Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls (Air Fryer or Pan Fry)

A pile of dairy free buffalo chicken spring rolls on a white plate.

Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls (Air Fryer or Pan Fry)

Even my toughest critics (my family) were shocked that these crispy buffalo chicken spring rolls are dairy free and guilt free. What's the hidden veggie? ... butternut squash! Serve with a dairy free ranch and brace yourself for the crispy, creamy, cheesy goodness.

Course Appetizers

Cuisine American

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 6

Total Time 46

Servings egg rolls

Calories 188kcal

Author Rachael

Equipment

Ingredients

Buffalo Dairy Free "Cheese" Sauce:

2 cups cashews soaked overnight or in boiling water for at least 30 minutes
2 cups butternut squash diced and cooked
¼ cup lemon juice from 1 large lemon
½ cup olive or avocado oil
1 cup nutritional yeast
1.5 cups water
1 tablespoon garlic powder or peeled garlic clove
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
⅓ cup buffalo sauce sugar free - add slowly to taste

Egg Rolls:

3 breasts chicken breasts cooked & shredded
20 wrappers egg roll wrappers or make the homemade gluten free recipe linked below in notes
½ cup avocado oil use an oil with a high smoke point

Instructions

Soak cashews: Soak cashews in room temperature water overnight OR if you're in a pinch soak the cashews in hot water for at least 30 minutes. The shorter the soak the longer you'll need to blend the cashews. The longer the soak the silkier your cheese sauce will come out.
Cook Chicken: Fully cook and shred chicken breasts with two forks.
Boil: Bring a large pot to boil, add chicken breasts and cook for 40 minutes on medium heat. Shred with two forks.
Instant Pot: Cook chicken breasts with 1.5 cups of water in the bottom of the pot. Cook for 18 minutes with 10 minute natural release. Shred with two forks.
Cook butternut squash: Bring a sauce pot to a boil. Add diced butternut squash and lower to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or until easily cut with a butter knife. Drain and set aside for the "cheese" sauce.
Make "cheese" sauce: Blend together the drained cashews, butternut squash, lemon juice, oil, nutritional yeast, water, garlic or garlic powder and paprika until creamy and well combined. Start by only adding 1 tablespoon of sea salt and slowly add up to ¼ teaspoon more depending on your personal salt preference - taste along the way to ensure it isn't too salty. Adding the perfect amount of saltiness makes the perfect cheese flavor. You should want to eat it with a spoon! Then add buffalo sauce to taste - add 1 tablespoon at a time until your spice level is satisfied.
Assemble Egg Rolls: In medium bowl mix together shredded chicken and buffalo "cheese" sauce. Place an egg roll wrapper in front of you like a diamond. Place ~3 tablespoons of the buffalo chicken mixture across the center of the diamond. Wet all four edges of the egg roll wrapper. Fold the bottom corner up over the mixture until it's fully covered. Fold in the left and right corners so that the tips of them touch. Finish by rolling the mixture up towards to the top corner. Cover with a wet paper towel until you are ready to cook so the wrappers don't dry out.
Cook Egg Rolls: Air Fry or Pan Fry -
Air Fryer: Preheat air fryer to 390°F. Brush or spray all sides of the egg rolls with avocado oil. Cook in the air fryer for 3 minutes, carefully flip with tongs or with a fork. Cook for another 3 minutes or until golden brown.
Pan Fried: Cover the bottom of a sauté pan with avocado oil and heat the oil on medium/high heat for ~3 minutes or until hot. Cook the egg rolls for about 3 mins on each side or until golden brown.
Serve: Serve immediately with dairy free ranch or blue cheese!

Notes

Avocado oil substitute - I recommend using grapeseed oil. Other oils likely have a lower smoke-point and more potent flavor which could impact the taste.
Nutritional yeast substitute - do NOT substitute with yeast, nutritional yeast is very different and should be yellow in color. This is what gives the "cheese" sauce a cheesy taste. If you can't find nutritional yeast you could substitute with vegan cheddar cheese.
Chicken - cook raw chicken breasts or use a cooked rotisserie chicken to save some time.
Homemade gluten free egg roll recipe - Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any pre-made gluten free egg roll wrappers. So I make them homemade! I use Nicole's Gluten Free Egg Rolls recipe on her Gluten Free on a Shoe String blog! I usually triple the recipe to be able to make 20 spring rolls because it can be difficult to roll out super thin by hand or I double the recipe and use my pasta maker to more easily roll out thin wrappers.
Make ahead of time / reheating - I like to make the chicken and buffalo "cheese" sauce mixture a day or two ahead of time and store in the fridge. Then I assemble and fry the egg rolls as close to eating them as possible. To reheat before serving place them on medium broil in the oven until they are warm and crispy. Be sure to watch them because they will heat up quickly!

Nutrition