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Egg Roll in a Bowl gives you everything you love about the filling of a classic egg roll—savory ground pork, tender cabbage, carrots, garlic, ginger, and plenty of sesame-soy flavor—without wrapping or frying a thing. It is an easy one-pan dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights when you want something fast, filling, and full of flavor.

Egg Roll In A Bowl

I have been spending a lot more time making one-pot and one-pan dinners in my Beautiful by Drew electric skillet, and this recipe is exactly the kind of meal that works beautifully in it. The large cooking surface gives the pork plenty of room to brown, and there is more than enough space to add all that cabbage before it cooks down.

My original Egg Roll in a Bowl recipe uses fresh cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic, and ginger along with a quick homemade sauce. I am keeping that tried-and-true version in the recipe card below, but I have also added an easy Trader Joe’s version to this post. It uses Trader Joe’s Soyaki and several convenient Trader Joe’s shortcuts for nights when you want to do as little measuring and chopping as possible.

What Is Egg Roll in a Bowl?

Egg Roll in a Bowl is essentially a deconstructed egg roll. Instead of enclosing the filling in a wrapper and frying it, you cook the seasoned meat and vegetables together in a skillet and serve the filling as a bowl-style meal.

Traditional American Chinese egg roll filling frequently includes ground pork, cabbage, carrots, aromatics, soy sauce, and sesame oil. This recipe keeps those familiar components but turns them into an easy weeknight dinner. You may also hear it called an inside-out egg roll, unstuffed egg roll, or deconstructed egg roll bowl.

Despite the name, there is not an actual egg in most Egg Roll in a Bowl recipes. The name refers to the egg roll-style filling rather than an egg being one of the ingredients.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The full amounts and directions are included in the printable recipe card below, but here is what makes the original version work.

Ground pork

Ground pork gives the recipe the flavor that is most similar to a classic egg roll. You can substitute ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground beef if that is what you have available.

Cabbage and carrots

Freshly shredded cabbage and carrots create the bulk of the bowl. They become tender as they cook but should still have enough texture that the finished dish does not feel mushy.

Onion, garlic, and ginger

These aromatics build the savory base of the recipe. Fresh garlic and freshly grated ginger provide the strongest flavor, but frozen garlic and ginger cubes are convenient substitutes.

Soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil

Soy sauce adds salty, savory flavor; rice vinegar brings acidity; and sesame oil adds the distinctive toasted flavor associated with egg roll filling. Because sesame oil is strong, a little goes a long way.

Sambal oelek

Sambal oelek is a chili garlic sauce that adds gentle heat. You can reduce it, leave it out, or serve extra chili sauce on the side if different members of your family prefer different spice levels.

Green onions and sesame seeds

Green onions add freshness, while toasted sesame seeds give the finished bowls a little crunch and make a simple but attractive garnish.

How to Make Egg Roll in a Bowl

Begin by heating the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork and cook it until it is browned and completely cooked through, breaking it into small crumbles as it cooks.

Add the sliced onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté everything together for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion begins to soften and the aromatics smell fragrant.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sambal oelek. Pour the sauce over the pork mixture and stir until the meat is evenly coated.

Add the shredded cabbage and carrots. It may look like a lot of vegetables at first, but cabbage loses a considerable amount of volume as it cooks. Continue cooking for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is wilted and the carrots are tender-crisp.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sliced green onions. Finish each serving with toasted sesame seeds and additional chili sauce, if desired.

My Trader Joe’s Egg Roll in a Bowl Version

If you regularly shop at Trader Joe’s, this variation makes an already easy dinner even more convenient. Trader Joe’s Organic Coleslaw Mix replaces the separate cabbage and carrots, while Trader Joe’s Soyaki replaces most of the homemade sauce ingredients.

Soyaki contains soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sesame oil, onion, and sesame seeds, so it does a great deal of the seasoning work for you. I still like adding onion and frozen garlic and ginger cubes because they give the finished dish more texture and a fresher, more noticeable aromatic flavor.

Trader Joe’s version ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork, ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground beef from Trader Joe’s
• 1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s avocado oil or olive oil, only if needed
• ½ small onion, thinly sliced or diced
• 2 bags Trader Joe’s Organic Coleslaw Mix, approximately 9 ounces each
• ⅓ cup Trader Joe’s Soyaki Sauce, plus more to taste
• 2 Trader Joe’s frozen Garlic Cubes
• 1 Trader Joe’s frozen Ginger Cube
• Sliced green onions, for garnish
• Sesame seeds, for garnish
• Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion, optional for serving

How to make the Trader Joe’s version

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. If you are using an electric skillet, set it to approximately 350°F. Add the oil if you are cooking with a very lean meat.
2. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned and cooked through. Drain any excessive grease.
3. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until it begins to soften.
4. Stir in the frozen garlic and ginger cubes and cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until they melt into the meat mixture.
5. Add both bags of coleslaw mix. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is softened but still has a little texture.
6. Pour in ⅓ cup of Soyaki and stir well. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, allowing the sauce to coat the pork and vegetables.
7. Taste before adding additional Soyaki. If you want more sauce, add it 1 tablespoon at a time so the bowl does not become overly sweet or salty.
8. Top with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Anyone who prefers extra heat can add Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion to their individual serving.

Two bags of coleslaw mix may appear like a lot when you first add them, but the cabbage cooks down quickly. Using both bags creates a better balance of meat and vegetables than using only one 9-ounce bag.

Making It in the Beautiful by Drew Electric Skillet

This is a particularly good recipe for the 7-quart Beautiful by Drew electric skillet. Its wide surface lets the ground meat brown instead of steaming, while its depth gives you room to stir in two full bags of coleslaw mix without sending cabbage over the sides.

Set the skillet to approximately 350°F to brown the pork. Once the meat is cooked and the vegetables are added, you can lower the temperature slightly if the cabbage begins cooking too quickly. Keep the lid off while cooking so excess moisture can evaporate and the finished bowl does not become watery.

You can find the Beautiful by Drew skillet and the other tools I use for my one-pot recipes in my [one-pot cooking catalog here].

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Easy Substitutions and Variations

Use a different ground meat

Ground turkey or chicken creates a lighter-tasting bowl, while ground beef makes it richer. If you use very lean meat, add a little oil to prevent sticking and help it brown.

Use bagged coleslaw mix

Even when you are making the original sauce, you can replace the small head of shredded cabbage and cup of carrots with approximately 16 to 18 ounces of plain coleslaw mix. Do not use a prepared coleslaw kit with dressing already mixed into the vegetables.

Make it less spicy

Leave out the sambal oelek in the original recipe or skip the Crunchy Chili Onion in the Trader Joe’s version. You can put the hot sauce on the table for anyone who wants it.

Make it more filling

Although Egg Roll in a Bowl can stand on its own, you can serve it over white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles. Trader Joe’s frozen jasmine rice is an especially convenient pairing with the Trader Joe’s variation.

Add more vegetables

Mushrooms, sliced bell peppers, broccoli slaw, snow peas, or water chestnuts can be added for extra texture. Avoid overcrowding the skillet, and allow vegetables with a higher water content enough time to cook off their moisture.

Add crunch

Top the finished bowl with chopped peanuts, cashews, crispy wonton strips, or additional toasted sesame seeds.

What to Serve With Egg Roll in a Bowl

This recipe contains protein and plenty of vegetables, so it can be served as a complete meal. For a heartier dinner, serve it with steamed jasmine rice, fried rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles.

It would also pair well with potstickers, spring rolls, wonton soup, miso soup, edamame, or a simple cucumber salad. If you want to keep dinner especially easy, cook frozen dumplings in the air fryer while the egg roll mixture cooks in the skillet.

Storage and Reheating

Allow leftovers to cool before transferring them to an airtight container. Store Egg Roll in a Bowl in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.

Reheat individual servings in the microwave until hot, stirring halfway through. You can also reheat it in a skillet over medium heat. If it appears dry, add a very small splash of water or soy sauce, but taste first because the flavors and saltiness can become more concentrated during storage.

The cabbage will soften more after refrigeration, but the flavor is often even better the next day because the meat and vegetables have had time to absorb the sauce.

Can you freeze Egg Roll in a Bowl?

Yes, although the texture of the cabbage will be softer after thawing. Freeze cooled portions in airtight freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating for the best texture.

If you know you are preparing the recipe specifically for the freezer, slightly undercook the cabbage so it does not become too soft when reheated.

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