Homemade Spring Rolls are delicious vegetarian versions of egg rolls with a lighter, crispier shell! Great to make ahead and freeze for later!
Spring Rolls are the perfect Chinese Food appetizer alongside Crab Rangoon, Shrimp Tempura, and Potstickers. Skip the Chinese restaurant and make your own at home! Serve your Appetizer platter with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Chinese hot mustard for dipping.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Spring Rolls Recipe
Spring Rolls are so much more than just vegetarian egg rolls. They have a super thin, crispy wrapper that basically shatters when you bite into it. Inside are tender, seasoned cooked vegetables seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil. They are perfect for dipping into sweet chili sauce.
You can fill the spring roll wrappers with anything you’d like. This recipe uses a traditional vegetarian filling but chicken, pork or even a shrimp filling would be amazing! Especially shrimp, because the light tender seafood goes great with the other flavors and textures in Spring Rolls.
Ingredients
- Spring Roll Wrappers: These are thinner than traditional egg roll wrappers so please don’t substitute anything else for them. If you can’t find them at your local grocer try an Asian grocery store instead.
- Vegetable Filling: A mixture of cabbage, carrots, and bamboo shoots gives your filling a flavorful variety of color and crunch. When preparing your vegetables for cooking, slice them into thin matchstick sizes. This will help them cook quickly and make for a uniform filling that fits well inside the wrappers.
- Seasonings: The cooked veggies get tossed in a simple sauce of 2 tablespoons of mirin, ¼ cup of soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. The tangy sweetness of the mirin, the salty umami from the soy sauce and the savory nutty sesame oil hit every taste bud for the perfect blend of flavor.
- Cornstarch: The 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with water helps the wrappers stay better sealed versus just water.
How to Make
Time needed: 40 minutes.
- Cook Filling
Add 2 tablespoons canola oil to a large heavy skillet on medium heat, and add in thinly sliced nappa cabbage, cooking 8-10 minutes while stirring until almost all the liquid has cooked off. Add in minced garlic cloves, thinly sliced carrots and bamboo shoots. Cook for 1 minute then stir in the mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil and let filling cool completely.
- Wrap the Rolls
Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and set aside. Lay out spring roll wrappers one at a time, keeping the rest covered. Brush cornstarch slurry around the edges to moisten, and add about 2 tablespoons of filling in a long rectangle shape, folding in from the sides and rolling the wrappers closed tightly.
- Fry Until Golden
Heat 3 inches of oil in a dutch oven to 325 degrees and fry the spring rolls until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup canola oil , divided
- 8 cups napa cabbage , sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 carrots , sliced thinly
- 8 ounces bamboo shoots , sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 24 spring roll wrappers , 8-inch square
- canola oil , for frying
Instructions
- Add half the canola oil to a large heavy skillet on medium high heat and add in the napa cabbage cooking 8-10 minutes while stirring until almost all the liquid it releases has cooked off.
- Add in the garlic, carrots and bamboo shoots and cook for 1 minute while stirring before adding in the mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil and stirring again then let filling cool completely.
- Mix cornstarch with two tablespoons of water.
- Lay out the spring roll wrapper, brush cornstarch slurry around the edges to moisten and add about 2 tablespoons of filling in a long rectangle shape, folding in from the sides and rolling the wrappers closed tightly.
- Heat 3 inches of oil in a dutch oven to 325 degrees and fry the spring rolls until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).
Video
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: Cooking with Mirin
Mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine that is often used in cooking Asian cuisine. It is similar to sake, but has more sugar and less alcohol. It is perfect for adding an acidic balance to Asian foods because it is slightly sweet, but also tangy. When combined with the soy sauce and sesame oil in this homemade spring roll recipe, it helps to give the vegetable filling a delicious umami flavor.
Can Spring Rolls be made ahead of time?
Absolutely! It’s best to serve Spring Rolls hot but prep them ahead and either refrigerate them for 1 day or freeze them for up to 1 month. Prepare the spring rolls according to the recipe instructions until the step before frying.
- To Refrigerate: Place the rolls in an air-tight container with wax or parchment between layers so they don’t stick and refrigerate until you are ready to fry them.
- To Freeze: Freeze the filled rolls in a single layer until frozen so they don’t stick together. When you are ready to fry them, simply heat your oil and you can fry them straight from the freezer. Just be careful to use long tongs, as any frozen crystals on them may cause the oil to splatter.
Nutritional Facts
Tips & Tricks for Making Spring Rolls
- For the best authentic Spring Rolls, cut the vegetables thinly. The more tender the vegetables are the more crisp and light the spring rolls are.
- Cook the filling until it is as dry as you can make it. A wet filling will make for a soggy spring roll. Also, do not add hot filling to the spring roll wrapper. The wrapper is so thin it will become soggy quickly.
- Keep the spring roll wrappers covered before using. If they dry out they will become brittle and break.
- When rolling, eliminate as much air as you can, or it will burst during frying and make a mess. Wrap the spring rolls tightly and add a bit of water to the edges to seal them after wrapping.
What to Pair With Spring Rolls
- Dipping Sauce: Be sure to serve your spring rolls with a delicious sauce for dipping. Traditional options include Duck Sauce, which is a condiment served at American Chinese restaurants similar to a sweet and sour sauce. You can also serve them with chili garlic sauce, sweet chili sauce, peanut sauce, hoisin sauce or just plain soy sauce.
- Main Dishes: Of course these rolls are a delicious appetizer to any Asian takeout dishes. But one our favorite recipes to serve them with is actually General Tso’s Chicken because the sauce from the recipe is the PERFECT dipping sauce!
How to Store
- Store: Spring Rolls are best enjoyed hot and fresh. Keep cooked Spring Rolls in and airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
- Reheat: Reheat refrigerated rolls in the oven or air fryer until they are heated through. For frozen Spring Rolls, heat them in a 375 degree oven for 10-14 minutes.
- Freeze: It is best to freeze Spring Rolls before frying, and you can fry them fresh from frozen to enjoy any time. Freeze in a single layer then transfer to an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Air Fryer Spring Rolls
Prepare the as usual, and spray or brush them on both sides with a light amount of oil. Preheat your air fryer to 390, then add spring rolls to the basket in a single layer. Cook for about 8 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown and crispy.
Baked Spring Rolls
Another way to avoid deep frying your homemade spring rolls is to bake them. Just like with the air fryer, prepare your rolls and spray or brush them lightly with oil. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment, and bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Frequent Questions
No, these Chinese Spring Rolls are very different from Vietnamese spring rolls, also known as summer rolls, salad rolls or fresh spring rolls. Vietnamese spring rolls are served cold with fillings wrapped in soft, thin rice paper wrappers that are almost see-through. These rice paper rolls are often filled with cooked shrimp or pork, rice noodles, plus crisp raw veggies like lettuce leaves, shredded carrots and cucumber.
No, do not buy rice paper. These are for fresh spring rolls with fresh vegetable filling. Do not try to fry these, they are meant to be soaked in water before wrapping and will not fry well.
The main difference between spring rolls and egg rolls are the wrappers. Egg rolls have a chewy, thicker wrapper made from flour and egg that is almost similar to a pasta dough. When fried, they have bubbly, crunchy exterior that tends to be more oily and rich. Spring rolls use thin flour or rice wrappers that are smooth and crispier than egg rolls. Traditionally, egg rolls contain a mixture of cooked vegetables and pork, and are larger and heartier, while spring rolls contain only vegetables and are smaller and lighter.
Variations
- Meat: Add cooked ground pork, chicken, or beef to the filling. Season the meat with the same combination of mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil when cooking. Cooked chopped shrimp also makes a wonderful addition to spring roll filling.
- Vegetables: Use a combination of your favorite veggies like bean sprouts, mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, bok choy, or broccoli. Just make sure they are all sliced thinly in a similar shape.
- Glass Noodles: Add another layer of texture inside the spring roll by including cooked glass noodles, broken into 2-3 inch pieces, to the rest of the vegetables in the filling.
- Dessert Spring Rolls: Make Sweet Spring Rolls with your favorite fruit fillings, or even fruit mixed with cream cheese. Use butter to sauté bananas with cinnamon and sugar inside and top with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or whipped cream.
Related Posts
More Delicious Chinese Takeout Appetizers
Photos used in a previous version of this post.
The flavor was good but the deep frying failed horribly. The color stayed white with brown burnt areas. The wrapping burst and bubbled all over. After reading comments, I’m wondering if this was because of the filling not being dry and cool? I wish I could submit Images on here so you could help me.
I did state in step #1 that the filling needs to be completely cooled so perhaps you’re right?
Was the oil at 325 degrees? Did the rolls seal well while rolling with the corn starch slurry on the edges?
It is hard to trouble shoot, I’m sorry you experienced this disappointing result 🙁
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe
Takes quite a bit longer than stated.
SUPER important to let the filling cool all the way, before rolling.
I skipped the bamboo shoots and included a small amount of ham diced into tiny cubes, and some minced fresh shallot in my rolls and I thought they were delish!
What wrappers do you actually use? I couldn’t find the specific information.
This is a lazy question. Can I use cole slaw mix veggies & just make sure the pieces are cut thin?
That’s what I used and they turned out great. I added a few more carrots and green onions.
Very good suggestion! Thanks!
These rolls. Delicious and a keeper. Unfortunately, picked up a package of 50 wrappers by mistake, used only 20. Can the rest be refrozen or discarded . Thank you Sanrina
I would love to try this recipe but cannot find spring rolls 8×8 in any of the markets. I live in VictoriaBC. Perhaps someone might be able to help me. I have purchased all except rolls. Love to try. Thank you
Use phyllo pastry, cut in downwood strips wider than spring roll put filling in centre fold in sides and roll up, can still fry or brush with oil and butter mix and airfry
Hi Sabrina! I looked through the other comments and couldn’t find an answer to my question: do you think it would be okay if I substitute another type of cabbage for the napa? I truly dislike the texture of napa cabbage! Thank you in advance for your response!
I am sure you could, but I haven’t used other cabbages so I am not precisely sure of cook times or changed to flavor. But experiment and enjoy!
I loved the flavour of these, made them into mini spring rolls, which is more tedious but it was for an appetiser. I had to ditch the corn flour slurry because it wasn’t letting them stick at all! I brushed lightly with olive oil and baked. Great recipe?
I make 100 at a time. I use a large head of Napa cabbage, then X-4 the rest of the ingredients and I add 1 1/2 lbs each of ground pork and chicken. I roll as my wife fries. When we are done the first ones are a little limp but I freeze them. Then when I want them I bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes turning half way through they come out crispy that way.
Hey Sabrina,
Full disclosure: I ranked the recipe before trying it, based upon two things: all of your other recipes I have tried have been GREAT, and the fact that this is exactly the type of spring roll I have been looking for: with a flaky, unblistered skin. It looks like I may have been purchasing the wrong kind of wrappers, so I will see if I can find the type you mention – that said, I do buy them at a very “authentic” Asian market here in the LA/OC area. Also, I would reinforce your comment about the filling being as DRY AS POSSIBLE, as well as fully cooled before rolling them. This is absolutely essential in my experience. Thanks for publishing such a great blog! I think you are AWESOME!!!!!
Hi! I love this recipe, I was just wondering what the portion size is in g or mL for the spring rolls. Please let me know! thank you!
Rice paper absolutely is fried in some recipes. Many fried Vietnamese spring rolls call for rice paper to be fried. It just isn’t commonly called for in Chinese recipes.
Thank you. My rice paper wrappers say serve fresh or fried.
Thanks for this recipe! Can you recommend a brand or do you have a link for wrappers? I have only been able to find banh trang (rice paper) at my local market and we don’t have any ethnic stores unfortunately! Thank you!
I use Dynasty brand. Hope this helps!
Can these be make in an air fryer?
I’ve not tested it but if you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
I sure plan on using my air fryer. How did your turn out?
Hi Sabrina,
I would like to add meat to my spring rolls, how much would you recommend I add??
Thank you
You’ll want to add it in with the filling. You won’t need a lot for each spring roll as you don’t want to over stuff them.
I take a piece of pork tenderloin, marinade overnight, and then panfry until very well cooked and cut into quite small bite sized pieces and set aside until cabbage/veg mixture is cooked and stir in well. The little pork surprises in every bite are a great addition to these wonderful spring rolls. Also sometimes fry half a dozen shrimp in butter and cut them into small pieces and throw in with the mix. Delicious!
My husband just asked me yesterday if we could air fry the spring rolls and I said “no, spring rolls are raw” — so happy I was proven wrong; this recipe looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it!
I’m looking forward to making these spring rolls; all your tips for making the best spring rolls I will use because I experienced all those mishaps; my question is, can I use a deep fryer for these ; I will be using peanut oil and will be making them the same day of the event; can I freeze them for 5-10 min , then deep fry..?
Yes 🙂
Best. Recipe. Ever. Thank you! Making a freezer full later. 🙂
If you have an air fryer, you can reheat them very quickly and they stay crisp
I haven’t tested it but I would think that would work. I’d love to know how it turns out if you try.
So glad I found this site. Can’t wait to start cooking some of these recipes that I just printed off. I love to learn about new ways of cooking and new ingredients so I can’t wait to see what will be in this website or blog.
Welcome!
I read further down on other responses and found my answer . 🙂
Sabrina
thank you. i will try this one for sure. Can they be frozen? if so, do I fry first and leave fresh?
thank you
from Sandy in Michigan
Hi Sabrina,
I love these rolls. Can I fry a whole bunch 1 hour before serving. They will not be hot but room temperature when I serve them. Is that ok?
Sure 🙂
Question… I tried using a fryer for my rolls and I couldn’t get the spring roll paper to brown like yours are in the pictures, they stayed white and bubbled up with tones of little bubbles all over them… what did I do wrong?
Sounds like your oil might have been too hot. Try lower your heat next time and see if that helps. Good luck!
Hi Brie,
Did you use rice paper to roll them instead of pantry wraps? I made that mistake last time and didn’t learn about the difference until after. Hope that helps!
What is considered a serving size for this recipe….one? Just looking at the nutritional info and I want to make sure I’m accurate.
To make it easier, I made 1 spring roll= 1 servings.
You can actually use rice paper. That’s the way they are supposed to be made. That’s why it’s a fried spring roll. You get the paper flexible, not soggy like you would making fresh spring rolls, it works great!
If you have leftover Unfried spring rolls, should they be rolled in some flour before frying them??
I’d fry them all up and freeze them once they cool down to reheat up later.
CAN I MAKE THESE, REFRIGERATE THEM AND HEAT IN OVEN THE NEXT DAY?
THEY LOOK WONDERFUL
THANKS
You can reheat the leftovers, however they won’t be as crispy. If you want prep them ahead, I suggest assemble them and freeze until the day you want to eat them and then fry that day.
Getting ready to make these, and it says to divide the 1/4 cup of canola oil but it never says what to do with the other half?? Just want to make sure I make these right. Thank you so much!
The other half gets added when you add the other ingredients (garlic, carrots and bamboo shoots). Thanks for catching that.
Wouldn’t you want to add that to your recipe? As others may be wondering, such as myself.
Unfortunately Google penalizes the author when recipes are edited. Sorry.
Your recipes make my mouth drool. So simple and inviting. Cannot wait to make your spring rolls. Yum,yum.
Thanks, John. Enjoy!
Would like to get the receipe for the sauce to go with your delicious spring rolls.Thank you
Here’s the link: https://dinnerthendessert.com/sweet-sour-sauce/
Enjoy!
Could you kindly forward to me the sauce reciepe for Spring rolls.
https://dinnerthendessert.com/sweet-sour-sauce/
I have the ingredients to make this recipe 2x for Mothers Day. Can I make the ingredients then refrigerate then put the filling on the skins the next day and bake them or fry them?
thanks
Yes 🙂
Do you fry the egg rolls before you freeze them or can they be frozen without frying g since mixture is cooked already, which is the best way
I would freeze them before frying.
My Spring rolls are always soggy, please what should I do to make them crispy for some hours
Your best bet is to ensure any excess moisture from the filling ingredients is drained and cooled before rolling them.
Can I Air-Fry these? Would I spritz them as I do the other things I want to Air-Fry? Thank you for the recipe!!! I’ve made many of your meals and desserts and we’ve enJOYed them all!!! I do try to tag you in them but owrhaps Im not doing it right, on Facebook donI do @DinnerthenDessert? Or use the hash tag#? I love your name it’s what drew me in…Dinner then Dessert! My favorite things!!!
I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes. You can always tag me on Instagram with #dinnerthendessert. That’s the best way for me to see your photos. 🙂 I’ve never tested this recipe using an air fryer so I’m not sure how they’d do. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
Yes, these can be air fried which a much healthier option. I use the convection oven setting. 16 rolls took about 25 minutes to get crispy.
I plan tomake in advance and freeze… do I thaw them before frying or fry them frozen ??
You’ll fry them frozen. Enjoy!
What brand of spring roll wrappers did you use?
I used Dynasty spring roll wrappers. 🙂
What brand do you suggest as alternative to Dynasty (out of stock)?
Hmmm, that’s always the brand I use. I would recommend Spring Home if you’re still not having any luck finding Dynasty. You usually can find them in Asian grocery store. I would not recommend using Nasoya. I’ve never had good luck with them.
Would these be good baked as well?
They won’t be as crispy but it’ll still work. Spray them lightly with cooking spray to help crisp up. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-12 minutes or until golden brown. Good luck!
Eu vou experimentar a receita eu provei o rolinhos só não sabia como se prepara. Quero também aprender a fazer cochinhas e croquetes
Espero que você goste deles!
nice n lovely
I have made these twice now and they are terrific…..I eat them as a meal.
My question is this, I froze them, then I cooked them in the oil, the wrapper was crisp but the inside was still cold. How do I accomplish cooking these so both parts are equally heated?
I’m so glad you enjoy them! It sounds like you may need to lower your heat if the outside is getting done before the inside. Also, make sure not to over fill them because too much filing takes longer to heat up as well. Adjusting those two items should solve that issue.
Hi! Wanted to recreate this for Thanksgiving but can’t find bamboo shoots anywhere near me, do you recommend any replacements for it?
You can’t find them in the canned variety? I’d say maybe replace with very very thinly julienned parnsips that are half cooked or maybe Amazon. It pains me to link you to this because in a grocery store it would cost half this price, but for the holidays I know I love things to be perfect too. Bamboo Shoots
The recipe is very similar to Poh pia or Filipinos no Lumpia both the same origin and I have to disagree about the rice paper wrappers since Vietnamese spring rolls are classically and traditionally made with small rice paper wrappers like the summer rolls sorry google it wrong that there never used An da their quite delicious if done right! ????
Thanks for the feedback!
Hey, Kelena & Sabrina!
I was so disappointed to read about using rice paper as I slowly came to the realization that that is exactly what I bought. So, I looked on the package instructions….laughed….said, “Well, Vietnamese fry them! I’ll give it a try.” I’ll let you ladies know how it turns out.
This recipe looks great! I am just a teeny bit confused, though. What are we doing with the other half of the 1/4 cup of canola oil. I keep reading the directions and can’t figure it out. Am I missing something?
So sorry about that! The other half of the oil is used when cooking the second half of the veggies. Hope this helps clear up any confusion.
Great tips! These look amazing!
Thanks Karly!
So yummy! I’ve never made my own spring rolls – I need to try this soon!
Definitely!
Can you do these in an air fryer?
I never tried it but if you decide to give it a go, I’d love to know how they turned out!
Wow! These look incredible. So much yum!!!
xo Michael
Thanks Michael!
I can’t ever resist a batch of homemade spring rolls. YUM!
YES!!
Yes please! I can’t wait to try this one!
I hope you enjoy them!!