Fresh shrimp spring rolls with a delicious peanut dipping sauce. Each roll is filled with healthy crisp vegetables, rice noodles, seafood, and herbs. Impress family and friends with this easy appetizer!
Dip, chomp, crunch, eat, repeat! Fresh spring rolls are one of the easiest types of Vietnamese food to recreate at home. It’s a healthy seafood and vegetable appetizer encased in a delicate translucent rice paper wrapper.
The trick is mastering how long to soak the spring roll wrappers, to make the rolling process a breeze. But, it only takes a few seconds, so make sure that all of the filling ingredients are prepped first for an easy assembly process.
Filling ingredients
For traditional Vietnamese spring rolls, use a combination of crisp lettuce, shredded carrots, thinly sliced red cabbage and bean sprouts paired with the shrimp. Vermicelli rice noodles (Amazon link) also make each roll a little more hearty, yet still light.
I also add two to three pieces of fresh herbs like mint and cilantro for herbaceous notes with each bite. Don’t overfill the wrappers or wrap them too tight or they may break.
Preparing the shrimp
Buy the shrimp pre-cooked or simply blanch them in boiling water for about 1 to 2 minutes until they are pink and opaque. I recommend using the 16/20 count (extra jumbo) size and a white or pink type of shrimp. Cut them in half lengthwise so they’re easier to lay flat in the roll.
Using rice paper wrappers
Vietnamese spring roll paper wrappers (Amazon link) are like magic! You can buy them at most major grocery stores or Asian markets. They are very thin, dry translucent circular sheets made from rice. They measure close to 9-inches (22 cm) wide and can be filled with anything your heart desires.
How to make Vietnamese spring rolls
- Boil the rice noodles, rinse with cold water, drain, and refrigerate.
- Blanch the shrimp in hot water, chill, and then cut in half.
- Place a damp kitchen towel or paper towel on a cutting board.
- Fill a large bowl or pie dish with cool water.
- Dip one rice paper wrapper in the water for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Lay wrapper on the dampened towel.
- Add lettuce, rice noodles, carrots, cabbage and bean sprouts in the bottom third of the wrapper.
- Roll halfway up into a cylinder, then fold in the sides.
- Lay mint, parsley and two shrimp halves on top.
- Roll into a tight cylinder to seal.
Assembly Process
Simply dip one sheet in water for about 15 to 20 seconds, lay it on a damp towel (so it doesn’t stick) when filling and rolling. By the time you’re done adding the ingredients, the wrapper turns from rigid to flexible.
If you find that the wrappers start to get really sticky, just dip your fingers in water and use them to help separate the clingy areas.
Peanut dipping sauce
A sweet and savory peanut sauce is a must-have for these rolls. It’s a super simple blend of hoisin sauce, creamy peanut butter, and rice vinegar. The consistency is thick and luscious, perfect for dipping.
The hoisin sauce has a strong savory umami taste, so no additional soy sauce or fish sauce is needed. I find that the sauce is sweet enough from what’s already added to the peanut butter.
Feel free to adjust the sweetness level up or down, especially if you’re using unsweetened or homemade peanut butter. Maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, or coconut sugar are good options as well.
Other filling ideas to try
- Protein: Grilled chicken, Chinese barbecue pork, or tofu
- Vegetables: Sliced bell pepper, cucumber, spiralized vegetables
- Fruit: Mango, pineapple, or strawberries
How long will they last?
It’s best to eat them fresh within an hour or two of rolling. However, they can be covered with plastic wrap, refrigerated and enjoyed within 24 hours. Yet I’ve noticed that the rice wrapper can become more rigid as it loses moisture in the refrigerator when stored.
Don’t over soak the rice paper wrappers
The wrapper will still feel rigid when you remove it from the water. Don’t be tempted to soak longer than 20 seconds because it will be harder to work with. The starches in the paper become very sticky and pliable like glue when hydrated, tightly sealing in the filling.
Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, Marukan Seasoned Gourmet
- 1 tablespoon peanuts, chopped, plus extra for sprinkling
Shrimp Spring Rolls
- 6 ounces thin rice noodles, Thai Kitchen Thin
- 10 jumbo shrimp, 16-20 count
- 10 round rice paper wrappers, Three Ladies Brand
- 10 boston lettuce leaves, thick stem ends removed, cut in half
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup red cabbage, thinly shredded
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 20 mint leaves
- ½ cup cilantro leaves, lightly packed
Instructions
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- In a medium bowl whisk together hoisin sauce, peanut butter, water, rice vinegar, and peanuts until smooth. Add more water if you would like the consistency thinner.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
Shrimp Rolls
- In a medium pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the dried rice noodles and cook until tender but not mushy, about 4 to 6 minutes or according to package directions. Transfer to a colander and rinse with cold water, refrigerate until ready to use. Do not discard water.
- Bring the water to a boil, add shrimp and cook for 1 to 1 ½ minutes until shrimp is pink and opaque.
- Immediately remove the shrimp from the water, drain and cool in the refrigerator.
- Once cool, remove the shell if still attached and cut the shrimp lengthwise in half to give two pieces. Set aside.
- Fill a pie dish or large bowl with cool water, large enough to hold the piece of rice paper.
- Set a damp dish towel on a cutting board. Immerse one rice paper sheet into the water for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Remove, shaking off excess water and lay flat on the damp cloth. The paper may still seem stiff, however, it will become pliable as you build each roll.
- Lay one piece of lettuce over the bottom third of the rice paper. On the lettuce, place 2 to 3 tablespoon of noodles, 1 tablespoon of carrots, 1 tablespoon of cabbage, and a few bean sprouts.
- Roll up the paper halfway into a cylinder. Fold the sides in an envelope pattern.
- Lay 2 shrimp halves, cut side down, along the crease. Place a few cilantro and mint leaves next to the shrimp. Keep rolling the paper into a tight cylinder to seal.
- Repeat with remaining wrappers. Store with seam side down. Serve immediately with the peanut dipping sauce.
Recipe Video
Equipment
Notes
- Serving Size: 1 spring roll plus 1 ½ tablespoons dipping sauce.
- Red leaf, green leaf, or butter leaf lettuce can be substituted for Boston.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Brianna H. says
Delish and so fresh!! Made these tonight for dinner for my boyfriend and I!! He ate 5 rolls!! Will definitely make again, might try with pork or chicken next time!!
Jessica Gavin says
Wow, I’m impressed! Let me know how the spring rolls taste with chicken or pork, sound delicious!
Carrie Burns says
Perfect recipe, especially for a first-time basil roll maker! The double wrapper and lettuce wrap trick was great and the peanut sauce recipe was excellent!
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks for making the shrimp spring rolls, Carrie!
Joyce says
I’ve made fresh spring rolls before, but I love your recipe, especially the sauce!
One thing I wonder though is about how these could be 357 calories EACH! Fresh spring rolls are regarded as a healthy snack, and just one of these would not be what I consider healthy.
Every query about the calories in fresh spring rolls is much, much lower. After all, they are mostly vegetables, and shrimp is low cal too. The wrapper is about 45 calories. And 1T peanut butter is 95 cal, 1T Hoisin is 45 cal, and the rest of the sauce ingredients are negligible. At most, even with 1T sauce per spring roll, the most I’d think one spring roll with sauce would be around 150 cal. Can you clarify how you arrived at the calories in these? Thank you!
But mostly, thanks for the recipe!
Joyce says
Regardless of the calories, I made these tonight, and ate three of them for dinner. I used cilantro instead of mint or parsley, because I love it! It doesn’t taste like soap to me, and I love the fresh taste.
The sauce is….to die for. I’m so happy I found your recipe!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for making the recipe, Joyce!
Don says
Best rolls ever! Any tips on how to store them in the fridge over night without them ripping apart from sticking to the plate the next day?
Jessica Gavin says
I would individually wrap the rolls in plastic wrap. You can even place paper towel between the plastic wrap and the roll to make it less stocky when unrolling.
Lauren says
DO NOT wrap them in paper towel! It’s a bloody nightmare and you’ll need to re-roll everything
Wrap them in Saranwrap
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Lauren- I appreciate your feedback! Was the paper towel damp before placing the rice paper on top?
Christine Yoon-Taylor says
My friend and I made these together yesterday and they turned out absolutely amazing! Thanks for all the tips but especially about not leaving the wraps in water for more than 20 seconds and the peanut sauce alternatives. My daughter is allergic to peanuts so I used sunflower butter instead and much to my surprise, lol, it was really good! And instead of chopped peanuts I used chopped pumpkin seeds for that lovely added crunch. We’ll definitely be making these again asap!
Jessica Gavin says
Great job! I love your nut free recipe alternatives, sounds delicious!