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Fresh spring rolls are a healthy, light snack you can whip up in no time. Slices of fresh vegetables, crunchy rice noodles, and greens are all wrapped together in a soft rice paper wrapper. Read on to find out how to make this delicious recipe.
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These fresh spring rolls are a light and tasty snack for any occasion. I love the crunchy veggies, the cold noodles, and the flavorful herbs. They are fun to make because depending on what ingredients you have on hand, they can be a little different each time. Even my kids love to help me roll these up!
Spring rolls are light and tasty and can be made quickly and easily for an appetizer, snack, lunch, or dinner! These are fresh and healthy rolls that everyone loves to enjoy. Dip into an amazingly delicious peanut sauce for a sweet and savory combination!
Ingredients for Fresh Spring Rolls
Fresh spring rolls are typically made with rice paper wrappers and filled with vegetables, rice noodles, meat or seafood, and herbs. our fresh spring roll recipe uses these ingredients that are all Asian-inspired. It is the perfect appetizer or dish that everyone will be reaching for!
- Spring Roll Rice Paper Wrappers – These are thin, clear wrappers that come in a stack. Place them in water to soften and stretch them when ready to use. You can follow the package instructions for best use.
- Rice Vermicelli Noodles – The rice noodles come in a white noodle that is airy and has a styrofoam appearance and texture. They are light and tasty with a bit of a crunch.
- Vegetables – Carrots, bell peppers, baby cucumbers, and green onions all chopped or sliced to lay together neatly in the rice paper wrappers. The veggies will be wrapped together nicely.
- Fresh Herbs – Cilantro, basil or Thai basil, and mint leaves are all combined to make a savory combination.
- Greens – Butter lettuce leaves are round salad leaves that are thick and delicious with flavor.
More Fillings to Use
Additionally, there are a lot of other filling ingredients in this fresh Vietnamese spring roll recipe. More vegetables can be included as well as using another type of protein. Add any of these to our simple recipe!
- Red Cabbage – Is normally purple but has a thick crunch and adds a beautiful coloring to the rice wrappers when shown through.
- Avocado – Slice an avocado length-wise to fit the length of the wrapper. This will avoid it from becoming mushed.
- Bean Sprouts – These are stringy and very light vegetables that can be fresh or from a can. I prefer the fresh bean sprouts that are a little drier. If using canned bean sprouts, drain the can before adding them to the rice wrapper.
- Jalapeños – Add a little spice to the spring roll with fresh or canned jalapeños.
- Tofu – Make it lighter and vegetarian by using tofu instead of meat ingredient.
- Protein – Cooked beef, pork, medium-sized shrimp, or chicken thinly sliced to make these more filling in every bite.
How to Make Spring Rolls from Scratch
These are the best spring rolls that are layered together and wrapped in a thin rice wrapper. Slice and prepare the veggies ahead of time. Wet the wrappers and tightly wrap the filling ingredients to hold it all in. Serve chilled and dip into a savory and delicious peanut sauce for the perfect combination!
- Peanut sauce – Make the peanut sauce by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. Let chill in the fridge while you prepare the spring rolls.
- Set up – Prepare your rolling station on top of a cutting board or damp paper towel. Fill a shallow dish, like a pie dish, with water for the wrappers.
- Layer and fill – Quickly dunk the spring roll wrapper into the water and place it on your work surface. Layer lettuce, rice noodles, cilantro, mint, basil, and veggies on top of the wrapper.
- Wrap and serve – Roll the spring roll like you would roll a burrito, tucking the ends in. Serve immediately with peanut dipping sauce.
Peanut Dipping Sauce
This dipping sauce is so good, I could literally eat it with a spoon. It also makes these fresh spring rolls 100x better. It comes together so quickly and you likely have a lot of the ingredients on hand. You make the sauce with peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey or maple syrup, garlic, sriracha, water, and also chopped peanuts.
Add everything to a bowl and then whisk everything together and you are good to go! If you make it ahead of time, store it in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to serve. When you take it out of the fridge, you may have to water it down. Stir it well and then use a little bit of milk, water, fresh lime juice, or hoisin sauce to thin it out to the right consistency.
Working with Rice Paper Wrappers
The rice paper wrappers come dried. You have to submerge them in water to soften them enough to wrap. This will allow them to move and become more flexible as they are wrapping the ingredinets.
Fill a shallow dish like a pie plate with lukewarm water. Then, quickly dip the whole wrapper in the water and then put it down where you are going to fill it. It will soften as you place your fillings down. If you leave it in the water too long, then it will become too soggy and it will fold back on itself.
Questions
Spring rolls can be made with a variety of vegetables, rice noodles, lettuce, shrimp, and sometimes tofu. The ingredients can vary depending on the type of spring roll and what protein is used inside the rice wrapper.
Fresh spring rolls are very healthy for you. They are packed with raw veggies and lean protein as well as a savory peanut sauce. The wrapper that encompasses the spring rolls is low in fat and calories. The rice wrapper is usually 30 to 40 calories per sheet.
The nomenclature of spring rolls is a little confusing because it means different things in different Asian cuisines. This recipe can be classified as fresh spring rolls or even as summer rolls. Spring rolls can also sometimes be fried. Fresh spring rolls are not fried.
Spring rolls are wrapped in a thinner wrapper and are filled with fresh veggies. Egg rolls are made with a thicker wrapper and have more savory and cooked meat and veggies.
Make Spring Rolls Ahead of Time
Fresh spring rolls can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for two to three days long. Store them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh and moist. When ready to enjoy, simply eat chilled from the refrigerator.
More Asian-Inspired Recipes
If you like these fresh spring rolls, then try some of our other light and tasty snacks. These Asian-inspired recipes are the perfect snack, side dish, or appetizer that everyone will be raving about!
How to Make Fresh Spring Rolls
Fresh Spring Rolls
Video
Ingredients
- 10 spring roll wrappers
- 8 ounces rice noodles cooked according to package directions
- 2 carrots julienne cut
- 1 red bell pepper julienne cut
- 2 cucumbers julienne cut
- 4 green onions cut into strips
- 10 leaves butter lettuce
- mint leaves, cilantro leaves, and basil leaves
For the Peanut Sauce
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1/2 cup water
- chopped peanuts to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the peanut sauce by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. Let chill in the fridge while you prepare the spring rolls.
- Prepare your rolling station on top of a cutting board or damp paper towel. Fill a shallow dish, like a pie dish, with water for the wrappers.
- Quickly dunk the spring roll wrapper into the water and place on your work surface. Layer lettuce, rice noodles, cilantro, mint, basil, and veggies on top of the wrapper.
- Roll the spring roll like you would roll a burrito, tucking the ends in. Serve immediately with peanut dipping sauce.
Made these for dinner tonight and they were delicious!! Easy to make gluten free using GF soy sauce. Thanks Kelsey for the recipe!
So glad you liked them!!! <3
This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again!