In the search for the best grocery store sushi, what chain offers the freshest rolls?
Here’s Where to Find the Best Grocery Store Sushi
Updated on Aug. 24, 2024
It wasn’t all that long ago that the idea of eating raw fish seemed not only strange, but outright dangerous. For those who were brave enough, the only place considered safe to eat raw seafood was at expensive restaurants where sushi and sashimi was served up by highly trained chefs.
Today, you can find pre-packaged sushi at convenience stores, gas stations and supermarkets, and we simply can’t get enough of it. (By the way, don’t forget to try this trick for making grocery store sushi tastier when you’re on your own hunt for the best grocery store sushi).
Even when pacing yourself, gathering and eating a slew of sushi from multiple markets is no easy task. But, like my takes on the best off-brand Doritos and best off-brand Cheez-Its, I take my supermarket sushi very seriously and knew I was up for the challenge.
At grocery store prices, sushi is still not that cheap, so if you’re spending good money, you deserve a fantastic meal. We tested sushi from the following stores to find what makes them worth the splurge:
- Walmart
- Harris Teeter
- Fresh Market
- Sprouts Market
- Whole Foods
After careful analysis, here’s what you need to know about five national grocery chains vying to have the best sushi rolls.
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Walmart
Walmart carries select Banzai Sushi Rolls in its freezer department, so unlike the other best grocery store sushi candidates, I had to let these California rolls thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before digging in. This isn’t ideal for anyone who wants sushi now (like I did that day), nor anyone who enjoys sushi specifically because of its freshness.
If you’re buying frozen sushi, you know exactly what you’re getting into, and shouldn’t complain about things like the rice being dried out and pebbly, or the avocado tasting like absolutely nothing at all. Frozen sushi is an entirely different class of food that must be analyzed on its own merits, much like frozen pizza cannot possibly be compared to the fresh pies that come straight out of a pizza oven.
Bottom line: After a thorough analysis, I say “meh” to the freshness factor. However, if you live in an area where there is no sushi available, or if you’ve never tasted fresh sushi before, these could be a satisfying snack that you’d find enjoyable.
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Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter is a subsidiary of Kroger, and before I embarked on my quest to find the best grocery store sushi, I found their sushi to be completely passable—not haute cuisine by any means, but good if you’re craving sushi and don’t feel like paying restaurant prices. However, when consumed in a head-to-head supermarket sushi tournament, my appreciation has significantly waned.
Both the raw salmon and tuna were thin and flaccid, lethargically laying on mounds of sushi rice that, while being relatively bland, was still able to overpower the taste of the fish. My California roll was poorly constructed. Each bite unraveled when I picked it up with chopsticks, jettisoning every bite of cucumber, avocado and imitation crabmeat into the pool of soy sauce I attempted to use for dipping.
Bottom line: It’s still good in a pinch, but when compared to the other grocery store sushi contenders, Harris Teeter’s sushi rolls leave a lot to be desired.
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Fresh Market
As the name implies, Fresh Market’s sushi tastes quite fresh! “Impostor tuna” is a rampant issue in the sushi business, with many purveyors treating cheaper fish (like tilapia) with red food dye and passing it off as expensive ahi. Though I was unable to perform any sort of scientific testing (I am merely a food writer and not a fish scientist), this tuna both looked and tasted like the real thing.
The salmon was similarly flavorful, and both fishes were sliced thickly enough to be thoroughly savored while sharing the spotlight with sushi rice. If there’s a flaw with this grocery store sushi contender, it was the rice, which was slightly overcooked and unpleasantly gummy.
Bottom line: Not perfect, but still a great pick for an affordable sushi lunch or dinner.
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Sprouts Market
Sprouts sushi is delicious, though I did stop to wonder if I had been served the aforementioned “impostor tuna.” It was still pleasant to eat, but lacked the strong, unmistakable flavor of fresh ahi tuna. But, again, I’m not a fish scientist, nor do I have any sort of access to fish-testing equipment, so all I can report on is what I tasted.
Regardless of its oceanic bona fides, it tasted good! It won’t fool anyone who’s used to $100 omakase dinners, but will more than please anyone looking for some of the best grocery store sushi. The fish is well-complimented by the requisite soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger accouterments, and the rice is wonderfully cooked.
Bottom line: If you’re craving quick and easy grocery store sushi, Sprouts Market won’t let you down.
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Whole Foods
Since 1997, Whole Foods has been carrying sushi by Genji, which began as a mom-and-pop sushi restaurant in Philadelphia and now operates 215 restaurant locations worldwide. And this supermarket sushi truly tastes like it came from a restaurant!
The raw salmon was soft and buttery; the raw tuna so flavorful, it didn’t need a drop of soy sauce. The sushi rolls were well-constructed and held together when I grabbed them with chopsticks and popped them into my mouth. The sushi rice was cooked perfectly, and I was able to taste every single ingredient that was used in this sushi feast.
Kudos to you, Genji, for making such a terrific product, and kudos to you, Whole Foods, for spreading Genji’s excellence far and wide.
Bottom line: For the best grocery store sushi, you can’t do any better than this.
