Spam Musubi and Ume Furikake Musubi: A Simple Picnic Breakfast

The weather has been warm and sunny lately, and with temperatures expected to reach the 80s this weekend, it finally feels like picnic season. For us, that means musubi season—easy to pack, satisfying, and delicious whether you eat them at home or on the go.

This morning I woke up earlier than usual and decided to make a batch. Musubi take a little time, so I don’t usually attempt them on busy school mornings. Still, everyone was pleasantly surprised to find musubi for breakfast, and they were even happier when I packed some for lunches.

Laurel and Quill were especially pleased to have musubi waiting in their lunchboxes. My family tends to favor the classic spam musubi, and most of the stack I made went quickly.

Quill, however, is an exception. She doesn’t eat much meat but enjoys bacon, pepperoni, and prosciutto—yet she won’t touch spam. To accommodate her, I usually shape a small triangle musubi with an ume in the center. Today I tried a different approach that still avoids meat but keeps the convenience and flavor of musubi.

For Quill’s musubi, I mixed cooked rice with pitted ume (pickled plum) and sesame-seaweed furikake, then packed the seasoned rice into the spam musubi mold lined with nori. It’s a simple technique that yields a neat, flavorful musubi without any meat.

My ratio for this version is one pitted ume and about 1/2 teaspoon of furikake for every 2/3 cup of cooked rice. That portion size fits the mold I use and results in musubi that are easy to handle and bite-sized enough to enjoy without feeling like you’re eating a block of rice. Personally, I prefer smaller, well-seasoned musubi over huge rice blocks—they’re more balanced and less dense.

The ume and furikake create a festive look—pink flecks from the plum and green from the nori and sesame seeds—making these musubi a pretty, meat-free alternative. They’d be especially nice for holiday gatherings or potlucks when you want something that looks special but is quick to prepare.

Of course, I still made the classic spam musubi for everyone else. They’re simple: a slice of grilled spam, a band of nori, and perfectly seasoned rice molded into place. Stacked together, they look like a small tower of portable comfort food.

While editing photos of the musubi, I couldn’t help but laugh—those neatly stacked pieces almost looked like they were smiling back. Then reality set in: they were meant to be eaten. It’s one of those small, guilty pleasures that makes the morning feel a little brighter, even if it means I’ll be hopping on the elliptical later to make up for indulgence.

All in all, musubi are a versatile, crowd-pleasing option for breakfast, lunch, or a picnic. Whether you prefer the classic spam version or a lighter ume and furikake variation, they’re easy to adapt, simple to pack, and always satisfying.