As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
These crispy Air Fryer Egg Rolls are a delicious appetizer or snack! Baked, not fried, this easy egg roll recipe is simple to make and cooks in only 9 minutes.
Everybody loves egg rolls! Making your own at home in the air fryer is simple, fast, and affordable.
If you’re looking for other tasty appetizers, check out our air fryer potstickers and jalapeño poppers wontons.
How Do You Wrap an Egg Roll?
I’m so glad you asked! I came up with this handy little step-by-step photo guide for you.
- Set up a “wrapping” station with your cooked filling, a plate, a small dish of water, and a pastry brush.
- Place the wrapper on a plate or cutting board. You’ll want it shaped like a diamond, with the bottom pointing at you. Place 2 tbsp of filling in the bottom third of the wrapper.
- Roll up the bottom point of the diamond so that it goes up and over the filling, but only goes to the center of the wrapper.
- Fold in the left side of the wrapper to cover the center.
- Fold in the right side of the wrapper to cover the left fold. It will look like you’re making a delicious envelope at this point! But don’t mail it. 🙂
- Starting from the bottom, roll the egg roll up until just the top point of the wrapper is still exposed.
- Brush some water on the top point of the egg roll, and fold down. You may need to brush a bit more water over the edges to “seal” the egg roll closed.
- Repeat until you have 4-5 egg rolls made.
How to Cook Egg Rolls in an Air Fryer
Brush olive oil over the top of the egg rolls. Alternatively, you could use a Misto to spray olive oil, but I found that it caused the egg roll wrappers to bubble up more when they were cooking.
Brush olive oil on the basket of your air fryer or use air fryer parchment. Place the egg rolls in the basket, seam side down, without letting them touch each other.
Bake at 360˚F for 7 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
Protein Options For Egg Rolls in the Air Fryer
If you’d like to add any meat to this recipe, it must be cooked before being placed in the egg roll wrapper.
Some protein ideas: crumbled or crispy air fryer tofu, air fryer frozen shrimp, cooked ground pork, chicken, or beef.
Meal Prep Tips for Homemade Egg Rolls
To make this recipe even faster, use the premade coleslaw mix that you can find in the grocery store for $2-3. It comes with shredded cabbage and carrots and has the perfect texture for this recipe.
You can also use frozen garlic and frozen ginger, two things I always have on hand in my freezer.
How to Store and Reheat
Storing Leftovers: Allow the egg rolls to cool and store covered leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating Leftovers: To reheat, air fry at 370˚F for 2 minutes.
Freezing Leftovers: If you’re freezing already cooked air fryer egg rolls, allow them to fully cool before freezing. Place on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment and freeze for 2 hours. Transfer to freezer storage.
If you’re freezing uncooked egg rolls, place on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment and freeze for 2 hours. Do not brush the olive oil onto them prior to freezing. Transfer to freezer storage.
To air fry frozen egg rolls: Do not thaw the frozen egg rolls before cooking. Brush the frozen egg rolls with olive oil and then cook at 360˚F for 10-12 minutes.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- As written, the recipe will make six egg rolls (two egg rolls per serving). If you need to make more or less, the recipe card has the option to adjust the number of servings.
- You can pre-roll the egg rolls and store them in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Place a lightly damp rag over them and then place them in an air-tight container in the fridge.
- In most grocery stores, you’ll find egg roll wrappers in the produce section near bottled salad dressings and sauces.
Crispy Homemade Air Fryer Egg Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 egg roll wrappers
- 3 cups cabbage shredded
- 1/4 cup shredded carrot {if not using coleslaw mix}
- 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp ginger, grated {or ~1/2 tsp dried}
- 1 clove garlic {minced}
- 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 green onions sliced
- 1 tsp olive oil
Instructions
Air Fryer Instructions
- Preheat a frying pan for a few minutes over medium heat.
- Add the sesame oil, ginger, garlic, cabbage, and shredded carrot. Cook down for 2-3 minutes or until the cabbage has wilted.3 cups cabbage, 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil, 2 tsp ginger, grated, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup shredded carrot
- Add the green onions, soy sauce, and black pepper. Stir and remove from heat.1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 green onions, 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Assemble your egg rolls (see the detailed instructions in the post).6 egg roll wrappers
- Brush olive oil over the top of the egg rolls. Alternatively, you could use a Misto to spray olive oil, but I found that caused the egg roll wrappers to bubble up more when they were cooking.1 tsp olive oil
- Brush olive oil on the basket of your air fryer. Place the egg rolls in the basket, seam side down, without letting them touch each other.
- Bake at 360˚F for 7 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
Notes
- To freeze: place uncooked egg rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze. Then transfer to a freezer-proof bag or container. Do not thaw before cooking. You will need to add 1-3 minutes to the cooking time. Cook at the same temperature as thawed egg rolls.
- If you want to add meat to the egg rolls, you’ll need to cook it before placing it in the wrapper.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then add enough avocado oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. Place the egg roll “seam side” down in the oil.
- Cook it until that side is crispy and brown, and then flip. When finished cooking, place them on a plate lined with newspaper or paper towels to absorb the extra oil.
- Place a baking rack on a foil-lined baking sheet. Liberally spray the rack with olive oil.
- Put the egg rolls seam-side down on the baking rack and brush olive oil over the top.
- Bake at 325˚F for 12 minutes, and flip. Bake for an additional 8-12 minutes or until the egg rolls are nice and crispy without being burned.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do I do this in a oil fryer, corn oil?
Hi Raphael, I have not used a traditional oil fryer before so I do not feel comfortable advising you on the process.
I made this for our Super Bowl party and wow what a hit they were. Now after the party I’m getting requests to make them for people wanting to taste them that were not at the party! Delicious and thank you!
I love hearing that, Sandy! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review.
So these were tasty, I did double the recipe, half with shrimp and half with pork. I accidentally bought plant-based wonton wrappers and they didn’t get as crispy. I followed the directions exactly . I made them in the oven. I will try them again with regular wrappers, but maybe in the air fryer or fry them. Thank you.
Mmmmm, the shrimp ones sound amazing! I’ve never tried the plant-based ones, but yes, chances are they wouldn’t crisp up as well as the traditional ones.
I have a question … Sarah, is your air fryer a basket or oven type? I have that feature on my oven and want to make sure the temperature is the same if you have a basket type. I’ll come back and rate this after my recipe.
Hi Rhonda, I have the basket style countertop air fryer. When you say oven, do you mean a large oven (wall-style) or a countertop convection oven? Either way, the temp should be the same, but the cooking time may be a little faster in a large oven.
Couldn’t get mine to brown!
Hi MaryAnn, did you use oil on yours? Is your air fryer a basket or oven-style?
As you can see in the photos, it is possible to get them to brown. We make them often and never have an issue. I’d love to help you troubleshoot where the process fell short for you.
I certainly liked the method. So much easier and cleaner than deep frying. However, they egg rolls seemed kind of tough, not crunchy. I missed that when eating them. Did I do something wrong or are they just that way?
Hi Pat, mine have never been tough before. Did you find the filling or the wrapper tough? Without knowing which part wasn’t perfect for you, it’s hard to help you troubleshoot. You’re also welcome to email me if you’d like!
This recipe is fantastic! It was soooo easy and they turned out perfect in my air fryer. This will be a regular at my house! Everyone loved them!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them, Teresa! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review.
Love this recipe. I did think I was clever to add some finely diced Serrano pepper w/o seeds to find I could have curbed back on it.
So maybe a 1/4 Serrano is enough finely diced. 🤪 Also used part green cabbage with part Napa cabbage and leeks for onions.
Nice and crispy. Perfect instructions!!!! Thank you
Absolutely love that you pulled the ingredients list into the notes as well, thank you!!
Dani, that’s a feature that I love, so I’m always thrilled to hear others enjoy it too.
Just made a batch using broccoli slaw from the store instead of cabbage and carrots. It worked great and they were delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!!
I love hearing that, Suzanne! I’m all about using what you love and adapting it to your preferences.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Will try all very soon,,I EMAIL COMMENT later
Sounds good, Alan!
Looooved these! Super easy. It reminds me of my high school job at a Chinese restaurant- but much healthier!
Love to hear that Cathy!
I had a somewhat similar job in high school, but it was a restaurant that served some Chinese food along with mostly Japanese and Korean.
Pretty good but 360 degrees is no way hot enough. Had to raise the temp and cook them longer.
Sorry to hear the temp didn’t work out for you Joan. You’ll see that lots of reviewers (92!) had good experience with them. I’m wondering if the temp of your air fryer might be a touch off?
We make these frequently and have for years, and 360˚F has been the sweet spot.
Hi! Planning to make these tonight, can i prepare ahead of time and put them in the fridge?
Hi Kay, yes you can. There is a note about that in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of the post. I’ll copy and paste it below. Apologies in advance if the formatting comes across as a bit wonky.
CAN YOU MAKE EGG ROLLS AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes! You can pre-roll the egg rolls and store them in the fridge for up to 12 hours.
Place a lightly damp rag over them and then place them in an air-tight container in the fridge.
I made these as written and they were good. The reason for giving these 3 stars is I felt they had way too much ginger. For my taste, next time I’ll cut the ginger back to 1/2 teaspoon. I reviewed these recently on my YouTube channel, The Real Deal Recipe Reviews, where I always try to make recipes as written and give honest reviews.
Glad you enjoyed them, Daryl! One thing to do note is if you used dried ginger, 2 tsp would indeed be much too power. Fresh ginger is not as intense as dried.
That being said, I always encourage people to personalize a recipe to their tastes. I like to say that chocolate, cheese, and garlic should all be measured with your heart. Perhaps ginger as well. 🙂
I haven’t tried this yet but excited to try. Can I substitute spring roll wrappers instead of egg roll wrappers?
Hi Harriett, it depends on where you are in the world. I’ve learned that in other countries, what we in the states call egg roll wrappers are called spring roll wrappers.
Here, spring roll wrappers are made of rice and you have to soak them in water before working with them. Those would not work in this recipe.
Can you freeze them. If so uncooked?
Hi Julie, yes you can absolutely freeze them. There is a section in the post with more details. I’ll copy and paste it here:
Can You Freeze Egg Rolls?
Yep! If you don’t want to cook these right away, place uncooked egg rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze.
Then transfer to a freezer-proof bag or container. Do not thaw before cooking. You will need to add 1-2 minutes to the total cooking time.
Well…these egg rolls have unleased a egg roll monster! Lol
Cooked up perfectly. Here comes the monster part….extra wrappers…scrambled egg egg rolls, apple pie, pizza, etc, etc, etc……
😊 🙃🙂🙃🙂🙃🙂🙃🙂🙃
Thea, I’m so thrilled to hear that you liked this recipe so much!
For leftover wrappers, I’ll also recommend this recipe: https://www.sustainablecooks.com/baked-jalapeno-poppers/