Enjoy light and fresh spring rolls with ease at home! Made with sweet mangoes, crisp vegetables, tender rice noodles, and the most delicious homemade peanut dipping sauce, these spring rolls make a perfect appetizer or light entrée.
Copycat Fresh Spring Roll Recipe
If you’ve been following my recipes for a while, you know I love recreating restaurant favorites using easy to find ingredients. And today’s recipe for Fresh Spring Rolls is not only one of my favorites, it also proves that homemade often tastes even better than takeout.
With the freshest of produce, the option to add shrimp, and a ridiculously delicious (and easy!) peanut dipping sauce, these Fresh Spring Rolls are super light, incredibly vibrant, and oh-so-refreshing–not to mention fun to make!
The cherry on top? Making Fresh Spring Rolls at home saves you money and lets you control the quality of ingredients to easily customize the flavors to suit your family’s preferences and dietary needs. It’s a win all around.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
Key Tips for Making Fresh Spring Rolls at Home
Before we dive into the ingredients and step-by-step process of making spring rolls, let me share a couple key tips that will ensure success.
- Have Ingredients Ready. Chop the produce and cook the rice noodles and shrimp before you start assembling the spring rolls. This makes the process more efficient.
- Use a Tea Towel. Lightly dampen a tea towel with water and use this to place your spring roll wrappers after dipping them in water. This helps to prevent the spring roll wrapper from sticking to the surface and keeps it from drying out.
- Don’t Overfill. Use a light hand when adding the filling. Otherwise, your spring roll will be likely to tear.
Notes on Ingredients
Don’t be alarmed by the number of ingredients pictured below, as the ingredients for the peanut dipping sauce are included. You also can mix and match the fresh produce based on what you have on hand or enjoy.
- Spring Roll Wrappers: You can find spring roll wrappers in the Asian section of most grocery stores. They can be labeled as rice paper wrappers or spring roll wrappers.
- Rice Vermicelli: Look for vermicelli or extremely thin rice noodles, right in the Asian section near the spring roll wrappers.
- Fruit & Vegetables: You can use any firm, ripe fresh produce you like. My favorite combination is julienned cucumbers, thinly sliced carrots, sliced red bell peppers, fresh mango, and shredded cabbage. Asparagus, sugar snap peas, raw summer squash, edamame, and broccoli slaw are great options as well.
- Leaf Lettuce: Use a soft lettuce, like Boston Bibb or green leaf lettuce as a barrier between the rice paper wrap and the fillings The lettuce makes the spring roll easier to roll and less likely to tear.
- Herbs: Mint and cilantro add fresh and bright flavor. Basil is another good option here.
- Shrimp (optional): If you would like to add shrimp, use precooked small or medium deveined shrimp that have had the tails removed.
- Peanut Dipping Sauce: The sauce is made with peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and maple syrup. There are quite a few ingredients, but most are found in a well-stocked pantry.
How to Make Fresh Spring Rolls
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare Peanut Dipping Sauce. The sauce is made simply by blending all the ingredients together in a blender or a small food processor. If you don’t want to go to the hassle of whipping out a food processor, simply whisk vigorously by hand.
Not a Fan of Peanut Sauce?
You can certainly skip making the peanut sauce and serve the spring rolls with soy sauce, Chinese hot mustard, sweet chili sauce, or even Bang Bang sauce. That said, the rich and creamy peanut sauce is a perfect contrast to the light and fresh components in these spring rolls.
- Dampen Rice Paper Wrapper. Working with one wrapper at a time, dip the spring roll in a shallow dish of water (a pie plate works great!). Let it soak for 5-10 seconds until just pliable.
- Layer Fillings. Add a slice of lettuce in the center of the spring roll wrapper. Top with a thin layer of cooked rice noodles, sliced vegetables and fruit, and a couple mint leaves and cilantro leaves. If desired, add 3-4 pieces of cooked shrimp as the last layer.
- Tuck and Roll. When it comes to rolling your spring rolls, think of it like an envelope. First, pull the bottom of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the sides tightly. Then tightly roll.
- Cut and Serve. Right before serving, cut on the diagonal to reveal the beautiful filling. Then serve with the peanut sauce for dipping. So good!
How to Store Spring Rolls
While spring rolls are best served shortly after preparation, you can store them for up to 24 days in the refrigerator. Follow the following tips to keep the spring rolls from drying out or sticking together.
- Do NOT cut spring rolls prior to serving.
- Roll each spring roll in a slightly damp paper towel and then each roll tightly in in plastic wrap.
- Place the wrapped spring rolls in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- Store the peanut sauce in a separate airtight container for up to 3 days.
More Favorite Asian-Inspired Appetizers
Did you make this recipe?
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For the spring rolls:
- 1 package spring roll wrappers, 8-10 per package
- 2 ounces rice vermicelli
- 8 butter lettuce leaves or any soft lettuce, ribs removed, torn into small pieces
- 2 medium mangos, peeled and sliced into thin strips
- 1 large red pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded or sliced into thin strips
- 1 large English cucumber, sliced into thin strips
- 1 cup very thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1 pound small cooked shrimp, deveined, tails removed, optional
- 1 small bunch cilantro
- 1 small bunch fresh mint
Prevent your screen from going dark
Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing together ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1 clove garlic (minced) and ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes in a small food processor, blender, or by whisking by hand if needed. If needed, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the sauce to a dipping consistency. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Prepare Rice Noodles. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 2 ounces rice vermicelli to the boiling water, turn off the heat and allow the noodles to sit in the hot water, according to package directions. This is about 5-10 minutes depending on the brand. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water.
Prepare station for spring rolls by gathering fillings (vegetables, herbs, noodles, mango, and shrimp) and filling a shallow pan (a pie pan or 9″ round cake pan works great) with an inch of warm water. Dampen a lint-free tea towel to use on top of the work station as well.
Dampen Wrapper. Place one spring roll wrapper in the water for 15-20 seconds, or until JUST pliable but still has some structure. Carefully remove from the water and lay it flat on the towel.
Assemble Spring Rolls. Leaving about 1 inch of open rice paper around the edges, cover the lower third of the paper with a few pieces of the torn lettuce. Arrange a small handful of rice noodles, some cabbage, a few strips of carrot, cucumber, red pepper, and mango over the center of the lettuce leaf. Top with 2 mint leaves and 2 cilantro leaves. Arrange 3 pieces of shrimp about right above the vegetable/herb filling. Make sure that the pink side of the shrimp is facing down.
Roll. Grab the lower edge of the rice paper and tightly roll up the spring roll to the shrimp. Once you have reached the shrimp, fold in the left and right sides. Finish rolling up the spring roll all the way to the end.
Repeat the rolling process with the rest of the ingredients.
Cut the spring rolls on a diagonal and serve the spring rolls with the dipping sauce.
Calories: 384kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 23gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 966mgPotassium: 775mgFiber: 5gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 7905IUVitamin C: 54mgCalcium: 195mgIron: 6mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in 2021 and updated in 2025.
