If you love crispy, crunchy, and easy-to-make spring rolls, then these Fried Spring Rolls are right up your alley. And the best part…they’re freezer friendly!
When making an Asian-themed dinner, serve up these shrimp tempura sushi rolls and Asian chicken salad as appetizers, too.
Table Of Contents
Recipe Details
I love these Fried Spring Rolls! They are so tasty, and everyone from kids to adults adore them. They work as a snack, an appetizer, and for bringing to potlucks.
- TASTE: These spring rolls are savory and full of flavor. The chicken, cabbage, onion, celery, and carrots are seasoned with just a hint of salt and pepper.
- TEXTURE: These Fried Spring Rolls are crunchy on the outside with a delicious mix of juicy chicken and sauteed veggies inside. The delicate wrapper is perfectly crisp.
- TIME: This recipe takes about an hour and 30 minutes.
- EASE: These rolls are really quite easy. The images and instructions will show you how to prep the filling, roll the wrappers, and fry these to golden perfection.
Ingredient Notes
- Wrappers- You’ll need spring roll wrappers for this recipe. These are thinner than those for egg rolls. They also come gluten-free if preferred.
- Vegetables- Cabbage, carrots, onion, and celery are needed. You can use any vegetables you like, but these are a simple and classic combination. They add a delicious chew to the filling as well as great flavor.
- Bean threads- This ingredient is also known as glass noodles and have a mild flavor. You can also use rice noodles. These absorb the flavors of the chicken and veggies.
- Chicken- Ground chicken thighs are great for this dish. They’re juicy and the perfect texture and size to fit within the spring roll wrappers.
- Oil- Canola oil is best here. It has a mild flavor and high smoke point, so it’s a good frying oil.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Substitute another meat- Besides ground chicken, you can also use ground pork or beef. It’s best to use a ground meat so the pieces are small enough to fit the wrapper.
- Add a sauce- Add some oyster sauce, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, or hoisin sauce to your Fried Spring Roll filling.
- Substitute different vegetables- Try this recipe with vegetables like mushrooms, water chestnuts, bok choy, and bean sprouts.
- Bake them- Place the spring rolls on a baking sheet and spray them with non-stick spray. Bake at 435 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, turning halfway.
How to Make Fried Spring Rolls
- Prep the cabbage and bean threads. In two separate heatproof bowls, submerge the shredded cabbage and bean threads in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then drain the water out.
- Cut the bean threads. Then cut through the bean threads about 30-40 times using kitchen shears or scissors.
Pro Tip: Use a fine mesh sieve to drain the water out of the cabbage. This is important so the spring roll filling isn’t soggy and the sieve is the most effective way.
- Cook the celery and onions. Saute the chopped onion and celery in a skillet filled with olive oil over medium-high heat. Then set aside.
- Mix the filling ingredients together. Now combine the ground chicken, shredded cabbage, bean threads, shredded carrot, sauteed vegetables, salt, and pepper.
- Fill your spring roll wrappers. Fill the wrappers with the chicken filling, roll them up tightly, and brush a little water on the top corner to help it stick and seal the spring roll.
- Fry them. Now fry each spring roll in a heavy bottomed skillet filled with canola oil over high heat for abut 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Place on paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. Serve hot.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overfill the fried spring rolls- To make sure you can fully close these rolls, only use about 2 tablespoons of filling. Too much will either rip the wrapper or leave it too big to fully seal.
- Use water to seal them- A little water on the last flap of the wrapper as you roll these spring rolls will make it tacky so it will stick and seal the roll. This will avoid a burst egg roll in the fry oil.
- Absorb the excess oil- Place the fried spring rolls on a plate lined with paper towels so the extra oil can be absorbed. This will keep the rolls from getting soggy.
- Serve them with sauce- Add a dipping sauce when you serve these, like soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, peanut sauce, or hot Chinese mustard.
FAQs
Fresh spring rolls are cold Vietnamese rolls (obviously not cooked). They are made with rice paper wraps and are typically filled with cooked prawns, lettuce, carrot, Thai basil, mint, and cilantro. They are commonly dipped in peanut sauce.
While both are filled with a combination of meat and vegetables, fried spring rolls are made with a thin paper-like wrap (not rice wrap) and egg rolls are wrapped in a thicker dough-like wrap that contains eggs. The latter came from American Chinese cuisine.
Serving Suggestions
These crispy Fried Spring Rolls are versatile enough to be served with lots of meat dishes, salads, noodles, and grains. Here are some great dishes to try them with.
- Meats: Make these your appetizer before serving some Mongolian Beef, Pepper Steak, Bang Bang Shrimp, or Chicken Tempura.
- Salads: Serve them alongside Asian Chicken Salad, Kani Salad, Crab Salad (VIDEO), or Eggplant Salad.
- Noodles: Enjoy these Fried Spring Rolls with Chicken Chow Mein, Gluten-Free Stir Fry with Rice Noodles, or 30-Minute Shrimp Chow Mein.
- Grains: You can pair them with a plate of Pork Fried Rice, Wild Rice, Quinoa Fried Rice, or Wild Brown Rice.
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: You can prep these spring rolls ahead of time and freeze them. Then when you’re ready to serve, place the frozen (uncooked) spring rolls into a heavy bottomed pot filled with about 2 inches of hot canola oil and cook over high heat until golden brown.
Storing: Store any leftover Fried Spring Rolls in the refrigerator once they’ve cooled, in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. They can last for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Roll them up and place the uncooked spring rolls in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze until solid (about 4 hours) then place them into a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Tasty Asian-Inspired Dishes!
Full Recipe Instructions
Fried Spring Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken thighs
- 1/2 medium cabbage about 32 oz
- 1/3 cup celery diced
- 1 carrot shredded (about 1 cup)
- 3/4 cup onion
- 3 oz uncooked bean threads or rice noodles work too
- 35 spring roll wraps
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- Canola oil for frying corn oil worls too
Instructions
- Finely chop the cabbage and submerge it in hot water for 5 minutes as well. Drain the cabbage of all water and set it aside to cool. I recommend using a fine-mesh sieve to get all the water out.
- Place the bean threads or rice noodles in a heatproof bowl and submerge them in boiling water for about 4-5 minutes. Drain the water out using a mesh strainer and roughly cut through the noodles with kitchen shears.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pan and sauté the chopped onion until translucent.
- Add the chopped celery to the onion and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked bean threads, cabbage, shredded carrot, ground chicken thighs, and the sautéed onion and celery.
- Season with salt and pepper. As mentioned in the ingredient list, use less salt if you plan to dip the rolls in soy sauce.
- Begin assembling your spring rolls by laying out one spring roll wrap with a corner pointed toward you. Spread about 2 tbsp of the chicken and cabbage mixture in the middle and fold the bottom corner up over the mixture. Fold the left and right corners toward the center and continue to roll. Brush a little water on the top corner to help seal the spring roll.
- Fill a skillet with about 2 inches of canola or corn oil. Bring the oil to medium-high heat and fry each spring roll for 2-3 minutes per side. Place the fried spring rolls on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Serve hot with soy sauce or sweet chili sauce.
Notes
- Don’t overfill the fried spring rolls- To make sure you can fully close these rolls, only use about 2 tablespoons of filling. Too much will either rip the wrapper or leave it too big to fully seal.
- Use water to seal them- A little water on the last flap of the wrapper as you roll these spring rolls will make it tacky so it will stick and seal the roll. This will avoid a burst egg roll in the fry oil.
- Absorb the excess oil- Place the fried spring rolls on a plate lined with paper towels so the extra oil can be absorbed. This will keep the rolls from getting soggy.
- Serve them with sauce- Add a dipping sauce when you serve these, like soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, peanut sauce, or hot Chinese mustard.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on Mar 22, 2017, it has been updated since.
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mavee125 says
Fried Spring roll is my favorite! its indeed delicious and very flavorful! Plus, whatever your choice of sauce, it always complements. I got all my needed ingredients at Karman Foods. Their service is fast and hassle-free.
simplyhomecooked says
That is so awesome to hear! Happy that you loved these fried spring rolls 🙂 Thank you so much for your feedback!
Sandie Chase says
Where do you find your spring roll wrappers?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Sandie, I usually get them from my local Asian food market.
Mary says
what are bean threads and what do you do with the rice noodles?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Mary, you can use bean threads or rice noodles. They are very similar in taste and texture. Bean threads are also known as cellophane noodles which are made from a variety of starches. They are often made from mung bean starch. I hope this helps!
Paige says
These are hands down the best fried spring rolls I’ve ever had. My Filipino friends actually call this lumpia. The outside it so crispy and the inside has so much flavor! It’s so delicious with the sweet chili sauce 😋. Thank you for this recipe! My whole family is obsessed now.
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Paige, thank you so much for the sweet feedback. Yes, they are very similar to lumpia! 🙂 I am so happy that you loved this recipe!
Dra.Zanahoria says
Which sauce do you use at the end? Do you have any recipe of these sauce?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi, I dipped the fried spring rolls into sweet chili sauce. Pretty much all grocery stores have this sauce available.
Kishin says
How do you make spring rolls wrappers ??
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Kishin, I do not make my own spring roll wrappers. These are store bought.
Soum says
hello, it’s chicken legs that you use or chicken breast
Merci
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Soum, I used ground chicken thighs in this spring roll recipe.
Soum says
😉😉
Kat says
I’ve never tried fried spring rolls as we always make them fresh. But I bet these are so good. They remind me a lot of egg rolls that we make with cabbage filling.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Kat, the fresh type of spring rolls are definitely lighter and healthier, but there is something about that irresistible crunchiness of fried spring rolls! So good!
Julia F says
Thank you for such detail directions on how to fry spring rolls. I’ve only baked mine in the past but would like to try the real deal! Nothing bits crispy exterior!
simplyhomecooked says
I hope you love this fried spring rolls recipe Julia! That crispy exterior is everything! I am curious if an airfryer would give similar crispiness. Definitely should try that.
NatD says
I am excited to make those crispy spring egg rolls. I wonder how they would turn out in airfryer, definitely would test it.
simplyhomecooked says
Oh, NatD that sounds like a genius idea! I would love to know how the spring rolls turn out in an airfryer!
SUSAN says
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your recipe. If you freeze the uncooked rolls as you have suggested, do you thaw them before frying? Or place them in the hot oil from frozen?
Thanks
Susan
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Susan, I just place them into the hot oil right from the frozen form, so no thawing required 🙂
Wendy Hall says
Would these work in an air fryer?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Wendy, I’ve never tried them in an air fryer so I can’t say much about how they will turn out.
Helen says
Hi
Can you tell me are the spring roll wraps gluten-free and if so do you know where in the New York area I can get them?
Thanks very much
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Helen unfortunately, I don’t think they are gluten-free. They can be found at almost any Asian food market. I believe H Mart should have them.
Karen says
Yes gluten free made from rice flour paste
Diane says
Can you freeze these after they are made…before you cook them?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Diane, freeze them all rolled up (uncooked). I like to lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them solid, then transfer them to a ziplock bag and place them back into the freezer. This will prevent them from sticking together 🙂
Amy says
How much of the bean threads do you use? This Is is not in the recipe
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Amy, if you scroll down to the recipe card below it says to use 3 oz total. n
PAT says
Can you freeze these? Best way raw or precook? Thanks
simplyhomecooked says
Hey Patty, yes you can freeze them. Lay the uncooked rolled up spring rolls flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2-3 hours. Then place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Flor cecilia says
Deliciosa….que receta!!!! Gracias
Allie says
Super excited about these – durring my pregnancy, I’d wake up at tthree in the morning craving spring rolls! Should the chicken be pre-cooked in any way? Thanks!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Allie, I’m glad you’re looking forward to this recipe 🙂 nope no cooking the chicken. It gets cooked when you fry them.
Daphne says
What are bean threads – I live in Canada and not all ingredients in US recipes are available here
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Daphne, bean threads are a type of cellophane noodle that are transparent and made from starch and water. If you don’t have a local Asian market that sells these noodles, you can use rice noodles instead. Most grocery stores should have rice noodles (in dry form).
Nadia says
I’ve been looking for a good lumpia recipe..I’m super excited to try this! I have a Filipino friend and I’m still waiting on the promised lumpia cooking session from her!!! Lol I’ll give them a try this week, thank you for sharing!
simplyhomecooked says
No problem Nadia! Enjoy 🙂
Angie says
Wow what a great recipe! My sister used to make lumpia for us! I am going to give this a try! Thanks
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Angie! 🙂