Vietnamese Spring Rolls

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Updated Jun 22, 2022

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Vietnamese spring rolls are the perfect veggie-heavy, light and healthy spring meal. They’re filled with shrimp, baby spinach, asparagus, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage and sprouts and served with a delicious almond butter dipping sauce.

For the last few weeks I’ve been pondering what recipes to include in a Spring themed meal prep video. And the one recipe that’s been stuck in my head, that I essentially built this entire seasonal meal prep around, was these Vietnamese spring rolls. I mean, they have spring in the name – perfect for a spring meal prep!

Of course, you don’t have to meal prep any of this recipe. You can cook it exactly as the recipe is written below, when the craving strikes. But if you would like to include it as part of your weekly meal prep or if you’d just like to watch me make them, click the video below.

What are Vietnamese Spring Rolls?

Vietnamese spring rolls (also known as “summer rolls”) are rice paper rolls filled with a variety of vegetables and protein, including shrimp or pork.

Unlike Chinese spring rolls which are fried and crispy, Vietnamese spring rolls are not cooked and are served fresh. Vietnamese spring rolls are great for this time of year when the weather is warming and our bodies start to crave lighter, healthier meals.

How to Make Vietnamese Spring Rolls

The great thing about these rolls is that they’re easily customizable. Whatever veggies are in season, feel free to use them!

Today, I’m adding baby spinach, asparagus, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage and mung bean sprouts. But instead of baby spinach you could use butter lettuce or romaine and instead of mung bean sprouts you could radish sprouts, microgreens or rice noodles.

Pro Tip: make sure harder veggies like carrots, cucumber and red cabbage are thinly chopped, which makes rolling them easier.

To assemble the spring rolls:

Dip a rice paper wrapper in warm water for a few seconds then place it on your countertop (or a cutting board if you have a tile countertop).
Layer the ingredients towards one end, then begin rolling.
When you’ve rolled about 2/3 of the way, lay a few pieces of shrimp (cut in half) then finish rolling.
Slice them in half, serve them up with the dipping sauce and enjoy!

You’ll notice in the photos that I didn’t tuck the ends when I wrapped these, but that’s entirely up to you. If you’d prefer to tuck the ends in, go for it. I personally like the asparagus spears dangling out the ends and the longer spring rolls give me an extra dip in the almond butter dipping sauce. Always a good thing!

Is the Vietnamese Spring Rolls Dipping Sauce Gluten-Free?

Most dipping sauces for spring rolls are not gluten-free as they contain soy sauce or hoisin sauce (which also includes soy sauce). And most include peanut butter.

I personally have no problems with peanut butter, but as my nephew has a peanut allergy I’ve always used almond butter rather than peanut butter in my recipes. And in this case, I think you’re really gonna love it.

So what’s in my dipping sauce? Almond butter, tamari, blackstrap molasses, toasted sesame oil, vinegar, garlic and lime juice. It’s savory, umami, a little bit salty and mighty tasty. You could also replace the tamari with coconut aminos for a soy-free and paleo-friendly alternative.

If you’ve never heard of tamari or coconut aminos, make sure to check out my article that highlights the differences between tamari, soy sauce and coconut aminos.

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