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One Pan Egg Roll in a Bowl - low carb, whole30, keto, paleo, AIP

Name: Egg Roll in a Bowl - low carb, gluten free, AIP option
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 13 min
Total time: 23 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds ground beef ((or turkey, chicken or game meat)); 2 medium onions ((finely chopped / minced)); 1 1/2 tablespoons unrefined sesame oil ((use another oil for AIP)); 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger ((powdered)); 1/2 teaspoon black pepper ((omit for AIP)); 1 teaspoon garlic granules ((or 4 cloves garlic, minced)); 1/2 teaspoon salt ((or to taste)); 1/16 teaspoon stevia extract ((optional - See Recipe Notes)); 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper ((optional. Omit for AIP)); 2 tablespoons white wine ((omit or substitute more broth for AIP)); 1/3 cup beef broth ((see vegan option above)); 9 cups shredded cabbage ((see notes)); 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot; 4 teaspoons tamari ((or to taste - see substitute options above)); Green onion for garnish ((optional)); Cauliflower Rice ((or rice))

by Adrienne 478 Comments Published January 26, 2017 Updated: Jan 19, 2022

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This Healthy Egg Roll in a Bowl (aka Crack Slaw) has all of the great flavor of Egg Rolls, but without the fuss and carbs of Egg Roll Wrappers. It's a sure to please Easy One Pan Meal that's easily adaptable and ready in under 30 minutes!

While all of us would just love to be a Martha Stewart type where we're making our own egg roll wrappers or at least buying the wrappers and making our own egg rolls, let's face it. Getting any healthy dinner at all on the table can be a feat, and not many of us have the time for things like rolling up perfectly formed egg rolls.

crack slaw in black bowl with chopsticks

In fact, I bet if I tried to make them, I'm sure most would end up unrolling, resulting in messiness.

So I figure, why not save time, avoid the stress, and go straight for the messiness?

That's what this dish does. It screams from the table "Ain't Nobody Got Time for Rolling Egg Rolls" but it screams softly since it still tastes great.

You're absolutely definitely going to want to add this kid-friendly dish to your rotation--it's that easy and that good.

"Egg Roll in a Bowl?" you say. "What's that?"

To which I respond, "One of the best easy meals you will ever have."

Seriously. You take all of the goodness of an egg roll and remove the outer wrapper and you've got a huge bowl of goodness.

Plus you can make it all in just one pan making it not just easy to make, but easy to clean up too.

Make it with precut veggies, and well, even Martha would be jelly.

I've always loved foods from other countries. You can see some evidence of this on my site in these recipes:

Pakistani Kima (a fave of family and everyone else too-- aka Ground Beef Curry)
Mild Curry Powder
Chaat Masala (a literally amazing Indian Spice you will want to put on EVERYTHING!)
Homemade Taco Seasoning (never go back to packets again!)
Thai Chicken Soup
Thai Curry Chicken Thighs (with a great technique to make them just right)

This Egg Roll in a Bowl is the perfect addition to the mix.

The Origin of This Dish

I found the inspiration for this recipe about a year or so ago. Someone had shared a recipe for Egg Roll in a Bowl in a Facebook group and I was super intrigued. What a concept!

I'd always loved egg rolls but hadn't had one in a long time due to our going gluten-free and even leaning grain-free.

Too many carbs in those egg roll wrappers, you know?

So I just went and tried the recipe. It was pretty tasty, but it needed something(s).

So I worked on it, tweaking it with different seasonings and such, and made this recipe so many times that well, let's just say we had egg roll in a bowl for weeks, but we ended up with a recipe that's a real winner.

This recipe is great not only because of its great taste and how easy it is to make it, but also because it works for so many special diets.

egg roll in a bowl in a skillet with wooden spoon

A Great One Pot Meal for Busy Families

If you're like me, you're busy. You often find yourself at 4:00 or 4:30 wondering "What's for Dinner?!"

I already have some recipes on my site that are perfect for getting dinner on the table in a flash including Super Fast Lentils, Homemade Hamburger Helper, Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets, Gluten-Free Chili Mac (and more easy recipes), and more.

But I could always use more easy meals as I'm sure you could too.

The leftovers of this dish are great! We even like eating it cold. Egg Roll insides for breakfast--YES!

The dish freezes well. I haven't frozen and reheated it myself yet, but many readers have tried it and told me it worked great!

I've also had readers tell me that this cooks well in a slow cooker or the Instant Pot!

You can even serve it as a side dish by omitting the meat completely. Any way you serve it up, it's a great way to get more veggies into everyone in the family.

Serving Options

This dish is great on its own, but we love serving it with cauliflower rice for a low-carb meal. It's great on regular rice as well.

You could also put the filling in wraps, temaki style, or gluten-free egg roll wrappers for fun without having to roll them up perfectly. These keto / low-carb wraps would be perfect as well.

Special Diet Options / Substitution Notes

This Healthy Eggroll in a Bowl is already a clean-eating recipe, but it's more than just that--it's easily adaptable for special diets.

THM: If you are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this is an S, E, or FP. It's an S with beef or pork, and E or FP with lean chicken or turkey. Serve with rice, if you like for an E. In my opinion, it tastes best as an S. Use lean meat and reduce the fat to 2 teaspoons, and use fat-free broth to make it an E and of course you can add extra carrots if you like. You might want a bit more broth but I think it will be fine without doing that. This meal can be any type of fuel. With rice, it's a crossover. With cauliflower rice, or plain, and with beef or sausage, it's an S.
Keto: Substitute additional cabbage or another low carb veggie for the carrots.
AIP (autoimmune protocol) or Paleo: Substitute coconut aminos for the tamari. Use coconut sugar or maple syrup (read Choosing Maple Syrup) or honey for the sweetener.
Vegan: Omit the meat (obviously!) and use a vegetable broth like this one. Here is my Vegetable Broth Mix for a make-your-own option. If you choose to use a broth that contains sodium, you may want to reduce the salt in the recipe.
Beef Alternatives: For the ground beef, you can substitute ground or finely-chopped chicken. Pork can be substituted as well. It can also be omitted for a vegan main dish or for a vegetable side. I HIGHLY recommend using quality meat--grass-fed if possible.
Tamari Alternatives: You can substitute either soy sauce or liquid aminos for the tamari.
Sweetener Alternatives: 1/16 teaspoon stevia is equivalent to 2 scoops stevia (see How to Use Stevia). Instead of stevia, you can use 4 tablespoons of almost any other sweetener.

Recipe Notes

Sesame Oil: For sesame oil, you want to buy a raw version, since cooking with toasted sesame oil makes the oil bitter. You would only want to buy toasted sesame oil if you would like to drizzle it on top of the egg roll after cooking it.
Homemade Garlic Powder: For a nifty idea, here's Homemade Garlic Powder if you would like to make your own garlic powder to use in the recipe.
Homemade Broth: If you'd prefer to make your own broth, see Homemade Broth Tips.
Cabbage Buying Tip: One medium head of cabbage yields about 8 - 8.5 cups so plan accordingly.
Soy Sauce / Tamari Notes: Personally I like tamari more than soy sauce. Tamari is richer tasting and has less gluten than regular soy sauce. You can even buy gluten-free tamari, which is the best of both worlds! Since soy is almost always GMO, if you are going to use soy sauce, I recommend choosing an organic soy sauce.

Some readers have asked me what kind of a pan I use for this dish. This is the pan I use.

I use it for all sorts of healthy recipes, such as my Honey Bunches of Oats Coconut Chips, Healthy Chili Mac, and Caramelized Coconut Chips.

The pan is light and on the thinner side so it heats up fast. I love that it's wider than most pans, giving it a greater surface area for heating, but it also holds quite a bit more than most pans of this type, so you can fit a lot of whatever you are making into it and not have to dirty up multiple pans.

Less cleaning--happy mom!

OK--with that, let's get to the recipe!

collage of egg roll in a bowl in black bowl with chopsticks

Egg roll in a black bowl and a pan of egg roll with wooden serving spoon in the background

Egg Roll in a Bowl - low carb, gluten free, AIP option

This Healthy Egg Roll in a Bowl has all of the great flavor of Egg Rolls, but it's an Easy One Pan Meal without the grain wrapper!

4.96 from 110 votes

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Course: Entree

Cuisine: AIP, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Keto, Low-Carb, Paleo, THM:S, Vegan, whole30

Keyword: Egg Roll in a Bowl

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes

Total Time: 23 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 345kcal

Author: Adrienne

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or turkey, chicken or game meat)
2 medium onions (finely chopped / minced)
1 1/2 tablespoons unrefined sesame oil (use another oil for AIP)
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger (powdered)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (omit for AIP)
1 teaspoon garlic granules (or 4 cloves garlic, minced)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/16 teaspoon stevia extract (optional - See Recipe Notes)
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper (optional. Omit for AIP)
2 tablespoons white wine (omit or substitute more broth for AIP)
1/3 cup beef broth (see vegan option above)
9 cups shredded cabbage (see notes)
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
4 teaspoons tamari (or to taste - see substitute options above)
Green onion for garnish (optional)
Cauliflower Rice (or rice)

Instructions

Place meat in large pan and cook until browned.
On medium high heat, add the onions, garlic, and sesame oil. Cook until lightly browned.
Reduce heat to medium.
Add spices, sweetener, red pepper, wine, and broth to the pan and stir well.
Add the cabbage and stir to coat.
Cook, stirring frequently until the cabbage slightly wilts.
Add carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft.
Add tamari to taste and adjust flavorings as desired.
Serve plain or over rice or cauliflower rice.
Garnish with green onions if desired.

Notes

If desired, you can drain the beef after cooking. I typically do not as I use either lean meat or healthy (grass fed) meat so there typically isn't much fat left after browning, or I simply don't feel a need to drain it.

Nutrition

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

The above nutrition facts are estimates only. Please read my Nutrition Disclaimer here.

I'm sure this Healthy Egg Roll in a Bowl will be a dish that you will want to add to your family's menu often.

I'd love to hear what you think about this recipe!
Please share in the comments below!

About Adrienne

I'm Adrienne Urban, mom of 2, survivor of 10 years of chronic illness, 20+ year creator of easy allergy-friendly recipes and frugalista extraordinaire. And I I believe that feeling better and getting your life back is easier than you think.

Learn more here