Air Fryer Spring Rolls are crisp all the way around, with a savory pork and cabbage filling, and none of the oil splatters that come with deep frying. I use bagged tricolor coleslaw mix instead of shredding cabbage and carrots myself, which cuts the prep time by a good margin without costing anything in flavor. Garlic, green onions, soy sauce, and ginger season the pork, and a few minutes in the air fryer gets the wrappers shatteringly crisp.
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In all honesty, I’m a pretty lazy cook, and this is the kind of recipe I love. Air frying instead of deep frying or pan frying saves real cleanup, not just cooking time, since there’s no pot of oil to strain and store afterward. The filling itself doesn’t need much fuss either; garlic, green onions, soy sauce, and ginger do the flavor work, and the coleslaw mix is already prepped by the time it hits the pan.
Ingredient Notes
You won’t believe how flavorful these crispy spring rolls are, even though they don’t have a ton of ingredients. Here’s are a few notes on the ingredients:
- Oil: You can use any type of oil you like or have on hand. I like to use avocado oil, but vegetable oil or canola oil are fine, too. If you use spray oil, either spray the rolls before you put them in the air fryer or use a spray oil that doesn’t have any additives in it. Additives like accelerants can degrade the nonstick coating on your air fryer basket.
- Meat: You can substitute ground turkey or chicken if you like, or even diced Air Fryer Pork Belly.
- Veggies: I like to use tri-color coleslaw mix since it’s pre-sliced, which saves me time.
- Spring roll wrappers: You can find spring roll wrappers in almost any supermarket, usually in the produce section, alongside tofu and other vegetarian protein options. For these, I use the more delicate spring roll wrappers rather than the thicker egg roll wrappers, but you can switch them out if you want. Just know that egg roll wrappers will turn out chewier while spring roll wrappers will be crisper. Some day I’d like to try substituting rice paper wrappers since I have a family member who avoids wheat.
How to Make Spring Rolls In the Air Fryer
Start the filling by toasting sesame seeds in a little oil until they turn golden, then brown the ground pork with them in the same skillet. Once the pork has mostly cooked through, add the aromatics and seasonings—garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, green onions—and cook until the liquid mostly evaporates. Stir in the coleslaw mix last and cook it just until it wilts, which keeps some texture in the filling instead of turning it mushy.
To wrap, lay each wrapper in a diamond orientation and spoon the filling into the center, in a line parallel to your body. Fold the two side corners in over the filling, then roll from the bottom corner up, squeezing out air as you go, and seal the last corner with a little water. A tight roll matters here. A loose one is more likely to burst open in the air fryer.
Arrange the rolls in a single layer in the basket, with space between them so air can circulate, and spray them with oil before cooking. Crowding the basket is the most common reason spring rolls come out with pale, dry patches instead of an even golden crust. Flip them halfway through cooking so both sides get equal exposure to the heat.
Tips for success
These crispy spring rolls are easy to make. Here are a few tips to ensure success.
- Set up your station before you start rolling: wrappers, a small dish of water, the filling, and the air fryer basket all within reach of your cutting board.
- About 3 tablespoons of filling per wrapper is the right amount; overfilling can cause the wrappers to burst wrapper.
- You can make these ahead. Fill and roll the spring rolls, then cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 12 hours before cooking.
What to serve with them
Serve these with a dipping sauce on the side — sweet and sour sauce, Chinese hot mustard, Prik Nam Pla, or Thai sweet chili sauce are all good options depending on how much heat you want.
They fit well into a snacky spread alongside Air Fryer Wontons, Air Fryer Taquitos, or Air Fryer Jalapeno Popper Bites for a game day or movie night lineup. As a starter before a bigger Chinese meal, I like them ahead of Szechuan Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken, or Salt and Pepper Chicken.
Air Fryer Spring Rolls
Robin Donovan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups of tricolor coleslaw mix
- 8 spring roll wrappers
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the oil and add the sesame seeds. Once the seeds turn golden brown, add the meat and cook, stirring, until browned. Add the onion powder, pepper, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and green onions. Cook until most of the juices evaporate. Add the coleslaw mix and cook about 2 minutes more, until wilted.
- Lay a spring roll wrapper in a diamond orientation. Place 2 to 3 spoonfuls of meat in the center, in a line parallel to your body.
- Lightly wet the edge of the wrapper with water. Fold left and right corners into the center, over the filling.
- Fold the bottom corner up and roll the wrapper around the filling, squeezing the air out as you roll. Lightly wet the exposed corner to seal it down.
- Spray the air fryer basket with oil and arrange the spring rolls in the basket. Spray the spring rolls with oil.
- Cook on 380°F for 8 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking, until the spring rolls are crisp and golden brown on all sides.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Hi,
How do I update the serving size to make more? This recipe calls for 8 only. I need to make at least 20 spring rolls.
Tx
Connie
You can just multiply times 3 (to make 24)!
These were so good, I’m most definitely making more tomorrow 🙂
Our ingredients were Indonesian (different spicing). We used Chinese Spring Roll wrappers. In our Ninja Foodi, we cooked them on the “Air Broil” setting (450F) for 4 minutes on each side. Browned to perfection and non-greasy!
Thank you for the recipe.
I haven’t made these yet, but I’m sure I can! I’m taking these to a friend’s house and am wondering if the hour or so between frying and serving will ruin them. Thank you!
They’ll definitely be best straight out of the air fryer. If you can, reheat them just before serving so the wrappers will be nice and crisp.
Can you freeze the spring rolls.
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I think it would be fine.