Unstuffed Egg Rolls in a Bowl

Try this healthy one-pan meal for a balanced weeknight dinner. These unstuffed egg rolls have all the delicious fillings of your favorite takeout egg roll without the wrapper!

Say hello to my favorite lazy weeknight dinner as a dietitian: unstuffed egg rolls!

This healthy one-pan recipe takes less than 30-minutes to make and tastes so, so good. It’s got ground pork, cabbage and soy sauce–everything delicious you’d find in a usual takeout egg roll without the wrapper. AND it uses a secret everyday ingredient to make it extra quick and weeknight friendly. 

If you love fried rice or traditional egg rolls… you’re definitely going to want to add these unstuffed egg rolls to your weeknight dinner rotation!

Why you’ll love these unstuffed egg rolls

There’s so many reasons to love this easy and healthy recipe.

• One pan: which makes for a quick and easy clean-up too
• Balanced: you won’t need to add any side dishes to make this meal filling and healthy
• Few ingredients: this recipe is not only delicious, it’s simple and inexpensive too
• No chopping required: my weeknight dinner motto is ‘the less work, the better!’
• Uses frozen vegetables: finally a delicious way to use them

Ingredient notes

You’ll only need these 10 ingredients to make unstuffed egg rolls:

• Vegetable oil or cooking spray: if you’re using ground pork or beef in a non-stick pan, you can skip this.
• Lean ground pork: feel free to sub ground beef, chicken or turkey. Scroll down for vegetarian options too.
• Green onions: any finely chopped onion will work, but these give the best flavor.
• Frozen vegetable blend: I use the blend with corn, peas and carrots, but any mix you like will work.
• Coleslaw mix: my favorite easy vegetable option! If you can’t find it, sub for 3 cups of shredded or finely chopped cabbage.
• Cooked and cooled rice: cooking and cooling in advance helps prevent mushiness. You can use freshly cooked rice, but the texture won’t be as good!
• Soy sauce: use low sodium if you wish. 
• Sriracha: if you don’t like spice, leave this out.
• Sesame oil: it brings the best flavor. Try to include this if you can!
• Salt and pepper: you don’t really *need* to add this since the soy sauce and sriracha offer so much seasoning. But taste and adjust to your liking if needed!

Step-by-step instructions

Here’s how to make these easy unstuffed egg rolls.

Step 1: Cook the meat.

Heat a large pan with oil or cooking spray to medium high heat. Add ground pork and cook until very little pink remains. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up meat into crumbles as it cooks, stirring every 2-3 minutes for even cooking.

Step 2: Add onions and garlic. 

When meat is almost done cooking, add green onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant and the onions are slightly translucent. Mixture will be done when meat is completely browned and no pink remains.

Step 3: Remove meat from pan.

Remove meat, onions and garlic from the pan and set aside. Drain some of the remaining meat juices, leaving about 1 Tbsp in the pan.

Step 4: Add frozen vegetables.

To the same pan, add frozen vegetables. You will notice excess moisture in the pan as the vegetables thaw. Cook for 4-5 minutes uncovered, stirring halfway. Cook until vegetables are thawed and most of the liquid has evaporated. 

Step 5: Add coleslaw mix.

Add coleslaw mixture to the pan with the other vegetables and stir until combined. Cover with lid and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the lid, stir well, and cover with lid again. Repeat this process 2-3 times or until coleslaw is cooked down and translucent, and vegetables begin to brown.

Step 6: Add rice and seasonings, and add the meat back.

Add rice, soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, and cooked meat mixture to the pan and stir well until ingredients are evenly combined and rice appears as an even color. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Step 7: Serve and enjoy!

Serve rice into bowls and add toppings as desired. Enjoy immediately!

Variations

Try these variations of the unstuffed egg roll bowls:

• Extra protein: add 1-2 scrambled eggs
• No red meat: sub pork for ground chicken or turkey
• Plant-based: use crumbled tofu instead of meat
• Shrimp: use shrimp instead of pork
• Mild: leave the sriracha out
• Low carb: use less rice or sub for cauliflower rice
• Lower sodium: use low sodium soy sauce

Tips for success

• Make sure to use a really big pan!
• Don’t add garlic too early or it will burn.
• Short or medium grain rice works better than long grain rice.
• Make sure to cook the excess moisture out of the frozen vegetables before adding other ingredients.
• Use cooked and cooled rice instead of fresh for the best texture.
• Top with green onions, sriracha, sesame seeds or kewpie mayonnaise before serving

Frequently asked questions

What is an unstuffed egg roll?

This is just a fun term to describe a skillet version of a traditional egg roll. Unstuffed egg rolls contain similar fillings and seasonings to an egg roll but it’s served in a bowl instead of a rice paper wrapper.

What if I don’t like pork?

You can sub ground pork for ground beef, turkey or chicken! Or try shrimp or crumbled tofu for non-meat options.

How can I make this low carb or keto-friendly?

Feel free to omit the rice in this recipe if you’d prefer a low carb or keto-friendly meal. Or try adding cauliflower rice instead. But don’t forget… it’s totally possible to find balance with carbs instead of cutting them out!

How should I store leftovers?

Leftovers are best stored in individual portions in airtight containers in the fridge or freezer. 

How long will this last in the fridge or freezer?

Unstuffed egg rolls will stay good for 3 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.

More easy dinner ideas

Need more healthy dinner ideas that aren’t hard to make? Try these!

• Pesto chicken quinoa bowl
• Nacho salad with creamy salsa dressing
• Easy air fryer frittata