Egg Roll In A Bowl

At a glance

What stands out: Besides having a fun name, egg roll in a bowl is a rich and lighter entrée that’s similar to deep-fried egg rolls (and much easier to make!). It’s a one pan dinner that’s ready in a half hour.

How long it takes: 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet
Servings: 4 (2 cup servings)

Egg Roll In a Bowl

A straightforward skillet dinner. You’ll find all the goodies that are usually wrapped up in an egg roll made all in one pan: ground pork, shredded cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. The mixture is seasoned with a spicy tangy sauce and just a hint of toasted sesame. Top the bowl with crispy wonton strips and a drizzle of sriracha and you have some good eating! (Be sure to try our air fryer egg rolls, too, if you’re a fan of egg rolls.)

A fun name! “Egg roll in a bowl” is fun to say! We just keep thinking of an egg rolling around in a bowl, or some sort of game where you roll (or bowl) eggs. The name is kind of a misnomer though. You won’t find any eggs in this recipe at all.

P.S. If you like a “meal in a bowl” idea, try BBQ chicken bowl or chicken teriyaki bowl, too!

Why we Love Egg Roll In a Bowl

It’s a shortcut. We all love the idea of shortcuts, right? We like to use a couple of shortcuts and make this recipe with packaged coleslaw mix and matchstick carrots. We can’t believe how much we like this recipe. It’s become one of our go-to dinners especially when we've been on the run all day.

The recipe is versatile. While egg rolls are typically made with pork, you can use whatever type of ground meat you like best: beef, chicken, turkey or pork. We find that ground turkey or chicken is leaner. Vegetarians or vegans could choose extra firm tofu or tempeh. If you want to make it into a more filling meal, you could serve it on rice. We usually find that it’s satisfying on its own though.

A bowl is healthier than an egg roll. We all love egg rolls, don’t we? But usually they are deep-fried and let’s face it, kind of greasy. They’re usually served as an appetizer, not a meal. Egg roll in a bowl is low carb, has lots of protein, and only 268 calories for a generous serving.

You only need 30 minutes to make it! If you have just a half hour, you can make this straightforward dinner. Let’s get rolling! Yeah, the pun is intended.

Bob U. Said:

“This recipe is great. It is the type of recipe when you’re walking away from the table, your taste buds are screaming for you to go back for more.”

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What goes in

• Ground Meat: Choose your favorite: chicken, pork, turkey, or beef. Each one naturally will have a distinct flavor profile in this dish. We prefer the subtler flavor of ground chicken or ground pork. Make sure you choose a lean cut. If the meat is fatty, drain off the excess grease.
• Savories: Chopped onions and mushrooms are sautéed right along with the meat.
• Fresh Garlic and Ginger Root: This duo packs a powerful punch of flavor. Fresh garlic and ginger are definitely best, but ground ginger will do in a pinch.
• Coleslaw Mix (or Shredded Cabbage): For convenience, use a package of coleslaw mix. It’s straightforward and has a good texture for this recipe. If you prefer, shred your own cabbage. (And if you think cabbage only belongs in a salad, try our quinoa spring roll salad!)
• Carrots: Packaged matchstick carrots are straightforward and work well. If you prefer smaller, less noticeable pieces of carrot, shred a whole carrot instead.
• Green Onions (Scallions): Green onions add mild onion flavor and color.
• From-scratch Sauce: The base of the straightforward sauce is soy sauce. We usually choose low-sodium soy sauce. Rice vinegar adds a tangy element, sriracha a spicy zing, and cornstarch thickens the sauce.
• Sesame Seeds, Wonton Strips, Sriracha, Green Onions: Used as toppings, you can choose one or all of them, or maybe you have something else you’d like to use. We like these spicy Korean pickles!

Sesame Oil or Toasted Sesame Oil

Plain sesame oil is pressed from sesame seeds and is has a neutral flavor and is light in color. It’s good for frying because it has a high smoke point.

Toasted sesame oil is dark brown in color and has a distinctive flavor: toasted, nutty, earthy. Because it has a strong flavor, it’s used sparingly as a finishing oil. A few drops go a long way!

How it comes together

Get ready. Gather everything you need before putting the pan on the burner. Once you get started frying, you won’t have time to start chopping veggies or mixing up a sauce.

Prep the veggies. Dice the onion and mushrooms. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger root. Slice the green onions and grate the carrots if you’re not using matchstick carrots.

Make the sauce. Mix up the sauce ingredients (soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, cornstarch) in a small bowl or measuring cup.

Brown the ground meat. Okay, now put a nice big skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Add a couple teaspoons of oil and then add the ground meat, onions, and mushrooms. Break up the large chunks of meat with a spatula or wooden scraper. Cook it until there’s no longer any pink color and the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 10 minutes.

Add the aromatics. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring constantly for about a minute. It should smell fragrant.

Add the veggies. Stir in the coleslaw mix, carrots, and green onions. Here’s why you need a large skillet. Six cups of cabbage is a lot of cabbage but don’t worry, it cooks down a lot. If it doesn’t all fit at first, put as much as you can in, cook it a minute or two until it settles down a little, then add the rest.

Stir in the sauce. Give the bowl of sauce ingredients a little stir to make sure the cornstarch hasn’t settled to the bottom. It has a tendency to do that. Add the sauce to the pan and stir until the sauce coats the vegetables and meat.

Serve. That’s it! You’re ready to garnish and serve your egg roll in a bowl.

Garnish each serving with toppings of your choice: a drizzle of Sriracha, crispy wonton strips (which are like the crisp wrapping of an egg roll), a few sliced green onions, and/or sesame seeds.

Ways to change it

• Choose your protein: Use whatever type of ground meat you like best (or happen to have) or make it vegetarian with extra-firm tofu or tempeh. A couple of scrambled eggs stirred in is good too.
• Serve it as a side dish. Omit the meat altogether and serve “egg roll on a plate” with Asian marinated grilled chicken or soy glazed salmon.
• Serve it with rice. Cooked rice, couscous, quinoa, or another grain round out the meal nicely.
• Omit the mushrooms. Substitute finely chopped bell peppers or another vegetable of your choice.
• Leave out the sesame. Our family is allergic to sesame so we omit both the sesame oil and sesame seed garnish. This dish has plenty of flavor regardless. If you’re a big fan of sesame, a few drops of toasted sesame oil adds another dimension of flavor that is wonderful.
• Rather have a stir fry? Try beef stir fry with vegetables. It’s a good all-purpose stir fry with lots of different options.
• This recipe is somewhat similar to chicken lettuce wraps without the lettuce.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Store leftovers in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container. It will keep for three days or so. It’s quite good reheated and makes a great lunch the next day. We haven’t tried freezing it. We'd love to hear back from you if you happen to try it.

Reheat: Warm up individual portions in the microwave or reheat larger amounts in a skillet until warmed through.

Leftover Love

For a straightforward lunch, prepare a package of ramen noodles (such as Maruchan) and add a few good spoonfuls of “egg roll in a bowl” to enrich the soup.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #25, Meal Plan #48, Meal Plan #80, or Meal Plan #98. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list.

Browse Meal Plans

Straightforward Skillet Dinners

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive or avocado oil
• 16 ounces ground meat (chicken, pork, turkey, or beef)
• 1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 8 ounces mushrooms (white or cremini), finely diced
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
• 1 bag (16 ounces) coleslaw mix (or 6 cups shredded cabbage)
• 1 cup grated or matchstick carrots
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced (more for garnish)
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce (see note)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sriracha, more to taste
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (see note)

Optional Garnishes

• green onions, thinly sliced
• sesame seeds
• wonton strips

Method

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add ground meat, onion, and mushrooms, and cook until meat is browned and cooked all the way through, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and continue to cook for one minute or until fragrant.
2. Add coleslaw mix, carrots, and green onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil (if using), and cornstarch. Pour into pan and cook, stirring, until all ingredients are coated with sauce.
4. Serve sprinkled with additional green onions, Sriracha, wonton strips, or sesame seeds. If desired, serve on steamed rice.

Notes

Nutrition note: Nutrition information is calculated for a 2-cup serving, made with ground chicken. It does not include toppings or rice.

Keto or Whole30: Substitute coconut aminos for soy sauce, and arrowroot starch for cornstarch.

Vegetarian/vegan: Use extra-firm tofu, pressed and crumbled, or tempeh, instead of ground meat.