Filipino Lumpia Recipe with Lumpia Sauce

Lumpia is a Filipino style egg roll filled with pork, beef and veggies. Then fried golden brown. They are always a crowd pleaser and a great appetizer. 

Did you know that I am part Filipino? My grandfather on my Dad’s side was full Filipino.  I don’t make a ton of Filipino  recipes because I didn’t live near my Filipino side of the family growing up, so I wasn’t able to learn.

As I grow older, I am more interested in my heritage and the kind of food that comes with it. Despite not making a ton of Filipino food growing up, there was one recipe that my family always made:

Lumpia. From BBQs to birthday parties, you can bet you’ll find this Filipino classic on the table.

What is Filipino Lumpia?

Basically, lumpia is the Filipino version of an egg roll. The fillings can be sweet or savory. Sometimes the filling is left uncooked before it’s rolled, and sometimes it is cooked. For this recipe, I like to cook the filling first.

The filling is placed into a thin crepe like wrapper and rolled closed.

Finally, after the lumpia is rolled it is fried until golden brown and crispy.

What are lumpia wrappers?

One of the key ingredients to lumpia, is the wrapper. The wrappers are often made with flour, water and cornstarch.  In my opinion, you can use any egg roll wrapper you can find.

That being said, I do have a preference. Sometimes wrappers are too thick that they don’t get crispy enough. Sometimes the wrappers are too thin and they can tear. You’ll just have to try different brands until you can find the one you like.

My personal favorite brand is the Menlo brand. They are the perfect thickness to hold the filling and they get nice and crispy.

What is Lumpia made of?

For this Filipino Lumpia recipe, you will need ground beef, ground pork, celery, carrots, onions, bean sprouts and garlic for the filling. As far as seasonings go, you’ll also need soy sauce, sesame oil, hot oil, ground ginger and salt.

You will also need lumpia wrappers and an egg to help seal the wrapper closed.

Finally, you’ll need oil for frying.

How do you make Filipino Lumpia?

Step 1: Prep your veggies. I like to chop all of mine by pulsing them a couple of times in the food processor. This makes prepping the celery, carrots and onions much easier. Just a couple pluses will do, you still want the vegetables to have some structure.

Step 2: Make your filling by cooking beef, pork and vegetables together in a large pan or wok.

Step 3: Allow the filling to cool slightly. Once filling has cooled, using one egg roll wrapper with one point towards you, place 1 -2 tablespoons of filling about an inch from the point closest to you. Working away from you, fold the wrapper over the filling. Next fold in both sides. Dip a pastry brush into the egg and brush the edges. Continue rolling to seal completely. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.

Step 4: To fry the lumpia heat 1 inch of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot fry lumpia until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Allow to cool several minutes, serve.

How do you freeze lumpia?

I’m not going to lie, lumpia is a labor intensive project. It’s worth it, but it does take some time. It is for this reason, that whenever I commit to making some, I make a lot so that I can freeze them. That way I have some in the freezer whenever I want a quick snack or an appetizer for one of our stir fry nights.

To freeze lumpia, roll them and then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, you can place them into freezer bags.

When you are ready to cook them simply remove them from the freezer, thaw and fry.

Can you bake frozen lumpia?

While I do prefer to fry lumpia, you can bake it. I would preheat the oven to 425 degrees, brush the lumpia with oil and bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until they have browned.

How do you make lumpia sauce?

Every good egg roll needs a good dip. For this recipe, I make an easy soy sauce, vinegar dip. It is simply soy sauce, rice vinegar and granulated garlic it.

If you like it spicy garlic chili sauce is always a good option.

Once you’ve got this recipe in your arsenal, you’re going to want to make it all the time. You’re going to be asked by friends to make it all the time. It’ll become a family favorite for you, just like us. Trust me.

More Filipino Recipes:

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

Slow Cooker Pork Adobo

Banana Chocolate Lumpia 

Pork Sinigang

More Appetizer Recipes:

Spicy Chicken Potstickers

Jalapeno Mozzarella Sticks 

Deep Fried Pickles