Vegan Rainbow Veggie Summer Rolls with Lemongrass Sauce

Warm weather has me craving food that’s light and bright and FRESH! I love me some roasted root veggies, savory meats, juicy chicken, mashed potatoes… honestly anything heavy and savory in the winter time, but summer is basically here and it’s time to switch things up. And what better way to use a ton of it than these summer rolls?! 

These summer rolls are a play on the traditional Vietnamese spring roll (Gỏi cuốn.) Typically, the Vietnamese spring rolls consist of vermicelli rice noodles, shrimp or pork, veggies and herbs wrapped in super thin rice paper dough. The wrapper is usually thin and soft (if you’ve ever had a rice roll at dim sum, it’s similar to that.)  In other Asian cultures, spring rolls can be fried and crunchy, but in Vietnam they are soft like dumplings. Even within Vietnam, the summer roll has a bunch of different names, depending on what region you’re in. 

These veggie summer rolls came about because I wanted a healthy snack /meal to have on hand throughout the week. My husband and I have been so busy with construction and work, it hasn’t left much time for a well thought out snack, which leads to us grabbing the sugary protein bars to tide us over. After a few too many days of that and me asking myself “how much chocolate is it acceptable to eat in a week?,” it got me thinking… I wish there was a convenient snack that was packed with veggies but didn’t taste like …well … grass! And thus these summer rolls were created. I like to make a bunch and keep them in the fridge with a little dipping sauce. They are super easy for grab n go, plus they are absolutely full of veggies (and vegan friendly!).

These will keep in the fridge for about 4 days, so add them to your weekly meal prep day and store them in a sealed container, un-cut and with just a little space in between each roll (so they don’t stick). All the veggies included are for my own taste, but you can totally make these your own! If you don’t like some of the veggies I included, skip them or substitute them for one you do like. You can also add some fresh mango if you have it, and add or substitute mint leaves or basil for cilantro. If you are cutting and using all fresh veggies, the most time consuming part is just the washing and chopping, but it’s pretty quick and easy. If you buy pre-cut veggies or leave some out, your prep time will be even less. It is important to use fresh veggies here, though- if you’ve got some in your fridge that are about to expire.. this isn’t the right dish for those. Opt for a stir fry instead.

Summer rolls and spring rolls are traditionally served with a peanut or a hoisin sauce, but I went a little different direction with this lemongrass sauce. Trust me, it is SO good. Obviously if you don’t like lemongrass, feel free to use a peanut or hoisin based sauce. Or, you can add creamy peanut butter to this lemongrass sauce for the ultimate flavor party. 

Let’s talk about Lemongrass for a second. If you’ve never seen or cooked with lemongrass before, it can be intimidating. It’s this long, yellowish green stalk with tough, fibrous layers on the outside, and delicious smelling lemony goodness on the inside. In the grocery store, you’ll find it near the ginger and peppers. To cook with it, start by peeling away the first two layers of that really tough skin to expose the softer interior. You really only use the middle portion of the stalk, so cut away about an inch off the bottom, and a couple of inches of the thin flimsy part of the stalk. After that, cut it like you would a scallion and mince it up. Don’t throw away the ends though- we are gonna soak those in the sauce for even more flavor! 

Just a reminder that this recipe is vegan friendly and gluten-free, but a lot of the ingredients in both the roll and the sauce can be flexible and adjusted to your preferences. Double check the packaging on your wrappers to make sure they’re certified gluten free