Thanksgiving Egg Rolls
One of my favorite holidays is quickly approaching.
You know the one, the one that starts with a “T” and ends with “Hanksgiving”. The one that’s all about turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie. Oh yeah, and giving gratitude and thanks ;) Yup, thanksgiving, that’s the one. I’m sure you couldn’t have possibly guessed that. Ha!
Being a food blogger and all it should come as no surprise that I'm all about a holiday involving feasts. I mean, an actual day on the calendar that's dedicated solely to stuffing your face without one ounce of guilt involved? Sign me up....twice.
One of my favorite part of any feast, Thanksgiving or not, is the appetizers. And one of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal is, well, all of it. The cranberry sauce, the stuffing, the turkey (Yes, I seem to be one of the few people who actually likes the turkey!), the gravy…there’s not a bite I don’t like. So, when I was brainstorming some creative ways to use up Thanksgiving leftovers, I wanted to figure out a way to stuff all of thanksgiving into one bite. Enter these thanksgiving egg rolls. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, all rolled up into one neat little egg roll and topped with cranberry chutney (and some extra gravy, if you know what's good for you). These egg rolls are so good you may not even need a turkey dinner. Wait.....who I am I kidding?! You always need a turkey dinner!
THANKSGIVING EGG ROLLS WITH CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
YIELDS 14- 16
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE EGG ROLLS
1/4 pound of cooked turkey, diced (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 cups prepared stuffing (I like to use Stove Top Stuffing)
1/2 cup gravy + extra for sealing the egg rolls and serving
4 ounces (half a package) of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
14-16 egg roll wrappers
FOR THE CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon of lemon or orange zest
2 tablespoons of honey
A large pinch of salt
4 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard (you can use more or less depending on your preferences)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl, gently fold together the stuffing, gravy and cream cheese until everything is well incorporated.
On a clean, dry surface, lay out an egg roll wrapper. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the stuffing mixture in the bottom corner. Then top with about a tablespoon of turkey meat. Proceed to roll it up like an egg roll, sealing the edges with extra gravy (you can also use water). Place on the prepared baking sheet, sealed side up, then repeat this process until you have used up all of the stuffing mixture. Finish by brushing the tops of the egg rolls with olive oil
Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the egg rolls over, then continue baking for another 5-7 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top (FYI, something of the stuffing may seep out of the corners...feel free to sample, er, I mean clean it up with a spoon ;) ). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes (on the baking sheet) before serving them.
While the egg rolls are baking, make your cranberry chutney. In a medium-sized pot set over medium-high heat bring the cranberries, citrus zest, honey, salt and water to a boil. Continue stirring until most of the cranberries have popped and the juices have thickened (you can use the back of your spoon to help pop the cranberries if need be). The sauce should be thick and a bit chunky, similar to cranberry sauce, and the whole process should take about 5-7 minutes. Once the cranberries have cooked down, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dijon mustard. Place the cranberry sauce into a serving bowl.
Once the egg rolls have cooled to the touch, cut them in half using a serrated knife. You can serve the egg rolls either hot or cold (I actually liked them better cold, while the Mr. preferred them hot) alongside the cranberry chutney and extra gravy (tip: dip them in gravy then spoon a little of the cranberry chutney on top!).
NOTES
Store leftover egg rolls in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Store extra chutney in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For the turkey, you can either use sliced meat from the deli counter (some stores sell roasted turkey breast), or you can replace the meat with chicken.
I would recommend making extra gravy and stuffing for your Thanksgiving dinner then using that for this recipe, but any stuffing (I actually like to use the Stove Top mix for this recipe) and gravy will work well.
If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you can replace half of the stuffing amount in the egg roll with mashed potato, i.e. 1 tbsp. stuffing mixture, 1 tbsp. mashed potatoes and 1 tbsp. turkey.
The cranberry chutney can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days before serving.
Any cranberry sauce can be used in place of the cranberry chutney.
These would be a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers.
*First published 11/13/14, last updated 12/2/20
