southwest egg rolls - easy party bites or a fun meal

Leah here. I'm always looking for ways to sneak more veggies in to my day. When I stumbled on these southwestern egg rolls they seemed like a good choice. Baked instead of fried. Black beans for protein. Corn, chilies and spinach. Plenty of smokey seasoning plus a little cheese. Sign me up!

The original recipe called for using egg roll wrappers and by accident I purchased wonton wrappers. It was a happy accident because I got about twice the number of rolls from the recipe. Using wonton wrappers also makes them bite sized and a bit more party friendly, toddler friendly, or just fun for adults to eat. We all like appetizers, right?

They couldn't be simpler.

In a bowl combine corn and spinach (frozen is easiest but be sure to thaw and drain each well). Add a can of black beans (rinsed and drained), chopped green chilies, a few chopped green onions, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. We're starting out healthy. Aren't you proud?

Top this with some shredded cheese and combine well. I used reduced fat cheese but use what you like. Remember, if there is any ingredient you don't care for--leave it our substitute something you do like.

Lay out a few of the wontons on a dry surface. In the middle of each square, place about a teaspoon of your mixture. A little goes a long way here.

Working from the top, fold down the corner to cover the mixture.





Tuck in the sides. Moisten the last flap with a bit of water. Dip your finger in a bowl of water or moisten it with a damp pastry brush. Think about sealing an envelope---don't drown it.





Seal it tightly and place seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or parchment paper. When you have a full tray of rolls, spray the tops with a bit of cooking spray. This will give it nice color as they bake.



 Bake at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown. Turn the pan and flip them halfway through baking.

I love the flavor combinations in the filling and feel like I'm eating junk food even though these are jammed with healthy ingredients. I've also halved this recipe before with no trouble. Just save half the remaining can of beans and green chilies for another use. Alternatively, make the full recipe but use some of the filling for quesadillas or sprinkle on greens as a salad topping. I've done both. Delish!


For the health nuts, my calculations clock these at about 50 calories per roll when you use the wonton wrapper so I feel no guilt about having four or five (or six or seven) with a side of salsa for dipping as a meal. Ole!

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls
slightly adapted from Annie's Eats blog

• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles, drained
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Dash of cayenne
• 20 egg roll wrappers (I like to use wonton wrappers. Both are fairly common these days at grocery stores)

1. In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Place 1/4 cup mixture in the center of one egg roll wrapper. Reduce this to about a teaspoon of filling if using wonton wrappers. Fold bottom corner over filling. Fold sides toward center over filling. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal. Repeat.
2. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spray tops of egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown. Turn them halfway through baking.