Italian Egg Rolls
These Italian Egg Rolls are the perfect appetizer with just about any Italian entree. Crispy egg rolls fried to a golden brown, filled with savory Italian sausage, pork and creamy Fontina cheese! Serve with a warm marinara dipping sauce.
Why this recipe works
- Simple ingredients – nothing gourmet or fancy
- Flavorful and filling without being too “heavy”
- Ready in minutes
Egg rolls and spring rolls are typically associated with Asian cuisines, right? Just about every Chinese restaurant or Thai restaurant serves the traditional egg roll, but who says you can’t have a crispy golden egg roll full of Italy?
Ingredients
The ingredients for Italian egg rolls are simple:
- Italian sausage – I like to use hot Italian sausage in this recipe, but you can use sweet or mild
- Ground pork
- Fennel seed
- Onion – I use sweet yellow onion, but you can use white or plain yellow onion
- Garlic-I use minced garlic from a jar; if you use fresh garlic, use a little less than called for because fresh garlic is stronger than jarred
- Butter – unsalted
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Grated Fontina cheese – this melts beautifully, but you can substitute with Havarti
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Egg roll wrappers
- Grated Parmesan cheese – optional; as a garnish
- Fresh parsley – optional; as a garnish
- Marinara sauce – for dipping
How to make Italian egg rolls
This is a quick overview of the simple steps for making Italian egg rolls. For exact ingredient measurements and step by step instructions, see the recipe card below.
Brown the Italian sausage and ground pork with the fennel seed; break the meats into tiny pieces. Once there’s no more pink, add finely diced onion and garlic; drain in a fine mesh colander and set aside
In the same skillet, melt the butter and make a roux for the cheese sauce; once the cheese is melted, add the meat mixture back to the skillet and combine well
Assemble the egg roll wrappers with the Italian meat and cheese mixture and shape it into a rectangular or “log” shape about 3″ inches long
Fold the sides up over the mixture, then, brush a little water on the wrap and fold the bottom up; then fold the top over and seal with a little water
Use tongs and gently place the egg rolls in hot oil; fry for about a minute, constantly turning the egg rolls in the hot oil until they are evenly golden brown all the way around; drain on paper towels
Garnish and serve with a warm marinara dipping sauce
These pair beautifully with just about any Italian entree: pasta dishes, eggplant Parmesan, Pasta Faglioli
Recipe tips
- For best results, use a non-stick skillet to brown the sausage and pork; this results in less oil
- Add the fennel seed to the skillet at the same time you add the meat; this gives the fennel time to soften
- Don’t overstuff the egg roll wrappers. 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the meat/cheese filling is enough for each wrap
- Keep the Italian filling warm on low heat while you stuff each egg roll; the mixture will be warm, but since it only takes about 1 minute to fry the Italian egg roll, you want to keep the filling warm
Storage and reheating
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. To reheat, place Italian egg rolls in a single layer on a dry baking sheet and tent with foil; bake at 300°F for 15-minutes.
Italian egg rolls are a savory, crunchy alternative to traditional egg rolls and they make a great appetizer or snack for any occasion!
More Italian recipes
Italian Egg Rolls
Equipment
- Thermometer
- Tongs
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground hot Italian sausage See Recipe Notes
- ½ pound ground pork
- 1-2 tablespoons oil See Recipe Notes
- ¼ cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic from a jar See Recipe Notes
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ cup milk, room temperature
- ½ cup grated Fontina cheese
- 12 egg roll wraps
- tap water
- 2-4 cups frying oil (vegetable, canola) See Recipe Notes
- grated Parmesan cheese for garnish; chopped parsley for garnish
- Marinara sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Prep: Finely dice onions and set aside.Get the milk out of the fridge and let it come to room temperatureGrate the Fontina cheese; measure and set aside.¼ cup finely diced yellow onion, ½ cup milk, room temperature, ½ cup grated Fontina cheese
- In a large, non-stick skillet, add the Italian sausage, ground pork and fennel seeds. Cook on medium high, breaking the meats into small pieces, until the sausage and pork are no longer pink. (If you use a stainless skillet, you may have to add a little oil – see recipe notes below)½ pound ground hot Italian sausage, ½ pound ground pork, 1 teaspoon fennel seed, 1-2 tablespoons oil
- Add onions to the meat mixture and cook on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes; then add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a fine meshed strainer and strain any residual oil. Set aside. Wipe the skillet out with a paper towel and return to the stovetop on low heat.¼ cup finely diced yellow onion, 1 tablespoon minced garlic from a jar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Add the butter to the same skillet you cooked the meat. Once the butter melts, sprinkle in the flour and whisk, stirring constantly. Gradually add the milk and continue whisking (mixture will clump up at first, but keep stirring with a whisk or rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth)1 tablespoon butter, unsalted, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, ½ cup milk, room temperature
- Remove skillet from heat and add cheese. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently combine the cheese mixture with the meat mixture. (A rubber spatula works great here.) Return pan to stovetop on very low heat.½ cup grated Fontina cheese
- Place egg roll wrappers on the counter a pointed end near you (diamond shaped) (You won't use all of the egg roll wraps unless you are doubling the recipe)12 egg roll wraps
- Use a pastry brush or your fingers and lightly brush the edges of the egg roll wrappers with a little watertap water
- Add ¼ cup of the meat/cheese mixture to the center of the egg roll wrap and, using your hands, shape it into a rectangular or log shape.
- Gently fold the sides of the egg roll wrap over the mixture and fold the bottom up over the mixture. Gently roll the stuffed egg wrapper on the counter and set aside. You may need to brush on a little more water to the wrapper so it will hold together
- Heat frying oil to 350°F-375°F; using tongs, gently place a few of the Italian egg rolls into the hot oil. Turn them constantly using the tongs so they brown evenly. This frying part takes about 1 minute per batch. Remove from oil, place on paper towel and resume frying the rest of the egg rolls working in small batches2-4 cups frying oil (vegetable, canola)
- Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley; serve with a warm Marinara sauce for dippinggrated Parmesan cheese for garnish; chopped parsley for garnish, Marinara sauce for dipping
