This is part Pin test and part my recreation of these Southwestern Egg rolls. This was one of the first recipes I made from Pinterest after I joined and it was so good I have made it several more times! In the process, I have tweaked and made them more to my family’s taste! If you are anxious about trying these because you have never made an egg roll before and you don’t even know where they would be found in a store, don’t be! I was once there too but stay with me I will explain everything, complete with my dummy-proof tips!
I originally found the Southwestern Eggroll Recipe on Pinterest from Cake & Allie. I made the recipe as it was and it was really wonderful. I had a couple of thoughts though. First you can’t even taste the cheese so why waste the calories. Don’t get me wrong, I am an absolute, gung-ho, the more the better cheese type. But with these you just don’t need it in my opinion. If you take it out, it is really a super healthy recipe you can feel good about eating (well minus the hefty dipping in the ranch I will recommend later.) And while this is perfect for a party appetizer, my other thought was that these NEEDED avocado and chicken. And with those additions they would definitely be hearty enough to be an appetizer or even a meal! So yes, these have now made their way to our dinner rotation and are an absolute favorite! Making these again for this Pin Test reminded me how much we love them and actually got me thinking what else we could roll up in an egg roll wrapper. I have a few ideas I might have to share with you down the road. What sounds good to you in an egg roll wrapper? Let us know in the comments!
To make these, first take your corn and black beans and dump them in a colander. Rinse them well and really shake as much water off as you can and dump them in a bowl. Tip 1: All ingredients need to be as dry as you can get them to produce the best egg roll. If they are too wet the moisture will cause cracks in the wrapper as they bake.
Next add the remaining ingredients (minus the wrappers), taking care to squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible, to a large mixing bowl. The original recipe calls for a bunch of spices. To simplify life, I just use half a packet of taco seasoning. If you are concerned about preservatives you can find out how to make your own taco seasoning here. Mix everything up well. Tip 2: If you want to save time on the chicken check out our post on a super easy way to shred chicken with a Kitchen Aid Mixer.
Now for the egg roll wrappers. I have used both egg roll and spring roll wrappers. I first used spring roll because the store didn’t carry egg roll, I then used egg roll because the store I was at didn’t carry spring roll. You get the picture. In the long run it doesn’t matter. The egg roll wrappers are usually located in the produce section, refrigerated, near other Asian type things. The spring roll wrappers are located in the freezer section usually with Asian foods. Pros of the egg roll wrapper are that it holds up better since it is thicker. The pros of the spring roll wrapper is that since these are baked instead of fried, I thought it had a better texture to it. You really have to make sure you get as much moisture out of the mixture as possible though if you go with the Spring roll.
To wrap them up just fold the corners in and roll! I seal the end by adding a dab of water with my finger.
Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and lay them on it. Once your sheet is full lightly spray the tops with cooking spray.
Bake at 4oo F for 20 minutes. Tip 3: for the best results bake for 10 minutes on the lowest rack and then move to the highest rack for the remaining 10 minutes.
Voila! You are done! These are really fab but if you want to make them over the top, rave about it all night kind of good, you have to serve it with GREAT ranch dressing. That’s right, no Hidden Valley. Here are two amazing recipes for Chuy’s Jalepeno Ranch dressing and Café Rio Cilantro ranch dressing. Or you could try the Avocado Ranch in the egg roll recipe and let me know how it is!
For those freezer meal fans out there, good news! These are freezer friendly. I bake mine completely then put into portions and freeze. When you take them out of the freezer you will either need to give them time to thaw enough to pry apart with out ripping them, or nuke them for a minute or two in the microwave to loosen them up. There is usually quite a bit of moisture when they are thawed so I set the oven to 425 degrees F and bake for 7 minutes on the lowest rack and 8 on the highest for 15 minutes total.
How much did I like this recipe? Enough to have made it at least once a month!
Did anything unexpected happen? The second time I made them I was in a hurry and didn’t get the spinach, beans and corn very dry. This resulted in the egg roll wrappers breaking open during baking. Although they still tasted awesome they were an ugly mess!
Overall Rating from 1-5: 4 alone, 5 with homemade ranch!
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Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls with Chicken & Avocado
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen corn thawed
- 1-15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1-9 oz package frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry with paper towel
- 1 red pepper finely diced
- 1-7 oz can diced green chiles drained
- 4 green onions finely chopped
- 1/2 buch cilantro finely chopped
- 2 medium chicken breasts shredded or finely chopped
- 2 avocados chopped
- 1/2 package taco seasoning
- 1 package of egg roll or spring roll wrappers
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400F.
- Place all ingredients except the wrappers into a large bowl, taking care to make sure wet ingredients are as dry as possible.
- Mix everything together so that seasoning is evenly distributed.
- Lay out an egg roll wrapper and scoop about 1/4 cup filling onto it.
- Fold in 2 opposite corners and then starting from a non folded side begin to roll the wrapper around the filling and seal the end of the wrapper with a dab of water.
- Spray 2 cookie sheets lightly with cooking spray and lay the egg rolls on them then spray again to lightly coat the tops.
- Bake for 10 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven, then move to the top rack and bake an additional 10 minutes.
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Jessi says
This sounds super yummy! I hope to try it soon.
Kimber says
I hope you do! I was surprised how easy and versitile these little guys can be! It is also fun to change it up a bit at mealtime. Let us know how you like them when you try it out!
Tracy says
My sister in law can’t wait to try these! She’s a vegetarian, so when she saw this on your blog she got excited. She’s in MOPS and just had a baby, yesterday!! Might be a great meal I can sign up to bring on the meal schedule!!
Kimber says
That’s a great idea! They actually freeze well too so she can eat them now or save them for a night when she needs a helping hand!
Chione says
Kimber — Two questions for freezing them. Do you wrap them in saran wrap or foil? Or do you just put them all in a ziploc freezer bag? And when you go to cook them, do you thaw them completely before baking? Or do you pop them in the oven straight from the freezer?
We’ve made these twice and really enjoyed them. For personal preference I’ve increased the spices but otherwise have stayed very close to your recipe. I tried frying them tonight and they were even better than before. I cooked them in about 2″ of veggie oil heated to around 375* and cooked them for about 3 minutes (a minute and a half on each side). Very tasty and a new addition to our meals!
Kimber says
Chione- I just put them in a ziplock on top of each other for simplicity. I have frozen them twice and the first time I left them out on the counter for several hours so they thawed enough to seperate. The second time there was no preplanning so I just microwaved them until I could seperate them. They were not completely thawed either time. They do have a bit of condensation after being frozen so I kicked up the heat in the oven a bit and cooked half the time on the lowest rack and half the time on the highest rack so that they crisped back up nicely. It is a hot enough oven that even if they are still fairly frozen they will heat up just fine.
I am thrilled you are enjoying them! Our whole family loves them and I think it is a really fun and surprisingly healthy meal. Thanks for the tip on frying. I don’t tend to fry much but I bet they are delicious that way!
Jamie says
These are currently in the oven! I can’t wait to try them and I love that you can freeze them for a quick and easy lunch. When you make these for dinner what side(s) do you recommend serving them with?
Kimber says
Jamie I am so glad that you got to try them! I hope you loved them as much as we did! It depends on how motivated I am as to what I serve them with! They are packed with veggies and beans so if I am lazy I serve them with chips and jalapeno cilantro hummus (from Costco!) If you want a little more you could do cilantro-lime rice or my favorite cornbread! I even so them with a little side salad sometimes. Then the ranch can pull double duty! They are so comprehensive in themselves that while its nice to have something with it, it really isn’t even necessary! Enjoy!
Jamie says
Thanks! They were delicious I loved them. AND they were husband-approved – which is pretty tough. 🙂 Mm jalapeño cilantro hummus sounds amazing!