Vegan Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

With these Vegan Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce, you’ll get lots of colorful veggies in a handy little wrap. Great as an appetizer or a meal. 

You can use so many different fillings for these spring rolls, so start thinking of what your favorites are! If this is your first time to make your own, don’t be intimidated by the process. It’s not hard and even if you don’t roll them perfectly, they will still be awesome!

If you get them at a restaurant, they typically have rice noodles, some veggies, and sometimes seafood. Of course, I don’t use seafood, but I do use a bit of marinated tofu sometimes. I like using pieces of tofu bacon for a little smoky flavor. My favorite recipe for that bacon is from Chuck over at Brand New Vegan. I’ll link it here for you and again in the notes. https://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/smoky-maple-tofu-bacon

The amounts and types of veggies are not set in stone. Use what you like and in the ratios you like. You have my permission to play with your food, ha ha!

Make your sauce first. Or even the day before.

Then cook the noodles and rinse them with cool water. If they start to stick together while you are assembling, you can rinse them again or sprinkle some tamari sauce or coconut aminos on them to keep them from sticking.

Cut your desired veggies, tofu, etc into sticks or narrow pieces. I chopped the cilantro and green onions together this time, but you can leave the cilantro leaves whole if you like and cut the onion into strips. It works either way.

Fill a shallow large pan with about a 1/2″ of water. This will be for dipping the rice paper wraps into to soften them.

I keep a towel nearby to catch some of the water that drips off as you lift it out of the water.

Okay, bear with this low-quality video. It’s the best I can do with an iPhone and no editing skills.😁

IMG_2140 2

Drop the rice paper into the water and let it sit for about 5-10 seconds. Pick it up and hold it over the towel to drain the excess water. It will be somewhat stiff, but it will soften up as you fill it. Lay it on a cutting board.

Add about a 1/4 cup of rice noodles to the middle, maybe slightly lower than halfway. Add a few slices of avocado, a few sticks of carrots or beets, or both. Add bits of everything you have, but if you are using sprouts, leave them out till you start rolling and add them in just as you are finishing the roll. That makes them show from the outside. It’s not necessary, but it does look nice. You can do the same with cilantro instead and that looks cool too.

If my video didn’t work (I have my doubts about my skills in that area!) I’ll try to explain how to roll.

Fold the sides in one at a time. They might meet in the middle, depending on how much you have piled on there. Grab the bottom and pull it up and over the ingredients and tuck it over them (like you’re wrapping a burrito) and then tighten it up. Add the sprouts or cilantro leaves if desired, and finish rolling.

Be sure that you don’t let them touch. Social distancing….ha haa…just kidding. They will stick together if they touch and will NOT let go without tearing.

Here is how I plate them when I am serving them for a nice event and not just stuffing them in my face at home:

The sauce you see in the picture above is the sauce I use in my sushi recipe, so if you don’t like peanut sauce (or want two sauces to dip into) make a batch of this flavorful sauce. Here’s the link to the sushi recipe…the sauce is in that recipe box. https://yourmomsvegan.com/recipes/vegan-tuna-rolls

I usually make about 8-10 wraps and have leftover filling ingredients. I throw that all in a salad bowl and save it for the next day. Thin the peanut sauce with some tamari and it makes a delicious dressing.

5 from 2 votes

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Vegan Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

With these Vegan Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce, you'll get lots of colorful veggies in a handy little wrap. Great as an appetizer or a meal. 

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, party

Cuisine: Asian, oil-free, vegan

Keyword: Vegan Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Author: Trish Hall

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. spring roll wrappers (aka rice paper) I use about 8-10 of the wraps
• 1 pkg. rice noodles
• 1-2 cups grated or julienned carrots
• 1-2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup grated or julienned beets (I use raw beets)
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4-1/2 cup sliced green onion
• 2-3 avocados, sliced longwise
• 1-2 cups maple tofu bacon, sliced in strips
• 1-2 cups sprouts

Peanut Sauce

• 1/2 cup peanut butter I use the kind that has only peanuts and salt
• 1/3 cup tamari soy sauce
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4-1/2 cup hot water to thin to desired consistency
• 1-2 T lime juice optional

Instructions

1. Cook the noodles according to the package directions, rinse with cool water

2. While the noodles are cooking, make the sauce by mixing all the ingredients except the hot water.

   Add hot water in small amounts and stir. Continue to stir and add water until you have the consistency that you want.

3. Slice, grate, chop all your filling ingredients except the sprouts. You can see how I slice things in my blog post.

4. Fill a shallow pan with about 1/2" of water.

5. When you have everything assembled, lay out a towel and a firm surface like a cutting board.

6. Dip a wrap paper into the water and let it sit completely immersed for about 10-15 seconds.

7. Pull it out...it should be a bit crinkly still, but wiggly. It will soften completely while you fill it. Drain over the towel and lay it flat on your rolling surface.

   Start with the noodles...place them slightly below center.

   Pile on bits of the rest of the ingredients, keeping them in basically a pile in the center.

8. I like to add the sprouts or cilantro leaves after I've rolled almost all the way up. You can see how I do that in the video in my blog post. Basically, you just stuff them in after rolling everything up and almost finishing. That puts them in the top layer of the wrap and they show through and look pretty. It's not necessary, but I like the look.

9. To roll: fold in each side. The sides might meet in the middle, depending on how big your filling pile is. It's nice if it does, but okay if it doesn't. Grab the bottom of the wrap and pull it up and over the filling, tucking it in and pulling it tight. Like wrapping a burrito. Roll up and just before finishing, stuff some sprouts or cilantro leaves in there. Finish the wrap.

10. Set on a plate and be sure they don't touch each other. If you are planning to transport them, put a little piece of waxed paper between each roll so they don't stick together. They won't come apart without tearing!

11. Serve with the peanut sauce in individual bowls for dipping. Kick it up a notch and offer two sauces...I'll link a tamari dipping sauce in the notes section.

Recipe Notes

Have fun with this recipe and use your favorite filling ingredients!

For an additional or different sauce option, make my tamari dipping sauce: 

https://yourmomsvegan.com/recipes/vegan-tuna-rolls

And here's the link to the delicious tofu bacon recipe: 

https://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/smoky-maple-tofu-bacon

If you have leftover filling ingredients, make a salad!