Okay, get ready to make these Homemade Egg Rolls all the time. I promise they’re so much easier than expected! I bake mine, so they stay on the lighter side, and they turn out crisp without much fuss. They’re also surprisingly inexpensive! Two rolls for about 70 cents feels like a tiny kitchen victory, and I’m always here for that. Packed with fresh veggies and plenty of flavor, these vegetable egg rolls knock the idea of takeout right out my head because they taste SO GOOD straight from my own oven.
“These are fabulous!! Probably my favorite appetizer for party occasions. I love that they are baked and not fried. Thanks for the recipe!”
Colette
Once you peek inside these vegetable egg rolls, you’ll see why I love them so much. The filling is a simple mix of cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, green onions, garlic, and fresh ginger, all cooked down until tender and glossy with a quick soy glaze. Traditional egg rolls are fried, so they’re not usually considered the healthiest choice, but I bake mine instead, and the all-veggie filling means they’re a bit lighter than the usual takeout version (if that’s something you’re looking for!). But don’t worry, they still get the crisp bite that makes egg rolls so fun to eat. AND you can bake a whole batch at once, which makes things even easier!
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Gather all of your ingredients.
Prep the vegetables: Peel and grate 1 inch fresh ginger. I use a small holed cheese grater rather than mincing with a knife. Peel and grate 2 medium carrots. I use a large holed cheese grater for this. Mince 2 small garlic cloves, clean and slice 3 medium green onions and 4 oz. mushrooms.
To shred 1 small head of cabbage, first remove the wilted leaves. Next, cut the head into quarters and then cut the core off of each quarter. Then cut each quarter lengthwise one more time, and then cut crosswise into very thin strips.
Sauté the aromatics: Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a very large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the prepped green onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté this mixture just until slightly softened (1-2 minutes).
Add the veggies: Then add the sliced mushrooms and continue to cook until they’ve released all of their moisture (about 5 minutes).
Add the grated carrot, cook for about a minute more.
Add the shredded cabbage and continue to stir and cook, allowing the cabbage to wilt. It might help to increase the heat to medium-high at this point. Continue cooking until the cabbage is reduced in volume by about half (10 minutes or so).
Add the sauce: At this point, dissolve ½ Tbsp cornstarch in ¼ cup soy sauce.
Add this mixture to the skillet and stir to coat the cabbage. The heat from the skillet will thicken the cornstarch/soy mixture and create a soy sauce glaze.
Stir in 1 tsp sesame oil and turn the heat off. Now give the mixture a taste. Adjust seasoning as you see fit…a little sriracha wouldn’t hurt, if you ask me. But that’s just me.
Fill and roll: Get a small bowl of water because that will be your “glue.” Lay one wrapper out at a time and place ¼ cup of the filling just off center, toward one of the corners.
Fold the bottom corner up and over the filling and make it snug. Make sure the filling isn’t squeezing out the sides, and then fold each side in. This is where the water comes in. Put a small dab of water under each corner to glue them into place. And then roll it the rest of the way up. Place another little dab of water under the top corner of the square. Repeat until all 20 wrappers are filled and rolled.
Bake: Preheat the oven to 425°F while you’re rolling so that it’s ready to go when you’re done. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and coat with non-stick spray. Roll them over and spray the other side. If you don’t like non-stick spray, you can brush them with vegetable oil.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until they’re golden brown and crispy. Turn your homemade egg rolls over at least once during the baking time to prevent the bottoms from getting soggy. Mine still seeped a little liquid, but they were pretty crispy overall.
Sometimes I play around with the filling when I’ve got random odds and ends to use up. Make sure to sauté any veggies and, if you’re adding meat, cook it first, too. Here are some more filling ideas to try:
Just be careful not to use more than 1/4 cup of filling per wrapper to avoid overfilling! You will need more than 20 wrappers if you add extra filling ingredients.
Some of the best dipping sauces for vegetable egg rolls, in my opinion, are hoisin, sambal, sweet chili sauce, and sweet and sour sauce. I like to set out a little lineup of dips and let everyone choose their favorite if I’m serving these at a party or gathering (e.g, New Year’s!). I also love serving these baked egg rolls alongside a few takeout-style favorites of my own, like chicken fried rice and egg drop soup. My easy lo mein is also perfect if we are keeping things vegetarian!
These keep well in the fridge for 3–4 days, but I’ll be honest…they’re at their very best the day they’re made. The wrappers soften a bit as they sit, though they still reheat nicely. I warm them in a 400°F oven or air fryer so they crisp back up instead of getting chewy. Keep an eye on them to avoid over browning.
For longer storage, the freezer works, and I had the best results freezing them unbaked. I place the rolled egg rolls on a baking sheet, freeze them until solid, then move them to a freezer bag so they don’t stick together. When I’m ready to bake, I pop them straight into a 400°F oven for 25-30 minutes without thawing. Flip them halfway through baking for even browning. The texture isn’t quite the same as fresh, and the wrappers can crack a little, but they’re still delicious.
Our Homemade Egg Rolls recipe was originally published 11/27/11. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 12/29/25.
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