So I passed an old man walking into the grocery. He caught my attention, not only because he was walking around shirtless in bib overalls, but because he stopped right in front of me with this surprised look.
And then he reached into the front pocket of his overalls and pulled out a cell phone.
Instant inspiration for a hillbilly spy movie. Git Smart, something like that.
Quentin Tarantino, you want in on this.
Sometimes two things that don’t seem to go together can complement each other in inspiring ways. Like these Baked Black Bean, Spinach and Corn Egg Rolls. Egg roll wrappers filled with corn, black beans, spinach, cheese, green chiles and green onions.
You’ve probably seen something similar fried and served as an appetizer, but these egg rolls are baked and contain half the cheese, so they’re fun to eat and they’re healthy.
By the time you get the hang of rolling the wrappers, you’ll be thinking about what should be in your next batch – diced red pepper, roasted eggplant or zucchini, shredded carrot, chopped tomato, a few tablespoons of cilantro.
And, best of all, they fit in the front pocket of your overalls.
Baked Black Bean, Spinach and Corn Egg Rolls
Adapted from Melanie Scott “Simple and Delicious”
Makes 20 egg rolls
This was designed as a low-fat recipe, but if you’re looking for something closer to a restaurant-style Southwestern egg roll, double the amount of cheese from 1 cup to 2, and use a full-fat variety.
- 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
- 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles, drained
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Dash of cayenne
- 20 egg roll wrappers
- In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Place 1/4 cup mixture in the center of one egg roll wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling. Fold sides toward center over filling. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal. Repeat.
- Place seam-side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spray tops of egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown. Turn them halfway through baking.
- Serve warm with salsa and/or guacamole.
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This is one of my husband's favorite appetizers when we go out to eat, but they are always fried. I always look for appetizers to have during football season and this fits the bill…thanks, Rebecca!!!!
I wasn't even thinking about football season, but you could do some serious dips with these. Good idea!
HOLY MOSES MAN! This is seriously my favorite ever appetizer. I just never order it because the hips… they protest. I am so making these next week!
I KNOW! I'd pretty much given up on them until I found the baked version. Good with dips, too.
Do you think these would freeze well? Either before or after baking?
Yes, they should be fine either way. Just wrap them in aluminum foil, and toss them into a plastic resealable bag. Then thaw them (overnight in the refrigerator or with a few minutes in the microwave), and pop them back in the oven.
Is there a way to freeze it and reheat.I would LOVE to make it for a friend that is sick
Yes, wrap them in aluminum foil, and toss them into a plastic resealable bag before freezing them. Then your friend can thaw them (overnight in the refrigerator or with a few minutes in the microwave), and pop them back in the oven later.
i just laughed out loud at this post. the visual (the old man, that is), is just too too much. thanks for the great recipe too. :)
Never a dull moment!
First of all I just finished eating these and I am in LOVE <3 I've never made any type of egg roll before and had no idea it was so freakin' easy. The flavors are all perfect with each other and I'm totally diggin' I don't have to fry anything. It skeeers me to fry. I put some on a cookie sheet to freeze and wrap up later, but I'm not sure how long they'll last because I plan on inhaling them again soon.
If I still owned overalls I'd totally carry these around in one of the pockets and maybe some guacamole in the other.
Bec – seriously, girl. easy to make, easy to bake, amazing to eat! Another great recipe!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! My boyfriend loves these, as do I, but they are his favorite appetizer. I don' t like to deep fry things at home, so this is PERFECT! I will certainly try these as soon as I can buy egg roll wrappers!
[…] who’s been posting lots of super-tasty-looking savouries lately, including this recipe for Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls (you’ll see that she says you can increase the amount of cheese to two cups, which I did, but […]
My boyfriend and I made these last night. They were great, though not as pretty as the ones in your photo.
We used fresh spinach and added some diced tomato to the mix, which worked well. But we forgot salsa. They were good without it, but we won't forget next time.
Thanks, Rebecca!
Thanks for this recipe! Usually when I make a meatless dinner, I hear comments about it from my husband. But not with these! He loved them!
Wow! I veganized this by using 1 cup Daiya cheddar and 1 cup Daiya mozzarella. I couldn't find vegan egg roll wrappers so I used frozen spring roll wrappers. This was super yummy, fast, and easy! Thanks!! I think next time I'm going to use diced tofu in it.
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