Beet and tofu spring rolls w/ a creamy peanut + almond sauce (vegan, gf)

I’ve gotta admit something… i’m low-key obsessed with salad spring rolls and I have been for quite some time. My obsession for them has been re-ignited since I ate them a few days ago at The Chopped Leaf. SO, I decided to create my own nutrient-dense little spring rolls and pair them with a creamy almond & peanut butter sauce. These rolls are vegan and gluten free (just make sure the rice paper sheets are completely gluten free!).

Beet tofu spring rolls w/ creamy sauce

Ingredients

• extra firm tofu – half a pack (make sure to squeeze out excess liquid)
• 1/2 tsp organic garlic powder (for tofu)
• 2-3 bell peppers – seeds taken out and thinly sliced. I use yellow, red and orange for a variety of colors
• 1 small carrot
• 1 mini cucumber – thinly sliced
• 1/2 a small zucchini – thinly sliced
• 1 small beet – shredded
• 1 small red onion – thinly sliced OR sliced of green onions- (optional)
• a few pieces of black kale – stems taken out
• rice papers (I got mine from Co-op and so far, they’re my favorite texture and flavor-wise)
• 1.5 cups of mixed almond and peanut butter – you can use just peanut butter if you want as well!
• 1 lime
• Splash of rice vinegar
• 1 cup coconut milk – a bit more if you want to thin the sauce out a bit
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1/2 tbsp tamari (or light soy sauce)
• 3 tbsp sesame oil + 1 tbsp avocado oil (keep seperated – sesame oil is for sauce and avocado oil is for frying up tofu. Olive oil works too!)
• Salt + pepper – as much as you want

Directions

1. Slice tofu into long pieces, not too thick but not too thin. See picture of spring roll cut in half so you can see how big I made mine. Once cut, sprinkle pieces with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat up your avocado oil or olive oil in a frying pan and then cook up tofu until crispy on each side. Set aside to let cool.
2. Next, slice up peppers, carrot, cucumber, zucchini and red onion into thin, long pieces. Make sure the length is the length of a wrapped spring roll, about 3-4 inches. Next, grate up some of the beet and rip up small pieces of the black kale.
3. You will want to make the sauce now. In a small pot on low-medium heat, add in peanut butter + almond butter, the juice of 1 lime, small splash of rice vinegar, creamy coconut milk, coconut sugar, tamari, and sesame oil and whisk up until mixed. Add in some salt and pepper and taste test. Adjust if necessary. As soon as it’s whisked up all together, turn off heat and set aside.
4. Next, following the steps on your rice paper packaging for ‘raw spring rolls’, create your own and add in equal amounts of veggies and tofu in each spring roll you make. Most rice paper packaging has directions on how to get the sheets prepped, howto roll the veggies up and how to ‘seal’ the ends.
5. Serve with the peanut + almond sauce and enjoy!

Note: you can also use cooked garlic prawns in this recipe instead of tofu!
Note: not all rice papers are the same. Some vary in flavor, texture, smell, ect. I picked up two from Co-op and tried them both. The brand Banh Trang, I wasn’t a huge fan of. It was cheaper and you got quite a few more sheets in it but the rice paper was too chewy and the flavor wasn’t great. The brand Blue Dragon , I loved. It was more pricey for the amount you got but the flavor and texture were soo much better. It had tapioca flour starch in it and I think it really makes a difference. For the future, I will probably always buy this brand, even though its not the best deal out there. #textureisabigthing

If you try this recipe out, make sure to tag me in your posts under the hashtag #glowingholisticrecipe so I can see your creations