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 made these spring rolls and they were amazing. But the real winner is this peanut sauce. I will never buy peanut sauce at the store ever again. Not to mention I’ve made it the past three consecutive days to put on anything I’m eating.
I just stumbled across this recipe and Im so glad I did!
These are hands down the BEST fresh spring rolls Ive ever made. I followed the recipe, only difference being I left the jalapeños out (so my daughter could eat them) and added avocado….. delicious!
Thank you Cookie + Kate x
I’m glad you did too, Penny! Thanks for letting me know you loved them.
We made these for an appetizer this weekend and my family loved them!! They definitely want them again!!
Hi I am wanting to make these for an event. (Small – 10 people) But I need some tips on how to keep them fresh without tearing as I will make them the night before. It’s thinking of trying a very light coat of sesame oil. I used wet paper towel before rolled in Saran but they rip.
This rating is for the peanut sauce, as I used the ingredients for the rolls that I had on hand. Very very very good! It thickened again upon standing, so I added a touch of shao xing cooking wine and it was good with that addition as well, but it took a more chinese flavour direction. Saving to “the box”!
I made these today (with a few changes/additions) and they were delicious. The one thing that surprised me was that the rice paper was sticky to the touch, and remained sticky. I had one of my grandkids over who helped wrap them up. We all thought they were great. I need to make more of the sauce for the leftovers! (I used rice, not noodles.)
Delicious!! I could eat these everyday. The one edit I made was a I added a dash of fish sauce to the peanut sauce (I know, not veg.) but it gives it that real Vietnamese taste. I’m making them again tonight with lettuce from our garden!
I watch my sugar, so I hacked your sauce recipe and used lime juice and ginger puree instead of the oil and sweetener and it was really good, too.
Delicious!! I used cilantro and thai basil (what I have growing). I love peanuts so I added some chopped peanuts to the sauce and a touch of ginger. So good. Thanks!!!
My daughter tried with mango, instead of rice noodles and the combination of mango and jalapeño really enhances the taste.
The peanut sauce is great! It was easy to make too. I am so glad I ran across this recipe.
These were delicious, and my 6 yr old and 9 yr old ate them! The mint is a great idea. I had to make a few adjustments to make them kid-friendly (no jalapeños), but it was such a nice way to get my kids to eat their veggies. Thank you for this recipe!
This recipe tops any Spring Roll I’ve had in restaurants! These Spring Rolls are packed with flavor and crunchy/chewy textures to delight your senses. Add the peanut sauce and it is perfect appetizer or entree on a hot summer day. We made a variety of spring rolls including an all veggie version, a tofu version, and a pescatarian version with avocado and shrimp. Thank you so much for another five-star recipe!
I’ve had these in the past at a family gathering. So great. Someone gave us two packages of rice papers and I remembered the spring rolls and found your recipe. We used veggies from our garden and made your sauce recipe. Soooo amazing. Thank you for sharing this and we’ll be having this a lot in the future.
These were delicious. The whole family enjoyed the process of making them. Great way to use all our garden veggies and herbs. My only change was to add chili pepper to the peanut sauce. Thanks for a great recipe.
I needed a peanut sauce recipe and I stumbled upon this one. It was so delicious! I added a little sriracha and toasted the garlic (mostly because my family doesn’t like raw garlic). Everyone loved it! Thanks for a great recipe!
Yum!!! Added fresh ginger to sauce and basil with the herbs. No jalapeno for this woman…..I added bean sprouts. So good and easy.
Thank you for the recipe, both rolls and the sauce turned out delicious!
Just made these today, LOVED THEM! I really liked that I could add more of the ingredients I liked, but I used all the ingredients she listed, and it was so good. The star of this was the peanut sauce. SO ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Reminds me of my favorite thai peanut sauce. I used a full sodium soy sauce, so I added less of this than what was put as I did not want it to be overly salty. It was my first time ever rolling, and she did a great job of explaining what you need to do to get it right, and I feel like I succeeded quite well. Will definitely be making this again, and will be using the sauce for many other things.
That’s wonderful to hear, Caroline! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Homemade spring rolls! I had a hankering for spring rolls and ordered up the ingredients from instacart. It took me FOREVER to slice up all the veggies and then roll. But man oh man it was WORTH IT! My husband actually commented, “These are better than any restaurant spring rolls I’ve ever had!” I ate it as a bowl of vermicelli and veg the next day. On the third day, I rolled more with the rest of the wrappers. I could live on these for a week at least.
So easy to make & delicious. It’s refreshing & filling, perfect for dinner on a hot summer evening. It pairs well with the Thai salad with mango & quinoa.
These were yummy and great for a late summer dinner! The peanut sauce was amazing! I followed the recipe for the spring rolls except omitted cucumber since we didn’t have any and added tofu for some protein. These took some time to assemble, but they were worth the effort. The sauce was the best part–delicious! I was scraping the bowl with a spoon when we were finished! :)
Amazing and so much fun to make!
Hi,
I love the rolls and sauce!!
Can you make peanut sauce in advance? If so, how should it be stored and how long will it typically last?
Hi! Yes, you can make the sauce a head of time. Store this dip in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a week. You may need to whisk it again before serving or wake up the flavors with a little splash of vinegar.
The spring rolls turned out great, however the peanut sauce is lacking some zing. I put in 3 tbsp of water and it was still too thick. Was hoping it would have more of an authentic Thai flavor.
Hi Lexi, sorry you didn’t just love this one.
Delicious! I cannot wait to make again!
Can’t comment on the actual spring rolls bc I just went with chicken and veggies I already had to put in the rice papers. But this sauce…. Amazing. Soooo so good. Even my fussy 9 year old son who doesn’t like store bought satay sauce loved this.
The peanut sauce for this recipe is the bomb!! I used a little less low-sodium soy sauce than called for because it was salty enough with less. I opted for honey instead of maple syrup. I made myself vegan rolls and I put shrimp in for my husband. They were soooo good! We’ve eaten them 2 days in a row now.
That’s great to hear, Savannah! I appreciate your review.
Love it! Great ingredients! Nice twist on the recipe! Two thumbs up!!
Thank you, Julie! I’m happy you loved it.
Made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious! So easy to make, especially with all the helpful tips. I didn’t have any red cabbage or jalapeños, so I simply substituted with avocado that needed to be used up. It was amazing! My toddlers and husband really enjoyed these. Definitely something I’ll be making a few times a month. Loved the peanut sauce as well. Truly made these rolls outstanding. Don’t skip the sauce! Thanks for another great recipe, Kate!
I was a little hesitant when my husband (who loves springs rolls) stumbled on this recipe. We just made it tonight and it was DELICIOUS!!!! We each had 8 rolls! Thank you!
We traveled to Vietnam last year and had such a craving for the spring rolls we enjoyed there. This recipe is very similar! We have made it quite a few times, shared it with friends and family and everyone goes crazy for it. It’s a fun recipe to make with kids. Healthy, fresh, it’s really delicious! Thank you, Kate! My vegetarian daughters and I have never been disappointed in one of your recipes and my meat-eating husband says he doesn’t miss meat if it’s a “Cookie & Kate”.
We make these quite often. Your sauce is fantastic! We like to put all the ingredients on the table and let people make their own. It makes a fun collective meal. We also love mangos and strawberries. If you like meat, cooked cubed chicken and shrimp are delicious.
Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
We tried this and found the rice wraps really gloopy and weak, not keeping the filling. We wondered whether letting them sit would make them harden a bit and get the appearance in the picture, rather than very limp wraps. Loved the sauce, just not sure about the wraps. Advice appreciated
Hi, I’m sorry to hear that. How much water did you put on the rice paper? It sounds like you had too much perhaps.
Holy cow! These are so delicious!! My husband and I made them together to have for lunch. He usually isn’t big on vegetables in general but he loved them and asked if we could make them again! Is was a first for us using the rice wrappers and it was a struggle but super fun. Thank you!! :)
These were delicious and the peanut sauce was amazing. This is a keeper recipe.
Wonderful to hear, Kim! Thank you fro sharing.
I added some avocado to the rolls and a little bit of lime juice to the peanut sauce. This was my first time making spring rolls and it was so much easier than I expected, they came out amazing, thank you so much for the recipe!
YES!! C&K we’ve stored this away to use again and again. Spring Rolls are great and the Peanut Sauce is fantastic. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Susan! I’m happy it’s a repeat for you.
I made these since yours looked so good. I ha e been cooking a looinnggg time. My rolls fell apart when we tried to eat them. Are the wrappers supposed to stay sticky? What did I do wrong???
Hi! i’m sorry to hear that. They shouldn’t be too sticky. They may have been to wet when you rolled them or too full.
These were delicious, the dipping sauce I wanted to eat by the spoonfull! I didnt have cabbage but did have tofu so marinate that and fried it in some avocado oil and added thin strips and it worked perfectly
Wonderful to hear! Thank you for your review.
This was delicious and healthy. I am vegetarian so I used mock chicken and put it in a pan with some oil and teriyaki sauce. Then I added all the veggies and the tasty sauce. I am thrilled I found this recipe!
These were so easy to make and turned out great! I used warm water for the rice paper which worked really well (and was much quicker than when I tried using cold water). I also added avocado to make the rolls a little creamier. Big hit with my family!
I just made this pretty much exactly as the recipe says. I did forget to put the sesame oil and salt onto the noodles but it turned out SO good anyway. The peanut sauce is everything!!! I could probably use a bit of a kick in the sauce, but as is, it’s already perfection! I would DEFINITELY make this again… and again… and AGAIN!!!
Hello
We made this recipe with a few adjustments – we didn’t use cabbage as the kids don’t like it, ad we added bell peppers. Overall it was super delicious and the sauce is incredible! Next time I would use less maple syrup in the sauce as I found it very sweet, but otherwise it was wonderful. Thank you!
First timer, here! Definitely would make it again! I wish I could make it in advance, so it would be ready to go, but the wrapper would be testy. Ended up making too much for two of us, so we will be noshing on it for a couple of days. I’ll prep the wrapper as we go. I’ll also try other sauces, but my husband said the peanut sauce was awesome!
I only made the sauce and it was delicious.
I’m glad you enjoyed the sauce, Jamie! I appreciate your review.
Love this recipe! I loved ordering fresh “summer” rolls from my fave Asian restaurant, I had to figure out how to make these at home. Your recipe is awesome as-is and highly adaptable. I typically add chopped cooked shrimp and ALWAYS fresh herbs. Someday I’ll master the rolling process!
This recipe is amazing. A regular go-to for us. We make these all the time. They are so fresh, flavorful and easy to make. The sauce is perfect without any modifications and is versatile enough to go with many asian dishes. Occasionally, we will add a bit more spice, but perfect as is.
Thank you, Dave! I’m glad you loved it.
I’ve been eating these for lunch for a while now and LOVE them. I make the peanut sauce in advance and keep it in a jar in the fridge. The first day I make them, I cut up enough green onions and herbs (usually just cilantro for a few days and store it in a container for easier prep the next day. It assembles really quickly if you’re only cutting a few raw veggies (which I’m doing for my son’s lunch anyway while he’s on virtual class).
I don’t do the noodles as that seems too much to me. I use your Baked Tofu recipe and make enough for a few days worth. Your tofu is perfect with this and keeps/reheats really well.
My favorite fillings:
cilantro
green onion
raw carrots/peppers/cucumber
lettuce or cabbage (whatever I have)
AVOCADO (So good!)
Baked tofu (Game changer!)
I also just hold my rice paper under hot tap water. Think I read this at Smitten Kitchen possibly? Works just fine for me. Mine are done pretty quickly if I’ve prepped.
Thank you for sharing your variation and review! I’m glad you have been enjoying them, V.
I love this recipe and have made it several times. A few tips I learned to improve:
-Double up you rice paper to prevent breakage
– use shirataki noodles instead of vermicelli for a super low carb low calorie snack/meal
Made tonight! Very, very delicious and fresh tasting. I made for my non-vegan son and husband as I am trying to secretly win them over to a different lifestyle with great tasting recipes like this. I’m sneaky and it’s working with lovely recipes like this!!!!!!!
That’s great, Betty!