With warm apple filling and a crunchy golden shell, homemade apple pie egg rolls are easy to make and taste so delicious!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love these apple pie egg rolls
- The recipe can be fried or baked in the oven, your choice.
- You need just six ingredients for the pie filling. And the dessert egg rolls are quick and simple to prepare in your own kitchen, no fancy deep fryer required.
- They taste just like the famous Panda Express apple pie rolls. Each bite is packed with sweet cinnamon apples and the perfect crispy texture.
- Topped with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream and a swirl of caramel sauce, it’s a fun and tasty twist on traditional apple pie.
Readers also love this Applesauce Cake
Step by step recipe video
(The recipe yields ten apple egg rolls. I only got eight for the video because my family kept eating the filling. The cinnamon apples taste so good, it is hard to stay away!)
Ingredients for the apple rolls
Apples – For the best balance between tender and crisp, choose a variety of apple that is good at withstanding high heat. Options that work well include Honeycrisp, Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji, or Pink Lady. To avoid mushy results, avoid Red Delicious.
Three cups of diced apples equal about three large or four small apples.
Egg roll wrappers – You can make your own homemade egg roll wrappers from scratch with flour, water, and salt. However it is of course faster and easier to simply buy a package at the grocery store.
For vegan apple egg rolls, look for wrappers that do not include egg or milk, such as Dynasty, Twin Dragon, or Nasoya.
Substitute gluten free or low carb tortillas for the egg roll wrappers if you wish.
Sweetener – This can be classic white or brown sugar, sugar free monk fruit or stevia that measures like sugar, or a liquid sweetener like pure maple syrup or honey.
Cinnamon – Three fourths of a teaspoon ground cinnamon adds natural sweetness to the apples without extra sugar. To increase the apple pie flavor, stir in an optional eighth teaspoon ground nutmeg or a dash of cloves as well.
Lemon juice – Tart lemon will balance the sweet filling, and it also helps prevent the apples from turning brown.
Cornstarch – Stirring cornstarch and water into the saucepan thickens the hot apple mixture.
Butter (optional) – Including two tablespoons of salted butter or dairy free butter gives the recipe a rich finish. For a healthy version, feel free to stir in a pinch of salt and omit the butter.
How to make apple egg rolls
- Wash your apples, and peel if desired. Or you can choose to leave the peels on for more fiber. Chop the fruit into bite sized pieces, discarding the center core and seeds.
- In a saucepan, stir the apples, sweetener, cinnamon, optional nutmeg, lemon juice, and butter or salt. Cook over medium heat until apples soften, about five minutes.
- Whisk the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl to form a slurry.
- Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan, then stir constantly for a minute until the filling thickens.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Refrigerate, loosely covered with a cloth or paper towel, until chilled or overnight. This step helps thicken the filling even more.
- Set out an uncooked egg roll on a clean surface, and place around two tablespoons of the cinnamon apple pie filling in the middle of the roll.
- Fold up the wrapper sides tightly, and brush a little water along the edges to act as a seal. (See the video above for a helpful how-to visual.)
- Brush or spray the dessert egg rolls with oil. Cook the recipe using one of the three following methods.
Air fryer apple pie egg rolls
Preheat your air fryer machine to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius. Place the unbaked rolls in a single layer, working in batches if needed. Air fry for seven minutes, then flip and continue to cook another two to three minutes or until golden brown.
Deep fried apple pie egg rolls
Heat about three inches of oil with a high smoke point (like vegetable or coconut oil) in a heavy bottom pan or a deep fryer to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius. Drop two egg rolls at a time into the hot oil, Fry for two minutes or until crispy with a bubbly wrapper. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and let cool on a plate lined with paper towels.
Baked apple pie egg rolls
Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius. Arrange the apple pastries, with space in between each, on a cookie baking tray. Bake for twenty five minutes or until wrappers are light brown and filling is bubbly and caramelized.
Serving suggestions
- Dust the apple pie rolls with powdered sugar while still warm.
- Or dip them in cinnamon sugar coating. To make cinnamon sugar at home, simply mix one tablespoon of ground cinnamon with one fourth cup of white sugar.
- Serve on dessert plates, drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with a scoop of ice cream. I like Coconut Ice Cream, Keto Ice Cream, or Almond Milk Ice Cream.
- No one says you can’t eat them for breakfast. Try serving with vanilla yogurt for protein.
Troubleshooting and tips for best results
This is a common issue, especially with baked egg rolls. To keep them from drying out, cover unused wraps with a damp cloth while working and take just one wrap from the package at a time.
Baking or frying at a temperature of at least 350° helps the rolls to turn out crunchy while also retaining some moisture. And do not skip the coating of oil or fat free cooking spray.
Cool your filling ahead of time, because hot filling before cooking can steam the egg rolls from the inside, causing soggy results.
It is also important to fry in small batches or not overcrowd the pan if baking. Be sure to follow the recipe’s correct cooking temperature, using a candy thermometer or a calibrated oven.
Finally, allow the cooked egg rolls to fully cool uncovered so they do not trap moisture inside a covered container.
Add just two to three tablespoons of filling per roll. While it may be tempting to stuff the uncooked wrappers and make big egg rolls, using too much filling can cause the wraps to burst, crack, or overflow.
Make sure to roll each wrap up tightly, and seal the corners and edges with water to act as a glue.
Apple Pie Egg Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 cups diced apples (360g)
- 1/4 cup sugar or pure maple syrup, or a sugar free substitute (48g)
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
- 2 tsp lemon juice (10g)
- 2 tbsp salted butter (optional) or 1/16 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (8g)
- 2 tbsp water (30g)
- 10 egg roll wrappers
- oil or cooking spray as needed
Instructions
- 1. Stir the diced apples, sweetener, lemon juice, cinnamon, butter or salt, and optional nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat until the apples soften, about 5 minutes.
- 2. Whisk cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl to form a slurry.
- 3. Slowly pour the slurry into the saucepan. Stir constantly for about 1 minute or until apple filling is thick.
- 4. Remove from the heat and let cool, then refrigerate filling loosely covered with a cloth or paper towel until cold (or overnight).
- 5. Place around 2-3 tablespoons of filling in the middle of an uncooked egg roll wrapper. Fold up the sides tightly, and brush water along the edges to seal in the apples.
- 6. Brush with oil, or spray with nonfat cooking spray. Use one of the following cooking methods.
- If deep frying: Heat about 3 inches of vegetable or coconut oil in a heavy bottom pan or deep fryer to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius). Drop 2 rolls at a time into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes or until crispy. Remove with tongs and let cool on a plate lined with paper towels.
- If air frying: Preheat the air fryer to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius). Place rolls in a single layer and cook 7 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 2 minutes or until golden.
- If baking: Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius). Arrange the apple pie egg rolls in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly brown with caramelized filling.
- Serve the apple pie egg rolls with a dusting of powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, or topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
Video
Notes
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