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These ground chicken summer rolls with basil and mint are served with a hoisin dipping sauce. They’re fresh and light-weight with an exquisite combination of textures and flavors.

Ground Chicken Summer Rolls

I really like these fresh, Vietnamese-inspired Chicken Rice Paper Rolls made with ground chicken, fresh basil and mint leaves, fresh lime, and raw crunchy cabbage and carrots. It’s all wrapped in a soft rice paper wrapper and served with a straightforward hoisin dipping sauce. Perfect as a light-weight meal, appetizer, or as part of a bigger spread for gatherings or parties. These refreshing summer rolls are barely spicy, sweet, and sour. Should you desire a shrimp version, try these Shrimp Summer Rolls or Low-Carb Summer Roll Bowls with Peanut Sauce.

Are summer rolls healthy?

These summer rolls are loaded with lean protein and fresh veggies. Normally, they’ve noodles in them, but I skipped them to make the rolls even healthier and lower carb. Two chicken summer rolls with hoisin sauce have under 300 calories, 30 grams of carbs, and 23 grams of protein.

What’s the difference between a spring roll and a summer roll?

Spring and summer rolls (also often known as salad rolls) are each popular in Asian cuisine, but they differ in several ways, including their ingredients, preparation methods, and textures. Here’s a breakdown of the major differences:

• Wrapper: The wrapper utilized in spring rolls is often made from wheat flour and is thin and crispy when fried. In contrast, summer rolls use rice paper wrappers, that are translucent, soft, and chewy and never cooked.
• Cooking Method: Spring rolls are deep-fried leading to a crispy texture. Summer rolls usually are not cooked; they’re assembled with fresh ingredients and served cold or at room temperature.
• Ingredients: Spring rolls mix cooked ingredients, equivalent to vegetables, meat, and sometimes noodles or rice. Summer rolls consist of fresh, raw vegetables, like lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and herbs and cooked shrimp, chicken, or tofu. Rice noodles are also commonly added to summer rolls.
• Texture and Taste: Spring rolls are crunchy and served hot. Summer rolls are refreshing and light-weight served cold or room temperature.

Summer Roll Ingredients

(see full recipe below)

• Chicken: Buy 93% lean ground chicken (or use ground turkey or tofu).
• Shallots: Chop one small shallot.
• Soy Sauce: Should you’re gluten-free, use tamari as an alternative of soy sauce.
• Lime Juice: Squeeze three tablespoons of lime juice from one or two limes.
• Sambal Oelek is a spicy Indonesian chili sauce.
• Mint: Mince fresh mint leaves for the chicken mixture.
• Slaw: You’ll be able to buy premade cabbage-and-carrot slaw or make your personal from scratch.
• Rice Paper: You’ll need eight-inch round rice paper sheets.
• Basil: Put two fresh basil leaves in each summer roll.
• Summer Roll Sauce: Hoisin sauce and water

How you can Make Summer Rolls

1. Cook the Chicken: Cook the bottom chicken with the sambal oelek, soy sauce, and lime juice, remove from the warmth and stir within the mint.
2. Soften the Rice Paper Sheets: Pour hot water right into a large, shallow dish. Place one rice paper sheet within the bowl for 30 seconds until soft.
3. How you can Roll Summer Rolls: Place a soft rice paper sheet on a plastic board (wood will absorb the liquid an excessive amount of). Put two basil leaves on the highest third of the sheet and a 3rd cup of the chicken on the underside third, and top with 1 / 4 cup of slaw. Fold the perimeters of the sheet over the filling, then roll it up jelly-roll style, starting with the filled side. Rice paper could be very forgiving, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect.
4. Finish the Remaining Rolls: Place the roll, seam-side down, on a serving platter and canopy it to maintain it from drying. Repeat the procedure with the remaining sheets.
5. Make the Hoisin Dipping Sauce: Mix water and hoisin in a small bowl.

Summer Roll Variations:

Be happy to customize the filling in response to your preferences.

• Add a wide range of fresh vegetables and herbs. More decisions include lettuce, cucumber slices, bean sprouts, and cilantro. 
• Protein: Swap ground chicken for ground turkey or pork. For vegetarian summer rolls, use tofu.
• Spiciness: Should you don’t like spicy summer rolls, omit the sambal. For more heat, add extra or mix some into the dipping sauce. Should you don’t have sambal oelek, swap it with sriracha.
• Rice noodles: Place a small bundle of cooked rice noodles, which offer a chewy and filling component, on top of the vegetables.
• Dipping sauce: I made this chicken summer roll recipe with a straightforward hoisin sauce. A flavorful peanut sauce with ingredients like peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, and a touch of sweetness, is one other sensible choice. See my shrimp summer rolls for the peanut sauce recipe. It’s also possible to serve them with a conventional Vietnamese dipping sauce called nuoc cham, made with fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, sugar, and chili. Or use a straightforward, light sesame ginger dressing from the supermarket.

What to Serve with Summer Rolls

These easy summer rolls are great for an appetizer, a light-weight lunch, or served with one other dish to make a more filling meal. Below are some serving ideas:

How you can Store Summer Rolls

Summer rolls are best eaten the day you make them, but they may last as long as 3 days refrigerated in an airtight container.

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Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Yield: 4 servings

Serving Size: 2 rolls and a couple of tablespoons dipping sauce)

• Heat a big skillet over high heat. When hot, spray with oil then add the bottom chicken, and cook, breaking it up with a spatula 5 to six minutes until not pink.

• Add the shallots and cook 2 to three more minutes, to melt.

• Add the soy sauce sauce, lime juice and sambal oelek and cook 1 minute.

• Remove from heat and stir within the mint.

• Add hot water to a big, shallow dish to a depth of 1 inch.

• Place 1 rice paper sheet in dish; let stand 30 seconds or simply until soft. Place sheet on a flat surface.

• Arrange 2 basil leaves on top third of sheet. Arrange 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom third of sheet topped with 1/4 cup slaw.

• Folding sides of sheet over filling and starting with filled side, roll up jelly-roll style. Gently press seam to seal. Place roll, seam side down, on a serving platter (cover to maintain from drying).

• Repeat procedure with remaining sheets, basil, cabbage and chicken mixture.

• Mix water and hoisin together in a small bowl. Serve rolls with hoisin dipping sauce.

Last Step:

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Serving: 2 rolls and a couple of tablespoons dipping sauce), Calories: 299 kcal, Carbohydrates: 30 g, Protein: 23 g, Fat: 16 g, Saturated Fat: 4.5 g, Cholesterol: 98 mg, Sodium: 899.5 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 6 g