Enjoy these 5 different Healthy Spring Roll Recipes from vegetarian, protein packed, and even fruity spring rolls plus how to make a special spring roll dipping sauce for each one – these spring rolls are really fun, fresh, and super easy!
Warm and sunny spring and summer days always get me craving dishes that are light and full of fresh, seasonal veggies. They just make this insane heat a bit more bearable, you know?
When talking about such light meals, salads instantly come to mind. Whether it’s one of my Make-ahead Mason Jar salad recipes or this Chopped Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing, one cannot survive through the summer on salads alone. Well, I can’t at least.
Sorry, Salad, I still love you tons.
Enter the Spring Roll. If you’ve never had a spring roll, think of it like a bunch of your favorite fresh, crunchy veggies in a nice, thin rice wrapping paper. And, you get to dip it into delicious, savory sauce. Yum! What’s not to love?
Again, though — I need variety. So, I decided to gather all my favorite healthy spring rolls recipes in one place. From the crunchy veggie spring rolls to protein packed and spicy ones, but also fruity spring rolls. Not only that, I make a dipping sauce for each one of them.
HOW TO MAKE SPRING ROLLS
If you’ve ever wondered how to make spring rolls, the good news is it’s super easy. Just follow these easy steps and you’ll be in spring roll heaven in no time:
- First, you need to get the rice paper flexible for wrapping the spring rolls so dip one in warm water for about 3-4 seconds or hold under running water, until the paper becomes fully moistened with water.
- Then, lay the wrapper onto your work surface which should be clean and flat.
- Near the bottom of the spring roll in the center, lay out the veggies, protein, or fruit. If you want something to be visible on the outside of the spring roll (like sliced strawberries or shrimp lined up in a row, this should be the last ingredient for the filling.
- Fold the bottom of the spring roll over the end of the filling, then fold the uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper all the way. The idea is to get it as tightly wrapped as possible.
See? Super simple and easy to make your own homemade spring rolls. You can also check out the step by step images above to see exactly how to fill a spring roll and also how to roll a spring roll.
TIP: Make sure to have all your ingredients cut and prepped BEFORE getting the spring roll wrapper wet. The longer the wrapper sits, the more flexible it gets and you want it to be sitting for just 30-60 seconds before you start to roll it op or it will get sticky and more difficult to roll.
WHAT IS RICE PAPER?
To make spring rolls, you’ll need to have rice paper which you can buy in a pack. The great thing about rice paper is they don’t have to be cooked to eat as long as they have been softened. That means you get a healthy wrapper that is free of oil and fats. All that’s in the wrapper is white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water.
To get rice paper flexible for wrapping our spring rolls, dip the rice paper in warm water for about 3-4 seconds or hold under running water, until the paper becomes fully moistened with water. Then, lay the wrapper onto your work surface which should be clean and flat. The rice paper will soak up the water and become soft and pliable in about 30 seconds which is the time you’ll put all your fillers onto the wrapper, before you start to roll.
Looking for where to buy spring roll wrappers (rice paper)? You can usually find rice paper in the Asian section of most supermarkets. You can get about a pack of about 30 wrappers for less than $3 so they are great for eating on a budget. You can also buy it here.
ARE SPRING ROLLS HEALTHY?
It’s all about the fillings. If you want to make your spring rolls super healthy, pack them up with fresh seasonal veggies. Just mix and match until you get the perfect flavor combo and use up all the fresh veggies. Fresh carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, and peppers work great in spring rolls. To make your spring rolls more a meal than just a light snack, add some lean protein, like shrimp or cooked chicken breast. Top off with some avocado slices and you’re ready to roll!
Like, literally.
Spring rolls are great because they can easily be made paleo, too. Just wrap them up in lettuce leaves or collard greens instead of rice paper. Although I love egg rolls, choosing spring rolls instead can cut out more than half the amount of calories and fat from your meal.
HOW LONG DO THE SPRING ROLLS LAST?
Spring rolls taste best when they’re fresh. But, you can definitely store the leftover spring rolls (if there are any) in the fridge for later. Just make sure you wrap each spring roll in plastic wrap and put them in an airtight container. The rice paper wrapper will dry out some in the fridge which will make the texture a little more rubbery, but the spring rolls will still be pretty great!
IDEAS FOR DIPPING SAUCES FOR SPRING ROLLS
Ah, the dips.
Just as with the spring roll fillings, you can totally go crazy here and dip the spring rolls into whichever sauce you like. If you’re trying to keep your sodium and processed foods intake in place (duh!), staying away from store-bought sauces is best. Fortunately, you can whip up your own delicious sauce in a matter of minutes anyway. Just scroll down and discover my 5 favorite dipping sauces for spring rolls and which spring roll recipes they go best with!
Now, are you ready to roll? 🙂
5 Healthy Spring Roll Recipes
Rainbow Spring Rolls with Ginger Peanut Dipping Sauce
Eat the rainbow with my healthy Rainbow Spring Rolls packed with a bunch of fresh crunchy veggies. Add some spice by dipping them into my Ginger Peanut Sauce!
- 6 rice spring roll papers
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 large bunch mint leaves
- 1 large bunch cilantro
- ¼ red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp raw honey
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 tsp chili paste
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
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To get rice paper flexible for wrapping our spring rolls, dip in warm water for about 3-4 seconds or hold under running water, until the paper becomes fully moistened with water. Then, lay the wrapper onto your work surface which should be clean and flat.
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Near the bottom of the spring roll in the center, lay out the red bell peppers, followed by thinly sliced carrots, yellow bell pepper, fresh mint and cilantro, and thinly sliced red cabbage.
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Fold the bottom over the end of the veggies, then fold the uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper all the way. The idea is to get it as tightly wrapped as possible. Then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
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In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, low sodium soy sauce, raw honey, freshly squeezed lime juice, chili paste, and fresh grated ginger.
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Stir until smooth. You can soften the peanut butter by microwaving for 10-15 seconds, if needed.
Shrimp Spring Rolls with Spicy Almond Dipping Sauce
Cooked shrimp are one of my favorite protein choices and they make a great flavor and texture combo when paired up with veggies. Try this healthy Shrimp Spring Rolls recipe with a Spicy Almond Dipping Sauce and see for yourself!
- 6 rice spring roll papers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 12 oz shrimp, deveined
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 3 carrots, thinly sliced
- 6 leaves green leaf lettuce
- 12 mint leaves
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 2 tsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp Sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
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Cook the shrimp in olive oil over medium-high heat and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Once fully cooked and no longer transparent, remove from heat and allow to cool.
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Dip one sheet of rice paper in warm water for about 3-4 seconds or hold under running water, until the paper becomes fully moistened with water. Then, lay the wrapper onto your work surface which should be clean and flat.
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Near the bottom of the spring roll in the center, lay out the cucumber, carrots, green leaf lettuce, fresh mint leaves, and cooked shrimp. Line the shrimp in a row.
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Fold the bottom over the end of the veggies and shrimp, then fold the uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper all the way, as tightly wrapped as possible. Then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
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In a small mixing bowl, combine the almond butter, hoisin sauce, Sriracha, and rice wine vinegar.
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Stir until smooth. You can soften the almond butter by microwaving for 10-15 seconds, if needed.
Sesame Avocado and Cabbage Spring Rolls with Honey Miso Dipping Sauce
If you love avocados, you’ll definitely love my Sesame Avocado and Cabbage Spring Rolls. The sesame crusted avocados taste even better when wrapped in rice paper and dipped into my Honey Miso Sauce!
- 6 rice spring roll papers
- 1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch mint leaves
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 tbsp white or red miso paste
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
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In a small mixing bowl, combine white sesame seeds with black sesame seeds and stir together. Dip the sliced avocado into the sesame seeds to coat.
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Dip one sheet of rice paper in warm water for about 3-4 seconds or hold under running water, until the paper becomes fully moistened with water. Then, lay the wrapper onto your work surface which should be clean and flat.
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Near the bottom of the spring roll in the center, lay out the sliced red cabbage, fresh mint leaves, and the sesame coated avocado slices
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Fold the bottom over the avocado, then fold the uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper all the way, as tightly wrapped as possible. Then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
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In a small bowl, combine the miso paste (it can be white or red), water, raw honey, rice wine vinegar, low sodium soy sauce, and sesame oil.
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Stir until fully incorporated.
5 Healthy Spring Roll Recipes
Garlic Chicken Spring Rolls with Avocado Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Turn your favorite chicken recipe into a delightful low calorie, high protein spring roll filling! I also love to make an Avocado Cilantro Sauce with my Garlic Chicken Spring Rolls because the creamy avocado and garlic chicken go really well together!
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (optional)
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 6 leaves fresh iceberg lettuce
- 6 rice spring roll papers
- 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cilantro bunch
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp lime juice
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Cook the chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat and season with sea salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Once fully cooked, remove from heat, allow to cool, and dice.
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Dip one sheet of rice paper in warm water for about 3-4 seconds or hold under running water, until the paper becomes fully moistened with water. Then, lay the wrapper onto your work surface which should be clean and flat.
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Near the bottom of your prepped spring roll wrapper and in the center, lay out the cucumber, iceberg lettuce, and diced chicken (and optional quinoa).
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Fold the bottom over the chicken, then fold the uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper all the way, as tightly wrapped as possible. Then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
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In a food processor or blender, combine avocado, greek yogurt, almond milk, cilantro, garlic powder, sea salt, and freshly squeezed lime juice.
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Blend together until smooth. You can add a little more almond milk if it’s too thick.
Kiwi Strawberry Spring Rolls with Honey Lime Dipping Sauce
These fruity Kiwi Strawberry Spring Rolls are a burst of flavor and are super addicting, especially when dipped into the Honey Lime Sauce. A perfect summer dessert!
- 6 rice spring roll papers
- 1 mango, thinly sliced
- 3 kiwi, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tsp raw honey
- 1 lime, zested
- 2 tbsp water, as needed
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Dip one sheet of rice paper in warm water for about 3-4 seconds or hold under running water, until the paper becomes fully moistened with water. Then, lay the wrapper onto your work surface which should be clean and flat.
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At the bottom center, lay out the fresh mango, diced kiwi, and sliced strawberries (laid out in a row).
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Fold the bottom over the strawberries, then fold the uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper all the way, as tightly wrapped as possible. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
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in a small bowl, combine, combine the freshly squeezed lemon juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, raw honey, and lime zest, and stir together.
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If you find the flavor too strong or tart, you can dilute it with a little water.
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I learned so much from you 🙂 thank you
I love all these ideas for Spring Rolls…yes, I have always known them to be Spring Rolls. Someone recently corrected me to say Summer Rolls. I looked it up. Apparently, it’s Fresh Spring Rolls or Summer Rolls to differentiate from fried Egg Rolls. I don’t know if there are finer cultural points depending on which Asian culture it’s from or not, all I know is they are fresh, easy and fun to make, and delicious. Oh, well, I’ll just start calling them the season I’m in…either way, great post, great photos, and thank you, Lacey, for sharing!
Been following you for a while. then I found your spring roll photos are used in this blog, presumably without your knowledge… check this out: https:
Thank you, James! We’ve reached out to request proper credit.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve wanted to make healthier choices for a long time and now with your detailed instructions I’m confident I can do this. Do you steam them after filling to soften the veggies?
Thank you for so much information in one place. I love to try new things and these look delicious. Keep up the great work.
Hi,
You have some great recipes here but you have labelled them incorrectly. These are actually Vietnamese rice paper rolls not spring rolls. Spring rolls are a Chinese snack consisting of a pancake filled with vegetables and sometimes meat, rolled into a cylinder and deep-fried. Spring rolls are made with pastry not rice paper.
Please do cultural research before doing a cultural recipe.
Wow – so I guess the Vietnamese family that owns my favorite Vietnamese restaurant and that sells various kinds of “Spring Rolls” should do some research into their OWN culture and stop calling them Spring Rolls? And my Vietnamese hairdresser should stop making Spring Rolls for her Vietnamese and Latino children?
The rice paper wrappers I purchased are clearly labeled Spring Roll Skins, Banh Trang, product of Viet Nam. Sarah, I think you are splitting hairs unnecessarily. Penny, thank you for sharing some great recipes.
Wow! Such haste towards a beautiful person who is sharing wonderful clean eating recipes. Maybe they are called something different, who knows and honestly who cares. Please learn to talk with kindness and love from your heart and say thank you for sharing your recipe and view away. People say my last name wrong.. I don’t say “Do your research before saying it”.. Penny, keep doing what your doing, someone will always “bite” in a good way and sometimes in a ego way. Namaste
thanks
You’re very welcome!
Okay, these all look delicious! I love that you packed in numerous recipes, healthy feedback, how long they last, etc. into one blog post! All the questions I would have asked in the same place. Cannot wait to make these this summer. I’m eating one now from our work cafeteria and that’s what prompted me to check out pinterest. Needless to say, I created a summer recipe board and this is the first recipe going on that board!
Hi Lacey,
I was just wondering because I am trying to do a low carb type of diet. How is there only 10 or so grams of Carbohydrates in some of these rolls when the wrap itself has at least 50 grams of carbohydrates?
Thanks
Good question! I just checked my pkg and it shows 41g of carbs per serving. There are 6 servings per pkg and my pkg contains about 30, so 5 rice paper wraps. That works out to about 10g of carb per wrap plus any carbs from the filling, right? Love these ideas and have a few of my own to try thanks to this inspiration!
I love the rainbow spring rolls! And I especially appreciate your great instructions which made it so easy for me to make these perfectly. Thank you!