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Basic rice that’s boring AF? This homemade furikake recipe is a flavor-packed Japanese seasoning that transforms even the most humble bowl of rice or noodles into pure heaven without harming a single innocent fish.
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Traditionally loaded with umami-rich ingredients like bonito flakes and sometimes egg, furikake hasn’t always been vegan-friendly. But don’t dismay! Whether you need something to step your vegan sushi bake up to the next level or want to garnish some onigiri or yaki onigiri with something extra magical, this furikake recipe is here to revolutionize your pantry.
Let’s get shaking!
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🥰 Why You’ll Adore This Furikake Recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan Japanese recipes, this nori komi furikake is made without dried fish flakes and still delivers a gosh darn tsunami of umami.
🛒 Easy-to-Find Ingredients: I’ve included some substitution suggestions that don’t make this taste inauthentic in case you can’t get your hands on all the authentic Japanese ingredients.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all my vegan recipes, this furikake was tested by a global team of hundreds of recipe testers before I published it to the blog. No matter where you’re cooking, you can count on this seasoning to deliver.
🌶️ Furikake Ingredients
White and Black Sesame Seeds
Goma means sesame, which is why you now know what the heck Japan’s popular goma dressing is! I like to toast my own unroasted sesame seeds to make the flavor of this seasoning fresher.
While you can make this with just one color, the traditional way this Japanese condiment is made is with a combination of sesame seeds. If you can only find toasted sesame seeds, those will work fine too. You just will not need to toast them for as long.
Nori
Available online and at Asian grocery stores, roasted nori adds its lovely briny, oceanic umami flavor that is essential in proper furikake. You can make the recipe using crumpled or cut unseasoned nori sheets or aonori, which is the dried seaweed that's already in powder form.
Optional: Ichimi Togarashi
While most people are familiar with shichimi togarashi (a delicious Japanese 7-spice blend), ichimi togarashi is just plain Japanese chili powder. It can be swapped with Korean gochugaru if you don't have any. Aleppo pepper flakes (which I normally use in vegan Turkish recipes like mercimek kofte and cranberry ezme) can also slap pretty hard in this recipe. I wouldn’t recommend using crushed red pepper flakes as they will be too hot and not flavorful enough.
Optional: Wasabi Powder
A lot of the wasabi powder available is kinda crap, to be honest. Seek out a completely natural one, or otherwise leave it out. Many “wasabi powders” don’t actually contain any Japanese horseradish and instead have tons of artificial colors and whatnot that aren’t going to make your furikake particularly awesome.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Shiso Furikake
Mix in some finely crushed dried dark purple shiso leaves. Shiso grows really easily (in fact, it kinda took over our garden one year and took a couple of years to eradicate). Good thing it’s delicious and makes a nice addition to pickled yamagobo too.
Umeboshi Furikake
Dry in a food dehydrator and then mix in very finely chopped umeboshi, the Japanese pickled plum (which you can find at your local Japanese grocery store or Asian market), for a tangy, salty, and slightly fruity vibe. This variation makes simple steamed rice or onigiri instantly flavorful.
Furikake Mayo
Mix a tablespoon of this furikake into some vegan Kewpie mayo, and it becomes an irresistible spread to put onto everything from vegan drumsticks that have been tossed in Korean BBQ sauce to Vietnamese tofu banh mi.
📖 How to Make Furikake
Nail this classic Japanese rice seasoning on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Sesame Street:
Toast the white and black sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently, until they turn golden and release their aroma.
Remove from the skillet and allow them to cool completely before mixing.
Step Two
Nori-Grets:
Either crumble the nori seaweed sheets or cut them into tiny 1–2 mm pieces with kitchen scissors.
Step Three
Old Mix Donald:
In a mixing bowl, combine the cooled sesame seeds, nori, sugar, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients thoroughly.
✅ If you like your furikake to have broken seeds and finer bits, you can pulse it a few times in a food processor, spice grinder, or blender.
Step Four
Spice Girls:
If using optional additions, mix in the ichimi togarashi, Korean chili flakes, or wasabi powder.
Step Five
Jar Wars
Transfer your Japanese furikake into an airtight jar and store it in a cool, dry place. Use it as a topping for steamed rice, miso soup, Japanese cucumber salad, somen noodles, or wakame salad.
👉Top tips
- Toast with Care in a Dry Pan: Toasting the sesame seeds over medium heat in a thick frying pan is crucial. Make sure to stir regularly so they aren’t burnt on one side while being unroasted on the other.
- Crush the Nori According to Your Vibe: The way you break up the nori determines the consistency of your seasoning. If you are kinda lazy, you can just crumple roasted laver sheets or use nori that’s already ground. Personally, I like the texture of furikake most when you snip very thin strips of nori with scissors, stack them, and cut them into very small pieces. But you do you, as they say.
- Don't Skip Additions (Unless You Don’t Want ‘Em): Especially because there are no bonito flakes in this recipe, ingredients like ichimi togarashi (Japanese chili powder) or wasabi powder can elevate the seasoning with a subtle bite. If you want extra umami flavor, you can add a small amount of mushroom powder or even a tiny bit of nutritional yeast.
- Cold Storage: Allow the toasted sesame seeds to cool completely before mixing and storing (at room temperature). If you don't let them cool, condensation can form inside the container, which can make the seasoning lose its crunch and go bad faster.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Furikake seasoning is an easy way to add delicious umami flavor to simple preparations in Japanese cuisine—sprinkle it over rice balls, sushi rolls, sesame oil noodles, tofu (I actually LOVE it on tahu goreng), or even popcorn for added flavor and texture. It can also be used as a topping for avocado toast, salads, or roasted vegetables.
If you don’t have nori, you can using other seaweed varieties like wakame or dulse, b ut since they are stiffer, you will really need to pulse them in a blender or coffee grinder.
Traditional furikake is gluten-free, as is this recipe! Some store-bought versions may contain soy sauce, which might have gluten (unless tamari is used).
Homemade furikake can last for up to 6 months when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
✌️Use vegan furikake on these:
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Furikake Recipe (Vegan Japanese Rice Seasoning)
Equipment
- Kitchen scissors
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white sesame seeds
- 4 teaspoons black sesame seeds
- ¼ cup nori cut or crumpled into tiny bits
- 1 ¼ teaspoons sugar or coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional Additions:
- ½ teaspoon ichimi togarashi or gochugaru
- ½ teaspoon wasabi powder (natural)
Instructions
- Toast the white and black sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant. Remove from the skillet and allow to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the toasted sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, crumbled nori, sugar, and salt. Stir until well mixed.
- If using optional additions, add the ichimi togarashi or wasabi powder and stir to evenly distribute.
- Transfer the furikake to an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place. Use as a topping for rice, noodles, or salads.
Notes
- ❄️Chill Out:
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Kimbi Walton says
This turns out so cute and tasty!!