Egg Roll in a Bowl (Under 20 Minutes, One Pan)
Tastes like takeout. One pan. Done in 15 minutes.
When you're craving Chinese takeout but don't want to wait 45 minutes for delivery, this is the move. Egg roll in a bowl strips the classic egg roll down to its best part — the savory, garlicky, ginger-laced filling — and cooks it all in one skillet in about 15 minutes. No wrappers to fuss with, no deep frying, no mess. You get ground meat, shredded cabbage, and a punchy soy-sesame sauce that comes together fast. It's genuinely satisfying, easy to clean up, and works whether you're cooking for yourself or feeding a few people who can't agree on anything.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey — or ground chicken or beef
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger — grated, or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 14 oz coleslaw mix — pre-shredded cabbage and carrot blend
- 3 tbsp soy sauce — low-sodium preferred
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha — optional, for heat
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 unit green onions — sliced, for topping
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds — for topping
Method
- 1 Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 1 minute.
- 2 Add ground turkey and cook, breaking it up with a spatula, until no pink remains — about 5 minutes. Don't drain; the fat adds flavor.
- 3 Push the meat to one side. Add garlic and ginger to the empty side of the pan and cook for 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.
- 4 Add the entire bag of coleslaw mix and stir everything together. It will look like a lot — it cooks down fast.
- 5 In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, and sugar. Pour over the skillet.
- 6 Toss everything together and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is just tender but still has some crunch.
- 7 Taste and adjust — more soy sauce for saltiness, a splash more vinegar for brightness, more sriracha if you want heat.
- 8 Serve straight from the pan topped with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Eat as-is or over steamed rice.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Replace ground turkey with 14 oz extra-firm tofu, crumbled and pressed dry. Cook it the same way — it browns nicely and soaks up the sauce. Add a second tbsp of soy sauce since tofu is blander than meat.
- Faster swap — Use pre-minced garlic from a jar and ground ginger from the spice rack — saves 2 minutes of prep and barely changes the flavor at this speed.
- No rice vinegar — A small squeeze of fresh lime juice or 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar works fine as a substitute. The brightness is what matters.
Notes
The coleslaw bag is the shortcut that makes this under-20-minutes — don't skip it for a whole head of cabbage unless you have extra time to shred. Leftovers reheat really well in a skillet with a tiny splash of water; the microwave works too but loses some texture. This keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet or wok (12-inch) — The coleslaw mix is bulky and needs room to cook down without steaming — a wide pan lets it sear instead of stew.
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