Healthy & Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

This healthy and colorful vegan/vegetarian spring roll recipe is made with rice paper, a few thin rice noodles, fresh lettuce, vibrant carrots, cucumber, avocado, crisp red cabbage, cucumbers, mint, basil, and cilantro.

This light, flavorful, and fresh dish can be served with a soy sauce & toasted sesame oil sauce or with a flavorful store bought or homemade peanut dipping sauce.

I make these for parties all the time.  The spring roll ingredients (besides the avocado) can be prepped the day before and if the avocado is unblemished you can roll these the morning of and cut them right before people arrive for your dinner or party.

Rice paper wrappers are initially not super easy to work with so be prepared to throw the first ones away as the sacrifice for learning it (save the ingredients!).  At least rice paper rolls are cheap   Once you get it down, you will gain confidence and start rolling them out close to perfect in no time.  There are generally 6″ or 8″ diameter size in rice paper.  Get the 8″.  It’s more forgiving and you can cut it in half.

Lastly, stuff small at first.  It’s better to have success than frustration.  Try with the least amount of ingredients to see how that works.  If you can roll it, then try the next wrap with a little bit more ingredients.

• Author: beckie
• Prep Time: 40
• Total Time: 40
• Yield: 4
• Category: Appetizer
• Method: No Cooking Involved!
• Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

• 8 (8″) rice paper wrappers
• 2 oz thin rice noodles (AKA vermicelli) cooked according to instructions
• 8 small pieces of butter lettuce (any soft lettuce will work)
• 1 cucumber, peeled with a vegetable peeler
• 12 leaves mint
• 12 leaves basil
• 12 leaves cilantro
• 1 small avocado sliced into 8 pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled with a vegetable peeler
• ⅓ cup red cabbage, sliced thin
• Peanut Sauce – buy it from the store if you don’t want to make it

Instructions

• Cook the thin rice noodles according to package instructions.  Strain, run under cool water so it doesn’t stick together, and strain again.
• Grab a large shallow bowl or skillet/pan that will fit the 8″ wrappers.  Fill with 1″ of water.  Dip one piece of rice paper in the water.  Hold for 3-5 seconds underwater.  Bring it out, give it a light shake and lay on the counter.  FYI – if the paper is hard, give it more time underwater.  If it’s too soft as it’s getting filled, give it less time underwater.
• I like to roll where you can see the prettiest ingredients on the outside.  At the end closest to you, start with the 1 piece of lettuce as the base, and then add a WEE bit of noodles, a bit of cucumber, 3 mint leaves, 3 basil leaves, 3 cilantro leaves, 1-2 pieces of avocado, a couple carrot, and a touch of red cabbage for pop.  Make sure to leave the side edges free of ingredients.
• Bring the sides in (like wrapping a burrito). Roll it up gently and the wet edges should seal themselves.  Lay on a piece of wax or parchment paper or on a large platter.  Don’t let each roll touch or they will stick together.
• Do it again.  You may want to wipe the area where the paper was laying with a paper towel to remove any excess water.
• If you are making them ahead of time, make sure they don’t touch by placing wax or parchment paper between them.
• Cut them in half before serving and dip in your favorite sauce.  Save any leftover filling for a beautiful salad later.  Happy and frustration free rollin’!  Beckie

Notes

• Maybe your lettuce is too big?  Make sure the size is smaller than the diameter of the rice paper and maybe ⅓ of the size.
• Forgot to make or get peanut oil?  Cool – add some soy sauce to a small bowl, with a touch of toasted sesame or peanut oil, a touch of sriracha if you like heat and a touch of vinegar or squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice.

Things In My Kitchen:

• 8″ (22 cm) rice paper wraps – I like the Three Ladies brand.
• Thin Rice Noodles – The Three Ladies brand is also good but it’s a lot of noodles.

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Keywords: Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, Healthy, Spring Rolls, Rice Paper Rolls, Vegetables, Fresh, Ayurvedic, Finger Food, Dairy Free, Low Carb, Keto