Fast, easy, and extremely flavourful, these Air Fryer Rice Paper Dumplings are so simple to make! Crispy on the outside, chewy inside, and loaded with healthy veggies and Asian-inspired flavors, these vegan rice paper dumplings are perfect for a party appetizer or snack. This air fryer recipe is completely gluten-free as well!
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Quick & easy: If it’s your first time making rice paper dumplings, it’s really easy! It takes just minutes to throw together the filling, roll the dumplings up and air-fry or pan-fry them. Follow my step-by-step instructions below to wrap the rice paper rolls perfectly!
- Healthy: This crispy rice paper dumplings recipe is loaded with veggies and seasoning…and that’s about it! There’s no added sugar or salt.
- Use less oil: Air Frying these rice paper dumplings uses far less oil than traditional pan-frying. It’s so easy to do as well!
- Best texture: These crispy rice paper dumplings are both crispy (on the outside) and have a chewy texture inside. It’s almost a meaty texture. Absolutely delicious!
- Make it your own: Any of your favorite rice paper dumplings recipes will work in an air fryer! See below for my list of optional ingredients.
🗝️ Key ingredients for TikTok rice paper dumplings
- Rice paper: Most large grocery stores have rice paper wrappers. You can also find them on amazon. They are great for making fresh summer rolls as well – my go-to when it gets warmer!
- Vegetables: I added onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, red bell pepper, and some diced green onions. Very simple ingredients, ones I always have on hand in the fridge making it easier to throw together.
- Spice: Just some Chinese 5 Spice and chili powder. The heat is spot on and delicious!
- Coconut aminos: Most of the salty-sweet seasoning comes from coconut aminos, a gluten-free and soy-free substitute for soy sauce, which generally contains wheat. I didn’t have to add any extra salt because the coconut aminos are salty enough, just like soy sauce.
- Sesame oil: Toasted sesame oil is nutty and adds a ton of flavor, without having to add much oil. It’s perfect for cooking Asian cuisine.
🥣 How to make Crispy Rice Paper Dumplings in an Air Fryer
1. Begin by prepping all of the vegetables, making sure they’re all thinly sliced.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a medium-large pan on the stove over medium-high heat.
3. Sauté the onions for 3 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, Chinese 5 spice, and chili powder and sauté for 2 more minutes.
5. Add the carrots, zucchini, and bell pepper along with the coconut aminos and cook for 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
6. Add the cabbage and stir-fry for 5 more minutes.
How to fold rice paper dumplings:
1. Fill a large bowl with cold water. This bowl should be large enough to submerge a rice paper sheet. I used a large pasta bowl.
2. Soak rice paper sheet in the bowl, fully submerged, and wait for about 1-2 minutes, until it softens a little.
3. Place the soft rice paper on a large plate and place a new, hard rice paper wrapper in the bowl of cold water.
4. Take a spoonful of stir-fried vegetables and place it in the center of the rice paper wrapper, and add a sprinkle of spring onion.
5. Fold the edge closest to you up first, then the sides, and finally the top. The rice paper should stick to itself.
6. Move the rice paper roll to the side.
7. (Optional) Add the next soft rice paper wrapper to the plate (place another hard wrapper in the bowl of water).
8. Place the rolled dumpling on the wrapper, seam side down, and roll as before: bottom, sides, top.
9. Repeat for the remaining rice paper dumplings.
How to air fry Vietnamese Spring Rolls
1. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C/390°F.
2. When the oven is ready, open the basket and lightly brush it with a little oil. I like sesame oil for this recipe.
3. Place the rice paper wraps in the air fryer basket in a single layer, and brush the tops with a little bit of oil.
4. Air fry for 10 minutes, flipping the crispy rice paper spring rolls after 5 minutes. The dumplings will be golden brown when they’re ready.
🍳 No Air Fryer? Try the pan-fried method instead!
- Heat 1.5 tbsp of sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Place the vegan dumplings in the pan in a single layer.
- Fry for 3-5 minutes on each side, until crispy.
🪄 Recipe Notes & Tips
- Make sure your work surface for the rice paper wrappers is wet. Whether you use a plate or cutting board, sprinkle some water over it so that the rice paper doesn’t stick to it.
- Double wrap the rice paper dumplings if needed. This will make them sturdier but also chewier, however, it’s the easiest way to keep them from ripping apart.
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for 4 days. Reheat in the air fryer until crispy.
🤔 How many rice paper sheets should I use per dumpling?
You can use either one or two. I’ve tried both and find that using 2 sheets of rice paper is easier to wrap, keeping all of the ingredients in, which is handy if you haven’t used rice paper before. However, the ends turn out a little chewier. Using 1 wrapper, I had one accidentally open up because I overfilled it, but they end up much crispier. I definitely prefer the texture of 1 wrapper over 2, just be careful not to overfill them! I used just over 1 tbsp of filling per wrap.
🔥 Can I reheat rice paper dumplings?
Yes! Although they’re best eaten right away, you can store these rice paper dumplings in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge and reheat them in the air fryer. They get nice and crunchy again! I reheated mine for 5 minutes at 200°C/390°F and allowed them to cool for 5 minutes. I haven’t tried reheating them in a pan.
I don’t advise freezing rice paper dumplings. The rice paper becomes hard and brittle making them inedible.
💦 How do you soften rice paper?
I add cool water to a large pasta bowl and soften the rice paper for a few minutes, ensuring it is fully submerged. Some suggest softening the rice paper in warm water, but I find that the rice paper becomes very flimsy, easy to break, and sticks to itself much easier. Using cool water helps it to become pliable without losing its structure and form quickly.
🥕 What fillings can I add to crispy rice paper dumplings?
Variety is the spice of life, and you can certainly pick and choose which vegetables to add to rice paper dumplings, just make sure they are either sliced thin or finely diced.
Vegetables:
- Red or green cabbage
- Bell peppers (any color)
- Zucchini
- Carrot
- Celery
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Bean sprouts
- Water chestnuts
- Baby corn
- Snap peas
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Spring onion
- Garlic
- Ginger (pickled or fresh)
Meat:
- Shrimp (uncooked)
- Whitefish
- Salmon
- Ground meat (chicken, turkey, pork, beef)
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Pork
- Beef
Other:
- Rice noodles (thin)
- Crushed peanuts
- Sriracha or another hot sauce
❓ What can I dip these rice dumplings in?
Here are some of my favorite dipping sauces:
- Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce)
- Peanut Dipping Sauce (included in the recipe card below)
- Sweet chili sauce
- Hoisin Dipping Sauce
😋 More Asian-inspired recipes you’ll love
- Salad Roll Recipe
- Fresh Summer Rolls with Shrimp
- Healthy Chicken Ramen Recipe
- How to Make Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago)
- Easy Vegan Stir Fry
- Thai Coconut Soup with Shrimp
- Sesame Broccoli
Have you made this recipe? I’d love to know <3 Tag me (@makehealthyrecipes) on Facebook and Instagram, Pin it on Pinterest, and please give it 5 stars with a review below! Don’t forget to subscribe to the email list (top right of this page) for sparkly new recipes in your inbox.
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Rice Paper Dumplings
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil + a little extra for brushing air fryer and wraps
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 small-medium carrots thinly sliced
- 1/2 zucchini thinly sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 small pointed cabbage thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
- 1/2 tsp chili powder I used mild
- 8 rice paper sheets or 16 if using double
- 2 spring onions sliced thinly
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter smooth or crunchy
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2-4 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Begin by prepping all of the vegetables, making sure they're all thinly sliced.
- Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a medium-large pan on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Sauté the onions for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, Chinese 5 spice, and chili powder and sauté for 2 more minutes.
- Add the carrots, zucchini, and bell pepper along with the coconut aminos and cook for 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the cabbage and stir-fry for 5 more minutes.
Folding the rice paper dumplings:
- Fill a large bowl with cold water. This bowl should be large enough to submerge a rice paper sheet. I used a large pasta bowl.
- Place one rice paper sheet in the bowl, fully submerged, and wait for about 1-2 minutes, until it softens a little.
- Place the soft rice paper on a dinner plate and place a new, hard rice paper wrapper in the bowl of cold water.
- Take a spoonful of stir-fried vegetables and place it in the middle of the soft rice paper wrapper, and add a sprinkle of spring onion.
- Fold the edge closest to you up first.
- Fold one side over.
- Fold the other side over.
- Roll the rice paper dumpling up to the top.
- Make sure the seam side sits under the rice paper roll.
- Move the rice paper roll to the side.
- (Optional) Add the next soft rice paper wrapper to the plate (place another hard wrapper in the bowl of water).
- Place the rolled dumpling on the wrapper, seam side down, and roll as before: bottom, sides, top.
- Repeat for the remaining rice paper dumplings.
Air Fryer Method:
- Preheat the air fryer to 200°C/390°F.
- When the oven is ready, open the basket and lightly brush it with sesame oil.
- Place the dumplings in the air fryer in a single layer, and brush the tops with a little more sesame oil.
- Air fry for 10 minutes, flipping the rice paper dumplings after 5 minutes.
Pan-fried method:
- Heat 1.5 tbsp of sesame oil in a large pan.
- Place the dumplings in the pan in a single layer.
- Fry for 3-5 minutes on each side, until crispy.
Dipping Sauce:
- Add all of the ingredients except the water to a bowl or food processor and blend until mixed together, scraping the sides occasionally.
- Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Serve it as is, or garnish with toasted sesame seeds, fresh cilantro, crushed peanuts, or green onions if desired.
Notes
- Make sure your work surface for the rice paper wrappers is wet. Whether you use a plate or cutting board, sprinkle some water over it so that the rice paper doesn’t stick to it.
- Double wrap the rice paper dumplings if needed. This will make them sturdier but also chewier, however, it’s the easiest way to keep them from ripping apart.
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for 4 days. Reheat in the air fryer until crispy.
Love the how-to ‘photos. Recipe sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
Let me know how it goes!
I’ve never made these before! I found this recipe easy to follow and super tasty. And that dipping sauce is unreal!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Scott! Thank you for the kind comment =]