These baked spring rolls are crispy on the outside, bursting with veggies and noodles on the inside! Serve them up with creamy peanut dipping sauce for a scrumptious vegan appetizer that's sure to be a hit!
I've been meaning to share a crispy vegetable spring roll recipe for a while now, but the prospect of deep-frying kept me from acting on it. I try to limit frying in my kitchen because it's not the healthiest cooking method. Plus it's rather messy, and dealing with all that oil can be a pain!
So instead of frying, I opted to create a baked spring rolls recipe. Much easier and much lighter!
Baking a spring roll that's nice and crispy can be a challenge, but I think I nailed it! These vegan spring rolls were delicious and pretty darn easy to make.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vermicelli rice noodles. Look for these in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Peanut oil. Just about any high-heat oil can be substituted. Peanut, vegetable, and coconut oil are all fine choices!
- Shiitake mushrooms.
- Scallions.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Napa cabbage. Green cabbage can be substituted if needed — it might need a little extra cook time though!
- Carrots.
- Soy sauce. Tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Rice vinegar.
- Brown sugar. Make sure you're using organic sugar in order to keep the recipe vegan.
- Toasted sesame oil. This can also be found in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Spring roll wrappers. We're using wrappers made from wheat flour, and not rice paper wrappers like we might use for summer rolls. These can be found in the freezer section at most supermarkets, or at Asian markets. Be sure to check the ingredients to ensure that the brand you buy is vegan. I used Dynasty brand spring roll and egg roll wrappers (which are actually egg-free!).
- Dipping sauce. I really enjoy these with peanut sauce, but they could also be served with sweet chili sauce, duck sauce, hoisin sauce, or plain old soy sauce. Use what you like!
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by soaking your noodles in some hot water. Refer to the package directions, which should tell you how long to soak them for. Drain them when they're done.
Tip: I like to leave my noodles sitting in the strainer so they continue to drain as I prepare the other ingredients. This helps to prevent the filling from becoming overly watery.
- Heat your peanut oil in a skillet, then add sliced shiitake mushrooms. Cook them for a few minutes on each side, until they'd browned and tender.
- Push the mushrooms to the side and add chopped scallions (white parts only), minced garlic, and fresh grated ginger. Cook it briefly until the mixture becomes very aromatic.
- Add sliced napa cabbage, julienne cut carrots, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and brown sugar to the skillet. Cook everything briefly until the cabbage just begins to wilt.
- Add the noodles to the skillet, along with the sesame oil and green parts of your scallions. Toss everything to combine, then remove the skillet from heat.
- Lay a spring roll wrapper diagonally on a work surface.
- Spoon some filling onto the wrapper, then fold the corner closest to you over the fillings. Fold the side corners inward, then roll everything upward.
Tip: You may find the filling to be a bit liquidy as you get to the bottom of the batch. Just scoop up as much of the noodles and veggies as you can while leaving the excess liquid in the skillet.
- Place your spring rolls on an oiled baking sheet, then mist or brush them with oil. I recommend being generous here. More oil will give you crispier spring rolls!
- Serve your baked spring rolls immediately for the best texture. I like to dip mine in homemade vegan peanut sauce.
Variation: Air Fryer Spring Rolls
These vegan spring rolls can be cooked in an air fryer if you'd like! Preheat the air fryer to 450°F and cook them for about 10 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
Leftovers & Storage
Baked spring rolls are best served right away (they don't stay crispy for long!), but if you have leftovers they will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months. They can be reheated by placing them under a broiler until they're hot and crispy again.
More Vegan Appetizers
- Smoky Tofu Dumplings
- Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms
- Vegan Jalapeño Poppers
- Vegan Scallion Pancakes
- Vegetable Fritters
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Crispy Baked Vegetable Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 ounces rice noodle vermicelli
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped shiitake mushroom caps (about 4 ounces)
- 3 scallions, white and green parts separated and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 cups shredded napa cabbage (about half of a medium head)
- ½ cup julienned carrots (about 1 large carrot)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons organic brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 16 vegan spring roll wrappers (made from wheat flour - not rice paper wraps)
- Peanut sauce, or dipping sauce of choice, for serving
Instructions
Make the Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add rice noodles and soak them according to the package directions. Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse them with cold water. Set Aside.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the shiitakes in an even layer. Allow the mushrooms to cook until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Push the mushrooms to the side. Add white parts of your scallions, garlic and ginger to the center of your skillet. Cook the aromatics for about a minute, until very fragrant, gently stirring to prevent burning.
- Raise the heat to high. Add the cabbage, carrots, soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar to the skillet. Stir-fry the veggies just until the cabbage begins to wilt, about 1 minute.
- Add the noodles, sesame oil, and green parts of scallions to the skillet. Flip everything a few times to mix the ingredients, then remove the skillet from heat.
- Preheat oven to 450° and lightly oil a couple of baking sheets.
- Fill a small bowl with water. Place a spring roll wrapper on work surface at an diagonal, with one of the corners pointing towards you.
- Scoop up 3 to 4 tablespoonfuls of the cabbage mixture, being careful not to pick up too much liquid. Place the mixture in a two inch long strip onto spring roll wrapper, about two inches in from the corner pointing at you, then fold the corner over mixture. Wrap the sides inward over the fold, then roll the filled portion away from you, tucking tightly as you go.
- Dip your fingers into the water bowl and moisten the corner farthest from you before folding it over the roll to close everything up. Place the roll, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Repeat until all wrappers and filling are used.
- Brush the rolls with the remaining peanut oil.
- Bake the spring rolls until golden brown and crispy, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Serve immediately with peanut sauce (or dipping sauce of choice) on the side.
Notes
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These are the best tasting vegan spring rolls l have made, l go to this recipe every time l feel like spring rolls. I have tried some other online recipes for vegan spring rolls but have not enjoyed them nearly as much
Do you think these can be made ahead of time, and then cooked in the air fryer? I haven’t worked with these kinds of wrappers before, and I don’t know if they will become soggy and not cook up as well.
I just have a quick question. Can you use rice paper wraps instead of the wheat? I've never made spring rolls myself but I do have a pack of brown rice paper rolls (impulse buy) that I've wanted to try and this recipe stands out from the others I've googled. BTW, I really enjoy your blog :)
Thanks Mary! :) You might have a hard time if you're going to bake them up with rice paper wraps. I tried doing that for another recipe a while back and they ended up splitting open during baking. I've seen (but never tried) recipes that call for deep frying rice paper wrap spring rolls, so if you're up for frying, that might work. Otherwise I'd stick with wheat flour wraps.