Spring! Just that one word makes me happy. I was born in May, which is maybe why I love this time of year so much. The earth seems to breathe again, the sun becomes warmer (thank heavens!), the grass turns green, flowers start to grow, and the glorious “fresh food months” are born! From the first taste of sweet, juicy strawberries, I start to rejoice that our citrus-and-bananas-are-the-only-fresh-fruits months are behind us. Hooray! So these Raw Veggie Spring Rolls are simply a celebration of just that…spring! Luckily, these can be made year-round, but they just seem like such an appropriate way to celebrate SPRING. Stuffed with all the fresh veggies you can get your hands on, these are beautiful, colorful and a fun way to “eat your veggies.”
My first introduction to homemade spring rolls was from my daughter, Katie. A little history here…Katie started to cook when she was probably four years old. Her first concoctions were “smoothies” which consisted of sugar, mashed bananas and ice. As soon as she could read, I gave her Emeril Lagasse’s cookbook for kids, There’s a Chef in My Soup, and she learned to make mac-n-cheese and egg salad sandwiches. She and Sarah took summer cooking classes at our local elementary school, where they whipped up almond cake, spaghetti sauce and pretzels. She was probably 15 or so when she created her first spring roll. Wow! I was very impressed with my healthy, grown-up little girl who created such a beautiful treat. Sorry if I’m sounding a bit sentimental. Katie is getting married next week…all ready to venture out into the “grown-up world.” I couldn’t be happier for her. She’s ready for this monumental step! One thing I’m grateful for is that she’s so prepared to create delicious meals of her own. Noah is a very lucky man indeed.
So, happy spring! I hope you get to attend a May wedding, run your feet through freshly mowed grass, enjoy the beautiful flowers growing in your garden, and…bet you weren’t expecting this one…eat your fill of tasty spring veggies:)
Ingredients
- 1 package large circular spring roll skins/rice paper
- Cucumber
- Mango
- Red pepper
- Cilantro
- Fresh mint
- Purple cabbage
- Bean sprouts
- Jicama
- Avocado
- Carrots
- Green onions or chives
- Crushed peanuts and sesame seeds for garnish
- ¼ cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 2 tsp. hoisin sauce
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- Juice of 1 lime (about 1 Tbsp.)
- 2 Tbsp. warm water
- 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 4 tsp. water
- 2 tsp. chili paste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for the peanut sauce and whisk together.
- In another small bowl, combine all ingredients for the honey sesame sauce and whisk together.
- Set aside and prepare the spring rolls.
- Prepare all of your veggies/fruits. Slice into long, thin strips.
- Cover a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.
- Fill a deep plate (a large skillet works great!) with warm water.
- Working one at a time, submerge the rice paper in the water for about 15 seconds.
- Remove from the water, carefully fold the rice paper in half and place on the baking sheet. *The paper should still be somewhat firm when you remove it from the water.
- Working quickly, place all of the desired veggies/fruits in a line down the middle of the rice paper (that now looks like a half circle.)
- Carefully fold one side of the rice paper over the fillings and roll up. *Tips: If the rice paper gets sticky, it can help to dampen your fingers with warm water. It can also help to have a second person hold the wax paper down so the rice paper doesn’t stick to it.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and dip in sauces!
Notes
*These are just ideas for spring roll fillings. Be as creative as you'd like! As for amounts, just use enough to fill the number of spring rolls you're making.
40 Comments
These spring rolls are so gorgeous and colorful, not to mention healthy!! Definitely pinning! 🙂
Healthy eye candy, right?! Hope you love them:)
Love this recipe! And your pictures are amazing! This looks so fresh and inviting and oh so healthy – it’s definitely going on my table soon. Happy Spring to you too!
Linda, thank you so much! I think these sauces are addicting. Hope you love them, too:)
Love making spring rolls. Vegetables ones are my favorite
We love the veggies too! Healthy and colorful 🙂
My local (and favorite) Thai restaurant does fabulous spring rolls! A tad too much mint for me, but when dipped in satay sauce…oh, yes!
Cori, it’s all about the sauces, right? Enjoy!
love the story behind the spring rolls. I’ve never made them, but they sound like a great easy dinner!!
Angela, these are SUPER easy! You could also lay out the ingredients and have everyone assemble their own. Hope you love them!
I’ve always been fascinated by spring rolls, but I’ve never tried them at home. You’re lucky so lucky your girls love cooking! I think it’s time I gave these rolls a try. 🙂
Elsa,I am so happy my girls love to cook! It’s a fun activity to do together. These are SOOOO easy and fast…go for it!
These look absolutely amazing and delicious! I too love that it’s finally fresh fruit/veggie season (hello farmers markets!).
Do you have a recommendation for a substitute for the mango? I’m allergic.
Amber, you could easily just leave out the mango. If you do want a little sweet in there, you could replace it with pineapple, apple, pear or even strawberries. Lots of options! Hope you love them:)
I LOVE SPRING ROLLS!!! Thanks for sharing this post 🙂
We love them too! You’re so welcome. 🙂 Thanks for reading it!
What a gorgeous combination of ingredients! These look like a light, refreshing meal for the summer months.
Dylan, we think it’s the perfect easy meal for hot summer nights! (Hope we get somehow summer nights soon!) Enjoy!
These look super delicious and healthy. Making these 🙂
Hope you love them! Let us know how they turn out.
Loving the colors of the rolls! Def looks interesting to try!!
They are definitely a unique and fun meal to put together. Hope you like them!
Love theses wraps !! beautiful clicks too 🙂
Thanks Soniya!
This looks amazing…and your photos are incredible!! Do you have a post about your photography? I could use some tips!
Thanks Michelle! We haven’t done a post about photography yet, but that’s a great idea! We’ll think about doing that. Do you have a website/blog?
This is right up my alley! I’ve been wanting to make spring rolls. Pinning and saving for later!
Christine, thanks for pinning! Hope you love them as much as we do 🙂
These are one of my favorite summer treats! So good!
Alicia, we totes agree. The best warm-weather treat!
These spring rolls look absolutely fantastic, refreshing and delicious at the same time! Thanks for sharing!
http://alice.typenu.com
Thanks Alice! If you make them, let us know how they turn out! 🙂
These are one of my favourite meals to make for dinner in the summer. They’re so bright and fresh and make for a nice light meal. Your peanut sauce recipe sounds really good too, I’ve been trying to find a good one and I think this might be it 🙂
Tess, we totally agree. Spring rolls make such a yummy meal when you want something light and refreshing. Try out the peanut sauce and give us feedback! Hope you like it 🙂
This looks so fresh and delicious! Fun with two different sauce options 🙂 Definitely pinning this!
Thanks for pinning Charlotte! Hope you enjoy 🙂
These are so pretty! Perfect for summer!
Thanks Jessica! They definitely are a fun food for summer!
Beautiful images! This (or our variation of it) is a summer go-to for us. It’s always so refreshing!
Thank you so much, Renee! Isn’t it an awesome summer meal? We’d love to hear if you do anything different with yours:)