BBQ CHICKEN & CHEESE EGG ROLLS

I love Chinese food and Especially the Egg Rolls! The Egg Rolls are the best when they are filled with my favorite ingredients like chicken and shrimp and are not super small or fried too hard.  If you love Egg Rolls, this recipe will inspire you to make them at home vs buying them out!

These BBQ Chicken & Cheese Egg rolls are crispy and full of flavor with juicy chicken, BBQ sauce, mozzarella cheese, spinach and green onion.

What ingredients will I need for this recipe?

• Rotisserie or Oven Roasted Chicken Breast: This is my protein of choice and the chicken breast meat tends to have more meat to add to the egg roll wrappers. 
• Egg roll wrappers: Crispy wrappers to hold the ingredients. I use 2 wrappers per roll and I normally find in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.
• Spinach: Baby spinach added to chicken mixture.
• Cheese: Shredded Monterey Jack, Cheddar and Mozzarella for that extra cheese pull.
• Green Onion: Sliced and added to chicken mixture and garnish on final egg rolls.
• Spices: salt, garlic, onion, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin and chili powder (to taste or a teaspoon each)
• Hot sauce or wing sauce: Will add to BBQ Sauce for final dipping sauce.
• BBQ sauce: Sauce added to chicken mixture and for dipping sauce.
• Water: Will add to cornstarch to make slurry for egg roll wrappers. 
• Corn starch: Will use to make slurry to seal egg roll wrappers. Add 1 part cold water to 1 part corn starch and stir.
• Avocado Oil: Used for Seasoning Rub and to Saute' chicken
• Vegetable Oil: Will be used for frying the egg rolls

How to Make Spicy BBQ Chicken & Cheese Egg Rolls

Prepare and Cook Chicken
For this recipe you can purchase a rotisserie chicken or pieces or cook the chicken at home. If you are cooking your chicken, first clean the chicken breasts and pat dry. Season the chicken with with salt, garlic, onion, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin and chili powder.  Drizzle avocado oil on chicken and rub seasonings on the entire pieces. Add chicken to parchment lined baking pan and roast at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees.   
Once chicken is done, slice and lightly shred into desired pieces as filling for egg rolls. Put chicken to the side in a bowl.


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​Shred Cheese
I recommend to shred your cheese vs. the bag cheese because the non-bag melts better, but it's totally your preference. Shred your cheeses and set aside.  

Cook Chicken Filling for Egg Rolls
Add 1 tbsp. of avocado oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat, add chicken, 1/4 of cheese mixture, BBQ sauce and hot sauce. Stir mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach to chicken and cook until the spinach has wilted.

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Assemble Spicy BBQ Chicken & Cheese Egg Rolls
To begin assembling the egg rolls, first make a corn starch slurry in a small bowl, with a 1 to 2 ratio of cornstarch to water.  Place two egg roll wrappers on a board or plate where it looks like a diamond shape.  Place small amount, about a tbsp. of the shredded cheese mixture in the center of egg roll wrappers. 
Add about 2-3 tbsp. of spicy BBQ chicken mixture to the center on top of cheese. Add more shredded cheese, about a tbsp. on top of chicken mixture.   

Steps for rolling wrappers
Now here's the fun part, rolling these wrappers. Don't worry, you go this!
First, add a little corn starch slurry around entire edge of wrapper with your finger or a brush.  Place the corner of wrapper that is the closest to you over the filling once and gently tuck it under the chicken filling.  Gently press down on each side of the filling to flatten the wrapper.

Next step is to fold over both the left and right sides of the wrapper towards the middle.  Last step is to tightly roll the egg roll towards the point of wrapper furthest from you until completely sealed.  Add more corn starch slurry on ends to seal.  Place the finished egg roll sealed side down on parchment paper or baking sheet. Repeat steps to assemble all the egg rolls.

Fry and Finish Egg Rolls
Who's ready to fry these egg rolls? I am...
Let's fry...first add cooking oil to large frying pan or deep fryer to heat to 365 degrees.
Next, add egg rolls individually and fry until golden brown. Watch egg rolls carefully, because cheese will quickly melt and you don't want to burn the wrappers. 

Lastly, drain egg rolls on paper towel.  Cut egg rolls on an angle.
Plate and sprinkle with sliced green onions. Enjoy with spicy buffalo sauce.

Spicy BBQ Sauce for Egg Rolls

This is the simplest sauce ever! We are combining the hot sauce (whichever brand your prefer) with the BBQ sauce. Add 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce to a small bowl. Add 1/3 cup of hot sauce to BBQ sauce and stir. Add more hot sauce to taste, depending on how spicy you like it.  Add additional slices of green onion for flavor. 
You can either dip the egg rolls in the sauce or drizzle on top.

Egg Roll Meat Options 

I mentioned above that I love shrimp and chicken, but you can always swap out the chicken for your favorite meat or protein.  A few options are, steak, ground beef or turkey, shrimp or all vegetables. Mushrooms are really good too. Try cremini or portabella mushrooms. 

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