Egg rolls are a popular Chinese restaurant appetizer that consists of a crispy fried skin wrapped around a flavorful mixture of meats and vegetables. There are many different egg roll recipes with the traditional version having a pork and cabbage filling. To learn how to make these traditional egg rolls click here.. There are also other versions such as vegetarian egg rolls, and chicken egg rolls.

Making any version of these egg rolls can be a bit time consuming. First there is preparing and cooking the filling, then wrapping the filling inside the egg roll wrapper, and finally cooking the finished egg roll. The best way to save time is to make extras, or as I prefer, make them on the weekends and then freeze them for future use. This way you can have homemade egg rolls anytime.

To freeze the egg rolls follow the steps below:

1. Place a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper on a baking sheet and place the egg rolls on top making sure that they do not touch. These can be either freshly wrapped egg rolls (not yet cooked), or egg rolls that have already been fried and cooled to room temperature. I prefer to freeze them when there not yet cooked – this makes for a fresher egg roll when cooked from frozen.


2. Once the pan is filled with the egg rolls place another piece of parchment or wax paper on top of the rolls and then cover completely with plastic wrap. Place them in the freezer overnight.


3. Once they are frozen remove them from the pan and place them in large freezer bags. I usually place about 4 in a bag so I can pull out one bag each time I want to make them. Depending on the size of your family you may want to portion more or less per bag.


4. Make sure to squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing the bag. Then date them and use them within about 4 to 6 months.


5. To cook the egg rolls simply remove them from the freezer and fry them at 350F to 375F until brown for the uncooked rolls and fry until heated through for the cooked rolls. These are great served with duck sauce, hot Chinese mustard and honey mustard, enjoy.