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Fresh and healthy mix & match rainbow vegan rice paper spring rolls (sweet and savory) served with a choice of 3 dips for a nutritious, delicious meal or snack!
I love rice paper spring rolls for any meal or snack. With just a handful of veg and some noodles or grains, you can create a beautiful, delicious, plant-based, savory vegan meal. Alternatively, when using tasty coconut sticky rice with fresh fruits, they are the perfect dessert.
Traditionally, Vietnamese rice paper rolls have pork and/or prawns within them alongside rice noodles, herbs, and various vegetables. These rice paper rolls are completely meat-free though, vegan, gluten-free, and a super plant-dense meal! For these fresh spring rolls, I’ve combined a variety of rainbow fruits and vegetables with rice- however, you could also use rice noodles if you prefer or whatever leftover grains you have.
In fact, the entire point of this post is to give you all the options for wonderful mix and match rolls of your choosing – using the grain, vegetable/fruit, herbs/seeds, and even dip of your choosing.
This post even contains recipes for three dips: Mango sweet Chilli, Peanut dipping sauce, and Avocado cilantro sauce. With options for further dips.
As healthy vegan meals go, this veg spring roll recipe ticks all the boxes for nutrition, taste, and style (because who doesn’t love to eat food that looks as good as it tastes).
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Reasons you’ll love these rice paper spring rolls
- They are quick to prepare and easily customized to the whole family’s taste buds – a super easy vegan meal.
- These rolls are ridiculously versatile! I’ll be suggesting a long list of fruits and vegetables that I think are delicious within your rice paper rolls. However, you can use whatever your favorites are and what is lying around the house.
- This means that they are great for using up leftover grains and produce that you have in the house – rice, quinoa, noodles, etc.
- Not only are these naturally incredibly plant-based, but these rolls can be wonderfully nutritionally balanced with healthy fats, protein, fiber, and a selection of vitamins/minerals.
- A wonderful way to eat more raw vegetables too! Helping you get even more of the nutrients.
- These make for a light but super satisfying snack/meal.
Having harped on about how versatile these wraps are, let’s get into the various filling options you have available;
The Fillings
First, grain/fiber
- Thai Sticky Rice
- Brown Rice
- Quinoa
- Other grains – such as barley
- Rice noodles
Vegetable Options
These are just a few of my favorite options. However, I’ve found that most veggies that I often have to-hand work well.
- Mixed bell peppers
- red cabbage
- Lettuce
- Spring greens
- purple cauliflower
- Carrots – mixed colors in red, orange, and purple
- Avocado
- Lemons
- Mini Cucumbers
- Radish
- Corn
- Mangetout/ sugar snap peas
- Beetroot
- Edamame beans (high protein)
Fruit Options
If you decide to make sweetened coconut sticky rice, this pairs wonderfully with a whole range of fresh fruits.
- Strawberries
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Passionfruit
- Pomegranate
- Figs
- Dragonfruit
- Pineapple
- Banana
Seeds/Nuts & Extras
- Poppy seeds
- Sesame seeds (white and black)
- Chia seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Nigella seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Pistachio nuts
- Salted peanuts
- Mint/ Coriander leaves
- Basil/ Thai Basil
- Alfalfa sprouts
- Edible flowers
For added protein
- Try adding some homemade tofu or tempeh that has been marinated in a simple teriyaki/soy sauce-based sauce.
- You’ll also get added protein from the various nuts, seeds, and ingredients like the edamame beans.
How to Chop/Prepare your ingredients
This is entirely up to you, but here are a few options for my favorite ways to prepare some of these ingredients.
- Julienne: Peppers, dragonfruit, carrots, some cross-section of purple cauliflower, bell peppers
- Mandolin: Carrots (as small round slices and ribbons), cucumber (as small round slices and ribbons), beetroot, radish
- Slice lengthways: Avocado (placed on plates with lemon juice to maintain the freshness and color), Mango
- Cut into shapes (using special shape cutters): Avocado, Kiwi, Strawberry, carrots, beetroot, radish, strawberry
How about the dipping sauces
Since I’m all about the versatility of these rice paper rolls, you know that I have multiple sauce options too. These three dipping sauces are wonderful options for your savory vegetable spring rolls. However, if you’re looking for something for your sweet ones – I usually use some slightly watered down jam, a sweet peanut butter sauce with maple, or even a cheeky dip into this DIY Homemade Vegan Nutella.
For the Mango Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce
This sauce yields around 1/2 cup of sauce and is a delicious sweet and spicy sauce that pairs wonderfully with the savory rolls.
- 1/2 cups mango chunks
- 1-1.5 Teaspoons chili paste, to taste
- 1/2-1 Tablespoon sweetener such as maple syrup, agave, etc.
- 1/3 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 Tablespoon coconut sugar
- Pinch of salt
Peanut Dipping Sauce
A delicious blend of sweet and savory (and creamy) – which takes these rolls to a whole new level. Yields around 1/2 Cup.
- 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1-2 Tablespoons of lime
- 1 Tablespoon of honey
- 1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- dash of hot water to thin, add more if needed
- Garnish with crushed peanuts (maybe flowers)
Avocado Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Rich and creamy with a kick of spice – this is a delicious dip for any avocado lover. Yields between 1/2-1 Cup sauce depending on how much water you add.
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt (plant-based if wanting a vegan recipe or homemade dairy yogurt)
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- Small piece of jalapeno (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 1 cups cilantro (leaves +stem)
- 1/4- 1/2 cup water to thin (or less depending on the consistency)
For all of the above dip recipes, I end to add all the ingredients to a small blender (except the water), then I’ll add warm water, as needed, to thin the sauce down to perfect dipping consistency.
Next, moving on to the most important part of all.
How to prepare your rice paper rolls
There are only a few steps to preparing these rolls, including preparing your grain/rice, preparing the vegetables/fruits, and then preparing and filling the rolls. Of course, you’ll also need to prepare the dips, but these take just a couple of minutes.
I like to begin by preparing the rice/noodle/grain filling in advance, to allow it to cool down before filling the rolls. If making general grains/noodles, simply follow the instructions on the packet.
I usually make my grains in advance, sometimes even the day before (or wait until I have leftover grains and veggies to make these). The only exception is rice noodles, which usually just take a few minutes to boil in water and cool down quickly.
To Make sweet coconut sticky rice: (if not using a rice steamer)
- Rinse the rice well and soak for at least 1 hour before draining and rinsing again.
- Put the rice into a saucepan with a clear lid and add equal parts water to rice with a little extra (e.g. 1 cup rice to 1 cup plus 3 tbsp water)
- Bring the pan to a simmer then turn the heat low and cook for 10 minutes without removing the lid at any point. After 10 minutes, once the water has all disappeared, allow the rice to sit in the pan ‘steaming’ until the coconut milk mixture is ready.
- To make the coconut milk mixture- combine coconut milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt into a pan and bring to simmer, stirring often, then leave on a low simmer for 10 minutes.
- Gently fold the coconut sauce into the rice until moist and sticky.
To prepare the rice paper rolls
If you’re not used to using rice paper spring roll wrappers, then these may be slightly fiddly for the first couple that you may – but you’ll easily get the knack of working with them.
- To prepare a rice paper wrapper: you’ll need to soften them one at a time- Dip a single rice paper wrap into a bowl of warm water for about 5 seconds and then remove it quickly while it’s ‘bendy’ but not soft and lay on a flat surface. It will continue to absorb water outside the bowl, to become softer, so leave it to absorb the water for a few seconds longer, so it’s not too ‘wet’.Note= Rice paper rolls can tend to stick to certain surfaces. If you’re worried about this – the best way to avoid it is to keep the surface damp. You can either wet the chopping board or even roll them on a damp dishtowel.
- To Fill them: Leave about an inch space from the edges of the wrap (which will be the sides of the roll) and starting at about 1/3 into the wrap, begin to layer your fillings inside (keep in mind that whatever you place at the bottom will be what you see from the top of the roll).
I tend to sprinkle my seeds etc. then put my avocado, radish, or strawberry/mango wider slices of fruit/veg here and then pile up other julienned fruit and veg inside. Include some micro-greens or herbs and then top with some vermicelli noodles, sticky rice, or your grain of choice. *Tip= If you want more stability in your rice paper rolls then use some lettuce or cabbage - To wrap them: Wrapping these is quite easy once you get the knack of it. Because the fillings are closer to one edge, it’s quite easy to navigate. Carefully tuck in the edges, then fold over the roll repeatedly until the seam has sealed. You can also roll it over once before tucking in the edges and continuing to roll – depending on what you find most natural.
How to store the rice paper rolls
These rolls are best eaten immediately. If you’re wanting to spread the fillings over a day or two, then you can meal-prep the fillings (apart from avocado and any that are best prepared closer to the time) and simply wrap the rolls as and when needed.
If you do have some extra filled rolls that you want to save, then you can try tightly wrapping each roll in cling film and placing in the fridge overnight. Make sure to allow them to come back to room temperature, before consuming.
If you give this recipe a try, then let me know your thoughts in the comments. Also, feel free to tag me in your recreations @AlphaFoodie.
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Rainbow summer rice paper rolls multiple ways
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 pack rice paper wrappers
- 1 pack vermicelli noodles
- Thai sticky rice
- 1 can coconut milk
Vegetables:
- Mixed bell peppers
- red cabbage
- purple cauliflower
- Carrots mixed colours in red, orange and purple
- Avocado
- Lemons
- Mini Cucumbers
- Radish
Fruit:
- Strawberries
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Passionfruit
- pomegranate
- Figs
- Dragonfruit
Seeds/Nuts & Extras:
- Poppy seeds
- Sesame seeds white and black
- Chia seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Nigella seeds
- raw pumpkin seeds
- Pistachio nuts
- salted peanuts
- fresh mint leaves or cilantro leaves
- Alfalfa sprouts
- Edible flowers
Mango Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce: (makes about 1/2 Cup sauce)
- 1/2 cups mango chunks
- 1-1.5 Tbsp chili paste to taste
- 1/2-1 Tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener, agave, etc.
- 1/3 clove garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 Tbsp coconut sugar
- Pinch sea salt
Peanut Ginger Dipping Sauce:
- 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp Soy sauce
- 1-2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- dash of hot water to thin add more if neededGarnish with crushed peanuts (maybe flowers)
Avocado Cilantro Dipping sauce:
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 lime juiced
- Small piece of jalapeno more or less depending on how spicy you like it
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch black pepper
- 1 cups cilantro leaves +stem
- 1/2 cup water or less – to thin the consistency as needed
Instructions
- I like to begin by preparing the rice/noodle/grain filling in advance, to allow it to cool down before filling the rolls. If making general grains/noodles, simply follow the instructions on the packet. 1 cup of grain = 4-5 rolls, usually.
- I usually make my grains in advance, sometimes even the day before (or wait until I have leftover grains and veggies to make these). The only exception is rice noodles, which usually just take a few minutes to boil in water and cool down quickly.
- To Make sweet coconut sticky rice: (if not using a rice steamer)
- Rinse the rice well and soak for at least 1 hour before draining and rinsing again.
- Put the rice into a saucepan with a clear lid and add equal parts water to rice with a little extra (e.g. 1 cup rice to 1 cup plus 3 tbsp water)
- Bring the pan to a simmer then turn the heat low and cook for 10 minutes without removing the lid at any point. After 10 minutes, once the water has all disappeared, allow the rice to sit in the pan ‘steaming’ until the coconut milk mixture is ready.
- To make the coconut milk mixture- combine coconut milk, sugar and a pinch of salt into a pan and bring to simmer, stirring often, then leave on a low simmer for 10 minutes.
- Gently fold the coconut sauce into the rice until moist and sticky.
To prepare the rice paper rolls:
- If you’re not used to using rice paper spring roll wrappers, then these may be slightly fiddly for the first couple that you may – but you’ll easily get the knack of working with them.
- To prepare the Dips: I like to make my dips just before I begin rolling my spring rolls. Simply blend all the ingredients for each dip in the blender (except the warm water), then add the water, as needed, till you achieve a good dipping consistency.
- To prepare a rice paper wrapper: you’ll need to soften them one at a time- Dip a single rice paper wrap into a bowl of warm water for about 5 seconds and then remove it quickly while it’s ‘bendy’ but not soft and lay on a flat surface. It will continue to absorb water outside the bowl, to become softer, so leave it to absorb the water for a few seconds longer, so it’s not too ‘wet’.
Note= Rice paper rolls can tend to stick to certain surfaces. If you’re worried about this – the best way to avoid it is to keep the surface damp. You can either wet the chopping board or even roll them on a damp dishtowel. - To Fill them: Leave about an inch space from the edges of the wrap (which will be the sides of the roll) and starting at about 1/3 into the wrap, begin to layer your fillings inside (keep in mind that whatever you place at the bottom will be what you see from the top of the roll). I tend to sprinkle my seeds etc. then put my avocado, radish, or strawberry/mango wider slices of fruit/veg here and then pile up other julienned fruit and veg inside. Include some micro-greens or herbs and then top with some vermicelli noodles, sticky rice, or your grain of choice. *Tip= If you want more stability in your rice paper rolls then use some lettuce or cabbage
- To wrap them: Wrapping these is quite easy once you get the knack of it. Because the fillings are closer to one edge, it’s quite easy to navigate. Carefully tuck in the edges, then fold over the roll repeatedly until the seam has sealed. You can also roll it over once before tucking in the edges and continuing to roll – depending on what you find most natural.
- How to store the rice paper rolls:These rolls are best eaten immediately. If you're wanting to spread the fillings over a day or two, then you can meal-prep the fillings (apart from avocado and any that are best prepared closer to the time) and simply wrap the rolls as and when needed.
- If you do have some extra filled rolls that you want to save, then you can try tightly wrapping each roll in cling film and placing in the fridge overnight. Make sure to allow them to come back to room temperature, before consuming.
Video
Notes
Julienne: Peppers, dragonfruit, carrots, some cross-section of purple cauliflower
Mandolin: Carrots (as small round slices and ribbons), cucumber (as small round slices and ribbons), beetroot, radish
Thinly slice: Avocado (placed on plates with lemon juice to maintain the freshness and color), Mango
Cut into shapes: Avocado, Kiwi, Strawberry, carrots, beetroot, radish, strawberry
Summer rolls looks amazing how vibrant. Peanut ginger sauce is my fav. sauce. Wonder what brand is your blender / food processor please?
Thank you so much! 🙂 I usually use a small handheld blender – I have it linked here on the blog on the Shop page 🙂
This recipe was incredibly delicious, when I thought it might just be beautiful. The pairings were astoundingly delicious and both my partner and I were mind-boggled. It definitely had a lot of prep work and lack of specificity when it came to amounts, but it was worth it. For others, I used a tablespoon of sugar for the sticky rice mixture.
Thank you so much for the feedback, Kendall.
These look very beautiful. I am trying to find what the round white and red alternating vegetable is. the one next to radish. i was trying to find a vegetable looking like that but could not. also where to get the edible flowers. thanks
Hi Rav,
It is a type of beetroot called “candy beetroot”, it’s milder in flavor and can be eaten raw.
Depending on where you are based, certain stores, as well as farmer’s markets, could sell edible flowers. It’s best to check with your local suppliers.
Just wondering if you have tried using the Vietnamese coconut rice paper? They are usually found in the fridge or freezer section in the supermarket. I can’t seem to find any recipes on how to use them. I would appreciate any comments or any recipes on this particular type of rice paper. Thank you!
Hi Monica,
Maybe you can enjoy them as a snack or use them as tortillas for sweet or savory wraps (https://www.alphafoodie.com/viral-tortilla-hack/)? Let me know how you decided to enjoy them.
Kudos! Such a comprehensive recipe. I’ve been looking up several variations for the filling- to make notes and to have various options on hand, and you’ve done such a great job here. Thanks so much
I’m so glad it’s been helpful for you. I love love love how versatile these rice paper rolls are and have fun experimenting with all different flavor variations 🙂 I hope you discover lots of new favorite flavor combinations!
I’m obsessed with your Peanut Ginger Sauce! I used it for two different recipes in my blog (DIY lettuce wraps and Fresh Spring Rolls). Thanks for sharing
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for your comment. I am glad you liked the Peanut Ginger Sauce 😉
I love rice paper rolls. They’re so good.
Hi Lewis,
Thank you for your comment. I love rice paper rolls too 🙂