All the flavors of your favorite Chinese egg roll made lighter, faster, and in one skillet! This egg roll in a bowl is a quick, healthy dinner that’s ready in just 20 minutes.
The best part? It all comes together in one skillet with minimal prep. Thanks to coleslaw mix and pre-shredded carrots, there’s no chopping involved, and you can even snip green onions straight into the pan. Customize it with your favorite ground meat, adjust the seasonings, or toss in extra veggies to suit your family’s tastes.
Eggroll in a Bowl is a Perfect Weeknight Dinner
It’s like an egg roll without the deep fried wrapper!
This egg roll in a bowl recipe is a quick, healthy dinner that’s perfect for busy weeknights. It has all the savory flavor of a classic egg roll filling; no deep frying required! With lean ground meat, crisp veggies, and a simple stir-fry sauce, it’s a wholesome meal you can keep low carb or bulk up with rice or noodles.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Use any ground meat that you like. We prefer ground pork, but ground turkey, ground beef, ground chicken, and ground sausage are all tasty here.
- Sesame oil is an essential ingredient for that true Asian flavor. Do not substitute with a different oil. The sesame oil has a unique nutty flavor that’s hard to replicate with other ingredients, and it truly makes the dish! You can find sesame oil in the Asian or International foods aisle at just about every grocery store these days, or order it online. Use any extra sesame oil in recipes like chicken and broccoli lo mein, chicken and bell pepper stir fry, sweet and sour meatballs, and ramen noodle coleslaw.
- Rice vinegar adds an acidic component that brightens up the sauce.
- I prefer low sodium soy sauce (or light soy sauce), but coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari will also work as gluten-free substitutes.
- Hoisin sauce is a thick, rich, sweet-and-salty Chinese bbq sauce that adds great flavor to the stir-fry. Find it in the Asian or International foods aisle at your grocery store, or order it online.
- A bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix is a perfect shortcut so that you don’t have to shred your own cabbage. Adding some broccoli slaw would yield a different texture and flavor, but would also work.
- You might not need any extra salt (since the sauce has a good amount of sodium), so taste it first and then season.
SO good … fast, easy and SO SO GOOD! I made it, loved it and then made it the following week again. I live on my own so I had it a few times each week!
– Cindy
How to Make Egg Roll in a Bowl with Coleslaw Mix
Have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go, because this dish comes together very quickly!
- Brown the meat in a large skillet or wok on the stovetop. Don’t stir the meat too much while it’s browning. Let it sit for a few minutes before you break it up with a spoon. This helps the meat retain moisture and stay tender.
- Add the onion, oil, and vinegar; cook until the onion is tender.
- Stir in the slaw mix, carrots, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce.
- Stir-fry until the veggies are tender. Add the scallions and serve in individual bowls!
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Equipment
- Large skillet (I own and love this Smithey Ironware Co. cast iron skillet)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground meat (we love ground pork, but you can also use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground beef)
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ¼ cup less sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (or add extra 1 tablespoon or so for a sweeter, richer sauce)
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic (use pre-minced fresh garlic for an easy shortcut)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 ½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger (use a bottle of pre-minced fresh ginger for an easy shortcut)
- 1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix
- ½ cup grated or “matchstick” carrots
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- Optional garnish: sliced green onions, chives, fresh cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, crunchy chow mein noodles, and/or a squeeze of fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground meat and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Drain off excess grease; return meat to skillet.
- Add diced onion, sesame oil, and rice vinegar to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about 4-5 more minutes.
- Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, coleslaw mix, and carrots to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for about 5-7 more minutes, or until the cabbage wilts.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the green onions and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
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- Do not omit the toasted sesame oil. It’s what gives the dish that quintessential “Asian” egg roll taste!
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- Use this recipe as a base and play around with the ingredients to suit your preferences. You might like to add diced celery, diced sweet bell peppers, snap peas, snow peas, or baby corn. An extra tablespoon or two of hoisin sauce also adds great flavor and richness to the sauce.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
This easy egg roll in a bowl recipe is delicious on its own, or equally tasty when paired with sides like rice or cauliflower rice; ramen noodles, rice noodles, lo mein noodles, or spaghetti; frozen egg rolls; and steamed broccoli. The eggroll filling is also tasty wrapped in mandarin pancakes or flour tortillas and garnished with extra hoisin sauce or plum sauce (like mu shu pork).
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It gets soggy as the vegetables sit and absorb the sauce, but the flavor is still great! Some folks love to double or triple the batch to have extras in the fridge for quick meal prep.
- Reheat individual servings in the microwave for about 1 minute, or reheat a larger quantity in a skillet over low heat just until warmed through.
- I do not recommend freezing the leftovers. The cabbage and other vegetables will have a mushy texture when thawed, and will release extra water that thins the sauce.
Recipe Variations
- Use any ground meat that you prefer. We love ground pork in this dish, but ground beef, ground chicken, ground sausage, and ground turkey are also good options.
- Add egg to the filling. Just before serving, make a well in the center of the pan. Crack an egg into the pan, scramble, and cook until done. Mix the egg into the rest of the ingredients.
- For a vegetarian egg roll in a bowl, omit the ground meat and bulk up the stir-fry with mushrooms, diced tofu, or other veggies of choice (like bean sprouts).
- If you choose to shred your own green cabbage instead of using a bag of coleslaw mix, you will need a total of about 6 ¾ cups of finely-shredded cabbage.
- Make it spicy by garnishing individual servings with sriracha sauce or crushed red pepper flakes.
- Cooking just for two? Cut the ingredients in half. The instructions remain the same.
- If you’re looking for even more quick stir-fry recipes, be sure to try this ground beef stir fry with cabbage, a pan of chicken and broccoli stir fry, this 15-minute honey garlic shrimp, this pepper steak with onion, and this teriyaki ground beef, too!
Awesome! My husband was skeptical at first but finished all and wants it again.
– Connie
More Asian-Inspired Recipes to Try
Dump-and-Bake Healthy General Tso Chicken
40 minutes mins
Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
40 minutes mins
Dump-and-Bake Egg Roll Casserole
1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Originally published in May, 2018, this post was updated in August, 2025.
Well received at home and SO easy! Will make again.
Excellent! Thanks, Liz!!!
This recipe was SO GOOD! It was also super quick and easy. I don’t have a ton of time to spend in the kitchen and I love Asian food! This will definitely be on rotation!
I just made your Egg Roll in a Bowl and it is absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe as written. Used ground turkey. As a bonus, my coleslaw mix already had the carrot stix in it. So fast too. I was hoping to share it with my friends but I’m already on my second bowl. Shhh
That’s awesome, Donna! Thank you!
I made this tonight and my only mistake was not making a double batch! I used ground pork and ground beef which was a hit. I only had reg soy sauce and would definitely use low sodium next time ( although I was the only one who thought it was a bit salty). I added cooked rice noodles and mushrooms…and would do that again! Scrambled eggs would be a nice addition as well. So versatile!
I think I am going to experiment using this as an appetizer serving it with wonton cups ( bake them in a mini muffin tin)
I’m so glad I tried this recipe! Love, love ,love, love it!
Your additions sound great, Sandy! Thanks so much!
5 STARS! This is by far my favorite egg roll in a bowl recipe I have tried. I think some of the other recipes have you add in the sesame oil and rice vinegar at the end and it never tasted quite right. This one is perfect though. I added a couple of La Choy Chow Mein Noodles on top and added a dab or two of the Dynasty Chinese mustard for a little heat. Next time I am going to try a little duck sauce with it. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Thanks so much, Cat!!!
I’ve tried a few of these recipes and this one is my keeper! After experimenting with different meats (chicken, pork, beef) I use Johnsonville ground Italian sausage. It’s so tasty and the sauce just adds to it. At the end, I like to fry an egg and put it on top. I mean, it is an egg roll bowl, right? Lol.
Great tip, Marie! The sausage (and egg) sounds delicious!
Tonight I am mixing it up with taco meat with a dollop of sour cream on top. Adding the onions and a bit of salsa. Black olives perhaps.
So good! Easy and delicious. I was short on the cabbage mix and added riced broccoli. It worked well. This will be a frequent dish at our house.
My husband and I made this the other night! Instead of cabbage we used broccoli slaw mix, added eggs and some bean sprouts. Super delicious!
Sounds perfect! Thanks, Kim!
sorry about the typoes – ( I cant see the screen)
Does anyone think this recipe could be frozen for lunches?
Yes. I tried it frozen and it works great if you don’t freeze rice!
I’ve made this twice since finding this a couple weeks ago- perfect easy and quick recipe! I double the soy sauce and sesame oil and leave out the vinegar and it’s still awesome…. thank you for the recipe!
Super easy to make and very delicious. I made it yesterday and took a serving with me today for lunch and it heated up nicely. Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks, Kendra! 🙂
This was sooooo good! And my kids are every bite, too! I omitted onions but that was the only change.
Yay! That’s the best — when your kids agree that a healthy dinner is delicious! 🙂
i made this in my instant pot. after cooking the meat, i just put all the other ingredients (except the sesame oil) into the pot, and set the cook time for 1 minute. then i added the sesame oil right before serving.
i topped it with crunchy chow mein noodles.
Awesome! Great idea, Kerri. Thank you!
Love this dish. My husband gave it ” a 2 thumbs up” & we have been enjoying ever since. I have shared it with family & friends.It’s a perfect one dish meal, but even better on top of rice or noodles..
I dont have ground meat on hand. I’m guessing bite size chicken thighs would work???
Yes, I think that should work fine! 🙂
I haven’t tried this yet, but I make egg roll in a bowl every few weeks. I put water chestnuts, cilantro and egg. Shrimp works well too. Quick and easy. Can’t wait to try this one tomorrow.
Excellent! Hope you enjoy this version, Bridget! 🙂
This was so good I ate all the leftovers for breakfast. I made it with turkey, but next time will try it with pork. I didn’t have any Hoisin sauce on hand, but felt it could’ve used it. My BF doesn’t know what Hoisin sauce is and didn’t miss it – he thought it was well-balanced as is. (I added a few pinches of sugar to make up for what I felt was the missing sweetness.)
I also added a lb of medium shrimp, cut in half (precooked, added back with the coleslaw), and some white mushrooms (cut in half, par-cooked, added back with the coleslaw), along with a few more shakes of soy sauce. I didn’t add the carrots, since there were already carrots in the coleslaw mix.
I topped it with Sriracha sesame seeds, and when i had it this morning, I added some Sriracha sauce.
SO GOOD! I can’t wait to make it again. So addicting!
That’s wonderful! Thank you! I agree that the hoisin sauce is an important addition. Gotta have that sweet touch! 🙂
P.S. I only have one problem with this recipe 🙂 Your notes say “Cooking Just for Two? Cut the ingredients in half! The cooking instructions remain the same.” NO!! Make the whole batch! You’ll be sorry you didn’t! 🙂 I can’t wait to make this again. Thanks again!!
I absolutely agree!!
Hah! Thank you! I agree — I just ate the cold leftovers for lunch yesterday and they were delicious (as usual). 🙂
I did the same!!!
Made this with broccoli slaw instead of coleslaw. Amazing recipe.
Thanks, Wannita!
Do you use fresh ginger?
Hey, Kristen! No, I just use the dry ground ginger. If you want to use the fresh ginger, you’ll need about 1 tablespoon of grated or minced fresh ginger.
I recommend using fresh ginger root. I use a grater over the skillet while it’s cooking. Also, this is really good with a few dashes of Frank’s hot sauce.
I did the same. Grated fresh ginger right over the skillet. Worked perfectly
Yes, fresh ginger!! Keeps forever in the freezer just grate some when you need it. I also cut the meat in half to make it healthier. I loved the way the hoisin made it taste like Mu Shu Pork. Yum!
Totally! It does remind me of moo shu pork!