All the Refreshing, Crunchy Goodness of a Spring Roll…In a Bowl (No Rolling! 🙅🏻♀️)
On a sweltering summer night, when the heat just won’t break and the thought of turning on the stove is unbearable, the only thing I crave is something cold, crisp, and colorful—like the layers you’d find in a spring roll.
But wrapping each one by hand when it’s too hot to think straight? Not happening.
So I took all my favorite elements of a classic spring roll and piled them into a low-fuss dinner bowl. The tender rice noodles, crunchy veggies, mountain of fresh herbs, and juicy lemongrass chicken layer into a refreshing, recharge-your-palate meal with little to no cooking.
The secret to the bowl’s Vietnamese-inspired flavor is my reader-favorite, 10-minute Lemongrass Marinade. Made with pantry staples like fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and fresh lemongrass, it’s bright and punchy, and plays double duty in this recipe: you’ll use half for marinating the chicken and the rest as a nuoc cham-style sauce to drizzle over everything.
Once the lemongrass chicken hits the grill, you’re DONE with the cooking. All that’s left is a little chopping and letting the rice noodles soak in warm water. Easy!
It’s a low-effort dinner you’ll actually look forward to making on even the steamiest nights. You’ll be making these on repeat all summer.
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I use instant rice vermicelli noodles to keep prep super simple. No need to boil a pot on the stovetop—the noodles can simply soak in a bowl of hot water from the kettle until tender. I love MAMA Instant Rice Vermicelli—they’re a big win on a warm night!
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Buy Now → Start With Flavor-Packed Lemongrass Marinade
My citrusy, umami-packed Vietnamese-Style Lemongrass Marinade is an underrated PWWB gem and a team favorite! It’s boldly flavored with a touch of sweetness that caramelizes beautifully on the grill.
I usually reach for chicken because it’s a weeknight staple in my fridge, but you can also make these spring roll bowls with shrimp or steak. Want to keep it even cooler? Toss leftover rotisserie chicken in the marinade for a no-cook shortcut!
Assembling Your Chicken Spring Roll Bowl
The fun part is bringing it all together—and it only takes a few minutes. Don’t worry too much about being neat! This bowl is meant to be fast and messy in the best way.
I can’t wait for you to try this Grilled Chicken Spring Roll Bowl! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. We LOVE seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!
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Grilled Chicken Spring Roll Bowls with Peanut Sauce
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Salads & Bowls, Grilled Chicken Recipes
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Vietnamese-inspired; Asian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Grilled Chicken Spring Roll Bowls with Peanut Sauce have everything you love about fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, just deconstructed into bowl form!
Layer juicy lemongrass chicken, crisp veggies, and loads of fresh herbs over a bed of cold rice noodles, then drizzle creamy peanut sauce over top.
It’s a craveable, texture-loaded twist that’s light, refreshing, and easy to prep even on a hot day. You’ll come back to this one all summer long!
Ingredients
for the grilled chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see Recipe Notes)
- 2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, bruised and roughly chopped (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1 small knob ginger, finely chopped or grated
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil of choice
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (sub tamari for gluten-free)
- 1–3 tablespoons fish sauce (adjust to suit your tastes)
- 1 large, juicy lime, juiced
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
spring roll bowl assembly:
- rice vermicelli noodles (I love MAMA Instant Rice Vermicelli)
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
- 1 medium bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced into matchsticks
- 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced into matchsticks
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh herbs of choice (e.g. cilantro, mint, Thai basil, etc.)
- ½ cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1 cup peanut sauce (store-bought or try my 10-Minute Creamy Peanut Sauce)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, combine the lemongrass, shallot, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, and lime juice. Season with a hefty pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Mix to combine well, then reserve ½ of the marinade for serving. Add chicken to the bowl, tossing to coat in the remaining marinade. Set aside or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Prep: At dinnertime, prepare the grill for medium-high direct heat grilling, about 450-500 degrees F. Once hot, clean the grates by brushing firmly with a grill brush. (If you do not have access to an outdoor grill, you can also preheat a grill pan over medium heat.) While the grill heats, prep the spring roll bowl ingredients: slice the veggies and prep the rice vermicelli according to package directions; once tender, chill by rinsing well with cold water. Set aside for assembly.
- Grill the chicken: Place the chicken on the preheated grill, discarding any excess marinade. Grill 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate or small baking sheet and rest.
- Assemble the chicken spring roll bowls: Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, thinly slice into strips and build your spring roll bowls as desired—I like to create a bed of rice noodles and lettuce, pile the veggies and chicken over top, then finish it off with lots of herbs, peanuts, and peanut sauce and/or reserved lemongrass marinade. Enjoy!
Notes
Jess’ Tips and Tricks:
- Chicken shortcut: While I love the smoky-charred flavor the grilled chicken lends to these spring roll bowls, this recipe is also great for using up any leftover shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken that may be hanging out in your refrigerator. Prep the marinade as described in Step 1 and toss half of it with your shredded chicken.
- Lemongrass: To “bruise” fresh lemongrass, trim the ends and remove the tough outer layers, then gently smash the stalk with the back of your knife or a rolling pin before chopping. You should smell its fresh, citrusy aroma right away! Substitutes: If you can’t find fresh lemongrass, look for tubed grated lemongrass (often sold in the refrigerator section near fresh herbs)—use 2 tablespoons for this recipe. Or substitute with 1 extra tablespoon grated ginger + the juice and zest of 1 lemon.
Meal Prep, Make-Ahead, and Storage:
- 20-Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for this recipe comes from preparing the marinade and chopping the veggies. Take care of this in advance—it takes 20-ish minutes—and you can jump straight into cooking during the week:
- Marinate the chicken according to Step 1 of Recipe Directions.
- Thinly slice the Romaine lettuce, bell pepper, carrot, and cucumber. Store in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
- Make-Ahead and Storage: Once assembled, these spring roll bowls hold up beautifully. Transfer to airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. For best results, store the sauce separately and drizzle just before serving. Enjoy cold, straight from the fridge, or let come to room temp for 10-15 minutes before eating.
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Delish and fresh! Made for meal prep and couldn’t wait for lunch all week!
These bowls were so delicious! Everything from the marinated grilled chicken to the homemade peanut sauce. Perfect for summer. They are very light and fresh, and I was able to get all of the veg and herbs from the local farmer’s market. This recipe will be on repeat every summer!
I made these last night for dinner and they were delicious and refreshing and just the thing to make for a summer meal! Also the marinade is out of this world!
So happy you were able to give them a try, Julie!! Glad to hear you enjoyed the bowls as much as we do!
I was so glad when the August cooking club reminder email popped up in my inbox becuase these bowls have become a staple on my dinner menu, and I want to shout my recommendation from the internet rooftops! I use the marinade on tofu and always make extra peanut sauce (I literally have some in my lunchbox right now) for snacking on veggies. This dish always hits and is just so flavorful and delicious (not to mention quick and easy)!
Making extra peanut sauce for veggies is such a hot tip, Melody!! Thanks so much for cooking along with us this month! 🙂
Love this! So many textures and flavors! I prepped what I could in advance so it came together quickly and easily. And the peanut sauce is the best!
Absolutely fabulous. I have no clever way to put this, but gee. It’s easier to put together than one might think…really gkreat!! Thanks
It’s definitely so much easier than you’d expect! So happy you enjoyed it, Donna!
4 stars aren’t enough! This hit all of the right flavor notes. So so so good! And yes Jess your mom’s Peanut Sauce is better than anything you can buy mass produced. Easy peasy meal prep
#playswellwithbutter
So happy you enjoyed the bowls, Rosalie!! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
This dish was so fresh and perfect for summer!! And much easier than rolling in rice paper. I made this with tofu instead of chicken and it was still tasty but I think the tofu needed a little more of a flavor boost – maybe a double fry? The sauce was killer though!!
Happy to hear it turned out well with tofu! Definitely try double frying it next time and let us know how it goes! 🙂
I made this on a hot summer night and found it to be light and refreshing. We really enjoyed it.
A couple of things I will do differently next time: grill the chicken rather than use the rotisserie shortcut and try the lemongrass paste.
So happy to hear you loved the bowls, Claudia!! Grilling the chicken definitely takes it to the next level! 🙂
Perfection. I doubled this going for leftovers but it went quickly!
Maybe triple it next time! 😉 So thrilled you loved the bowls as much as we do, Krista!
I made this with boneless skinless chicken thighs. The marinade for the chicken was do flavorful. I used lemongrass from the tube as I could not find stalks at my store and it was delicious. The creamy peanut sauce was easy to make and was also excellent . I loved the little peppery bite from the chili flakes. I will be making this on repeat! Super easy.
So thrilled to hear this will be a repeat recipe for you, Kathy!! Thanks so much for the kind review!
Make the spring roll bowls and got IRL two thumbs up from family. Delicious and great on a hot summer night.
Love those IRL thumbs-up! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review so quickly, Denise!
This recipe is so good that my entire family loved it!! We will definitely be making it again!
We love a family-approved recipe!! So happy to hear you all loved the bowls, Shelby!
I found this recipe yesterday when I was looking for dinner inspiration. It was exactly what I needed. Super easy, fresh and made phenomenal leftovers for lunch today. I made chicken for the kiddo and shrimp for myself. I don’t regret a thing and have already sent the recipe to 3 friends encouraging them to make it.
You made this one so quickly, Doreen!! So happy to hear that you and your kid loved the bowls as much as we do! 🙂