Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
These Vietnamese spring rolls are fresh, not fried! This veggie-packed recipe is easy to follow, with step-by-step photos. Vegan and easily gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on February 12, 2021
My now-husband asked me out for spring rolls and beer for our first date. I vividly remember walking into the nearby Thai restaurant to meet him. Our waitress had to come back three times to get our order, since we could not be bothered to look at the menu.
We were too busy connecting over our love for our dogs (we each have one), coming from families of three kids (I’m the oldest; he’s the youngest), our shared love of food and travel, a million other little things…
He finally ordered us a double batch of his favorite spring rolls. I was too nervous and full from a day of recipe testing to eat much. The waitress kicked us out because the restaurant was closing. I came home and danced around in the living room with Cookie. He asked me out again.
A couple of months later, I confessed that I didn’t share his level of appreciation for those spring rolls. “Too much noodles, not enough veggies. The carrots taste like chlorine. The peanut sauce could be more bold.” He dared me to come up with something better, and I finally have.
These are the fresh, veggie-packed spring rolls I want to order at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. I can’t say they’re 100 percent authentic, but they’re pretty close.
Of course, I came up with an irresistible peanut dipping sauce to go with them. Invite some friends over and make it a spring roll party! Ready for the recipe?
Fresh Spring Roll Ingredients
These spring rolls are refreshing, colorful and fun to make. I left out tofu (you really can’t pack enough into the rolls to make it worthwhile) and shrimp, since I don’t eat shrimp.
These filling ingredients are flexible. You can use more carrot instead of cucumber, or extra cabbage in place of the lettuce. Here’s my favorite filling combination:
- Thin rice noodles
- Butter lettuce
- Red cabbage (or green cabbage)
- Carrot
- Cucumber
- Jalapeño (skip if you’re very sensitive to spice)
- Green onion, cilantro and mint
You’ll need basic pantry ingredients to make the peanut sauce: peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari or soy sauce, honey or maple syrup, toasted sesame oil and fresh garlic.
How to Wrap Spring Rolls
Spring rolls can seem intimidating, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly, I promise. If you have folded a burrito before, you can definitely make spring rolls! Don’t stress if your spring rolls aren’t totally perfect. A few tips:
1) Make the base
Start by placing a few pieces of lettuce about one-third from the bottom of the circular wrapper. The width of your fillings will determine the width of the spring roll. You want to leave a couple inches open on the two sides for wrapping purposes.
2) Pile on the ingredients
Then, add the remaining ingredients. The exact order doesn’t matter much. Just pile them on top, making sure to take up the proper width. It’s ok if the fillings spill upward. I try to leave the top one-third of the wrapper open for wrapping.
3) Roll the filling
Gently pull the bottom of the wrapper up and over the lower portion of the filling. Try to keep the fillings compact as you roll upwards, just until the fillings are enveloped.
4) Envelope the sides and roll it up
Pull each side over to enclose the filling. Continue wrapping upward until your spring roll is fully wrapped!
Watch How to Make Spring Rolls
Please let me know how your spring rolls turn out in the comments. I hope they’re a big hit.
Craving more peanut sauce? Me, too. You’re going to love these:
- Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
- Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
- Mango “Burrito” Bowls with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce or Cabbage Wraps
- Peanut Dipping Sauce
You’ll also enjoy the fresh sesame soba spring rolls in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 98).
Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
These Vietnamese spring rolls are fresh, not fried! They’re the perfect party appetizer or light meal. The peanut sauce sends them over the top. Recipe yields 8 spring rolls.
Ingredients
Spring Rolls
- 2 ounces rice vermicelli or maifun brown rice noodles*
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup torn butter lettuce, ribs removed
- 1 cup very thinly sliced red cabbage
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks or sliced into strips with a julienne peeler
- 2 Persian (mini) cucumbers or 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced or sliced into strips with a julienne peeler
- 2 medium jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint
- 8 sheets rice paper (spring roll wrappers)
Peanut Sauce
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed
Instructions
- To make the spring rolls: Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles just until al dente, according to package directions. Drain, rinse them under cool water, and return them to the pot. Off the heat, toss the noodles with the sesame oil and salt, and set aside.
- Fill a shallow pan (a pie pan or 9″ round cake pan works great) with an inch of water. Fold a lint-free tea towel in half and place it next to the dish. Make sure your prepared fillings are within reach. Combine the green onion, cilantro and mint in a small bowl, and stir.
- Place one rice paper in the water and let it rest for about 20 seconds, give or take. You’ll learn to go by feel here—wait until the sheet is pliable but not super floppy. Carefully lay it flat on the towel.
- Leaving about 1 inch of open rice paper around the edges, cover the lower third of the paper with a few pieces of butter lettuce, followed by a small handful of rice noodles, some cabbage, and a few strips of carrot, cucumber and jalapeño. Sprinkle generously with the herb mix.
- Fold the lower edge up over the fillings, rolling upward just until the filling is compactly enclosed. Fold over the short sides like you would to make a burrito. Lastly, roll it up. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- To make the peanut sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari, honey, sesame oil, and garlic. Whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed to make a super creamy but dip-able sauce.
- Serve the spring rolls with peanut sauce on the side. You can serve them whole, or sliced in half on the diagonal with a sharp chef’s knife.
Notes
*Noodle note: I always opt for whole grains when I can, so I used Annie Chun’s brand of maifun brown rice noodles. I found them with the Asian ingredients at Whole Foods.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten free noodles and tamari (not soy sauce, which typically contains gluten).
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it peanut free: Substitute almond butter (if not avoiding nuts altogether) or sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter.
Prepare in advance: You can definitely mix together the peanut sauce in advance. You can also prepare the veggies several hours or up to 1 day in advance, and store them in an air-tight container (they will lose freshness with time). The spring roll wrappers tend to dry out with time or once chilled, so spring rolls are best assembled shortly before serving. If you’d like to keep them fresh for an hour or two, store them under a lightly damp, lint-free tea towel at room temperature (the skin tends to harden in the refrigerator).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I Love spring rolls and can’t wait to try these. The sauce it what makes them amazing. I put hoisin sauce in my sauce and it’s delicious! I didn’t think to add jalapenos but I might just have to!
Thanks for another great recipe!
Greta
You’re welcome, Greta!
Your first date story is adorably cute. Who can turn down a man who loves dogs, anyhow! ;) can’t wait to try out these spring rolls – loving heat-free recipes in this August sun!
Thank you, Hayley :)
I have been wanting to make these for some time and next week I have some girlfriends coming to afternoon cocktails. Great timing Kate! I am making some pickled red onions today…maybe that will be good to add?
Also, how would add some heat to the peanut sauce? Chili paste or?
I love pickled red onions with almost anything! Let me know what you think. I would serve with sriracha in addition to the peanut sauce if you want some more heat.
I leave out the garlic and add a tablespoon sambal oelek (or sriracha crushed chili sauce) for some heat and it comes out perfect!
I like to add either sliced or diced kiwifruit or mango to my spring rolls. While these are typical, they add a nice brustvof sweet sour flavor.
Thank you for your review, Katharine!
They look great! I saw you and your husband at Hall’s on Sunday, but didn’t want to be a creeper, so I didn’t say hi. Plus, my daughter would’ve been mortified if I’d accosted a stranger.
Oh boy, he will love to hear this! :) Say hi next time!
Ok. Will do!!
They turned out great, and the peanut butter sauce was delicious! I couldn’t find any noodles so I had to skip them but they were very good with just veggies.
+1 on too many noodles in most of these rolls! Go you for cutting them down! Who needs them when you have a wrapper?
Is “fresh spring rolls” a thing in the US? To me these are summer rolls (spring rolls are the cooked ones). We have too many great Vietnamese restaurants in NZ for me to bestir myself to make my own, but your filling recipe plus sauce would make a lovely salad.
Hi Sasha, Thanks for your insight! This is the way I’ve had them.
I have also only known these to be summer rolls. Spring rolls are smaller and deep-fried. The same wrappers are used, though, so maybe that’s where the confusion stems from.
Thank you–that explains why my Vietnamese friend’s mother made us “spring rolls” that were small and deep-fried — I was surprised because I had thought spring rolls are like Kate’s receipe. Now I know!
I didn’t make these yet, but i probably will. I just HAD to tell u that I absolutely LOVED ur story on these!! It touched my heart SOOOO much! I’m honestly crying tears of joy as I’m typing! I think this is probably the ONLY time I have actually read an entire story behind a bloggers recipe…I usually just “jump to recipe”. I’ve had too many disappointments in my love life, that I’m happy when I see OTHERS happiness! Keep doing what you do…we all enjoy it! Take care my dear! ☺
You are so kind, Toni! Thank you for your excitement and words. I found a pretty great one, but it did take some time!
Could I make these with a tahini dipping sauce, so replacing the peanut butter by tahini? I have a nut allergy, but would like some dipping sauce.
Sure! Let me know how it turns out for yuo.
These look so delicious! Once assembled, how long do you think they would last? I’m wondering if I could make them at night and pack them for lunch the next day.
Thank you for sharing, Sarah!
Wrap them in plastic wrap, but prepared for them to stick to each other the longer they sit. They may keep better, longer, if you place a lightly damp tea towel underneath them.
I love your introduction… Beautiful story
Thank you, Jan!
I am so sorry!
Rice noodles aren’ t my thing and I think my peanut sauce is richer! Pulverize about 100 grams of peanuts with some grains of black pepper, then just throw all the ingredients into a pot and simmer for as long as you like: 1/2 cup of stock of your liking, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup peanut butter ( I take same more), 2 Tbs. Sesame Oil ( or more), 1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce, 2 cloves of garlic-minced – some chopped cilantro ( I hate it, so I take parsley), salt and cayenne to taste! I must admit, I am a bit famous for that sauce.
Thank you for sharing, Stefan!
This was excellent. My husband said it was the best fresh spring rolls he’s ever eaten. I think they will be a staple at our house.
Fantastic! Thank you, Kirsten.
SO GOOD! I made these tonight for dinner. Everyone (husband, 2 teenage girls and me!) loved them. It took a bit to assemble each one, but my youngest daughter made the peanut sauce while I assembled and it worked out.
That’s wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Michelle. How fun to have everyone play a role!
Okay, so, I feel like I kind of mutilated this recipe, but it was still delicious! The two grocery stores I went to were out of rice paper, but I had everything else and really wanted to make these. I got some egg roll wrappers. When I started prepping, I realized I was going to have to *bake* the egg roll wrappers (or fry, but I would rather bake). They actually still turned out very tasty, and the baked lettuce wasn’t weird. My husband and I both really enjoyed them. He did ask if I had used tortillas for the wraps, though, haha. They were rather bready. The peanut sauce is so delicious! I am never buying peanut sauce again. When our local grocery stocks up on rice paper, I am definitely making these properly.
I’m sorry you had trouble finding ingredients! I appreciate your review and comment.
These are my favorite things to make especially when the farmers market season starts up here in Florida, then I can find all sorts of veggies to include. If you find the rice noodles too filling try bean thread noodles instead. These are great for lunch the next day just wrap each individually with plastic.
Thanks for sharing, Michelle!
I love this story! What a sweet first date :)
Thank you, Elizabeth! :)
Hello Kate and congratulations on your now-marriage :) just wanted to say we love summer rolls in our house and often have ‘wrap your owns’ as my 3 and 6 year olds calls them for dinner whereby we eat them fajita style around the table and mix and match to our own tastes. Your peanut sauce – yummy and a great addition. We also add avocado cause everything is better with avocado. And if you wrap them in a small piece of Saran they actually last quite well for about 3 days in the fridge – a very easy grab for making my daughters lunch (hate making lunches for school – future post idea – easy, healthy nut-free ideas for easy school lunch prep. You know, if you are looking for more ideas.
Thank you! :) I appreciate it.
This tasted great. I mostly followed the recipe but added hot red chili’s vs jalopeno because that is what we had on hand. I also tried Katharine’s suggestion in her comment of adding kiwi in the roll and surprising to me it was amazing! Will be making these again.
Thank you, Pris!
I made the spring rolls for my son’s family. Everyone loved them, including my eighteen year old grandson. The only thing I did a little differently was to put peanut sauce on each roll before I rolled it up. Easier and neater than dipping
That’s great! Thank you for your review.
Tastes great and perfect for a very hot evening meal! Thank you.
You’re welcome, Lorrie! I’m happy you enjoyed them.
I made these today and they were absolutely delicious! I didn’t have any green onions, so I used fridge-pickled red onion instead, and I did include tofu for more protein. I used your crispy tofu recipe but cut the tofu into long, thin sticks instead of cubes, and it came out beautifully and added nice texture to the spring rolls. And the sauce was so good that I wanted to (OK, did) eat it by the spoonful. I will make these again.
Oh I like the pickled onions idea! Thank you for sharing, LS! I’m happy you enjoyed them.
Sorry if I missed this somewhere. Is the peanut butter natural or the no-stir kind?
These look lovely! I love making spring rolls. I make mine with similar ingredients, but also add basil and sometimes mango ;)
My other tip is that if the wrapper is too sticky after you soften it, dunking it into cold water gets rid of the starch and makes it easier to work with!
Your work gives immensely positive energy!! Good Job
Hello again….After making your hummus recipe have been making it over & over again! Tried the peanut sauce for something I can’t remember but it was Great so now getting your monthly emails. Made the spring rolls tonight and they were unbelievable! Everyone loved them. Used Napa cabbage and added cooked shrimp. We love jalapeños so used them as well. The rice paper was surprisingly easy to work with. We are fortunate to have a Japanese food market close by and ended up using square ones.(also substituted Japanese cucumber but very similar to Persian). Another winning recipe that will become a regular in our home! Thanks for the great ideas!!
Thanks for sharing, Steven!
These were incredible! I had fresh spring rolls for the first time a couple of years ago (I had no idea they existed before that) and I really wasn’t sure how they were made. I didn’t realise the outside was just rice paper! I was so excited to see this recipe and try them for myself. I wasn’t sure if my husband would like them but he loved them as much as I did!
Thank you, Kerry!
Just made these for dinner and they were amazing!! I cooked for 3 and multiplied the ingredients by 1.5.
Its really gr8!!
Im loving ur recipe
Thanku so much for this flawless recipe
Lots of love
Thank you!
Love this recipe and the sauce! So fresh and tasty!
What size rice paper do you use? I use 8″ but I always have trouble rolling it and I looked up other videos and most people use a 10″. Just curious what size you use because yours look great!
It really just matters how full you fill your rice paper. Try to go with less than you think and you will roll better, that’s my trick!
Hello from South Africa! Made this for my family this evening and it was AMAZING – even my sceptical not-a-fan-of-vegetables sister enjoyed it. We had it with some shredded chicken and without the noodles, but between the chicken and the veg it packed enough filling power that it didn’t feel like anything was missing. And may I just add that the peanut sauce is incredible.
That’s a win! Thanks for sharing, Tinamari.
Just made these last night for my family, they turned out delicious. The only thing I did a little differently was to chop the cilantro and mixed chopped Thai basil together for a garnish, and for the peanut sauce I took half and added a tsp of hot chili oil to spice it up a bit (for those of us who like it spicy). So good my family ate them all.
I use your receipees almost every time i want to try something new…they are well explained and ingredients perfectly proportionned…the results are delicious. Thankyou for all your efforts to share this with us. Bless you and hope 2020 will be a great year for you and “hubby”!
I’m interested in the recipe, seems delightful, but where do I get the rice paper wraps from, I currently reside in Abu Dhabi.
Hi Victoria! I’m not quite sure in your area. I typically find them in the international food section of the grocery store.
These were delectable! The sauce….the sauce….oh, my. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Congratulations!! Love your recipes :)
Thank you!
I made this and it was perfect! It made so much and would be great for entertaining. Just a warning: they do not store very well after a day in the fridge.
Thank you for sharing, Pat!
I thought rolling these was pretty challenging but they tasted great!
I’m glad you liked them! Yes, it can be tricky to learn how to roll them. But I’m happy you thought it was worth it!
We just returned from Vietnam and these are EXACTLY like the ones we had there several times–load it up with fresh herbs and dip it in the peanut sauce….delicious!
I thought the sauce was fantastic even with crunchy peanut butter. I made it without the jalapeno as I can’t handle heat. I loved it! I eat gf and vegetarian and used Annie Chun’s brown rice noodles and a no soy sauce by Ocean’s Halo and it still turned out delicious!
I loved this recipe and have made it twice in the past month. All your recipes I have made have been amazing and they get me to eat healthier!
This was my first try at making spring rolls at all and the 2nd time eating them in my life and I AM SO GLAD I tried this recipe. This is everything I had hoped for and more. It’s so great and you can really play with the filling a lot. I used carrots, cucumbers, red peppers, butter lettuce, rice noodles, red cabbage and green onions. And the sauce is MY FAVORITE!!!! There were left-overs and so I had enough for lunch for the next 3 days as well. Even thought it takes a while to make after chopping up the vegetables and then folding the difficult wrappers, it’s SO worth it and I see myself making this often. THANK YOU!
Long time Cookie and Kate fan but hardly ever leave a review. I made these tonight and was initially so intimidated by the rice paper but am so thankful for your (always) thorough directions. I had so much fun making these and my husband and I agreed they were equally as good (if not better) than ordering from the restaurant. Now I have to work on perfecting the shape the next time I make them! :) Also this peanut sauce is my husband and I’s absolute favorite!
I’m so happy you made these, Brittany! I agree, it’s a fun thing to do with someone else. Especially right now! Thank you for your comment and review.
I made the peanut sauce. It was delicious and easy to make. Kids approve!!
I LOVE peanut sauce. I have tried a LOT of them. And this is honestly the BEST peanut sauce I have ever had! Of note I did not have rice vinegar so I substituted apple cider vinegar, and I also put it in my NutriBullet in the end to give it that true peanut sauce consistency. I will have this page bookmarked for the rest of forever :)
Love to hear that, Alex! Thanks so much for sharing.
Where do you buy the round wrappers? I looked at my Krogers in the Asian section but could not find them.
Hi Paula! I’m sorry to hear that. I typically find them in well-stocked grocery stores with the other Asian ingredients. They’re called rice paper or spring roll wrappers.
The peanut sauce is the bomb and the rolls were fun to make. Can’t wait to eat the sauce on burgers! Thanks for sharing!
thanks it was great loved the flavors
This recipe was perfect! I’ve never made spring rolls, but you made it so easy! I also made the peanut sauce , which turned out great! Thank so much!
YUM! This peanut sauce recipe is perfection. I’ve always been one of those people who liked the idea of peanut sauce but always found it too peanutbutter-y. This sauce is GOLD!
I love to hear my sauce is gold! Thank you for sharing, Layne.
So easy to make. Love the peanut sauce. I let everyone in the family make their own.