Crispiest Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls

Making frozen spring rolls in the air fryer is one of the easiest quick snacks for busy days. With modern technology (thanks air fryer!) these are insanely crispy, cook in under 10 minutes, but require no oil!

There is nothing I love more than a delicious, crispy spring roll. Whether I’m enjoying them because I have no energy to make anything more labor intensive or because I need a quick appetizer to bring to a party – I love them so so much. That being said, I have a decent amount of experience cooking *frozen* spring rolls.

While I love and enjoy frozen spring rolls often, I’ll admit that I hadn’t jumped on the air fryer recipe band wagon right away for cooking them. I was skeptical. I mean how can something use air to make food as crispy as frying it in oil? That just didn’t seem legit.

Thank goodness I was wrong, because making frozen spring rolls in the air fryer is absolutely game changing! The circulation of hot air air produces a super crisp exterior without drying them out and heats them super fast, similar to a convection oven. So let’s get to making them!

Ingredients for Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls

The ingredient list for these spring rolls is pretty simple – frozen spring rolls! I like to use a little spray oil but you definitely don’t neeeeeeed it.

• Frozen Spring Rolls: Grab your favorite spring rolls from the freezer section and let’s roll. But really, you can use any type of spring roll you like – vegetarian (my preference), meat filled, etc.
• Oil: While the air fryer does a pretty dang good job of crisping up the spring rolls, I do like to brush them or spray them with a smidge of vegetable oil to really hammer in that crispy exterior. For this, I like to use avocado oil because it has a higher burn point than olive oil and air fryers produce a more intense heat, not necessarily a hotter heat.

How to make Frozen Spring Rolls in the Air fryer

These spring rolls are ready in two simple steps. The whole process only takes 12 minutes start to finish! How easy is that??

Step 1: Prep
Place frozen spring rolls in a single layer in your air fryer. It is important to make sure the spring rolls are not touching so they have room to breathe. By breathe, I mean room for air to flow in between them so they get crispy on all sides (this is important when air frying anything frozen). For maximum golden brown deliciousness, brush each lightly with oil.

Step 2: Air Fry
Cook at 400°F (204°C) for 5 to 7 minutes, or until crispy and golden. If you have a different style air fryer (like a toaster oven style), you may have to increase or reduce the cooking time so be sure to keep an eye on them. I try to avoid opening the tray too often, however, because it allows the heat built up to escape and then ends up taking longer to cook the spring rolls.

Spring Roll vs Egg Roll

Sometimes these terms can get confusing, but this recipe will work for all types of fried rolls. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the roll.

A spring roll is characterized by a smooth, fried exterior. They are made with vegetables and meat and served with a dipping sauce. Depending on where you are, they can be called lumpia (Filipino) or popiah (Malaysian). This air fry lumpia frozen recipe is specifically for this type of roll.

An egg roll is a modern invention that is inspired by Chinese spring rolls. They are known for their fried and bubbly exterior that most people think is an egg roll wrapper but often times contains no egg. Some food historians believe that they were inspired by egg roll from a Chinese American Cookbook that was essentially an omelet wrapped around bean sprints, chicken, and ham.

Why this Recipe Works

Using an air fryer for frozen spring rolls seriously takes them to the next level. But if I haven’t convinced you yet, just keep reading.

• Extra Crispy in the air fryer. Because an air fryer works by circulating hot air from ALL sides, the crispiness achieved is unmatched. When cooking in the oven, you would be placing the spring rolls on a baking tray which means no air can get underneath the rolls. While an air fryer is fitted with a basket or tray that pushes air up from underneath.
• Fast is the name of the game. The intense heat that is created by the fans pushing heat continuously in an air fryer means there is no preheat time needed for these ai fried spring rolls, only cook time.
• Save Energy with an air fryer. Air fryers are only large enough to cook smaller amounts which means no unneeded energy is expelled trying to heat up a whole oven for 10 spring rolls. It also only takes about half the time of a conventional oven or pot of oil to cook in an air fryer (no warm up time!). This saves energy just by the nature of less time spent using an appliance.
• Cleaner than oil. Probably my favorite part is that cooking with an air fryer is immensely cleaner than trying to fry in oil. No splatter, no burning my arms, and no “what do I do with all this oil?”.

FAQs

How do I store frozen spring rolls?

While fried spring rolls are definitely best enjoyed right away, you can store any leftovers. Wrap them in plastic or foil and place in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I try to avoid refreezing them because each freeze thaw cycle reduces the quality of the texture of the inside while making the outside harder (a wild conundrum if you ask me).

Can I cook frozen lumpia in the air fryer?

Yes, of course! Lumpia are nearly identical to spring rolls so the process and cook time should be about the same, if not exactly the same.

Spring Roll Dip Pairings

The only thing that cold make these spring rolls better – a great dip! Here are some of my favorites.

• Peanut Sauce is the perfect creamy dip with a ginger kick. Ok this recipe is actually part of my vegan rainbow spring roll recipe, and it’s actually made out of almond butter, but it goes SO well with these fried spring rolls.
• Avocado Crema might sound a little strange but I promise the cool avocado crema with the hot spring rolls is a match made in heaven!
• Sweet and Spicy Sauce is another that is perfect for dipping spring rolls! It is similar to a traditional Asian inspired sticky sauce with tangy ginger, spicy sriracha, and a little corn starch to make it sticky.

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @liveeatlearn on Facebook or Instagram!