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.
This is absolutely delicious! We made it with ground chicken and it was so yummy! Going to try with shrimp next time! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you, Amber!
My kids devoured this. Even my fiancé who isn’t a fan of eggrolls thought it was fabulous on tortilla chips. Great recipe, thank you!
Yay! Thanks, Lara. I’m so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed it!
Gave it 5 stars even though I haven’t tried it yet. It just sounds delicious! Was wondering what you serve with this since I don’t think cabbage will fill my hubby up by itself. Thanks
Thanks, Sharon! I usually pair it with rice and egg rolls (frozen egg rolls that I bake at home). I need more to fill up my 4 guys, too! 🙂
Made with ground turkey which we don’t love, but it took in the taste of all the other ingredients. Packed in 2 containers, and it was our “Friday night dinner” enroute to a camping trip. The perfect meal vs my typical sandwich-type meal on the go, or wraps that tend to be messy on the fingers on a car trip. This was tasty, nutritious, and filled us up.
Perfect! Thanks, Esther!
Made this tonight for dinner. It was quick and delicious! Followed the recipe exactly! Thank you!!
So glad that you liked it, Lindsey. Thank you!
Made this tonight, it was easy and delicious I did change a little .I used half pound ground chuck and half pound breakfast sausage I used more hoisin I never used it before but I loved it so good thank you
Thank you, Sue! I’m so happy that you’ve now discovered the magic of hoisin sauce! 🙂
Hi, any experience with freezing leftovers? Also, how long will it last in the fridge? Cooking for one is a challenge!
Hi, Fleury! The leftovers should keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I have not tried freezing it, since I worry that the texture of the cabbage and veggies will be mushy and watery when thawed.
Made this tonight with ground pork. I made it exactly as written and it was delicious. My husband really liked it. Taking leftovers to work tomorrow. Thank you for theErecipe.
That’s great, Denise. Thank you! I’m glad that your husband enjoyed it, too!
Made this tonight and it was just ok. Probably won’t make again.
I made this last night. My boyfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did make some substitutions however. I used apple cinder vinegar instead of rice vinegar and olive oil instead of sesame oil. I also omitted the hoisin sauce. It was still a hit! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Glad that it worked well, even with those substitutes. 🙂
I am a skeptic about pretty much anything ground Turkey but the recipe was AMAZING! Threw a little chili paste in for a spice! Shared this on my families recipe share page! Yum!
Thanks, Brittany!
I have to admit I feel like an idiot. I found this recipe a long time ago and left the web page open on my phone so that I could make it. The web page sat for TWO YEARS on my phone. Often I would go back and look at it but I never closed that page. I finally made the recipe last night and I feel like such an idiot for waiting so long. I made the recipe as listed (with the hoisin sauce and ground turkey) and added sliced baby bell mushrooms. It was absolutely fantastic. My daughter, who doesn’t like cabbage, mushrooms, or onions even commented “That smells delicious.” Going forward, there was one thing I felt was missing and will make sure to add next time, bean sprouts. I may add diced water chestnuts as well just for that starchy crunch. I love this recipe and will definitely put it in my cookbook and share it.
Hi, Jason! I’m so glad that you finally got to try it! 🙂
I’ve been making a similar recipe, but last time my daughter said something was missing…did seem a little bland that time. So today I did a search and found this one. Ingredients are similar, but the rice vinegar was a new one. I didn’t have hoisin sauce, but added some oyster sauce in it’s place. Overall, a very good recipe, and better than the previous one I was using. Thanks!
Thanks, Scott!
I just made this. Followed the recipe exactly, but added some diced celery and water chestnuts. It is delicious!
Thank you, Wendy!
I can’t wait to try this recipe
Delicious just as the recipe called for; I used ground pork and it was very tasty! Will add this to my recipe rotation!
Thanks, Brenda!
Finally. A recipe with great flavor! Every time I’ve made egg roll in a bowl I always feel like there’s something missing. This recipe has it! We will make this often in our house!
Thank you so much, Rose! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
This is soooo delicious! I’ve made it twice now and the family has raved both times. It’s going in the rotation and I’ve shared with several friends/family. So simple, easy, and healthy. Thanks!
Thank you, Kristen!
This recipe is a staple in our household – a go-to especially when we want a quick, easy dinner. Thank you so much!
We’re so happy to hear this!
I made this with cut up chicken breast. Also added water chestnuts for some crunch. Being diabetic we served it over rice cauliflower. The Mayo sriracha is a must along with the sesame oil and hoisin sauce. So good.
Thank you, Barb!
I have made this several times and love it. This time I added more sesame oil and hoisin sauce at the end in addition to the beginning. Love that it had more flavour.
Thank you, Sue!
This dish is must and is soo good. My husband would have eaten the whole skillet if he could. I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and it came out great and I also added on top sweet chili ginger sauce it’s was the finishing touch.
Sounds delicious, Melissa! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it twice and my husband raved about it!
Thank you, Carol!!
Made this yesterday for dinner, delicious! Used fresh ginger instead of ground and I only had purple cabbage, so used that (along with shredded carrots). The cabbage got sort of caramelized and the overall taste was amazing! I think the hoisin adds a nice touch too.
Thank you!
Thank you, Linda!
This recipe looks great. Any suggestions what to serve with it? Thanks!
Hi Amy!
This recipe is super filing on its own. However, you could also serve it over rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles!