I give you Denise…mom of 5 children, 6 and under…including quads…and blogger behind Shopper Strategy! She shares a toddler favorite with us…
One of the most difficult things about feeding a family of seven is making sure there is something on the table that everyone will eat. Even though my five kids are all under six (I have four year old BBGG quads and a six year old son) they have wildly varying tastes and it can be amazingly difficult at times to please everyone, especially if you want to have more than chicken nuggets and hamburgers on the menu.
These fast and fabulous egg rolls are one of my favorite ways to make everyone happy. I like to make a big batch all at once with pre-approved ingredients that we can all agree on – for example, I love bean sprouts in mine but the kids are not fans so I leave those out, and I leave out the onions because I’m not a fan. You can even go meatless or add shrimp, ground pork, hamburger or chicken. We’ll fry up enough for dinner then pop the rest in the freezer for next time. It’s a great way to sneak some extra veggies into the kids!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork or beef, or 1 can peeled baby shrimp
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cloves minced garlic , or 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1 package 6 inch square egg roll wrappers (approx. 20)
- 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
- 1/4 pound bean sprouts (optional)
- 1/4 cup water
Sprinkle ground pork or beef with ginger and minced garlic or garlic powder while browning in a skillet or wok. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through and no longer pink. Drain.
Combine the cabbage, carrots and optional bean sprouts with the meat in the skillet and cook on medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. The veggies should be wilted but not completely cooked.
Spoon the filling diagonally across the center of an egg roll wrapper, then fold the lower corner upward over the filling mixture.
Fold the left and right sides of the wrapper inward over the filling. Dip your fingers in a cup of water then moisten the edges of the flaps and gently press them in place.
Roll the top flap snugly over the mixture and moisten the edges with your fingers to seal the egg roll closed.
Heat the vegetable oil in another skillet on medium high heat then fry the egg rolls, turning occasionally, until they are golden brown. Drain them on paper towels or a rack and serve with soy sauce, duck sauce, or spicy mustard.
Denise is a frugal work-at-home mom of four year old quadruplets and a five year old son. Keep up with her at Shopper StrategyTwitter as well. where she blogs about strategies for saving, like freezer cooking, menu planning and coupon shopping, and how her family of seven lives on a tight budget. She can be found on
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
what if you don’t have a deep fryer? are there alternatives?
You bet Karen – I often will make just a couple for a snack and its so easy to fry them up in a pan with 1-2″ of oil and flip them to do the other side.
These are wonderful! I’ve been making them for years. I really like knowing that it is also healthy snack. I use ground turkey, (no pork or shrimp for this family)sesame oil and a little soy sauce. I have to make them in batches a freeze them, because my family devours them!
We just made egg rolls last night. My 2 girls (4 and 2) LOVE them!
I don’t have a deep fryer either, I just put about 1-1/2 in of oil in a deep (3 in) pan and cook 3 or 4 at a time.
I also don’t cook the veggies, we just mix them with the cooked meat, I think it adds a nice crunch. Try brocolli slaw and shredded chicken in them too — YUMMY!
The recipe sounds great as we love egg rolls. Makes me hungry just looking at the recipe and I just ate dinner!
Is there a substitution for the wrappers that is gluten-free? I think the rice paper wrappers would be too thin – has anyone tried them?
The rice paper spring roll wrappers work just fine and are delicious. Because they’re thinner they are a little more difficult to work with, but you get the hang of it after the first couple.
I bookmarked that one!
I don’t understand how you can feed a family of 7 on one batch of these and have leftovers for next time?! I have a family of 5 and would need to double the recipe at least! I guess my meals will have to be $10 meals
This sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
I love this recipe because it’s so versatile… and who doesn’t like finger foods?
I can do this! Thanks for sharing.
do you think you could bake these?
Ive baked them before 375-400 depends on your oven coat them with a little oil ( coconut oil is great) and bake until crispy!
The key with eggrolls is bulking up the vegies! With our CSA box this summer, we’ve received a couple heads of cabbage, so I’ve gotten pretty good at making eggrolls (the only way I was able to get my hubby to eat the cabbage- just don’t bake them. I tried the first time to keep them healthier and it was a disaster!)… A whole head of cabbage, lots of shredded carrots, minced onion, maybe some peppers if I had to use them up… There is actually very little meat in each roll by the time I assemble them! I end up with enough for a whole extra meal for my hubby, myself and 2 teen-age boys!
You can use a Dutch oven or other deep pot instead. You’ll need a thermometer to check the oil temp. A spider or a deep fat frying basket is helpful.
Here’s an untried recipe I found at CD Kitchen. I have rewritten the directions.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Baked Egg Rolls
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon corn starch
4 cups finely shredded napa, Chinese or regular white cabbage
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 medium or large carrot finely grated (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons finely sliced green onions
4 cloves finely chopped garlic, divided
1/2 pound ground turkey or hamburger (optional)
OR
1 cup mixture of mushrooms, more cabbage, bean sprouts and/or carrots
2 teaspoons grated ginger root
14 egg roll skins found in produce section of grocery store
1. Whisk together soy and cornstarch then set aside.
2. Spray non-stick skillet with nonstick cooking spray or heat one tablespoon cooking oil. Stir-fry the garlic and ginger then add the bean sprouts, carrot and green onions. Stir-fry mixture until cabbage is wilted.
3. Remove the vegetables from the pan and cook the meat (if using) and remaining garlic. Make sure the meat is cooked until it is no longer pink.
4. Drain off fat.
5. Add the reserved soy sauce and corn starch mixture plus the vegetables. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
7. Shape egg rolls as directed above.
8. Place egg rolls onto a baking sheet.
9. Spray egg rolls with nonstick cooking spray.
10. Bake egg rolls for 15 to 20 minutes until golden.
Recipe rewritten from one found at CD Kitchen.com
You can also extend a rotisserie chicken, by picking the carcass clean and using that meat.
We made this last night. My teenage son helped with the frying and they turned out great! Even my picky 3-year-old and 5-year-old loved dinner. They asked me to make it again tonight!
I have to try these they look good and sound yummy. I think I’ll make some stirred fried rice to go with them. Thanks for sharing
We spray them with oil spray (or non-stick cooking spray) and bake them in the oven for a lower fat variety.
What brand of egg roll wrappers did you use? i’ve tried looking everywhere but can’t find 6 in ones and i really don’t like the small ones.
I made these a couple of weeks ago for my family and they LOVED them! I have a picky eater who is 6 and even he asked for seconds! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Yay – thanks so much for sharing Lynda! I jump for joy anytime I find something the kids like that I like too
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