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.
It’s delicious! Amazing how it tastes just like the inside of an egg roll.
Thanks, Jane!
OMGgggg… This was so darned good! And you were so right about the toasted sesame oil. I was skeptical at first, especially when gasping for air looking at the price, but it smelled wonderfully and tasted even better with it. I used the Butter Ball Turkey Crumbles found in the freezer section for a little over 3 dollars, the Mann’s Power Blend slaw, onions fresh from my garden, ground ginger, grated garlic and then the other ingredients.
Best of all, it didn’t affect my blood sugar levels! After covid-19 ravaged my body, I have to be ultra careful about everything I eat. And I never had blood sugar issues to begin with, but it has happened to many people. No heart, pancreas, liver or kidney problems before either, but now I do. Thanks for making eating interesting again.
This makes me so happy! Thanks for your note! 🙂
This was amazing. The only thing I did different was use 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger in stead of dry ginger, and I added 1/2 pound of fresh bean sprouts and 6 large mushrooms chopped small. I used ground chicken from Aldi. I love that the calorie count is low too. I ate 2 cups and I was full and thats only about 270 calories. I can’t wait to eat more for tomorrows lunch. Thank you again for such a wonderful recipe!!!
Excellent! Thanks, Kathy!
Made this again and still loved it! Only had 8 ounces of red cabbage so I upped the carrots and added celery and bell pepper.
Great! I’m glad that it worked well with the extra veggies. Thanks, Liz!
just asking because I make stir fry and add an egg, do you add an egg to this? I know it isn’t listed but do you think it would take away from it if I added an egg?
I think you can absolutely add an egg if you like! 🙂
So I had sesame oil and rice vinegar in my pantry but when I looked they were expired. oops! So I substituted peanut oil and apple cider vinegar. I used ground pork. And instead of hoisin sauce I added some honey and hot sauce! I ate it with some rice. This was so good, thank you!!
Awesome! I’m glad that you made it work with what you had on hand. 🙂
Hi ..what brand of sesame oil do you recommend
Hi, Sandy! I don’t really have a strong preference — I just buy what my store has in stock (which is often fairly limited options because I live in the middle of nowhere). 🙂 Most often I use Kikkoman, Imperial Dragon or Sunluck brands.
This recipe is outstanding! A must try! I used ground pork and added more hoisin sauce . I will definitely make iIt again! Great dinner for a family especially on a budget as it makes a lot!
Thanks, Diane!
I made a gluten free version this for my family. It was delicious. I knew it would be, so I quadrupled the recipe. We’re looking forward to some delicious lunches over the next couple of days.
Sounds perfect, Jessie! I’m so glad that you can continue to enjoy it for multiple meals!
Doubled this recipe, added rice, topped with yum yum sauce and green onions. Absolutely delicious! My family devoured it.
Wonderful! Thanks, Robin!
I’m thinking this would be great as cold leftovers!!!
It is! 🙂
Delicious! my 14 and 16yo cleaned out the skillet. I added two scrambled eggs, more protein! The flavors are great! My son approved, saying “it doesn’t taste like soy sauce!”
Thank you, Juli!
Love this recipe! Third time I’m making it!! I added zucchini and baby bells along with a little extra hoison and soy sauce. Made the yummy meal even more yummalicious!
Sounds amazing, Audra!
Just made this for dinner. Super yummy! It’s easy, quick, and delicious. thanks for sharing it! It’s in my rotation now.
Wonderful! Thanks, Kerri!
The hoisin sauce made all of the difference. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks, Jennifer!
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!
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. 🙂
Hoisin isn’t fishy…you are thinking of Fish sauce
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.
Thanks, Nanette!
Hoisin shouldn’t be fishy tasting. It’s basically like a Chinese BBQ sauce. Like Korea has bulgogi.
Although it didn’t taste like an egg roll to me, it was a fantastic dish and I might add even better the next day when all the flavors were well rested into the cabbage. I made it as directed using ground pork however I did use fresh grated ginger. Excellent flavors happy taste buds. Awesome dish. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Kat! So glad that you liked it! 🙂
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!!!
Sounds great, Vicki! Thank you. 🙂
I put some spicy brown mustard on top … yummy!!
Perfect! Thanks, Melissa!
Where has this been all my life?? It’s so good. I fried some tofu to stick on top. Holy heck, thank you.
Thank you, Eliza!
My favorite go-to recipe! Have shared with family members, too, because they have requested it. Thank you!
Thank you, Lori! I appreciate you sharing it, too. 🙂
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!
Sounds great, Mikayla! Thank you!
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!
Your version sounds great, Babs! Thank you for your note!
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.
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.
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. 🙂
I think the egg part refers to the usual egg wrapper which is a mixture of egg, flour, salt, etc.
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!
Awesome! Thanks, Tina!
I don’t use oil. What should I usevinstead?
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.