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These summer rolls are loaded with fresh, crunchy vegetables and served with a savory peanut sauce! In just 20 minutes you’ll have a fun and healthy lunch or snack.

overhead image of peanut dipping sauce on a serving platter with sesame seeds on the side.

What are Summer Rolls?

Summer rolls are a traditional Vietnamese side dish. They’re an assortment of vegetables wrapped in rice paper. Think of them like a sushi roll, but instead of rice and seaweed, you just wrap everything up in a thin sheet of rice paper.

Summer rolls are most commonly served (and best served) with a side of savory peanut dipping sauce. The peanut sauce is honestly my favorite part. I could drink that stuff straight up. Creamy peanut putter, soy sauce, and fresh ginger come together in the most incredible, flavorful way possible! Dipping these summer rolls loaded with crisp, fresh veggies into luscious peanut sauce is nothing short of a dream come true. Guys, you gotta give this recipe a try. They’re vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free!

summer rolls being dipped into peanut sauce.

What You Need To Make Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Rice Wrappers – You’d be surprised by how easy rice wrappers are to find! I often locate them in the ethnic/asian aisle of my grocery store. And if all else fails, I can always find them at my local asian markets. If you’re not familiar with rice wrappers, they look sort of like a thinner tortilla. When you remove them from their packaging you’ll find that they’re dry and stiff. Though they simply need a bit of water to help rehydrate them for this recipe. Try not to overthink the process, follow the steps in the recipe below to prepare your rice wrappers.

Tofu – Tofu is an incredible source of protein and contains all nine essential amino acids! It also just sort of takes on the taste of whatever else you’re eating it with. In this case, the tofu soaks up the peanut sauce, which is DELICIOUS. Not only is tofu super easy to come by these days, but it’s super cheap too.

Peanut Butter – To me, peanut butter is typically only ever associated with sweet recipes. Though we turn the tables here by adding savory ingredients such as soy sauce and rice vinegar to create this peanut butter-based sauce. I prefer creamy peanut butter for a smoother sauce, though chunky works too. Just please, whatever you do, make sure the peanut butter you use has NO added sugar! Any sugar in the peanut butter would completely throw off the balance of flavors in this delicious sauce.

summer roll sliced in half on a plate, with cucumber, carrots, and tofu inside.

Adjust This Recipe

  • Make it Nut-Free: For a nut-free sauce, replace the peanut butter with tahini.
  • Add Shrimp: Make my shrimp spring rolls recipe instead!
  • The types and amounts of vegetables and herbs are simply suggestions – you can swap or remove anything you like!

Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Medium
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

20

minutes

These summer rolls are loaded with fresh, crunchy vegetables and served with a savory peanut sauce! In just 20 minutes you’ll have a fun and healthy lunch or snack.

Ingredients

  • 12 spring roll rice wrappers

  • 14 ounces extra firm tofu, sliced into about 12 sticks

  • 1 cup julienned carrots

  • 2 cups julienned cucumber

  • 1 cup napa cabbage, thinly sliced

  • 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

  • 1/4 cup green onion, sliced

  • For the peanut sauce:
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, optional

  • 1 garlic clove, grated

  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

  • 2-3 tablespoons warm water

Directions

  • Fill a shallow bowl with warm water, submerge one sheet of rice wrapper in water for about 5 seconds then transfer to a clean, damp dish towel.
  • Place filling in the center of wrapper and fold the end closest to you over the filling, then tuck sides in and towards the center, finish rolling to create a sealed summer roll. Repeat with remaining rice wrappers.
  • Make the sauce by adding all ingredients to a bowl and whisking until completely smooth.
  • Serve summer rolls with peanut dipping sauce and enjoy!

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Change up the filling ingredients however you’d like, use up whatever leftover fresh veggies you have on-hand!

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More Healthy Vegan Recipes You’ll Love

Fun and delicious shrimp spring rolls with an irresistibly good peanut dipping sauce! These spring rolls are an easy and exciting way to pack veggies into your diet – they’re super healthy and tasty.

overhead image of shrimp spring rolls on a plate with peanut sauce on the side.

What You’ll Need to Make Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Spring Rolls Rice Wrappers – These light little rice-based wraps are what hold these spring rolls together! I’ve had lots of luck finding these at my local grocery store, in the ethnic food aisle. However, if you can’t seem to track these thin rice sheets down, I recommend ordering these on Amazon. Leftover rice wrappers? Try making my summer rolls recipe next!

Cooked Shrimp – Buy pre-cooked shrimp, or quickly boil it yourself before adding to your shrimp spring rolls. The only thing to note here is that you must remove the tails from your shrimp for this recipe! Removing the tails can happen either before or after cooking – it makes no difference.

Fresh Mint and Cilantro – These Asian-inspired rolls taste extra fresh thanks to a few sprigs of fresh mint and cilantro! I highly recommend adding fresh herbs to your rolls. Though if you don’t like cilantro, or don’t like mint, simply swap it out for a different fresh herb.

Peanut Butter – Unsweetened creamy peanut butter is the base to our peanut sauce. However, if you don’t like peanut butter, you can use cashew butter instead. Or, for a nut-free version, try tahini!

Soy Sauce – Found in most Asian recipes, soy sauce adds the perfect savory component to this dish. However, you can certainly swap out the soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos if that’s more your thing.

shrimp spring rolls on a plate with peanut sauce and fresh limes on the side.

Tips on Handling Rice Wrappers

  • Submerge one rice wrapper at a time in the water! If you attempt more than one, they’ll stick together and you won’t be able to separate them.
  • Don’t leave the rice wrapper in the water for too long. Just 5 seconds submerged in a shallow bowl of warm water will do the trick. Leaving the wrapper to soak for too long will make it too soft and difficult to handle.
  • Place each rice wrapper (one at a time) on a damp paper towel or dish cloth before filling and rolling. The wrapper will lift easily off the damp cloth, making rolling a breeze. If you place the rice wrapper on a kitchen counter or cutting board, it’ll stick and be a nightmare to remove!
shrimp spring rolls being dipped into peanut sauce.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: For vegan spring rolls, use extra firm tofu cut into strips in place of the cooked shrimp!

Make it Gluten-Free: The only non gluten-free ingredient in this recipe is the soy sauce. Therefore, use tamari instead, which tastes just like soy sauce but is 100% gluten-free!

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

20

minutes

Fun and delicious shrimp spring rolls with an irresistibly good peanut dipping sauce! These spring rolls are an easy and exciting way to pack veggies into your diet – they’re super healthy and tasty.

Ingredients

  • 12 spring roll rice wrappers

  • 1-2 pounds cooked shrimp, shells and tails removed

  • 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into matchsticks

  • 2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into matchsticks

  • 1 English cucumber, sliced into matchsticks

  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

  • For the peanut sauce:
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, unsweetened

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

  • 1 garlic clove, grated or finely minced

  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely minced

  • 2-3 tablespoons warm water

Directions

  • Fill a shallow bowl with warm water. Submerge one sheet of rice wrapper in water for 5 seconds, then transfer to a clean, damp dish towel.
  • Place 2-3 shrimp, a small handful of vegetables, and a few fresh mint and cilantro leaves in the center of the wrapper. Then, fold the end closest to you over the filling, tuck sides in and towards the center, and finish rolling to create a sealed spring roll. Repeat this process with remaining rice wrappers.
  • Make the sauce by adding all ingredients to a bowl and whisking to combine.
  • Serve shrimp spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce on the side.

Recipe Video

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Soft and perfectly sweet carrot cake cookies with a cream cheese icing! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. These healthy carrot cake cookies are the perfect springtime (or anytime) treat!

Carrot cake cookies with cream cheese icing on a baking sheet.

What You’ll Need to Make Carrot Cake Cookies

Oat Flour – Either homemade or store-bought oat flour will work in this cookie recipe! Oat flour replaces all purpose flour, making these cookies gluten-free.

Almond Butter – Smooth and unsweetened almond butter helps hold these cookies together. If you don’t have almond butter, you can use any other nut or seed butter you’d like. Cashew butter would make a great substitute here!

Maple Syrup – These healthy carrot cake cookies are naturally sweetened with maple syrup. The maple adds a touch of flavor, and the perfect amount of sweetness.

Shredded Carrots – Wash and peel about three large carrots, then run them down a box grater to make shredded carrots. Or, to make things even easier, simply buy pre-shredded carrots from the store for this dessert recipe!

Overhead image of carrot cake cookies on a baking sheet.

Tips and Tricks

  • Gently flatten each carrot cake cookie before baking. If you skip this step, they’ll bake up like round little balls. Therefore, for a more classic flat-looking cookie, give them a gentle press right before putting in the oven.
  • Allow your cookies to cool completely before icing! If the cookies are still too warm when iced, the cream cheese icing will melt and slide right off. (I’ve learned from my mistakes here – ha!)
  • These cookies are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. However, if you live in a warm client/are baking these in the summer – it’s best to store them in the fridge instead. If the cookies with cream cheese icing are left in too warm of an environment, the icing may melt and spoil.
Close-up image of a carrot cake cookie with a bite taken out.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Dairy-Free: While the cookies themselves are already dairy-free, make a dairy-free cream cheese icing by subbing your favorite non-dairy cream cheese, butter, and milk.

Make it Vegan: For vegan carrot cake cookies, replace the egg with a flax egg, and take the dairy-free icing option above!

Carrot Cake Cookies

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: DessertDifficulty: Medium
Servings

24

cookies
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

12

minutes
Total time

27

minutes

Soft and perfectly sweet carrot cake cookies with a cream cheese icing! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. These healthy carrot cake cookies are the perfect springtime (or anytime) treat!

Ingredients

  • For the dry ingredients:
  • 1 cup rolled oats

  • 1 cup oat flour, made by pulsing rolled oats in a blender until ground into a flour

  • 1/2 cup almond flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • For the wet ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup almond butter, unsweetened

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter)

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 egg, at room temperature

  • 1 cup shredded carrots

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, unsalted

  • 1/4 cup raisins

  • For the cream cheese icing:
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (I used non-dairy cream cheese)

  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened (I used non-dairy butter)

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

  • 2-3 tablespoons milk (I used non-dairy milk)

  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
  • Then, in a separate bowl, add all the wet ingredients except the carrots, walnuts, and raisins, and whisk to combine.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use mix until fully combined. Then, fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
  • Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough onto your prepared baking sheet and slightly flatten each ball with the palm of your hand.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Then, transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  • While cookies cool, make the cream cheese icing by adding all ingredients to a bowl and whisking until smooth and well-combined. Then, spread or pipe cream cheese icing on top of each cooled cookie.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • These cookies are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. However, if you live in a warm client/are baking these in the summer – it’s best to store them in the fridge instead.

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Perfect carrot cake muffins, made healthy! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, yet oh-SO delicious. These healthy carrot cake muffins come together in just one bowl, in about 30 minutes!

What You’ll Need to Make Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Oat Flour – You can either buy pre-ground oat flour, or simply grind oats into a flour yourself. I always make my oat flour myself because it’s cheaper, and super easy. To do this, place rolled oats into a blender and blend until a flour forms, and no large oats pieces remain.

Apple Sauce – If you don’t have any apple sauce, feel free to use 1/2 cup of mashed banana instead! Though if you do use apple sauce, please make sure it’s unflavored and unsweetened for this recipe.

Maple Syrup – These refined sugar-free carrot cake muffins are naturally sweetened with maple syrup. I love the flavor of maple syrup in these muffins, you won’t even miss the sugar. However, if you don’t have any maple syrup, you can use an equal amount of honey instead!

healthy carrot cake muffins with cream cheese icing on top and milk on the side.

Tips and Tricks

  • Avoid over-mixing the muffin batter! If you mix too much, your muffins will turn out tough, instead of soft and tender. Therefore, mix all ingredients until just combined, then stop.
  • Let these healthy carrot cake muffins cool completely before icing. I know it’s tempting to ice and eat these delicious little muffins right away. But if they’re too hot when iced, the icing will melt and slide right off. So practice some self-control, and leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes first!
  • These muffins are best stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for up to three days. However, if you live in a warm climate (or are baking these in the summer), you may want to consider storing them in the fridge. If stored in a very warm place, the cream cheese icing may spoil.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: While I haven’t tested this option myself just yet, you should be able to make these vegan carrot cake muffins by substituting the eggs for flax eggs! Or, use this Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer in place of the eggs in this recipe.

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: Snacks, DessertDifficulty: Medium
Servings

12

muffins
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

Perfect carrot cake muffins, made healthy! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, yet oh-SO delicious. These healthy carrot cake muffins come together in just one bowl, in about 30 minutes!

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs

  • 1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

  • 1/4 cup milk, I used non-dairy milk

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 cups oat flour

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup shredded carrots

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

  • 1/4 cup raisins

  • For the cream cheese icing:
  • 1/4 cup softened cream cheese, I used non-dairy cream cheese

  • 3 tablespoons softened butter, I used non-dairy butter

  • 2 cups powdered sugar

  • 2-3 tablespoons milk, I used non-dairy milk

  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
  • In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, apple sauce, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla extract.
  • Add in the oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until everything is just combined.
  • Then, fold in the shredded carrots, chopped walnuts, and raisins until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
  • Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted down the center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove muffins from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  • While muffins cool, make the cream cheese icing by adding all ingredients to a bowl and whisking until smooth and well-combined. Then, spread or pipe cream cheese icing on top of each cooled muffin.

Recipe Video

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These paleo chicken pot pies are equal parts delicious and adorable! Extremely cozy, rich, and satisfying – this recipe will quickly become one of your favorites. These individual paleo chicken pot pies contain all of the flavor of traditional chicken pot pie, but are much lighter and healthier.

Overhead shot of three mini paleo chicken pot pies with a scoop taken out.

I was super worried about this recipe. It seemed like a bit of a stretch and I just wasn’t too confident that it would work. You guys, not only did it work, but it turned out INCREDIBLE! These paleo chicken pot pies quickly moved to my #1 favorite recipes I’ve ever made, knocking my healthy hot chocolate out of its spot. The crust on these pies is incredibly buttery, without actually containing any butter. The filling is super rich and creamy, without actually containing any cream. I honestly just can’t believe the sorcery of these paleo chicken pot pies! I had heard that miracles exist, but didn’t truly believe it until now.

What You Need To Make Paleo Chicken Pot Pies

Almond Flour – Almond flour creates the base of this paleo chicken pot pie crust. If you don’t already have almond flour and plan on doing more paleo baking, I definitely recommend you buy some. Though be sure to use almond flour, and not almond meal.

Palm Oil Shortening – This is the paleo equivalent to vegetable shortening. Therefore, if you’re not paleo you can use vegetable shortening instead. In my experience, shortening makes the BEST pie crusts – better than butter. Though if you’d like, you can use cold butter instead of shortening.

Arrowroot Starch – This is the paleo equivalent of corn starch! Since we don’t use heavy cream in this recipe, we rely on a thickener, such as arrowroot starch, to thicken up the filling. If you’re not paleo, you can use corn starch instead.

Coconut Milk – I promise your pot pies won’t taste like coconut! This is another ingredient that will help thicken the filling. Coconut milk also makes these paleo chicken pot pies taste super rich and comforting.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

  • Add Dairy: Use 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter instead of palm shortening and 1/2 cup of whole milk instead of coconut milk.
  • Make it Vegetarian: Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and about 8 ounces of white button mushrooms in place of the chicken in this recipe. If using mushrooms, chop and then add them in with the vegetables in step 5.

Paleo Chicken Pot Pies

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

40

minutes

These paleo chicken pot pies are equal parts delicious and adorable! Extremely cozy, rich, and satisfying – this recipe will quickly become one of your favorites. These individual paleo chicken pot pies contain all of the flavor of traditional chicken pot pie, but are much lighter and healthier.

Ingredients

  • For the pie crust:
  • 1 Cup Almond Flour

  • 1/2 Cup Tapioca Starch

  • 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

  • 1 Teaspoon Salt

  • 1/3 Cup Palm Shortening, see Notes

  • 1 Egg

  • Cold Water, as needed

  • For the filling:
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive oil

  • 1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped

  • 3 Garlic Cloves, minced

  • 1/2 Cup Carrots, chopped

  • 1/2 Cup Celery, chopped

  • 1 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme, see Notes

  • 1 Teaspoon Salt

  • 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

  • 2 Tablespoons Arrowroot Starch, see Notes

  • 1 Cup Chicken Broth

  • 1/2 Cup Full-Fat Coconut Milk, unsweetened

  • 2 Cups Cooked Chicken, cubed

  • 1/2 Cup Peas (fresh or frozen)

  • For the egg wash:
  • 1 Egg, whisked

Directions

  • Preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
  • Mix together the almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-01
  • Add palm shortening and gently break apart with a fork until mixture is crumbly.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-02
  • Fold in the egg and gently mix until a dough forms. If mixture is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of cold water at a time until it forms into a ball. Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-03
  • Roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/4-inch thick, then place in the freezer.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-04
  • Heat the olive oil in a large pot or skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are just barely tender.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-05
  • Add in arrowroot starch and cook for 1 minute before adding in the chicken broth and coconut milk. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-06
  • Add in the cooked chicken and frozen peas, mix to combine. Transfer filling to 4 ramekins.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-08
  • Remove pie crust from freezer and remove one side of parchment paper. Carefully cut into circles large enough to cover each ramekin. Gently transfer each circle to each ramekin, patching the dough as needed.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-09
  • Brush each pot pie with egg wash and cut a 2-inch slit in the center of the crust.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-10
  • Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.Paleo-Pot-Pie-Process-Photo-Low-Res-11

Notes

  • Palm Shortening: You can use vegetable shortening or cold unsalted butter in place of the palm shortening in this recipe.
  • Fresh Thyme: If you can’t get your hands on any fresh thyme, use 1 teaspoon of dried thyme instead.
  • Arrowroot Starch: You can use corn starch instead or arrowroot starch in this recipe.

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More Incredible Paleo Recipes