turkey eggroll in a bowl

All of the delicious flavors of your favorite fried Chinese restaurant appetizer come together in a lighter, faster, one-skillet meal. This “egg roll in a bowl” is a quick and healthy dinner that’s ready in about 20 minutes!

Why You’ll Love this Egg Roll in a Bowl Recipe

• Healthy. This Asian-inspired supper has all of the flavors that you love in a classic egg roll filling, without any of the deep fat frying. It’s just a big, beautiful skillet full of fresh vegetables and lean protein stir-fried in a savory sauce. Keep it low carb for a weight watchers friendly option, or add some rice or noodles on the side for a more filling meal — you choose!
• Easy. In typical fashion, I’ve managed to create a recipe that requires almost zero prep time! With help from a bag of coleslaw mix and a bag of matchstick carrots, you don’t even have to pull out a cutting board or a knife for this dinner. Tip — use kitchen shears to snip the green onions right over the skillet. Again, no knife or cutting board necessary! It’s a perfect 30-minute meal for busy weeknights.
• One Skillet. We can all appreciate a dinner that cooks in a single pan, which means fewer dishes to wash at the end.
• Versatile. Use this recipe as a base, but make it your own. For example, it works well with any ground meat. Ground pork is our favorite, but it’s also great with ground turkey, ground chicken, ground beef, and ground sausage. Add a little bit more hoisin sauce for a sweeter, richer flavor, or add extra veggies like sliced mushrooms, baby corn, or sliced water chestnuts.

This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a skillet of egg roll in a bowl with coleslaw mix. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Ground meat: use any ground meat that you like. We prefer ground pork, but ground turkey, ground beef, ground chicken, and ground sausage are all great options.
• Onion and garlic: for savory flavor. Use a bottle of pre-minced fresh garlic for an easy shortcut.
• Sesame oil: an essential ingredient for that true Asian flavor. Do not substitute with a different oil. The sesame oil has a unique nutty flavor that’s hard to replicate with other ingredients, and it truly makes the dish! You can find sesame oil in the Asian or International foods aisle at just about every grocery store these days, or order it online here.
• Rice vinegar: an acidic component to brighten up the sauce.
• Ginger: use fresh gingerroot if you have it, or substitute with ground ginger when necessary. It adds a warm, zesty touch to the sauce. You can use a bottle of pre-minced fresh ginger for a nice shortcut, too.
• Less-sodium soy sauce: for salty, umami flavor in the sauce. I prefer low sodium soy sauce (or light soy sauce), but coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari will also work as gluten-free substitutes.
• Hoisin sauce: a thick, rich, sweet-and-salty Chinese bbq sauce that adds flavor to the stir-fry. Find it in the Asian or International foods aisle at your grocery store, or order it online here.
• Coleslaw mix: a bag of pre-shredded mix is a perfect shortcut so that you don’t have to shred your own cabbage. Adding some broccoli slaw would yield a different texture and flavor, but would also work.
• Carrots: grate the carrots yourself or use a bag of matchstick carrots for a shortcut.
• Green onions: scallions add a nice, mild touch of onion flavor without overpowering the dish.
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients. You might not need any extra salt (since the sauce has a good amount of sodium), so taste it first and then season.

Have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go, because this dish comes together very quickly! I’ve included the detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:

• Brown the meat in a large skillet or wok.
• Add the onion, oil, and vinegar; cook until the onion is tender.
• Stir in the coleslaw mix, carrots, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce.
• Stir-fry until the veggies are tender.
• Add the green onions and serve!

Preparation and Storage Tips

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It gets soggy as the vegetables sit and absorb the sauce, but the flavor is still great! Some folks love to double or triple the batch to have extras in the fridge for quick meal prep.
• Reheat individual servings in the microwave for about 1 minute, or reheat a larger quantity in a skillet over low heat just until warmed through.
• I do not recommend freezing the leftovers. The cabbage and other vegetables will have a mushy texture when thawed, and will release extra water that thins the sauce.

• Use any ground meat that you prefer. We love ground pork in this dish, but ground beef, ground chicken, ground sausage, and ground turkey are also good options.
• Add egg to the filling. Just before serving, make a well in the center of the pan. Crack an egg into the pan, scramble, and cook until done. Mix the egg into the rest of the ingredients.
• For a vegetarian egg roll in a bowl, omit the ground meat and bulk up the stir-fry with mushrooms, diced tofu, or other veggies of choice (like bean sprouts).
• If you choose to shred your own green cabbage instead of using a bag of coleslaw mix, you will need a total of about 6 ¾ cups of finely-shredded cabbage.
• Make it spicy by garnishing individual servings with sriracha sauce or crushed red pepper flakes.
• Cooking just for two? Cut the ingredients in half. The instructions remain the same.

• Do not omit the toasted sesame oil. It’s what gives the dish that quintessential “Asian” egg roll taste! Plus, you can pick up a very small bottle of the oil in the Asian food aisle of just about any grocery store, including places like Walmart and Target. Use any extra sesame oil in recipes like this cold sesame peanut noodle salad, chicken lo mein, and honey sriracha shrimp.
• Don’t stir the meat too much while it’s browning. Let it sit for a few minutes before you break it up with a spoon. This helps the meat retain moisture and stay tender.
• Use this recipe as a base and play around with the ingredients to suit your preferences. You might like to add diced celery, diced sweet bell peppers, snap peas, snow peas, or baby corn. An extra tablespoon or two of hoisin sauce also adds great flavor and richness to the sauce.
• Garnish with extra sliced green onions, chives, fresh cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, crunchy chow mein noodles, or a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Unroll the Flavor: Turkey Egg Roll in a Bowl