Mango Avocado Spring Rolls Recipe

If you're into fresh and flavorful sushi but haven't honed your bamboo mat rolling skills, this mango avocado spring roll recipe is for you. It has comparable ingredients to sushi, offers a similar presentation, and is light and refreshing. Thanks to premade rice paper sheets, also known as spring roll wrappers, you can easily fill, roll, and eat. This recipe features creamy avocado, sweet and succulent mango, crunchy purple cabbage, and starchy white rice to give you a mix of textures with each sweet and savory bite. We're serving the spring rolls with a tropical and tangy peanut dipping sauce for the ultimate pairing.

Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "The nice thing about this recipe is that you can modify the filling ingredients each time you make them. And, the sauce can be used for other dishes, such as stir-frys, Asian slaws, tofu skewers, or lettuce wraps."

To make this recipe, start in the produce aisle and pick up limes, ginger, garlic, mangoes, avocados, and purple cabbage. The mangoes should be soft to the touch, and use these tips to pick the best avocados.

A few flavorful items make up the peanut sauce — creamy peanut butter, canned coconut milk, soy sauce, and maple syrup. Make sure to buy full-fat coconut milk because we are going for a thick and creamy texture for the sauce. You'll also need some rice, and if you have that made ahead, just reheat it before using. Lastly, you'll need round spring roll wrappers to wrap up this tasty filling.

Make the sauce by combining the peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger, garlic, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Set aside.

Skin the mangoes and slice the flesh into strips.

Skin the avocados and slice the flesh into strips.

Add hot water to a shallow pan or pie plate.

Submerge a spring roll wrapper in the water for about 10–15 seconds, until it softens, then lay it on a work surface.

Layer in rice, mango slices, avocado slices, and purple cabbage.

Bring in the sides and roll up the wrapper like a burrito. Repeat steps 5–7 with the remaining spring rolls.

Place the spring rolls on a platter and serve with the prepared sauce.

If you haven't made your own spring rolls, there are a few tips and tricks that are helpful to note. First off, there are a couple of sizes to choose from. "I have used both 8-inch and 10-inch sizes, and although either size will work, the larger size is easier for filling and rolling," Hahn shares.

When you immerse the wrapper in warm water, it doesn't take long for it to soften up. It's best to count out 10 seconds, pull the wrapper out of the water, and see if it is pliable enough to work with. If it sits for a second too long, it will become too thin and start to disintegrate. Once you pull it out of the water, lay it on a clean work surface. Some surfaces will cause the wrapper to stick. To avoid this, lay the wet wrapper on a clean dish towel while you fill and roll.

Make sure not to overfill the wrapper; you'll want some room on the sides so that you can fold them in. When rolling, place the filling in the lower third of the wrapper toward yourself. This will allow you to fold in the sides and fold over the bottom edge to create a burrito effect. If you won't be serving the spring rolls immediately, place a damp dish towel over them to keep them moist, and avoid stacking them or they will stick together.

Once you get the hang of making spring rolls, you can get creative with what goes inside and what you dip them in. There are a variety of other vegetables that you can use in the filling, such as carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, spinach, or sprouts. For the vegetables, just cut them into long, thin slices, and for the greens or sprouts, just layer them in.

To make the spring rolls more of a meal, consider adding strips of tofu. Use super firm tofu to avoid the pressing step, and marinate the tofu in a mixture of soy sauce and ginger. You can lightly saute the strips or just add them in cold. For another protein source, add shelled edamame, or top the filling with a layer of edamame hummus. Instead of using white rice, you can swap it for brown rice, rice noodles, soba noodles, or even another grain, such as quinoa.

The sauce options are endless. You can use a premade hoisin sauce or combine hoisin sauce with lime juice and soy sauce. A store-bought chile sauce or a homemade version will add a sweet and tangy element. Consider a soy ginger sauce by combining soy sauce, ginger, and a splash of maple syrup. Any type of bottled dressing works, too — try ranch, blue cheese, or sesame.