutely loved this recipe . So fresh tasting ! Will definitely make again . Thank you !
Such a light and easy Poke recipe. We had it for lunch today with julienned carrots and edamame and really enjoyed it! Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Love this recipe! Imitation crab would be an easy substitute if you wanted to avoid the raw fish (like a California roll in a bowl!)
Yes!
Thank you for posting this recipe, looks super amazing I love poke bowls. Actually quite timely, my daughter and I were trying to figure how to say Poke bowls. I thought it was pronounced poke as in I am going to poke you. My daughter thought it was pronounced Poke as in Pokemon. I googled and found this treasure. Apparently we were both saying it wrong. Lol.
Another common mispronunciation is the Hawaiian snack poke, which is diced, marinated ahi tuna salad. Pronounced ‘po-kay,’ people often pronounce it ‘po-kee,’ or worse, ‘poke,’ as in “I will poke you if you pronounce poke wrong.”
Thank you Thank you for posting this poke bowl recipe – such a mystery solved!
Yum! I’ve never seen sushi rice at the grocer. Is it available uncooked in a bag like regular rice? Or cooked/frozen? Is it generally available at a regular grocer?
Love your easy shrimp stack & this looks great too. Maybe I’ll add some seaweed too if handy.
Thanks Gina.
I buy it uncooked, you can get it on Amazon.
I can’t wait to make this! Thanks for sharing!
Gina, Do you have any experience using frozen Ahi Tuna in a Poke bowl? Thank you for all the terrific recipes. Everything I have made has been hit.
Hi Debra,
I’ve used frozen ahi lots of times for poke and never had an issue. Thaw it right before eating.
Thanks
Great! that was the same question I had. I can only find frozen tuna where I live. I looks soo yummy, can’t wait to try it!
Frozen is perfect.