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These Fresh Spring Rolls are light, refreshing, and easy to make at home. Crisp veggies, sweet mangos, tender rice noodles, and optional shrimp are wrapped up in soft rice paper. Served with a savory peanut dipping sauce, this recipe delivers big flavor with simple, wholesome ingredients.
Just like my recipes for Thai Noodles, Copycat Lettuce Wraps, and Homemade Ramen, this spring roll recipe is easy to make, customizable, and so much better tasting than take-out.
Kristen's Keys for Fresh Spring Rolls
Before we dive into the ingredients and step-by-step process of making spring rolls, let me share a couple key tips that will help ensure success and keep the process as seamless as possible.
- Have Ingredients Ready. Chop the produce and cook the rice noodles and shrimp before you start assembling the spring rolls. This makes the process more efficient.
- Use a Tea Towel. Lightly dampen a tea towel with water and use this to place your spring roll wrappers after dipping them in water. This helps to prevent the spring roll wrapper from sticking to the surface and keeps it from drying out.
- Layer soft leaf lettuce onto the rice paper first. The soft lettuce works as a protective barrier between the fillings and the delicate rice paper, making the the spring roll easier to roll and less likely to tear.
- Don't Overfill. Use a light hand when adding the filling. Otherwise, your spring roll will be likely to tear.
Notes on Ingredients
Don't be alarmed by the number of ingredients pictured below. You can mix and match the fruits, vegetables, and herbs as desired. The shrimp is also optional.
- Spring Roll Wrappers: You can find spring roll wrappers in the Asian section of most grocery stores. They can be labeled as rice paper wrappers or spring roll wrappers.
- Rice Vermicelli: Look for vermicelli or extremely thin rice noodles, right in the Asian section near the spring roll wrappers.
- Fruit & Vegetables: You can use any firm, ripe fresh produce you like. My favorite combination is julienned cucumbers, thinly sliced carrots, sliced red bell peppers, fresh mango, and shredded cabbage. Asparagus, sugar snap peas, raw summer squash, edamame, and broccoli slaw are great options as well.
- Leaf Lettuce: Use a soft lettuce, like Boston Bibb or green leaf lettuce as a barrier between the rice paper wrap and the fillings.
- Herbs: Mint and cilantro add fresh and bright flavor. Basil is another good option here.
- Shrimp (optional): If you would like to add shrimp, use precooked small or medium deveined shrimp that have had the tails removed.
- Peanut Dipping Sauce: The sauce is made with peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and maple syrup. There are quite a few ingredients, but most are found in a well-stocked pantry.
How to Make Fresh Spring Rolls
Start by preparing the peanut sauce so the flavors have time to marry together while you prepare the spring rolls.
Step One: Prepare Peanut Dipping Sauce
Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and maple syrup to the base of a small blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. If your sauce feels too thick, add water, one tablespoon at time, until a dippable consistency is reached.
Step Two: Prepare Rice Noodles
If you are planning on adding rice noodles to your spring rolls, you will want to prepare them according to the package directions prior to adding to the rolls. Most brands typically need to soak in hot water for 5-10 minutes. Once soft, drain and rinse under cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
Step Three: Layer Ingredients
Working with one rice paper wrapper at a time, dip the spring roll in a shallow dish of water (a pie plate works great). Let it soak for 5-10 seconds until just pliable. Place the rice paper onto a damp tea towel.
Add a slice of lettuce in the center of the spring roll wrapper. Top with a thin layer of the prepared rice noodles, sliced vegetables and fruit, and fresh herbs. If desired, add 3-4 pieces of cooked shrimp as the last layer.
Step Four: Tuck and Roll
When it comes to rolling your spring rolls, think of it like an envelope. First, pull the bottom of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the sides tightly. Then tightly roll.
Step Five: Serve
Right before serving, cut on the diagonal to reveal the beautiful filling. Then serve with the peanut sauce for dipping.
Not a fan of peanut sauce? You can pair the spring rolls with soy sauce, Chinese hot mustard, sweet chili sauce, or even Bang Bang sauce.
How to Store Spring Rolls
While fresh spring rolls are best served shortly after preparation, you can store them for up to 24 days in the refrigerator. Follow the following tips to keep the spring rolls from drying out or sticking together.
- Do NOT cut spring rolls prior to serving.
- Roll each spring roll in a slightly damp paper towel and then each roll tightly in in plastic wrap.
- Place the wrapped spring rolls in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- Store the peanut sauce in a separate airtight container for up to 3 days.
More Copycat Take-Out Recipes
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Fresh Spring Rolls
Video
Ingredients
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or ½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed
For the spring rolls:
- 1 package spring roll wrappers, 8-10 per package
- 2 ounces rice vermicelli
- 8 butter lettuce leaves or any soft lettuce, ribs removed, torn into small pieces
- 2 medium mangos, peeled and sliced into thin strips
- 1 large red pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded or sliced into thin strips
- 1 large English cucumber, sliced into thin strips
- 1 cup very thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1 pound small cooked shrimp, deveined, tails removed, optional
- 1 small bunch cilantro
- 1 small bunch fresh mint
Instructions
- Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing together ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1 clove garlic (minced) and ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes in a small food processor, blender, or by whisking by hand if needed. If needed, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the sauce to a dipping consistency. Cover and chill until ready to use.
- Prepare Rice Noodles. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the rice vermicelli to the boiling water, turn off the heat and allow the noodles to sit in the hot water, according to package directions. This is about 5-10 minutes depending on the brand. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water.
- Prepare station for spring rolls by gathering fillings (vegetables, herbs, noodles, mango, and shrimp) and filling a shallow pan (a pie pan or 9″ round cake pan works great) with an inch of warm water. Dampen a lint-free tea towel to use on top of the work station as well.
- Dampen Wrapper. Place one spring roll wrapper in the water for 15-20 seconds, or until JUST pliable but still has some structure. Carefully remove from the water and lay it flat on the towel.
- Assemble Spring Rolls. Leaving about 1 inch of open rice paper around the edges, cover the lower third of the paper with a few pieces of the torn lettuce. Arrange a small handful of rice noodles, some cabbage, a few strips of carrot, cucumber, red pepper, and mango over the center of the lettuce leaf. Top with 2 mint leaves and 2 cilantro leaves. Arrange 3 pieces of shrimp about right above the vegetable/herb filling. Make sure that the pink side of the shrimp is facing down.
- Roll. Grab the lower edge of the rice paper and tightly roll up the spring roll to the shrimp. Once you have reached the shrimp, fold in the left and right sides. Finish rolling up the spring roll all the way to the end.
- Repeat the rolling process with the rest of the ingredients.
- Cut the spring rolls on a diagonal and serve the spring rolls with the dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in 2021 and updated in 2026.
Yum! The spring roll wrappers take some getting used to. We ended up just using the lettuce as the wrapper. It worked out fine. The peanut sauce was not too overpowering, but added a nice finish.
Those wrappers can be a bit finicky at times! I am glad you found a work around with the lettuce cups and enjoyed the flavors 🙂
Thank you for posting a quite detailed article about the origin and how to make Gỏi cuốn (fresh spring roll or summer roll). However, I need to correct the information that Vietnamese people eat Gỏi cuốn (fresh spring roll or summer roll) all year round and Vietnamese people did not create Gỏi cuốn for any special occasion in the spring. Gỏi cuốn (fresh spring roll or summer roll) is eaten all year round. It is a light, simple dish that is not only served as an appetizer but also as a main dish with various ingredients such as fish, meat, eggs...
These are one of my all time favorites! They're fresh and delicious!
Love hearing this Jen!
The peanut sauce may be my favorite part! Thanks for the recipe.
Right there with you! It is so good!
It was a great experience of cooking...I had not done anything related to cooking before. This helps me a lot to learn to cook...I suggest all to use this recipe..
Simple and homemade are a few of my favorite things with peanut dipping sauce a close second!! This recipe is so pretty and was delicious!
I could drink the peanut sauce myself 😉
wow these spring rolls were so fresh and delicious! The perfect snack on warmer days.