Definition of California roll
: a type of sushi roll containing avocado, cucumber, and cooked crabmeat or imitation crabmeat with a wrapping of seaweed and rice
- The California roll, a stout roll of avocado, imitation crab (actually compressed pollock) and cucumber, was perhaps the first sushi variant to be developed in North America.
- —Matt Lee et al.
- The most impressive sushi of the evening, however, was his version of the so-called California roll, which originated in Los Angeles.
- —Caroline Bates
