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Easy Shrimp Summer Rolls are filled with bright veggies and make a fresh and tasty appetizer or light meal! With ingredients like shrimp, avocado, crisp carrots, red cabbage, and herbs, these are satisfying and loaded with flavor! Serve with peanut sauce for maximum flavor!
Delicious handheld bites like these are the perfect light snack! For more options, try these veggie pinwheels, avocado deviled eggs, or flavorful Hawaiian shrimp lettuce wraps.
Vibrant shrimp summer rolls are as gorgeous as they are delicious! They look impressive and like they might be complicated to make, but the process for filling and rolling them up is really quite easy.
The summer roll recipe starts with soaking the rice paper, then fill it with shrimp and veggies, and roll it up. These are great for a variety of occasions. I love them for a quick snack or a light lunch and they make a really elegant party appetizer. Plus, they’re super versatile and you can change up the filling ingredients with what you like and have on-hand.
Recipe summary
- Easy to prep: The most time-consuming task is chopping the vegetables, which is super simple. Once you get the hang of rolling the papers, this recipe is a breeze.
- Veggie-heavy recipe: I love that there are so many vegetables included in this recipe! It’s full of good-for-you ingredients!
- Customizable: Use any veggies you want to fill the rolls! You can also change up the protein, herbs, and dipping sauce.
- Delicious peanut sauce! You will go crazy for the sauce and probably find other tasty ways to use it.
Ingredients you’ll need
The list of ingredients needed to make this summer roll recipe is really simple! These are also easily customizable, so feel free to get creative with the filling and make them just how you want!
- Rice paper: You’ll need 12 sheets of see-through rice paper. If you’ve never purchased rice paper, you’ll find it down the international food aisle of your local grocery store or your local Asian market!
- Shrimp: I like to use large or jumbo peeled and cooked shrimp for this recipe.
- Avocado: Sliced avocado adds a creamy element.
- Carrot: For crisp subtle sweetness.
- Cabbage: Any cabbage would work but I especially love to use red cabbage because it’s so colorful.
- Herbs: Fresh parsley or cilantro leaves pair nicely with the other ingredients and add fresh herb flavor.
- Thai basil leaves: These are similar to regular basil leaves but have a slightly spicy taste.
- Peanut sauce: A mixture of creamy peanut butter, reduced-sodium soy sauce, sriracha sauce, and minced garlic makes for a wonderfully savory, nutty dipping sauce.
Variations and substitutions
- Change up the protein: Instead of shrimp, try steak, tofu, or chicken. You could also just double up on vegetables!
- Use different herbs: If you can’t find the Thai basil leaves, you can substitute with a combination of regular basil and mint leaves. Or you can leave them out altogether.
- Dipping sauces: If you don’t like peanut sauce or can’t eat peanuts, other dipping sauces you may enjoy are hoisin sauce, spicy mayo or sweet chili sauce.
- Add a nutty crunch: These would be great with some crushed peanuts or toasted sesame seeds added to the filling for extra texture.
How to make shrimp rolls
Step 1: In a medium bowl whisk all the ingredients for the peanut sauce. Set aside.
Step 2: Prepare the vegetables for the rolls. Add a bowl with hot water to your station just before you start assembling the summer rolls. Take a rice paper and completely submerge it the hot water for 10-15 seconds, or until pliable.
Step 3: Place the rice paper on your clean cutting board and in the middle add 1/4 cup carrots, 1/4 cup cabbage, 2 shrimps, a few avocado slices, parsley/cilantro, and basil leaves.
Step 4: Fold the wrapper over the filling, and roll tightly. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling and serve with peanut sauce.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS 😍
Recipe Tips
- Prepping the veggies: It’s best if the veggies are shredded or very finely sliced, so everything fits nicely when rolled up.
- Don’t overfill papers: To ensure the rolls stay rolled up tightly and nothing falls out, be sure not to add too much filling to the rice paper rounds.
- Don’t roll too tightly: Once softened and filled, be gentle rolling the wraps. You don’t want to roll them so tight that the papers tear.
Frequently asked questions
Spring roll recipes are usually wrapped in a dough made of flour and water and then fried, while summer rolls are wrapped in a translucent rice-wrapper and not cooked. However, the names are often used interchangeably and you will see recipes that are named spring rolls and they’re served cold like these summer rolls.
The name “summer roll” was made popular by various Vietnamese American restaurants as a seasonal take on the more traditional “spring roll”.
Your summer rolls might fall apart if you overstuff them or roll them too tightly. Also, make sure the wrappers aren’t overly wet, and therefore too soft.
Storing leftovers
Shrimp summer rolls are best enjoyed fresh, but you can store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To keep these from becoming dry, line the storage container with a damp paper towel, then place the rolls inside the container and cover with another damp paper towel before topping with the lid.
More shrimp recipes
- Blackened Shrimp
- Zesty Shrimp Avocado Pasta
- Easy Pesto Shrimp
- Easy Teriyaki Shrimp
- Cajun Shrimp Recipe
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Shrimp Summer Rolls
Ingredients
- 12 rounds rice paper
- 24 large peeled and cooked shrimp
- 1 hass avocado, sliced
- 3 carrots, shredded
- 3 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
Peanut sauce:
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 5-6 tablespoons hot water, to thin
Instructions
- In a medium bowl whisk all the ingredients for the peanut sauce. Set aside.
- Prepare the vegetables for the rolls. Add a bowl with hot water to your station just before you start assembling the summer rolls.
- Take a rice paper and completely submerge it the hot water for 10-15 seconds, or until pliable.
- Place the rice paper on your clean cutting board and in the middle add 1/4 cup carrots, 1/4 cup cabbage, 2 shrimps, a few avocado slices, parsley/cilantro, and basil leaves. Fold the wrapper over the filling, and roll tightly.
- Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling and serve with peanut sauce.
Notes
- Shrimp summer rolls are best enjoyed fresh, but you can store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To keep these from becoming dry, line the storage container with a damp paper towel, then place the rolls inside the container and cover with another damp paper towel before topping with the lid.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It was so good