Air-Fryer Egg Rolls

If you have a hankering for crispy egg rolls with sweet dipping sauce but are looking for a lighter version of the usual takeout staple, then these air fryer egg rolls are for you. It’s one of our favorite egg roll recipes because of how easy it is, especially when the air fryer saves you from having to heat up all of that oil to fry! Stuffed with a tasty chicken and veggie mixture doused in sweet Chinese-style barbecue sauce, these egg rolls are about to be your new go-to party snack when you have guests over.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Egg Rolls

• Fresh bean sprouts: Bean sprouts add that fresh crunch inside the egg roll that gives it texture and taste.
• Ground chicken: Using ground chicken helps to break the protein into smaller pieces. This makes it easier to scoop filling into the wrappers.
• Green onions, ginger root and garlic: These are used as the aromatics inside the egg roll and provide a fresh flavor to all of the added vegetable.
• Chinese-style barbecue sauce: Look for bottles or jars that say char siu sauce. A Japanese barbecue sauce could also work well for these egg rolls in the air fryer if you can’t find it.
• Fish sauce: Pairs well with the sweet flavor of the Chinese barbecue sauce. You could also use soy sauce if you don’t have fish sauce on hand.
• Coleslaw mix: A package of coleslaw mix (with shredded cabbage and carrots) makes it easy to add a volume of vegetables to these air fryer egg rolls.
• Frozen spinach: Thaw and squeezed dry the spinach. It adds more volume and flavor to your egg roll filling.
• Egg roll wrappers: Buy a package of pre-made 18 egg roll wrappers for easy wrapping and sealing.
• Cooking spray: For spraying the outside of your egg rolls so they get golden and crispy.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the bean sprouts

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In a small bowl, pour hot water over bean sprouts. Let them stand for five minutes and then drain.

Step 2: Toss the chicken mixture

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In a Dutch oven, cook the chicken—breaking the chicken into crumbles—over medium heat until it’s no longer pink. This takes about six to eight minutes. Add the green onions, ginger and garlic and cook for one minute longer and then drain. Stir in the 1/2 cup of Chinese-style sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce and transfer to a bowl.

Step 3: Stir the coleslaw mix

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Wipe the Dutch oven clean and then cook and stir in the coleslaw mix, spinach and drained bean sprouts over medium heat until the vegetables are crisp and tender. This should take four to five minutes. Then stir in the chicken mixture and remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly.

Step 4: Assemble the egg rolls

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Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Meanwhile, with the corner of an egg roll wrapper facing you, place 1/3 cup filling just below the center of the wrapper. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper over the filling. Moisten the remaining wrapper edges with water and fold the side corners toward the center over the filling. Roll tightly and press to seal. Repeat with the other egg rolls.

Test Kitchen Tip: Cover the remaining wrappers with a damp paper towel to keep the wrappers moist before use.

Step 5: Air fry the egg rolls

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In small batches, arrange the egg rolls in a single layer in a greased air-fryer basket. Spritz with cooking spray and cook until golden brown, about 8 to 12 minutes. Turn the egg rolls and spritz with additional spray, then cook for another four to six minutes longer. Serve with the remaining Chinese-style sauce.

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Recipe Variations

• Swap out chicken with pork: This recipe also works just as well with pork.
• Get creative with your vegetables: Not a fan of coleslaw mix and bean sprouts? Feel free to swap them out and add vegetables that you like! Some of our favorites vegetables to add to egg rolls include mushrooms, bok choy, carrots or water chestnuts.
• Make your own dipping sauce: A store-bought sauce certainly makes things easy (especially when that sauce is used in this recipe), but if you’re feeling ambitious you could always make your own dipping sauce for these egg rolls, like this sweet-hot Asian dipping sauce.

How to Store Air Fryer Egg Rolls

We highly suggest waiting to air fry your egg rolls when you’re ready to eat them and then consume them right away. Otherwise they’ll get soggy and the texture just won’t be as good. Nevertheless, if you do have some leftovers the best thing to do is place the cooked egg rolls in the freezer in an airtight container or freezer zip top plastic bag. Pop them back in the air fryer when you’re ready to have them.

Can you make air fryer egg rolls ahead of time?

Yes! If you want to get some of the prep work done ahead of time you can make the filling a day or two ahead of time. The prepared egg rolls (before going in the air fryer) will also last well in the fridge for a few hours before cooking, or even frozen for up to three months.

Air Fryer Egg Rolls Tips

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Why are my egg rolls not crispy?

If you let a fresh egg roll sit out for too long, the sauce inside of it might start to make that egg roll wrapper soggy. This makes it hard to crisp up. If you prepare the egg rolls in advance, place them in the fridge and be sure to air fry them in a couple hours. If you don’t, place them in the freezer instead so the outside wrapper stays fresh and will get crispy. Adding too much sauce in the inside might also result in a soggy egg roll.

How long do air fry frozen egg rolls?

If you decided to freeze your air fryer egg rolls, they might need a little bit longer to cook compared to a fresh egg roll. It will likely need a little more time on each side (perhaps an extra 10 minutes total) so the inside is sufficiently cooked.

What can you serve with air fryer egg rolls?

A couple of these egg rolls could be substantially filling enough for a meal. However, if you’re looking to feed a crowd you can serve these with a variety of Chinese and Chinese-American dishes, including stir-fry and fried rice.