Do you ever go to a restaurant and order an appetizer as your main entrée? Both Chili’s and Cheesecake Factory have a Southwestern or Tex Mex eggroll on their appetizer menu and they are absolutely delicious. Stuffed with spiced chicken, black beans, corn, red pepper, green onion, fresh spinach, jalapeno, and lots of pepper jack cheese, their eggrolls are one of my favorite main dish selections.
However it turns out these scrumptious egg rolls can be made quite easily at home with the help of one of my favorite shortcut ingredient – rotisserie chicken. I love using rotisserie chickens for chicken recipes because they are inexpensive, perfectly seasoned, and cooked beautifully every time. My favorite place to buy them is Costco or Sam’s Club because they are HUGE compared to everywhere else and they are always fresh.
Making these egg rolls is so simple. You just cook the chicken mixture for 5 minutes, add it to the egg roll wrappers (or flour tortillas) with pepper jack cheese, roll and deep fry for just a few minutes on each side until golden brown and delicious! Make my homemade avocado ranch crema in the blender to dip them in and you will be in absolute heaven.
A couple of tips for this recipe:
- You can use flour tortillas or egg roll wrappers for these rolls. Chili’s uses flour tortillas, but we love the crispy egg roll wrappers the best.
- If you don’t want them as spicy, use Monterey Jack cheese instead of Pepper Jack. If you want them spicier, you can add more pickle jalapeños and some cayenne pepper or chipotle powder. (Start with just a little and add more to taste.)
- You can use regular onions instead of green, but if you do, sauté them at the beginning for a bit until they are getting translucent until adding additional ingredients!
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
- 3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup frozen corn
- 3/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh spinach leaves
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapeño
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 pepper
- 12 egg roll wrappers
- 1-1/2 cups pepper jack cheese
Avocado Ranch Crema
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (not miracle whip)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1/3 cup smashed fresh avocado, (about half an avocado)
- 2 Tbsp Hidden Valley Dry Ranch Dressing mix, (1 envelope or measure from large container.)
- 1 Tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 small lime
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions:
- In a large sauté pan, add the chicken, black beans, corn, red pepper, green onions, pickled jalapeno, dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Stir and sauté for 5 minutes over medium high heat then set aside.
- Take one egg roll wrapper at a time. Place it on the cutting board so it’s in a diamond shape, dip your finger in water and run it around the four edges of the egg roll wrapper.
- Add a 1/4 cup scoop of the filling just below the center of the wrapper. Sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp of the cheese.
- Fold the bottom corner up over the filling and tug down slightly to seal the filling in.
- Fold in each of the corners to the right and left, then roll up until the top corner has sealed on the outside of the roll. (There are pictures below. If you can’t see them hit refresh to get them to show.) The roll should look a bit like an envelope when you turn it over.
- Roll each of the rolls until you run out of the filling. I usually get about 12. As a note, I put a towel over the rolled rolls so they don’t dry out too much while I’m rolling.
- In a deep sauté pan, add about 2-3 inches of canola oil and bring to about 375 degrees.
- Once the oil is hot, gently lay 2-3 egg rolls in the oil at a time. Let cook on each side for 2-3 minutes (use tongs to flip) or until the egg roll wrapper is bubbly and golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
- For the crema: In a blender, combine the mayo, sour cream, milk, avocado, dry ranch dressing mix, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve!
Southwestern Egg Rolls
Copycat Cheesecake Factory or Chili's Egg Rolls with all the flavors of the Southwest are easy to make at home as an appetizer or a main course!
EQUIPMENT (Amazon Associate Links)
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
- 3/4 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup frozen corn
- 3/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh spinach leaves
- 2 green onions finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapeño
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 pepper
- 12 egg roll wrappers
- 1-1/2 cups pepper jack cheese
Avocado Ranch Crema
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise not miracle whip
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1/3 cup smashed fresh avocado (about half an avocado)
- 2 Tbsp Hidden Valley Dry Ranch Dressing mix (1 envelope or measure from large container.)
- 1 Tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 small lime
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, add the chicken, black beans, corn, red pepper, green onions, pickled jalapeno, dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Stir and sauté for 5 minutes over medium high heat then set aside.
- Take one egg roll wrapper at a time. Place it on the cutting board so it's in a diamond shape, dip your finger in water and run it around the four edges of the egg roll wrapper.
- Add a 1/4 cup scoop of the filling just below the center of the wrapper. Sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp of the cheese.
- Fold the bottom corner up over the filling and tug down slightly to seal the filling in.
- Fold in each of the corners to the right and left, then roll up until the top corner has sealed on the outside of the roll. (There are pictures below. If you can't see them hit refresh to get them to show.) The roll should look a bit like an envelope when you turn it over.
- Roll each of the rolls until you run out of the filling. I usually get about 12. As a note, I put a towel over the rolled rolls so they don't dry out too much while I'm rolling.
- In a deep sauté pan, add about 2-3 inches of canola oil and bring to about 375 degrees.
- Once the oil is hot, gently lay 2-3 egg rolls in the oil at a time. Let cook on each side for 2-3 minutes (use tongs to flip) or until the egg roll wrapper is bubbly and golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels.
For the Crema:
- In a blender, combine the mayo, sour cream, milk, avocado, dry ranch dressing mix, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve!
Oh my gosh these are BETTER than chilis!!! And the crema???? Are you KIDDING ME??? To die for!!!
Ah, I’m so glad you like them! Thank you for commenting and rating! It makes my day every time. 🙂
Can you bake these instead ?
I have not personally tried with this recipe, but I have oven baked other recipes – If I were to try these I would most likely brush them with melted butter or canola oil and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375-400 until golden and crispy. If you try, let me know how they turn out!
I baked these at 475 for 15 minutes on each side and they turned put delicious!!!
Thank you for sharing your baking method, I love it! 🙂