Sushi Roll Checker for Pregnancy: Look Up Any Roll

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Type the name from the menu. Nicknames work too, so philly, tempura, or veggie will find the right entry. Nothing you type leaves this browser tab.

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Showing all 12 rolls

California roll

Usually cooked

Usually contains: Imitation crab (surimi), avocado and cucumber. Surimi is a cooked fish paste, so the classic version contains no raw fish.
What that means: The usual build avoids the raw-fish question. What varies is the topping: some kitchens add raw fish, roe or a raw-egg-based sauce on top.
Ask before you order: Ask whether it is real crab or imitation crab, whether either was cooked, and whether anything raw was added on top.

Philadelphia roll

Cured or cold-smoked, not cooked

Usually contains: Smoked salmon with cream cheese, sometimes cucumber or avocado.
What that means: This is the one people misfile. Smoked salmon is cold-smoked rather than cooked, which makes it a Listeria question rather than a parasite one, and the cream cheese should be pasteurized.
Ask before you order: Ask whether the salmon is cold-smoked or cooked, and whether the cream cheese is pasteurized. If it is cold-smoked, treat it like any other cold ready-to-eat fish.

Shrimp tempura roll

Usually cooked

Usually contains: Battered and deep-fried shrimp, often with avocado or cucumber.
What that means: Deep-fried shrimp is cooked through, which is why this roll is a common choice. The additions are what to check.
Ask before you order: Ask whether any raw fish, roe or spicy mayo made with raw egg was added, and whether the shrimp was fried to order or held warm.

Cooked shrimp (ebi) nigiri

Usually cooked

Usually contains: Shrimp that has been boiled and butterflied over rice. Ebi is normally served cooked.
What that means: Cooked shrimp avoids the raw-fish question. Amaebi, or sweet shrimp, is the raw version and is a different item on the same menu.
Ask before you order: Ask whether it is ebi (cooked) or amaebi (raw), because the names look similar and the answer differs.

Eel roll (unagi)

Usually cooked

Usually contains: Freshwater eel that is grilled and glazed before serving. Unagi is essentially always served cooked.
What that means: Cooked, so the raw-fish question does not apply. It is often served warm or at room temperature, so handling and holding time are the practical questions.
Ask before you order: Ask whether it was heated to order, and whether the roll also contains raw fish, which dragon rolls sometimes do.
Mercury: Mercury depends on the species here, so it is worth asking which fish.

Vegetarian roll

Usually vegetarian

Usually contains: Avocado, cucumber, carrot, pickled radish or similar, with rice and nori.
What that means: No fish means no raw-fish or mercury question. The checks that remain are the ones people skip because the roll sounds simple: raw sprouts, unpasteurized ingredients in sauces, and shared preparation surfaces.
Ask before you order: Ask about raw sprouts, whether any sauce contains raw egg or unpasteurized dairy, and whether it was made on a board also used for raw fish.

Onigiri (rice ball)

Depends entirely on the kitchen

Usually contains: A shaped rice ball wrapped in nori, with a filling that ranges from pickled plum or tuna mayo to salmon flakes.
What that means: Not sushi in the raw-fish sense, and the filling decides everything. The other question is one nobody asks about rice: how long it has been at room temperature, since cooked rice has its own storage rules.
Ask before you order: Ask what the filling is and whether it was cooked, and how long the onigiri has been out of refrigeration.
Mercury: Mercury depends on the species here, so it is worth asking which fish.

Raw salmon (sake) nigiri or sashimi

Usually raw fish

Usually contains: Raw salmon over rice, or sliced raw with no rice for sashimi.
What that means: This is raw fish, which CDC and ACOG advise avoiding during pregnancy, and current NHS guidance advises avoiding even when the fish was previously frozen.
Ask before you order: If the menu is unclear, ask whether it is raw, seared on the outside only, or fully cooked. Seared still has a raw interior.

Seared salmon or tataki

Usually raw fish

Usually contains: Fish briefly torched or seared on the outside and left raw inside.
What that means: Seared is the case that gets mistaken for cooked. Only the surface is heated, so the interior is still raw fish.
Ask before you order: Ask whether the fish is cooked all the way through. If the answer is that it is seared or torched, treat it as raw.

Spicy tuna roll

Usually raw fish

Usually contains: Chopped raw tuna mixed with a spicy mayonnaise-based sauce.
What that means: Two separate questions at once. The tuna is raw, and tuna also carries the mercury question, which depends on the species rather than the preparation.
Ask before you order: Ask which tuna it is. Bigeye is on the FDA and EPA Choices to Avoid list in pregnancy, and ahi can mean yellowfin or bigeye. Also ask whether the sauce contains raw egg.
Mercury: Tuna carries a separate mercury question. Bigeye is on the FDA and EPA Choices to Avoid list in pregnancy, and ahi can mean yellowfin or bigeye.

Real crab roll

Usually cooked

Usually contains: Cooked crab meat, sometimes with avocado or cucumber. Distinct from imitation crab.
What that means: NHS lists cooked shellfish, including crab, as safe to eat in pregnancy. The question is whether it was cooked and how it has been kept since.
Ask before you order: Ask whether the crab is cooked and whether it has been kept chilled, and whether any raw topping was added.

Fish roe (ikura, tobiko, masago)

Depends entirely on the kitchen

Usually contains: Salmon roe, flying fish roe or capelin roe, used as a topping or filling. Usually cured or salted rather than cooked.
What that means: Roe is neither obviously raw nor obviously cooked, which is why it gets skipped in the decision. Cured and chilled ready-to-eat fish products sit closer to the cold-smoked category than to the cooked one.
Ask before you order: Ask whether the roe was pasteurized or cooked, and how it has been stored. If nobody can say, treat it as a cold ready-to-eat fish product.

This lookup describes what a roll usually contains. It cannot tell you what a specific restaurant put in yours, and it does not decide whether a food is safe for your pregnancy. If you already ate something you are unsure about, the sushi guide covers what to watch for and for how long.

The three questions that settle almost any roll

If your roll is not listed, or the restaurant makes it differently, these three cover most of the ground:

Is any fish raw? CDC and ACOG advise avoiding raw or undercooked fish and shellfish during pregnancy. Current NHS guidance advises avoiding raw-fish sushi even when the fish was previously frozen.
Is anything seared rather than cooked through? Seared, torched, aburi and tataki all mean the surface was heated and the inside was not. That is raw fish with a cooked edge.
Does any sauce contain raw egg? Spicy mayo and similar sauces are easy to miss, and they are a separate question from the fish.

Cooked is not the only distinction that matters

Two categories sit awkwardly between raw and cooked, and both get filed wrongly.

Cold-smoked and cured fish, which is what a Philadelphia roll usually contains, is not cooked. It is a chilled ready-to-eat fish product, so it raises a Listeria question rather than a parasite one, and Listeria has a much longer window than the illnesses associated with raw fish.

Roe such as ikura, tobiko and masago is usually cured or salted rather than cooked, and sits in the same category unless the restaurant can confirm it was pasteurized.

Mercury is a separate question from raw fish

Cooking a fish does not reduce the mercury already in it, so these two checks do not substitute for each other. A fully cooked bigeye tuna roll answers the raw-fish question and not the mercury one.

FDA and EPA advice is built around servings per week by species. Bigeye tuna is on their Choices to Avoid list during pregnancy, and ahi can mean either yellowfin or bigeye, so the species is worth asking about.

The tuna guide covers the mercury side, including why one meal is a pattern question rather than an emergency.

Save the roll with the meal

If a question comes up later, what matters is which roll, whether anything was raw or seared, the restaurant, and when you ate it. Nouri can hold that with the rest of the day so the answer does not depend on memory.

Save the meal inNouri for iPhone

Common roll questions

Can pregnant women eat a California roll?

The classic California roll uses imitation crab, which is a cooked fish paste, with avocado and cucumber, so the standard build contains no raw fish. What varies between restaurants is the topping: some add raw fish, roe, or a sauce made with raw egg. Ask whether anything raw was added on top.

Is a shrimp tempura roll safe during pregnancy?

Shrimp tempura is battered and deep-fried, so the shrimp is cooked through, which is why it is a common choice. Check whether any raw fish, roe, or raw-egg mayonnaise was added to the roll.

What about a Philadelphia roll?

This is the roll people most often misfile as cooked. It usually contains cold-smoked salmon, which is cured rather than cooked, making it a Listeria question rather than a parasite one. Ask whether the salmon is cold-smoked or cooked, and whether the cream cheese is pasteurized.

Is seared salmon or tataki cooked?

No. Seared and torched fish is heated on the surface only and remains raw inside, so it belongs with raw fish rather than cooked. If a menu says seared, aburi, or tataki, ask whether it is cooked all the way through.

Does this tool tell me whether a roll is safe?

No. It describes what a roll usually contains and what to confirm, because recipes vary between restaurants and no lookup can know what a specific kitchen put in yours. It does not decide whether a food is safe for your pregnancy.

Related Nouri pages

Sources checked on 1 September 2026

Roll descriptions reflect what these dishes usually contain. Recipes vary between restaurants, so this tool is a starting point for the question you ask, not a verdict on a specific plate. It covers 12 common rolls.