Vegan Summer Rolls with Fresh Basil

A light & healthy dinner for nights you don’t feel like cooking. Vegan summer rolls stuffed with crisp vegetables, tofu & basil. Spicy peanut sauce to dip!

Vegan summer rolls! I fondly like to think of these guys as kitchen sink rolls, mostly because everything and anything can go into them, and they will always taste amazing. Also, I prefer to eat them over my kitchen sink to allow for extra peanut sauce to drip down my fingers.

I like to keep a package of rice paper wrappers in the pantry at all times, especially when I have a produce drawer full of vegetable scraps. 1/2 a pepper here, 1/4 head of cabbage there, throw in 2 scallions, just chop up and add some basil and you are good to go.

I absolutely adore Vietnamese food. There’s a place in St. Louis that I head to at least once a month and always order the exact same thing: an order of fresh spring rolls and the vegetarian pho.  Thankfully, BL doesn’t get the appeal so I get to enjoy both of the rolls each time we go.

I know these often sound difficult to make, but I promise that they are very simple to put together once you get the hang of rolling. The biggest pain, in my opinion, is prepping all of your ingredients ahead of time. To slice the carrots, peppers and cucumber in record time I used this julienne peeler. It’s probably the best $7 you could spend if you do a lot of slicing. It also makes for perfect, thinly-sliced vegetables for salads and slaws.

How to Make Vegan Summer Rolls

You can purchase spring roll wrappers online, at specialty grocery stores or at some well-stocked grocery stores. I typically grab mine at Dierburgs in St. Louis or at Whole Foods. If you have a hard time finding them, then grab a couple of packages at a time- trust me, you’ll use them once you see how easy they are to make!

Place all of your prepped ingredients on a large plate near your work station, then fill a large, shallow bowl with warm water.

One at a time, place a spring roll wrapper into the bowl and let soak for 15-20 seconds until just softened. Take care not to let them oversoak, or they will become too soft to roll.

Remove the spring roll wrapper from the bowl and place on a clean surface. Place all of your ingredients on the rolls, stacking them in the center. Then, roll like a burrito. Start from one shorter end and cover the toppings, pulling the wrap underneath them. Tuck the two long sides in, then roll again to seal.

It’s OK if your first one doesn’t work out; consider it a little snack while you wrap the others. I don’t worry about small tears, but if the filling starts to come out then you can either place it on another wrap and double wrap them or just start over again.

If you like these, then you’ll want to try my other spring roll recipes: mango avocado rolls, & Vietnamese tofu rolls. Vietnamese tofu rolls.

If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking! 

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