Egg Roll in a Bowl

Egg Roll in a Bowl is the best of both worlds – an egg roll and fried rice, all in one spot. This weeknight meal will take less than 30 minutes to get to the table and it sure to be hit with everyone. Egg roll fried rice  is the perfect weeknight meal and comes together in a snap. 

When I was a kid, Chinese food was my all-time favorite food. If my dad – a single dad stuck with 2 teenage kids and zero cooking skills – would give me free reign to choose takeout for dinner, I always chose our favorite local Chinese food restaurant. It’s still one of my favorite foods – give me lo mien and sesame chicken any day of the week and I’ll be one happy lady.

Luckily, the boys (Alex included!) enjoy it as well. While we occasionally get take out, we tend to make our own at home more and more often these days. It’s a more cost-efficient way to enjoy the food you love and there is no packing the kids up to go pick it up or paying a driver a tip for delivery.

As you probably know by now, I’m a big fan of sneaking veggies into foods my boys already love, which is how this Egg Roll Fried Rice – or egg roll in a bowl – came about. Ryan and Owen love rice but aren’t always willing to go for veggies. I love serving up fried rice because so long as I chop the veggies up small, they either a. don’t even notice they’re eating vegetables or b. are forced to eat them because picking out tiny veggie pieces between rice grains is kind of totally impossible. So it’s a win-win for me.

Okay, it’s a win-win-lose, because oh my goodness, the mess those boys make when they eat rice is kind of obscene.

Anyway, when I first made this egg roll in a bowl, it was because I was craving an egg roll but knew there was no way I would have the time or patience to roll up egg rolls for everyone. So instead, I used our beloved fried rice as a vehicle to cure my craving – and man, was that an amazing idea.

Egg roll in a bowl takes your two Chinese food takeout favorites – egg rolls and fried rice – and mixes them into one family please, veggie packed dinner. The pork and cabbage mixture you typically find in egg rolls is cooked up along with your normal fried rice ingredients in a one pan dinner sure to please.

It’s also super customizable – switch up the frozen veggies – the boys love peas and corn but really anything smaller (or chopped) would work, so spinach or chopped broccoli would also be a perfect addition. Leave out the eggs, add-in extra, use brown rice instead of white rice, add even more coleslaw mix to increase the veggie to rice ratio, omit the meat, try beef – whatever works for your family, try it!

Want to sneak in more veggies?

A win in our house is using riced cauliflower in substitution for some of the rice. My kids never know, since it doesn’t add must taste, but the veggie impact is huge. Cook it in when you’re adding in the cabbage.

Want to get the kids involved?

While I can’t recommend the kids help with the cookie aspect, they can definitely help with prep. Scrambling eggs, helping to peel ginger (with a spoon!) or using a food chopper to cut the garlic or onion is a great way to get the kids helping.

Tips for making an egg roll in a bowl

• Start with less soy sauce – you can always add more, but you can’t take it back out.
• Add the rice with the coleslaw if you’d prefer crisper coleslaw. My kids tend to pick at it if it’s crisper, so I like to allow the coleslaw to wilt a bit before adding in the rice.
• Only use a tiny bit of sesame oil – the taste is very strong!
• If you want to bump up the veggie ratio even more, substitute half of the rice for rice cauliflower. Add after the meat is cooked through and cook one 1-2 minutes before adding the coleslaw.
• Use day old or cooled rice when making fried rice!

You May Need…

The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Thanks so much for being a part of Morgan Manages Mommyhood!

We received a huge stainless steel pan like this one when we moved into our house and use it at least once a day. It’s big enough for a huge bath of Mexican fried rice, but also oven safe so you can toss the whole pan in the oven to keep it warm.

So tell me – What’s your favorite combination of foods? Favorite spin on an old favorite? Let me know in the comments!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these!

4 Ingredient Pepperoni Pizza Rolls

4 Ways to Make Healthier Boxed Mac and Cheese

Insanely Cheesy Low Carb Pizza Casserole