I think we finally nailed the best low-calorie egg roll in a bowl recipe. And better yet, we actually wrote it down! Egg roll in a bowl is a high protein, low-carb dish that is very satisfying and can be on the table in 15-20 minutes. With just 140-180 calories per serving (depending on your protein) it also fits well into our Noom weight loss calorie budget.
In this post, we’ll show you how to make the best low-calorie egg roll in a bowl and give you a few tips and tricks along the way. Typically when we make this at our house, we make it two ways – with shrimp for Ann and with ground beef, pork, or chicken for Steve. The calories per serving will depend of what you use for your protein.
What you’ll need for the best low-calorie egg roll in a bowl
Protein – Pick the protein you like best. You can use ground beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or even cooked and chopped shrimp (my personal fav). This week, we tried this dish with chicken. I was thrilled to learn that I could grind raw chicken breasts in our Ninja blender. I just cut the breasts in quarters and gave them a few pulses in the blender.
To save even more time, you can also cook and then freeze your meat ahead of time. We like to cook big batches of ground meat and then store them in smaller portion in the freezer. This makes mealtime prep a breeze.
Also, if you’re not a meat eater like us, you could omit the meat all together, or use a plant-based meat substitute or edamame instead.
PIN FOR LATER
Coleslaw mix – The first time we made this we used a head of fresh cabbage and then tried to thinly slice carrots. Forget that. Just use a premade coleslaw mix instead. We like the ones that include green and red cabbage and a little bit of carrot.
Shredded carrots – Many of the coleslaw mixes include a few shredded carrots, but we like to add a few more. You can shred them yourself, or do like we did and purchase a bag of shredded carrots to save time. For about $1.98, you save time (and cleaning out the shredder). Plus, you can use the rest of the shredded carrots as a nice, bright salad topper the rest of the week.
Oil – The best oil for this recipe is sesame oil. It has a very distinct sesame flavor and adds so much Asian flare to this dish. However, if you don’t have any on hand, you can also use other oils such as vegetable, olive, or avocado.
Onion – I prefer diced yellow onions in this recipe, but any onion will do.
Garlic – Fresh garlic is the best choice for this dish. To save time, we buy fresh peeled garlic in a bag (in the refrigerated part of the produce section). Just take out a few cloves, cut off the very end, and crush between your cutting board and the flat part of your knife. Use the knife to dice the garlic a bit more and you’re good. If you want to save even more time (but give up a bit of the fresh flavor) you can also by chopped garlic in a jar. Again, it is usually found in the produce section.
A few more ingredients for the best low calorie egg roll in a bowl
Ginger – In my opinion, fresh ginger is what makes this the best low-calorie egg roll bowl recipe. Fresh ginger adds a ton of flavor without many calories and sets this recipe apart from others. Just break off a small piece of the ginger root and carefully cut off the rough skin on the outside. I find it easiest to cut it into a rectangular shape. Then cut it into small slices one way and then the other.
Soy sauce – Soy sauce is what makes this recipe taste like the inside of an egg roll. I use low-sodium soy sauce which to me, tastes the same, but has less sodium (read water retention). If you need a healthy, gluten-free option, coconut aminos would also work in place of soy sauce.
Rice wine vinegar and Mirin – Rice vinegar has a little bit sweeter flavor than some other vinegars. That said, if you don’t have rice wine vinegar in your pantry, you could also use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. For this recipe, I use a combination of rice wine vinegar and Mirin (which I get at Walmart).
Chili paste – We love spicy foods and highly recommend adding chili paste, Sriracha, crushed red pepper (or all three!) to this recipe for added flavor.
Green onions – Chop a few green onions to garnish your egg roll in bowl. If you want to get fancy, chop them with a diagonal slant.
Sesame seeds – You can add sesame seeds as a garnish if you’d like. I think they are best toasted just a little bit to bring out the sesame flavor.
How to make the best low-calorie egg roll in a bowl
Step 1. Brown/cook your protein in a non-stick skillet and set aside.
Step 2. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, Mirin, and chili paste. Set aside.
Step 3. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onion in the oil for 3 – 5 minutes.
Step 4. Add chopped ginger and garlic. Heat for one additional minute.
Step 5. Add the chopped shrimp (or other meat) back into the pan and stir.
Step 6. Add the coleslaw mix and shredded carrots to the pan. Stir until well blended.
Step 7. Add sauce mixture and black pepper to pan and stir 1-2 minutes or until cabbage is cooked to desired tenderness.
Step 8. Serve immediately in a bowl. Garnish with green onion, sesame seeds, Sriracha, cashews, or chopped peanuts as desired.
This low-calorie egg roll in a bowl recipe can also be served atop brown rice or cauliflower rice. You could also use it as a filling for lettuce wraps. We often eat it with steamed broccoli, vegetable spring rolls, or actual egg rolls cooked in the air fryer as a side dish.
We hope you enjoy this low-calorie egg roll in bowl recipe. If you make this recipe, let us know what think and be sure to tag us @postcardjar if you post a photo or video on social media. We love hearing from you!
Low-Calorie Shrimp Egg Roll in a Bowl
Equipment
- Large frying pan or wok
- Kitchen knife
Ingredients
- 10-15 shrimp large
- 1 yellow onion large
- 16 oz coleslaw mix
- 5 oz shredded carrots
- 1 tbsp sesame Oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp finely chopped ginger
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Mirin
- 2-3 tsp chili paste
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1-2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Brown or cook your selected protein. For shrimp, chop into small pieces after cooking. Set aside.
- Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, Mirin, and chil paste in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat sesame oil in large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions in the oil for 3-5 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic and ginger and sauté for one additional minute
- Add the chopped shrimp (or other meat) back to the pan and stir.
- Add the coleslaw mix and shredded carrots to the pan and stir until well blended.
- Add the sauce mixture and black pepper to the pan and stir for 1-2 minutes or until cabbage is softened to desired tenderness
- Serve immediately in a bowl. Garnish with green onion, sesame seed, sriracha, cashews, or chopped peanuts as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Other low-calorie recipes you might enjoy!
Steve and Ann,
Just tried this recipe after your recent post on Insta, very filling and love all the veggies. The Protein I used was Turkey Mince. Teamed with rice.
Great meal for an Australian Summer.
Thank you for the easy to read instructions and the images to support your recipe.
All the best
My husband and I have been making this for awhile now–even before I started Noom. We love it just by itself with no sides. We usually add in jimmy dean sausage instead of ground beef or shrimp.
We have also used pork–we have used our Ninja blender to grind lean pork loin up and then use that. But the sausage also sounds really good!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! When I put it in a recipe counter online (exactly how your recipe is written) it shows it to be 264 calories per serving instead of 160. Still a nice dish for a low calorie count and it’s absolutely yummy!! Thanks for sharing!
Hmmm…that’s strange. We put it in a recipe counter online and 160 is what we got for calories. No matter, it is delicious, and we hope you continue to enjoy!
I’ve just made this for the 4th time in 2 weeks. I really like it. I do it with shrimp and don’t use the sesame seeds as I’m out of them, but it tastes amazing even without them. One portion with nothing else is enough to make me feel full. Between this and your mushroom soup, I’ve already lost several pounds. I really enjoy your recipes and hope to see more, as it really helps those of us trying to lose weight to see and use the recipes used by those who have successfully lost weight already, rather than just use recipes off an impersonal diet site. I think part of it is also your enthusiasm, for all you do, motivates others to start it and keep on with it. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thank you so much for the kind words, MaryAnn! We’re so glad that you like the recipes we provide. We do like trying new things, so you never know when you’ll find a new recipe on our site!
I may be a little biased, but I haver really enjoyed this recipe! For me, Ann makes it with ground beef, so it’s about 180 calories/serving. Still, I love it when we have this because I’m going to be full, but not have too many calories.