Breakfast Egg Rolls Are A Fun Take To Try At Your Next Brunch

Egg rolls are a staple of Chinese American cuisine, providing a crunchy, savory, deep-fried appetizer to dip in sweet and sour sauce. They've also been co-opted by other American restaurants and cooks who create even more culinary fusions by stuffing their bubbly fried shells with iconic regional fillings; take, for example, these pan-fried Southwestern egg rolls or these egg rolls stuffed with Philly cheesesteak. Transforming egg rolls into a handheld breakfast dish is a novel twist that will wow brunch guests and possibly supply a filling that'll live up to their name. 

The transformation depends on the filling and any accompanying dipping sauces, and there's no shortage of breakfast ingredients and dishes for inspiration. Choose between any combination of omelet, scramble, or egg bake ingredients. For example, this recipe for a simple spinach frittata would taste delicious as an egg roll filling. You could convert a classic breakfast sandwich into an egg roll with a scrambled egg, bacon, and American cheese filling to pair with a tangy, creamy comeback sauce. 

Or, transform egg rolls into breakfast chimichangas by filling them with eggs, chorizo, potatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, peppers, and onions to serve with a cooling avocado crema. You can even take breakfast egg rolls in a sweet direction by stuffing them with maple-infused cream cheese, chopped pecans, and roasted apples. Roll them in cinnamon sugar fresh out of the fryer for a textured, sweet, and spiced finish.

Along with numerous recipes, we've got various tips for preparing and cooking egg rolls. While store-bought egg roll wrappers would streamline your breakfast egg roll recipe, we have a recipe for scratch-made egg roll wrappers that come together quickly with a few ingredients. Considering that the fried dough wrappers are one of this dish's most defining characteristics, making them from scratch is a sure way to bestow the freshest taste.

Add a maximum of a quarter cup of filling to each wrapper, leaving plenty of room around the perimeter to facilitate folding them up. Folding egg rolls is similar to how you'd craft burritos or spring rolls, but with a square-shaped wrapper instead of a circular tortilla or piece of rice paper. We liken the process to folding an envelope, turning the square first into a diamond before adding the filling. Start by folding the bottom corner up, then fold the side corners inward, and finally roll from the bottom up toward the top corner.

While deep frying is the conventional cooking method because it creates the most decadent flavor and a bubbly, crunchy exterior, you can use the oven or air fryer for a less messy alternative. You'll still need to spray or brush them with oil; they'll take around 20 minutes in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven. An air fryer will reduce cooking times to around 12 minutes, flipping them halfway through.