All of the delicious flavors of your favorite fried Chinese restaurant appetizer come together in a lighter, faster, one skillet meal! This "Egg Roll in a Bowl" is a quick and healthy dinner that's ready in about 20 minutes!
How To Make Egg Roll in a Bowl | 1-Minute Video
It's like an egg roll without the wrapper!
I honestly can't take credit for this genius idea, since I've seen it plastered all over the internet in recent years. After a craving for Chinese food hit me like a ton of bricks (do you ever get those?!), I decided that it was time to get in the kitchen and create my own Egg Roll in a Bowl!
This Asian-inspired supper has all of the flavors that you love without any of the deep fat frying. It's just a big, beautiful skillet full of fresh vegetables and lean protein stir-fried in a savory sauce.
In my typical fashion, I even managed to create a recipe that requires almost ZERO prep work! With help from a bag of coleslaw mix and a bag of matchstick carrots, I didn't even have to pull out my cutting board or my knife for this dinner. Tip -- use kitchen shears to snip the green onions right over the skillet. Again, no knife or cutting board necessary!
So, what ingredients will I need for this Egg Roll in a Bowl?
You'll be happy to know that this easy recipe does NOT require any fancy, expensive, hard-to-find ingredients! You'll want:
- a bag of coleslaw mix (or shredded cabbage); onion; and a few other fresh veggies (sliced mushrooms would be a delicious addition!)
- ground meat of choice (I used ground turkey here, but ground chicken, ground beef, or ground pork all work well)
- a simple stir-fry sauce made with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil (plus optional hoisin sauce, if you like)
Trust me -- you don't want to omit that toasted sesame oil! It's heavenly, and it's what gives the dish that quintessential "Asian" egg roll taste! Plus, you can pick up a very small bottle of the oil in the Asian food aisle of just about any grocery store, including places like Walmart and Target. Puh-lease...don't skip it! I go through bottles of toasted sesame oil really quickly around here, because I'm constantly using it in recipes like my Dump-and-Bake General Tso Chicken, my Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Broccoli, and my Cold Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad (just to name a few).
The simple, fresh flavors in this Egg Roll in a Bowl create a tasty, family-friendly dinner in one skillet. Which means that you have a healthy dinner to serve your crew in less than 30 minutes...with only 1 pan to wash at the end. I'm telling you -- this is weeknight dinner perfection!
Other easy Chinese-inspired dinner recipes that you might enjoy:
- Dump-and-Bake Kung Pao Chicken
- Dump-and-Bake General Tso Chicken
- Dump-and-Bake Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Dump-and-Bake Chinese Pepper Steak
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey breast (can substitute with ground chicken, ground beef, or ground pork)
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil*
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic**
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ cup less sodium soy sauce
- 1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix
- ½ cup grated or “matchstick” carrots
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (optional, but recommended)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground meat and cook, stirring, until no longer pink. Drain; return meat to skillet.
- Add diced onion, sesame oil, and rice vinegar to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for a few more minutes (until onion is tender).
- Add garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce (optional), coleslaw mix, and carrots to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for about 5-7 more minutes, or until cabbage is wilted.
- Remove skillet from the heat. Stir in green onions and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Kerri
Just made this for dinner. Super yummy! It's easy, quick, and delicious. thanks for sharing it! It's in my rotation now.
Blair
Wonderful! Thanks, Kerri!
Jennifer
The hoisin sauce made all of the difference. Thanks for a great recipe!
Blair
Thanks, Jennifer!
Kerri
Blair, I just made this AGAIN for lunch. So good! Question - what can I substitute for the hoisin sauce? We don't care for fishy stuff.
Thanks!
Blair Lonergan
Hi, Kerri! That's a tough one, because it has the thick, rich texture and sweetness of an American barbecue sauce, but also the salty, savory, umami flavor of soy sauce. Maybe just a bit more soy sauce for that salty/umami element, and then a bit of sugar for the sweetness to balance the salt and acidity? Or you can just omit it altogether and see if you like the taste better. 🙂
nancy weller
Hoisin isn't fishy...you are thinking of Fish sauce
Nanette
Just made this for dinner with ground pork. Soooo good. The only thing wrong was I got the wrong size bag of cabbage, only 8oz. Can’t wait to do it again with more cabbage. I also added some roasted sunflower seed kernels which were very tasty.
Blair Lonergan
Thanks, Nanette!
Vicki
I substitute oyster sauce with the hoisin. I also make a circular hole in the middle of the mix in the pan and add an egg to the hole and scramble it, then mix into the rest! Delicious!!!
Blair
Sounds great, Vicki! Thank you. 🙂
Melissa Bircher
I put some spicy brown mustard on top … yummy!!
Blair
Perfect! Thanks, Melissa!
Eliza
Where has this been all my life?? It's so good. I fried some tofu to stick on top. Holy heck, thank you.
Blair Lonergan
Thank you, Eliza!
Lori Trawick
My favorite go-to recipe! Have shared with family members, too, because they have requested it. Thank you!
Blair
Thank you, Lori! I appreciate you sharing it, too. 🙂
Mikayla
So easy, and so yummy. I doubled it for my family of 6 and had plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. Thank you!
Blair
Sounds great, Mikayla! Thank you!
Babs
I've made this countless times, it's one of my husband's favorites! We are from Chicago and we are used to creamy peanut butter in our egg rolls, so I add 2 Tblsp peanut butter when the cole slaw is half way wilted. Then, I add about 1/2 cup bean sprouts (I could only find canned, but they were good!).....and finally, just a small pinch of Chinese 5 spice powder ....oh...my...gawd....SO good!! Thank you for this recipe!
Blair
Your version sounds great, Babs! Thank you for your note!
PamV
I have made this twice and it was so delicious both times…BUT, the first time I made it using 2 Tablespoons fresh grated ginger (I read the recipe wrong) and it was sooo much better. The second time I used ground ginger I had in the pantry and it was still good, but not as amazing s the first time. My two cents…use fresh grated ginger, it’s well worth it.
Rebecca
I have never made egg rolls before (I never particularly liked them). But my husband loves them and they are his favorite part of an Asian meal when we go out to eat.
So I printed this recipe, read it over and was adding things to my shopping list.
My question is, why is there no "egg" in the recipe? Isn't there supposed to be?
Thank you.
Blair
Hi, Rebecca! Egg rolls don't typically contain egg in the filling, so I have not included it in this recipe. That said, you can certainly add egg to the skillet in the same way that you would for a fried rice recipe. Totally up to you. 🙂
Lilly
I think the egg part refers to the usual egg wrapper which is a mixture of egg, flour, salt, etc.
Tina Moore
I did this recipe with tofu and it turned out great! I added a little extra hoisen and soy sauce to give the tofu flavor. Great recipe!
Blair Lonergan
Awesome! Thanks, Tina!
Rick
I don't use oil. What should I usevinstead?
Blair Lonergan
Hi, Rick! You can substitute with butter, but you won't get that toasted sesame flavor. There isn't really an oil-free ingredient (that I'm aware of) that will provide the same flavor as sesame oil.
Wendy M
Made this last weekend and my husband loved it so much, he requested that I make it again this weekend. We are vegan so I used Plant Based Beyond Crumbles for the meat and I added a jalapeño for some spice. It was outstanding! This will definitely be a go to meal in our household! Thank you!
Blair Lonergan
That's amazing, Wendy! I'm glad that your husband approved, too! 🙂
Sammi
This was sensational & ez! I added fried wonton skin strips & sliced water chestnuts for some extra crunch. I'll be having it again & again, switching up the protein for variety.
Blair Lonergan
Thank you, Sammi!
Michelle
Excellent recipe! Love, Love, Love! I’ve been doing low-carb for about six months now and this was an excellent alternative to my nightly salad. I even caught my husband reaching in for a second bite! Will definitely be making this again. Thank you so much!
Blair Lonergan
Awesome! Thanks, Michelle!
Katie Tanner
In your story you said that you could use stir fry sauce in place of other ingredients how do you go about doing that? It's not listed in your recipe too You stir fry sauce as a replacement for everything else.
Blair Lonergan
Hi, Katie! I think that you saw where I said you'll make "a simple stir fry sauce with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil (plus optional hoisin sauce, if you like)." You're making this sauce with those ingredients -- I didn't mean that you could purchase one instead (although, I suppose that might work, too). 🙂
Patty
I accidentally grabbed a bag of broccoli slaw instead of Cole slaw, can I use that in place?
Blair Lonergan
Hi, Patty. Yes, I think that should work fine. It will obviously have a different flavor, but it should still be good. The broccoli might need a few more minutes to cook than thinly sliced cabbage. Hope you enjoy!
Karin
I'm going to try this with Asian salad! I love egg roll in bowl so hopefully it works!
Blair Lonergan
Awesome, Karin! I bet it will be great. I think other readers have done the same in the past. 🙂
Lynne
Excellent! The Hoisin sauce makes it! (LOL I used 2 T instead of 1!) I bought the Sesame oil and somehow lost it between the store and my kitchen (so I used almond oil instead). It was still good! But I bet it's even better with Sesame oil.
Blair Lonergan
Thanks, Lynne! Yes, definitely try the sesame oil next time. Game changer! 🙂
Amy H
This is delicious ~ I made the recipe as is. It's a keeper for sure. Thank you!
Blair Lonergan
Thank you, Amy!
Marnie Bonnette
As soon as I came upon this recipe I had to make it! My mom and I actually used to make this dish when I was a child. The only thing I did was alternate Jimmy Dean sausage instead of ground beef! Amazing
Blair Lonergan
Thank you, Marnie! I bet the sausage is delicious!
Karen T
Thank you for a recipe without sugar that will work for diabetics.
Blair Lonergan
Hope you enjoy, Karen!