Tuna Poke Bowl

Generally speaking, my husband and I can never get enough sushi .. Which is at odds with my need to be on a keto diet.

The solution?

This fantastic tuna bowl, loaded with whole foods - and a wide variety of colors, flavors, and textures!

It’s also a great way to work some more healthy fats into my diet, via the tuna (and usually some avocado, as well!)

While traditional Hawaiian poke is generally served over a bed of warm rice (white rice, brown rice, Jasmine rice, etc), there are different wants that you can make this tuna bowl more low carb.

Sometimes I’ll serve my chunks of fresh tuna over a bed of cauliflower rice that I’ve seasoned like sticky rice.

This is how I do my Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl, which is fabulous - a main course poke salad, drizzled with a spicy mayo sauce.

This ahi tuna poke bowl recipe also involves a creamy sauce, but this time around, it’s a mayo-based wasabi poke sauce. SO good!

The marinated fish is served over a bowl of zucchini noodles, making for a great lunch, or a nice light - but filling - supper.

IMHO, it’s the best poke bowl I’ve ever had - home or away!

Let me show you how I make it...

Ingredients

IMHO making the best ahi tuna poke bowl means using the best ingredients.

This ahi tuna poke recipe may have a longer ingredient list than others, but it should still all be easy to find in most larger grocery stores.

A few notes for you:

Sushi Grade Tuna

First off, I want to clarify the terms “fresh raw fish”, and “sashimi grade” / “Sushi grade fish”, as some of it can be confusing.

“Fresh fish” can mean two different things:

1 - Recently caught fish that hasn’t been frozen before sale.

2 - Fish that hasn’t had the chance to go bad, regardless of whether or not it’s been previously frozen.

When it comes to sushi-grade fish / sashimi-grade fish, it’s the second type.

In order to be safe to eat raw, fish NEEDS to be frozen to a certain temperature - and for a certain amount of time - in order to kill off parasites.

If you can even get fresh raw tuna - without having been frozen - you definitely wouldn’t want to serve it raw. Trust me, fish related foodborne illness is NOT fun.

As far as the type of fish goes, I like to use ahi tuna steaks for Hawaiian poke bowls. The flavor and texture are fantastic, and the reddish color is the prettiest of the tuna varieties, IMHO.

I use fresh ahi tuna steaks, in the sense that I defrost them and use them right away - they are not allowed to just hang out in my fridge for more than half a day or so, after thawing.

That said, ask your local fishmonger about what they have on hand. You might find yourself preferring bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, or albacore tuna.

As long as it’s handled properly, any tuna will work!

Fresh Veggies

From the base up, I like to load my homemade poke bowls with veggies - it makes them more filling, more nutritious, and really? Prettier!

Starting off, I use spiralized zucchini in place of sushi rice. The Spiralizer that we use (available through that link) is fantastic - we’ve been using it for years now, no complaints whatsoever!

I like to use one of the smaller settings - for thin noodles - when making poke. I leave the big chunky ones for things like Chicken Piccata Zoodles, Singapore Mai Fan Style Zoodles, Chicken Enchilada Zoodles, and Peanut Chicken Zoodles

In addition to the zucchini noodles, I like to use a variety of colors and textures in the accompanying vegetables.

Crunchy cucumbers, shelled edamame, bright pink watermelon radish, julienned carrots, and shredded purple cabbage are my go-to choices.

Creamy avocado chunks are another great addition - the avocado we had the day we shot this ahi poke bowl just really didn’t look great, so I didn’t bother.

Dressing & Marinade Ingredients

The dressing works up quickly, basically a flavoured mayonnaise, and the sushi-grade tuna is tossed in a super simple marinade. You will need:

Wasabi Powder

Mayonnaise - you can use Homemade Mayonnaise

Rice Vinegar / Rice Wine Vinegar - You can sub lime juice if needed

Soy Sauce - Feel free to use Gluten Free Soy Sauce, Coconut Aminos, or Tamari, as needed.

Sesame Oil

Toppings

After all the vegetables, I like to add a few more toppings both as a garnish, and for the additional flavor, color, and crunch.

These are:

Green onions, thinly sliced on a diagonal.
Nori Sheets, cut into thin ribbons
Black Sesame Seeds

Optional Ingredients

Depending on your tastes and dietary restrictions, there are other things you can add to this recipe.

If you want spicy tuna poke bowls, add some Red Pepper Flakes to the marinade - to taste, and/or drizzle some sriracha sauce on, afterwards, for extra flavor and heat.

Seaweed salad is a fun addition, and I’ll usually add some if we’re ordering in.

Just watch out - it tends to be relatively high in carbs, and you usually can’t get really accurate info about what you’re being served, in that situation!

How to Make Keto Ahi Tuna Poke Bowls

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through.

Wasabi Dressing

In a small bowl, whisk together wasabi powder and water until smooth, allow to sit for 5 minutes

When 5 minutes have passed, whisk in remaining dressing ingredients until smooth.

Cover and chill until use.

Marinated Ahi Tuna

Trim tuna, if needed, blot dry with paper towels.

Using a sharp knife, slice tuna into small chunks - ½" cubes or so. Place in a medium bowl.

Mix together Soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil, pour over fish. Stir well to coat.

Cover with plastic wrap - or transfer to an airtight container - and chill for 30 minutes.

Poke Bowl Assembly

Divide your spiralized zucchini between two shallow bowls.

Arrange edamame, cabbage, carrots, radish, and sliced cucumber over the zucchini base. You can scatter them or arrange in sections- I like doing sections.

Divide your marinated tuna between the 2 bowls, garnish with green onions, nori, and sesame seeds.

More Low Carb Fish & Seafood Recipes

Looking for more low carb or keto fish recipes? I’ve got you covered!

Low Carb Keto Chirashi Bowl
Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Crunchy Keto Coconut Shrimp
Keto Crab Cakes
Keto Clam Chowder
Salmon Crudo
Low Carb Shrimp Curry
Keto Jambalaya
Hot Smoked Sockeye Salmon
Pesto Shrimp Palmini
Low Carb Spinach Feta Salmon Pinwheels
Keto Sushi
Seared Scallops with Dijon Wine Sauce
Keto Cod au Gratin
Baked Sesame Ginger Salmon [Keto]
Keto Fish Cakes & Tartar Sauce

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