Vegan Summer Rolls

Name: Vegan Summer Rolls
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 8oz (220g) Extra Firm Tofu (Pressed, and cut into strips); 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (For frying); 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce*; 1 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce*; 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup; 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger; 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder; 1/2 tsp Onion Powder; 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper; 1 and 1/2 cups (200g) Sliced Cucumbers; 2 cups (178g) Shredded Red Cabbage; 1 Red Bell Pepper (Sliced); 1 Avocado (Sliced); 1 Large Carrot (Shredded); 16 Sheets Rice Paper (Round); 2/3 cup (166g) Peanut Butter; 1/2 cup (120ml) Coconut Milk; 1/4 cup (60ml) Soy Sauce; 2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar; 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup; 1 tsp Garlic Powder; 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger; 1 Tbsp Lime Juice; 1/8 tsp Dried Chili Flakes

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Fresh and colorful vegan summer rolls made with rice paper wraps. Fun, filling, veggie-packed and served with the best peanut sauce ever!

Vegan summer rolls stacked up on a wooden board.

These vegan summer rolls are super yum!

They are Vietnamese style vegan rice paper rolls packed with delicious veggies for a really fresh and delicious appetizer.

They’re also called ‘rainbow’ spring rolls and I guess this is because they are so colorful!

And the sauce? Oh my, you will love the sauce. The sauce is almost the whole reason you want to make these summer rolls.

I’m not even joking, you’ll just be like, I need things to dip into this sauce!

What You Need To Make It:

Photo of the ingredients needed to make summer rolls.

Ingredient Notes

Extra Firm Tofu – I was keen to get some protein in these summer rolls and make them really filling so I put some tofu strips in. This way if you want to have them as a main course – you totally can. This does add a bit of time to the recipe, so if you’re just like – give me the rolls and the sauce and I don’t care about the tofu – that’s fine too, you can leave off the tofu and make these rolls much faster. But if you do want to make the tofu, it really makes this recipe next level delicious.
Hoisin sauce – check the label for vegan friendliness as not all brands are vegan friendly.
Soy sauce – can be switched for tamari.

Vegan summer rolls standing upright in a black bowl.

How To Make Vegan Summer Rolls

You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

Prepare the tofu and veggies:

Start off by pressing the tofu for 20 minutes. This makes it extra firm so that it holds together well when frying. I use (and love) a tofu press, but you can also just place the tofu on a plate with another plate on top of it and then place something heavy on top of that, like a heavy pot or a stack of books.
While the tofu is pressing, prepare your veggies. Sliced cucumbers, sliced red cabbage, sliced red pepper, sliced avocado and shredded carrot.

Make the sauce to fry with the tofu:

Then mix up some soy sauce, hoisin sauce and maple syrup with some ground ginger, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper in a measuring jug which is the sauce you’ll use when frying your tofu.

Two photo collage showing ingredients for a sauce added to measuring jug and then whisked together.

Fry the tofu:

When your tofu is pressed, cut it into strips and then fry it up with some olive oil, gently turning the tofu until it’s lightly browned.

Two photo collage showing pressed tofu cut into strips and then added to frying pan with olive oil.

Add sauce:

Then pour over the sauce and fry until the tofu is sticky and browned.

Two photo collage showing sauce added to tofu strips in frying pan and then sautéed with the tofu.

Assemble your summer rolls:

Now that your tofu is done, you’re ready to assemble your spring rolls.
Add the veggies to the middle of the rice paper wrap and top with tofu and sliced avocado. Then you just tuck in the sides and roll it up.
The recipe makes 8 large summer rolls that you can then cut in half so that you have 16 in total.

Two photo collage showing filling for spring rolls added to rice paper and then rolled up into a spring roll.

Make the peanut sauce:

Now you can make up the vegan peanut sauce, which is a simple mix of peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, garlic powder, ground ginger, fresh lime and dried chili flakes. Just add all ingredients to a measuring jug and whisk them up into a sauce. Set aside for later.

Collage of two photos showing ingredients for peanut sauce added to measuring jug and whisked together.

Pro Recipe Tips

Use two sheets of rice paper for each spring roll. This helps enormously, because if you just use one, it can be a little flimsy and breakable. Using two sheets makes it much more sturdy and easier to roll.

It does make the rice paper more noticeable though, it’s not just a ‘barely there’ cover for your filling, it’s more there there, but considering how much easier it makes them to roll, I think it’s needed.

And when it’s smothered with peanut sauce, you don’t mind slightly thicker rice paper, it makes it easier to scoop more sauce too. Which is only a good thing.

You can mix and match your veggies. You don’t have to use exactly what we used, if you want to switch the red cabbage for some shredded lettuce, you totally can. Mix and match veggies as you like, you just want it to be colorful and of course, the peanut sauce is a non-negotiable!

Vegan summer rolls with tofu and veggies on a wooden board.

Recipe FAQ

How to store summer rolls?

These are definitely best when fresh. Wrap leftovers in foil and keep in the fridge but ideally consume them all within a day.

What to do with leftover sauce?

You can store leftover peanut sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days. It is also freezer friendly.

Can you freeze summer rolls?

The rolls themselves are not freezer friendly, though you can freeze leftover sauce.

Vegan summer roll about to dip into a bowl of peanut sauce.

More Delicious Vegan Appetizers

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!