Crispy Vegan Spring Rolls

The taste and crunchiness of these Vegan Spring Rolls are definitely worth the time that you will spend making them at home from scratch. Making crispy veggie spring rolls takes longer than simply buying them frozen or already cooked but trust me when I say, you need to try this homemade version.

Veggie Spring Rolls, all you need to know

This appetizer is my favorite dish to get when we go to an Asian-style restaurant. Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, or Korean restaurants offer fried spring rolls where we live in Spain. I already know where to get the best ones and obviously, where to not go back.

Finding a vegetarian or vegan option for spring rolls is not hard depending on where you live. Finding good ones, maybe a little harder. As well, I cannot tell you how many times they got our order wrong, and we ended up with meat spring rolls, which we wouldn't eat.

Fried or fresh spring rolls

When it comes to spring rolls, you can get them fresh like these Vietnamese-style summer rolls or fried.

Fresh rolls are often called salad rolls, summer rolls, Vietnamese fresh spring rolls (gỏi cuốn), or fresh spring rolls. You can get them in different countries around Asia. These rolls are wrapped in rice paper and filled with fresh veggies and fresh herbs. Rice paper rolls can be cooked as well by deep-frying or air-frying them.

Fried spring rolls, as well known as egg rolls, are wrapped in spring roll wrappers made with flour and water. Crispy Vegan Spring Rolls are filled with stir-fried vegetables and sometimes glass noodles. These are deep-fried to get the outside of the rolls crispy while the inside stays moist.

Spring Rolls vs Egg Rolls

Even if Spring Rolls and Egg Rolls are often used to refer to the same dish, they are slightly different. Egg rolls wrappers are made with flour and egg. These wrappers are thicker and the filling is often heartier containing meat and cabbage. They tend to be bigger as well.

Spring rolls wrappers are made with flour and water, making them vegan. They are often filled with mostly stir-fried vegetables and minced protein.

Our Spring Rolls recipe

Our Vegan Homemade Spring Rolls are filled with stir-fried vegetables and glass noodles, wrapped with spring roll wrapper, deep-fried, and served with sweet chili sauce. These rolls are really crispy on the outside and flavourful and moist inside.

Our crispy rolls can be made by air-frying the spring rolls too.

Our Vegan Spring Rolls are:

• Deep-fried
• Crunchy
• Filled with veggies and glass noodles
• An appetizer
• Easy to make
• Family-friendly
• Tasty
• Finger food perfect for parties, game days, and movie nights

How to make the best Vegan Spring Rolls

Ingredients

Spring Roll Pastry or Wrappers. We get frozen spring roll wrappers in our local Asian supermarket. The brand we use is Spring Home. We haven't tried any other, because we really like these wrappers. You can get different packages depending on the amount. We use a 20 wrappers package. This recipe makes about 20 spring rolls. If you are using frozen wrappers, they will need to be completely thawed before using them. Otherwise, you won't be able to separate the wrappers and wrap the spring rolls.

Fresh veggies. One thing we love about spring rolls is that you can make the filling different every time. We have a favorite combination of ingredients when we make rolls but we do like to add different ingredients from time to time. We normally use white onion or shallots, garlic, carrots, and Napa cabbage or white cabbage. Other great veggies to add to your spring rolls are bean sprouts, green beans, bell peppers, thai basil, red cabbage, green onion, or fresh shiitake mushrooms. Avoid using veggies containing a high amount of water such as zucchini or cucumber as they will make the filling too soggy and the rolls won't cook well.

Dried mushrooms. We like using dried mushrooms for our spring roll filling. Shiitake and wood ear mushrooms are a great combination and they add protein. Another way to add protein to these delicious homemade spring rolls is by adding firm tofu. You can add it crumbled to the stir fry with the rest of the ingredients.

Vermicelli or glass noodles. Adding glass noodles makes the inside of your rolls chewy and super yummy. As well, when adding them to the stir-fried filling, they soak all the excess moisture, making sure your rolls don't break while cooking and get the perfect crispiness. You can use another type of rice noodles as long as they are thin.

Seasoning ingredients. For our spring rolls, we use white pepper, vegan oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Vegan oyster sauce may be a bit difficult to get but if you have an Asian supermarket nearby, they will most likely have a vegetarian oyster sauce made with mushrooms or you can find it online. You can use mushroom powder as well or soy sauce. If you are using soy sauce, you may need to add some corn slurry (cornstarch diluted in water) and maple syrup to add the sweetness that the vegan oyster sauce adds

Prepare the filling

1. Hydrate the glass noodles and dried mushrooms. To be able to use these ingredients, they will need to be soaked in hot water. The glass noodles won't take longer than 8-10 minutes, when they have softened, drain the water, cut using scissors into smaller pieces, and set aside. The dried mushrooms will need to be soaked for at least 15 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
2. Cut the fresh vegetables. Thinly slice the garlic, onion, carrot, and cabbage. When the mushrooms are ready, squeeze all the water out and slice them into thin strips as well.
3. Heat some oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sautée for 1-2 minutes. Then add the garlic. Stir for 1-2 minutes making sure the garlic doesn't burn.
4. Add mushrooms, sautée for 2-3 minutes, and then add the cabbage and carrot. Cook for about 4 minutes or until the carrot starts to soften.
5. Add white pepper, oyster sauce, and a pinch of salt. Stir well.
6. Make some space in the center of the wok or pan and add the vermicelli noodles. Mix well making sure the noodles absorb all the extra moisture. Add the sesame oil, stir one last time, and turn off the heat.

Your filling for the vegan spring rolls is ready. All you need to do now is to leave it to cool for about 15 minutes. For this part, we normally place the wok outside so it cools faster or we transfer the filling to another plate. You can as well, leave it to cool in the fridge for a couple of minutes.

Wrap the spring rolls

Once the filling mixture has cooled, you can start wrapping the spring rolls. Remember that to wrap the spring rolls, if you are using frozen wrappers, they need to be completely thawed before this part.

Before you start, you need to make the "glue mixture" that will help us seal the vegan spring rolls. This is basically a combination of flour and water. We use 1 tablespoon of flour for 1 ½ tablespoons of water. You can mix it using your finger or a spoon. If the mixture is too thick, add some more water and if the mixture is too runny, add some more flour.

1. Separate one wrapper and place it on a wooden work surface creating a diamond shape. I find that using wooden surfaces when rolling these types of rolls or rice paper rolls helps the wrapper to not stick that easily.
2. Add about two tablespoons of the filling mixture a the bottom part of the wrapper.
3. Using your hand, lift the bottom corner and start wrapping the filling making sure you are creating some pressure so the filling doesn't stay loose.
4. Fold both sides towards the center of the wrapper.
5. Add some glue to the top of the wrapper as seen in the picture.
6. You can now fold the roll towards the top edges of the wrapper so you form a nice veggie spring roll.

At this point, you could freeze your spring rolls if you don't want to use them straight away.

Cooking Method

For our Crispy Vegan Spring Rolls, we choose to deep-fry them. We normally try to avoid deep-frying food but these rolls are a treat that we make for game days, parties, or an appetizer on special occasions so we like frying them to get the best results.

To deep-fry, the spring rolls, simply heat enough oil using a frying pan. You can check if the oil is hot enough by adding a little corner of a spring roll wrapper and if it starts bubbling, the pan is ready.

To cook the rolls, depending on your frying pan size, you may need to make a few batches as you want to avoid overcrowding the pan.

Start cooking the rolls on medium heat. After a few minutes, when they start to get a golden color, bring the heat to high to get that extra crispiness. Don't go too far while cooking these rolls as they cook fast and can turn from brown to black really fast! When they have a nice brown color, place them on a paper towel to release any excess oil and they will be ready to enjoy.

If your spring rolls are frozen you can add them to the hot oil directly from the freezer.

Other Cooking options

Air-frying. You can air-fry your spring rolls whether they are fresh or frozen. Brush some oil on them using a cooking brush or spray oil and add them to the air-fryer basket. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side or until brown at 200C (400F).

Baking. Preheat the oven to 200C (400C) and add the spring rolls to a large baking pan. Brush them with oil and bake for about 25 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking so they cook evenly.

Serving Suggestions

These Vegan Spring rolls are a crispy appetizer, light meal, or snack that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

We normally serve them with some sweet chili sauce and fresh cilantro on top but you can serve them with other dipping sauces such as this delicious gyoza dipping sauce or the peanut butter sauce or peanut dipping sauce that we use to serve fresh rolls or simply add some freshly squeezed lime juice for a tangy touch.

These rolls are a great option for party snacks, finger food-style dinners, birthday parties, game days, Chinese new year celebrations, or movie nights.

They make for a great appetizer for your Asian-style dinners. You can serve them with a Thai curry, a Chinese-style dish such as this lovely Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, a noodle dish, or a rice dish to make the meal yummy and complete.

Making these rolls for a finger-food dinner-style? Make sure you check these delicious vegan appetizers to pair the crispy rolls with!

FAQ and Tips

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4.65 from 39 votes

Crispy Vegan Spring Rolls

These Crispy Vegan Spring Rolls are filled with umami-packed stir-fried vegetables and glass noodles. These are deep-fried to get the outside of the rolls crispy while the inside stays moist.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: asian

Keyword: Vegan Spring Rolls

Servings: 20 Spring Rolls

Ingredients

• 20 Spring Rolls Wrappers
• 100 g glass noodles
• 6-8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• A handful dried wood ear fungus
• 1 onion
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 3 large carrots
• 350 g Napa cabbage
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 ½ tablespoon water

Instructions

Filling

• If you are using frozen wrappers, they need to be completely thawed before using them. You can do so by leaving them at room temperature for a few hours.
• Place the glass noodle in a medium size bowl and the dried mushrooms in another separate bowl. Fill both bowls with warm water to hydrate the ingredients,
• The glass noodles won't take longer than 8-10 minutes, when they have softened, drain the water, cut using scissors into smaller pieces, and set aside.
• The dried mushrooms will need to be soaked for at least 15 minutes. Then drain and set aside.
• Cut the fresh vegetables. Thinly slice the onion, garlic, carrots, and cabbage.
• When the mushrooms are ready, squeeze all the water out and slice them into thin strips as well.
• Heat some oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat.
• Add the onion and sautée for 1-2 minutes. Then add the garlic. Stir for 1-2 minutes making sure it doesn't burn.
• Add mushrooms, sautée for 2-3 minutes, and then add the cabbage and carrot. Cook for about 4 minutes or until the carrot starts to soften.
• Add white pepper, vegan oyster sauce, and a pinch of salt. Stir well. If you are using soy sauce instead of vegan oyster sauce, you may need to add some cornstarch slurry at this point.
• Make some space in the center of the wok or pan and add the vermicelli or glass noodles. Mix well making sure the noodles absorb all the extra moisture.
• Add the sesame oil, stir one last time, and turn off the heat.
• Leave the filling to cool for about 15 minutes.

Wrap the Spring Rolls

• Make the "glue mixture" that will help us seal the vegan spring rolls. Combine the flour and water and mix well using a fork or your finger. If the mixture is too thick, add some more water and if the mixture is too runny, add some more flour.
• Separate one wrapper and place it on a wooden surface creating a diamond shape.
• Add about two tablespoons of the filling mixture a the bottom part of the wrapper.
• Using your hand, lift the bottom corner and start wrapping the filling making sure you are creating some pressure so the filling doesn't stay loose.
• Fold both sides towards the center of the wrapper.
• Add some "glue" to the top of the wrapper as seen in the picture. You can now fold the roll towards the top edges of the wrapper so you form a nice veggie spring roll.

Cooking

• To deep-fry, the spring rolls, simply heat enough oil using a frying pan. To make sure the oil is hot enough, add a little corner of a spring roll wrapper and if it starts bubbling, the pan is ready.
• Add the first batch of spring rolls. Depending on the size of your frying pan you will be able to add more or fewer rolls at a time, always making sure you don't overcrowd the pan.
• Start cooking the rolls on medium heat. After a few minutes, when they start to get a golden color, bring the heat to high to get that extra crispiness.
• When they have a nice brown color, place them on a paper towel to release any excess oil and they will be ready to enjoy.

Notes

• If your spring rolls are frozen you can add them to the hot oil directly from the freezer.

Other Cooking options

Air-frying. You can air-fry your spring rolls whether they are fresh or frozen. Brush some oil on them using a cooking brush or spray oil and add them to the air-fryer basket. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side or until brown at 200C (400F).

Baking. Preheat the oven to 200C (400C) and add the spring rolls to a large baking pan. Brush them with oil and bake for about 25 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking so they cook evenly.

If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram @Sixhungryfeet. We are always happy to see your creations! 

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