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Spring Roll Bowl
This spring roll bowl is an explosion of spring roll flavor right in a noodle bowl! It stars tangy lime,…
This spring roll bowl is an explosion of spring roll flavor right in a noodle bowl! It stars tangy lime, fresh herbs, and crisp veggies.
This spring roll bowls is everything that’s great about a spring roll…in bowl form! And when we say explosion of flavor, we mean it. There’s the contrast of crisp veggies, tender noodles, and crunchy crushed peanuts, with herbaceous punch from fresh herbs: Thai basil, cilantro and mint.
A zingy sweet garlic lime sauce infuses a gingery, citrusy goodness throughout! It’s one of our favorite vegan dinner ideas based on a recipe we had at one of our favorite local restaurants.
How to make a spring roll bowl
This recipe tastes like your favorite spring rolls, in bowl form as a dinner recipe! While it takes about 45 minutes to prep, you can make almost all of the components ahead. This can drastically cut down on the prep time and makes it into a weeknight meal or even a lunch. Here are a few notes on this Thai basil noodle bowl!
Step 1: Pick a protein.
To make this noodle bowl a filling main dish, you’ll need some protein. We love this marinated tofu because it doesn’t even require cooking: you can easily marinate it while you’re preparing the rest of the meal. Or, try this baked tofu, crispy tofu, or pan fried tofu.
If you’re not a tofu person, no worries! Any protein that you’d find in a spring roll works: cooked chicken would be natural. If you eat plant based but don’t love tofu, you could try marinated tempeh or any other favorite plant-based protein sub.
Step 2: Find your favorite rice noodles.
There are lots of styles and shapes of rice noodles. For this noodle bowl we used a large, flat shaped rice noodle like you’d see in a pad Thai. (Some rice noodles are vermicelli, which are very very thin: we stayed away from that for this recipe.) There’s lots of variations even between brands of rice noodles, so you may need to experiment with a few brands before you find your favorite.
Are rice noodles gluten-free? Yes, most of them are! They are made with rice flour and water. Most of the dried rice noodles are gluten-free. However, some fresh rice noodles can contain wheat flour, so make sure to check the package.
This recipe works with any type of noodle you’d like: even spaghetti! Or if you’d like, go with zucchini noodles or squash noodles. The sauce brings such big flavor here that anything can work.
Step 3: Make the veggies and sauce.
It can take quite a while to cut all the veggies and make up a sauce, no matter how simple it is. If you make this noodle bowl all at once, you’ll do these steps while the tofu is marinading. However if you want to simplify weeknight prep, here’s what you can do:
- Make the sauce and refrigerate it. You can refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Cut the veggies and store refrigerated in an airtight container. You can chop all the vegetables in advance and store them in an airtight container, refrigerated. We’d do this no more than 1 to 2 days in advance, because the vegetables can dry out. Bring them to room temperature before serving.
The inspiration behind this recipe
This spring roll bowl comes courtesy of Becky Hostetter, the pioneering woman chef behind a veggie-forward restaurant here in Indianapolis (Duos, which has since closed). Becky’s inventive concepts and spot on flavors make her one of the best chefs in our city (not to mention, she’s one of the kindest, most generous people around). She provided her baseline recipe for the spring roll noodle bowl on her menu—and we adapted it for the home cook!
Tip: Use Thai basil if you can find it
Thai basil is a type of basil that’s native to Southeast Asia. It has an anise or black licorice flavor. You can distinguish it from the common Italian sweet basil by its purple stem and smaller leaves. Thai basil is easy to grow at home, or you can find it at international grocery stores or Asian markets.
A few more ways to use Thai basil: add it to Thai Basil Fried Rice, make Thai Basil Shrimp, or use it in curries like Shrimp Curry or Coconut Tofu Curry.
Dietary notes
This spring roll bowl is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Spring Roll Bowl
Pin Recipe
Print RecipeThis spring roll bowl tastes like a spring roll—in bowl form! It’s a fun way to eat an explosion of flavor for dinner, featuring tangy lime, fresh herbs, and crisp veggies.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3 to 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Southeast Asian
Ingredients
For the noodle bowl
- 1 recipe Marinated Tofu or Pan Fried Tofu (or substitute cooked chicken)
- 7 ounces rice noodles (or your favorite noodles; we used large, flat noodles)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 2 medium carrots, shredded (using a handheld julienne shredder is helpful)
- ½ cup chopped fresh Thai basil
- ½ cup chopped fresh mint and cilantro
- Crushed peanuts, for garnish
For the sweet garlic lime sauce (makes 1 ¼ cup)
- ¼ cup grated carrot (1 medium)
- ½ teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 1 small clove garlic, grated
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sambal olek
Instructions
- Make the protein: Make the Easy Marinated Tofu, Pan Fried Tofu, or your favorite cooked chicken recipe.
- Make the sauce: Grate the carrot. Peel and grate the ginger and garlic. In a medium bowl, combine the carrot, ginger and garlic with the rice vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and sambal olek.
- Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions (you’ll likely pour boiling water over them and wait until they’re tender!). Rinse them under cool water when cooked.
- Prepare the vegetables: Dice the pepper. Dice the English cucumber. (If you use a normal cucumber, you may want to peel it first.) Shred the carrot.
- Serve: Toss the noodles with the tofu, veggies and the desired amount of sauce: we used about ¼ cup per serving. You can put the entire recipe in a large bowl, or make little individual servings and toss with the desired amount of sauce and veggies. Garnish with chopped peanuts on top.
Notes
*Make ahead instructions: Make the tofu in advance and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Make the sauce in advance and refrigerate up to 1 week. Cut the veggies in advance and refrigerate 1 to 2 days (they can dry out if you go any longer).
