Furikake is a great seasoning, but it can contain a fair amount of sugar & carbs. My Easy Homemade Keto Furikake is low carb, sugar-free, and super flavourful!
My first exposure to the Japanese rice seasoning mix was at a fandom convention, probably 10-15 years ago.
As part of their hospitality area, there was a “rice room”.
Picture a hotel meeting room with banquet tables up the length of it, volunteers making and dishing our rice from GIANT commercial rice cookers.
You’d get your little styrofoam bowl of rice, then head over to the seasonings section.
At THAT table, there were various bottles of toppings - sesame seeds, onion flakes (if I recall correctly), and several little containers of furikake.
I’m always down for trying something new, so I sprinkled a little on my rice.
It was a GAME CHANGER!
The “other stuff” varied by the mixture, but included things like mushroom powder, dried shrimp, and bonito flakes - dried tuna.
The combination brought a powerful hit of flavour to my rice that day, and prompted the both of us to eat truly ungodly amounts of rice that weekend.
Oh, I miss having a whole pancreas, LOL!
Anyway, it’s been a staple in our spice cabinet ever since.
Sugar Free Furikake Seasoning
The one problem with Furikake is the added sugars.
Now, there’s not a TON of added sugar... but I’m trying to avoid actual sugar altogether. Also? It’s really easy to use more than one “serving” at a time!
Couple that with how difficult it is to actually FIND furikake, now that we’ve moved... and it was time to come up with a recipe for making it at home!
This furikake recipe uses a small amount of sugar substitute to round out the flavours AND bring the carb count down.
Furikake Ingredients
When designing this recipe, I decided to just throw everything at it:
Nori - Roasted Seaweed Sheets
Bonito flakes - Dried tuna
Black sesame seeds
White sesame seeds
White Miso powder
Shiitake mushroom powder
Sugar substitute
Crushed chilies
Don’t want to invest in shiitake mushroom powder? Skip it.
Can’t find white miso powder? Leave it out.
Want extra spice? Add more pepper flakes.
While the miso and shiitake powders can be fairly high carb *in quantity*, unless you’re seriously upping the amount I call for, you’re not going to see much in the way of fluctuation with the carb count.
How to shred Nori
As a bit of a heads up... while a mini food processor is great for breaking down and blending most of the ingredients in this recipe?
The nori can be a bit ... resistant ... to being chopped up.
So, I recommend tearing it as small as you can by hand - just tear, stack, tear, stack - as much as you can, then finishing it off with a coffee mill/spice grinder.
I find it works a LOT better than a mini processor, which tends to just send the little bits of nori flying throughout the processor bowl.
How to Make Keto Furikake
The full recipe follows, here is the pictorial overview:
Run Bonito flakes through a mini food processor or finely chop, place in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Blitz sesame seeds and crushed chilies (if using) a few times in mini food processor, just enough to break them up a little. Note: This is optional.
Add sesame seeds and crushed chilies to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat until fragrant. Remove from heat, and add to the bowl with bonito flakes.
Add remaining ingredients to the bowl, stir well to combine.
Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container.
More International Keto Recipes
Looking to add some international flavour to your menu? Try some of these low-carb versions of my favourites!
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Keto Cabbage Rolls
Keto Chicken Biryani
Low Carb Chicken Korma
Keto Doro Wat
Keto Gyoza [Potstickers]
Keto Jamaican Beef Patties
Keto Manakish
Keto Orange Chicken
Keto Fried Cauliflower Rice
Easy Keto Ramen Recipe
Keto Pad Thai
Keto Perogies
Keto Sauerkraut Buns
Keto Sushi Rice
Low Carb Shanghai Noodles
Keto Sesame Chicken
Low Carb Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Paleo Stuffed Grape Leaves
Easy Keto Butter Chicken
... also, be sure to check out our International Keto Recipes for even more options!
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you post it to Bluesky, be sure to tag us - @CelebrationGen. We're also on Pinterest, so you can save all your favourite recipes to a board!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.
Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Furikake Recipe
Homemade Furikake [Japanese Rice Seasoning]
Equipment
- mini food processor
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Bonito flakes
- ¼ cup Black sesame seeds
- ¼ cup White sesame seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Crushed chilies optional
- 3 sheets Nori finely shredded.
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Miso powder
- 1 teaspoon Shiitake powder
- 1 teaspoon Sugar substitute
Instructions
- Run Bonito flakes through a mini food processor or finely chop, place in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Blitz sesame seeds and crushed chilies (if using) a few times in mini food processor, just enough to break them up a little. Note: This is optional.
- Add sesame seeds and crushed chilies to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat until fragrant. Remove from heat, and add to the bowl with bonito flakes.
- Add remaining ingredients to the bowl, stir well to combine.
- Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container.
Leave a Reply