Spring Rolls

This fresh Spring Rolls recipe makes the perfect healthy lunch, snack or appetizer. Classic vegetable spring rolls (also called Summer Rolls or Vietnamese Spring Rolls) with peanut sauce for dipping!

 

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

When the weather is warm and you’re looking for food that’s cool and fresh, these fresh Spring Rolls are absolute perfection. Made with cooked shrimp, chopped veggies, and rice paper, they’re light, low in fat, and they make a great lunch or appetizer. They’re one of our favourite fresh summer lunches, especially alongside our favourite peanut sauce or spicy mayo for dipping!

Spring rolls are a popular Asian appetizer we love – sometimes called Vietnamese spring rolls or fresh spring rolls, or even Summer Rolls. They’re made with rice paper wrapped around fresh veggies and shrimp and sometimes cooked rice noodles. They’re a favourite light lunch or appetizer all year round, but they’re ideal during the warm weather months because they’re best served cold with dipping sauce like peanut sauce or spicy mayo dipping sauce.

Fresh spring rolls are both delicious and beautiful, often made with a rainbow of veggies like red onion or red cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, red pepper, and even fruit like mango. They’re packed with nutrients from the veggies, protein from the shrimp, and they make a delicious light lunch, snack, or party food!

There are SO many reasons these fresh spring rolls are one of our go-to summer recipes! Here are just a few:

1. They’re CUSTOMIZABLE: Add your choice of favourite veggies and protein and make them according to your tastes and preferences.
2. They’re LIGHT & HEALTHY: They’re packed with fresh veggies, lean protein, and they’re low in fat and carbs!
3. They’re great for MEAL PREP: All the ingredients can be prepared in advance and assembled when you’re ready to enjoy them!
4. They’re a FAMILY FAVOURITE: Everyone can make their own fresh spring rolls with their favourite fillings – it’s a fun meal to make with kids!

Here are some of our favourite recipes we love to make and serve alongside these fresh Summer Rolls!

1. Our favourite Peanut Sauce
2. Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce
3. Vegan Miso Soup
4. Healthy Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino
5. Watermelon Green Tea Refresher
6. Easy Homemade Ramen Bowls
7. Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp Soup
8. Thai Peanut Salad Wonton Cups
9. Asian Cucumber Salad with Carrots

Making homemade Fresh Spring Rolls can be kind of tricky! Here’s a collection of all our best tips and tricks to getting it right!

Don’t overdo it with the water – soak your rice paper wrappers just until they start to soften so that you can roll them comfortably around the fillings, but they don’t fall apart. Over-soaking will cause them to rip easily.

Make sure everything stays in place as you roll by folding the edges in first.

Add the soft fillings on the bottom, like the shrimp, so you can create a soft base before you add the harder toppings and then fold the rolls.

Layer some mint, cilantro, Thai basil (or regular basil), and spring onions for a twist on your fresh spring roll.

Layer some cooked rice vermicelli noodles with your shrimp and veggies for a more consistent meal. Make sure the noodles are drained well and season them with some rice vinegar and soy sauce before adding them to the rolls.

We love serving them with peanut sauce or spicy mayo, but you could also serve them with soy sauce for dipping, or a store-bought Thai sweet chili sauce.

Here’s a list of common issues you might encounter when making fresh spring rolls, especially for the first time. We’ll explain how to fix and prevent these issues!

Make sure you don’t soak the wrappers in warm water for too long and be sure to work quickly with them. You might need a couple tries until you figure out exactly how long to soak the rice paper (this will differ with each brand of rice paper). Soak the rice paper just until it softens enough to fold, but before it completely loses all shape and acts like a cooked noodle.

Add a bed of lettuce and the shrimp (and rice noodles, if using) so you can layer the carrots and other hard veggies and protect the rice paper. The softer ingredients should always be added first, directly onto the rice paper.

Place your spring rolls on a bed of lettuce or parchment paper. Alternatively, you can add a tiny bit of sesame oil on top of the rolls so they don’t stick to each other. Working with wet hands is also a good way to prevent sticking.

Amp up the flavours by using fresh herbs or add a splash of lime juice inside the rolls. Make sure you use fresh veggies and serve them with a flavourful sauce for dipping.

Make sure you pat your fillings dry before assembling – especially the cucumbers. Make sure you drain your vermicelli noodles well (if using).

You won’t need any specialized equipment to make fresh Vietnamese spring rolls! Here’s all you’ll need (paid links):

• Cutting Board
• large knife

Here’s everything you’ll need to make these delicious fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls:

• 12 rice paper sheets
• 2 red onions
• 1 head of lettuce – use butter lettuce if you can find it
• 2 carrots
• 2 red bell pepper
• 60 small shrimp or cocktail shrimp
• 1 large english cucumber

Want to try something new? Add a new flavour to your homemade fresh spring rolls with one of these tasty variations!

1. Tropical: Add mango and avocado to your spring rolls for a tropical vibe.
2. Spicy: Add thinly sliced jalapeños and serve them with a sriracha or spicy mayo dipping sauce.
3. Salmon: Replace the shrimp with cooked or smoked salmon and add some cream cheese inside each roll.
4. California: Add crab instead of the shrimp, and replace the peppers and carrots with avocado and add some sesame seeds.

More Recipes Like This

• Thai Chicken Spiralized Zucchini Salad
• Tabbouleh Salad (Tabouli)
• Thai Peanut Salad Wonton Cups
• Easy Japanese Cucumber Salad
• Easy Homemade Ramen Bowls
• Mexican Taco Dip Wonton Cups

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Spring Rolls

This fresh Spring Rolls recipe makes the perfect healthy lunch, snack, or appetizer. Classic vegetable spring rolls with peanut sauce for dipping!

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By Chrissie (thebusybaker.ca)

Yield 12 spring rolls

Prep 30 minutes mins

Total 30 minutes mins

Recipe: Equipment

• ▢
  Cutting Board
• ▢
  large knife

Recipe: Ingredients 

0.5x1x2x

• ▢ 12 rice paper sheets
• ▢ 2 red onions
• ▢ 1 head of lettuce
• ▢ 2 carrots
• ▢ 2 red bell pepper
• ▢ 60 small shrimp or cocktail shrimp
• ▢ 1 large english cucumber

Recipe: Instructions 

• Wash, peel and prep all your vegetables by cutting them julienne or in long, thin slices.
• Place some of the water on a large dinner plate and get ready to soak the sheets of rice paper. It’s helpful to do this one at a time because they tend to stick to each other and make a huge mess.  Soak the first sheet just until it’s softened and you’re able to bend it easily. Don’t over-soak! This makes the rice paper sheets turn to mush and your spring rolls will fall apart.
• Spread the soaked rice paper sheet onto a large cutting board or a clean kitchen towel and place 4-5 shrimp in a line in the centre. Add a small amount of the julienne cucumber and carrot, bell pepper, red onions, and a small handful of the lettuce. Fold one end over the ingredients, fold in the sides, and roll it up like a burrito.
• Repeat this process until you've rolled all 12 spring rolls, making sure that you take the time to soak the rice paper wraps one at a time.
• Slice them in half to serve, if you wish, and be sure to serve them with your favourite dipping sauce.

Recipe: Notes

Storage Instructions

These spring rolls are best served fresh but you can also store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

Course: Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keywords: shrimp spring rolls, Spring rolls, vegetable spring rolls

Recipe: Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Spring Rolls

Amount Per Serving (3 rolls)

Calories 155 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Saturated Fat 0.2g1%

Trans Fat 0.004g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.1g

Cholesterol 64mg21%

Sodium 465mg20%

Potassium 373mg11%

Carbohydrates 25g8%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 11g22%

Vitamin A 6943IU139%

Vitamin C 46mg56%

Calcium 75mg8%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

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