Vegan Summer Rolls – The Picky Eater

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If you’re looking for a fun, tasty way to use up veggies, my vegan summer rolls recipe is just the thing! Customize the gluten-free rolls with your favorite vegetables and fillings, and dip into a drool-worthy sauce for a traditional Vietnamese experience. Within 10 minutes, you will have a healthy appetizer, snack, or lunch packed with nutrition!

If you like egg rolls or spring rolls, you have to give my vegetarian summer rolls recipe a try! Summer rolls are a Vietnamese dish using rice paper and served cold.

They are typically filled with fresh ingredients and use a variety of veggies. You may have heard them referred to as fresh spring rolls (to distinguish from the traditional fried version, which are just regular spring rolls) or salad rolls.

The concept is so simple, but the outcome is even more delicious than you might imagine! They’re exactly what you would expect from traditional vegetarian Vietnamese rice paper rolls, and are filled with plant-based ingredients.

I use cool, crisp vegetables paired with rice noodles and tofu, all wrapped up into a sheet of rice paper. Grab your favorite dipping sauces and this will be love at first bite!

And why not stick to the Vietnamese cuisine by serving a delicious traditional dessert after?! You will not want to miss out on my pandan honeycomb cake!

🥘 Ingredients

My vegan fresh spring rolls use simple, healthy ingredients for a boost of nutrition to your diet! Here is what you need:

Rice Paper Sheets: Rice paper wrappers are the casing that holds these summer rolls together. It comes dry, and once you get it wet you can easily wrap them up much like a burrito.

Veggie Fillings: For this exact recipe pictured in this post I use sliced green onions, shiitake mushrooms, cucumber, red pepper, and cilantro. Feel free to swap out for any vegetables of your choosing.

Rice Noodles: I love adding in thin rice noodles for a fun texture! You can use other Asian style noodles like kelp or shirataki noodles, too.

Extra Firm Tofu: For added protein in my vegan summer roll bites I use tofu! This is optional and can be left out for a soy-free version. I’ve made these rolls with raw tofu and baked – both are tasty! You can use my tofu skewers recipe for inspiration if you want to add extra flavor, just cut the tofu into strips instead of cubes.

🔪 How To Make Vegan Summer Rolls

Making my vegan Vietnamese summer rolls is super quick and straightforward! The first thing you need to decide is what you want inside. You also need some quality rice paper. The trickiest part of making a summer roll is getting the right amount of wetness on your rice paper. Too much will make it tough to work with. Follow along with my step-by-step instructions for the easiest, fool-proof approach!

Prepare Rice Paper: First, I soak a piece of rice paper in warm water for 5 seconds, then I place it on a flat surface.

Add Fillings: Next, I put a few pieces of each ingredient in the center of the rice paper, making sure to not overfill it.

Fold The Paper: Now, I fold one side inward over the fillings. Then, I fold the two adjoining sides inward over the folded side.

Roll: Finally, I roll tightly like a burrito. See post for step by step pictures. Rice paper tends to stick easily so don’t worry about it being perfect while you fold. As you roll it will stick and come out ok.

Serve: I love serving this with a variety of dipping sauces, and even as part of a bigger spread as an appetizer!

📖 Variations 

More Vegetables: My recipe uses green onions, mushrooms, cucumber, and red pepper but get as creative as you want! Try yellow or orange bell pepper, bean sprouts, shredded red cabbage, carrots, radishes, cabbage, avocado, fresh herbs like fresh cilantro or Thai basil, and so much more.

Other Proteins: Instead of tofu, these rolls could be filled with tempeh, chickpeas, or edamame. If you are not vegan, feel free to use any meat you like.

Herbs: Swap the cilantro for some fresh mint or thai basil! This adds a whole new flavor profile to the rolls.

Rice: Sometimes I like to replace the noodles with white rice or even brown rice! This adds a nice texture with every bite and the rice really absorbs any sauce well for more flavor.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

I love to serve my vegan summer rolls with a delicious dipping sauce, my favorite is peanut based but there are many options! These are a great appetizer but also perfect for a light lunch. Check out my top serving suggestions:

Dipping Sauces: My tofu summer rolls aren’t complete without a yummy sauce to dip them into! Give it a try with my favorites:

Lunch Ideas: While you can definitely enjoy these veggie summer rolls on their own for lunch, if you need something more filling and hearty here are my go-to recipes to pair these with:

🫙 Storage Instructions

Fridge: Storing my vegetable summer rolls is so easy! There are a few methods that I recommend in order to keep them as fresh as possible (listed below). All of these methods work well, but I personally like wrapping each one individually with plastic wrap because I feel it keeps the rolls the freshest. Here are my 4 tested methods for storing in the fridge:

1. Cover them with a damp dish towel to hold the moisture
2. Wrap them individually with plastic wrap.
3. Rub each one with a tiny bit of sesame oil then wrap in plastic.
4. Wrap each one in a lettuce leaf.

After you choose one of these methods, place the rolls in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Any of these methods will work well and keep your rolls tasting delicious for the next day or so. I don’t recommend freezing these rolls as the texture and taste will change once defrosted.

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