I Tried And Ranked 8 Store-Bought Frozen Egg Rolls Worst To Best

Biting into a perfectly crispy egg roll is one of life's great pleasures. There's something about that delicious combination of veggie and meat filling in a sturdy wrap (which is technically the difference between a spring roll and an egg roll, FYI) that can be hard to top. For many diners (including myself), seeing these fried, handheld bites on a menu is all I need to include them in my order. In a perfect world, this experience would be just as easy to recreate at home as it is in a restaurant — or indistinguishable from something that just arrived as a delivery order. But with the freezer section filled with so many options, which are the least likely to disappoint you?

As a restaurant owner and an egg roll enthusiast living in New York City, I have spent two decades getting to know this comforting fried appetizer during walks through Chinatown and while scouting out the best new takeout places. To test out how well they fared when coming from the freezer section, I identified some of the top brands you can typically buy at stores across the U.S. and gave them a whirl. While they certainly weren't all winners, I was pleasantly surprised by how well some turned out during my endeavor. Here are the store-bought frozen egg rolls I'd buy again — and which ones won't be making it into my cart a second time.

First off, it's important to clarify that by their very definition, egg rolls are a fried Chinese-American invention made with a thicker wonton wrapper (sometimes egg-based) and often filled with a combination of meat and vegetables. On the other hand, spring rolls are a traditional Chinese dish made with rice wrappers (and technically not always fried), often filled with veggies, noodles, shrimp, or other ingredients that are typically lighter and smaller in size than their stateside counterparts. Depending on who you ask, this creates a literal chicken-and-egg situation, where some spring rolls are still called egg rolls, and vice versa. Phew!

Despite the ambiguity, I am choosing to revel in the gray area for the purposes of this taste test by selecting not only products that have egg roll in their name, but also include ingredients that arguably nudge them into the spring roll category. In this case, I chose chicken filling, which is traditionally more closely associated with egg rolls versus spring rolls. And while there were multiple preparation options, these seemed like an ideal frozen food to throw in the air fryer (with many of the brands outright recommending it). Naturally, any brand that came with its own dipping sauce had that evaluated as well. I also used some classic home options that you often find on a restaurant table or takeout bag, including soy sauce and sambal. Ultimately, I ranked based on which I would be most likely to buy again.

At first blush, your average shopper might assume that anything claiming to come from ubiquitous pan-Asian chain P.F. Chang's would likely be a passable at-home option for egg rolls. After all, the restaurant made famous by lettuce wraps and spicy chang sauce seems to excel at appetizers. Unfortunately, I was about to find out that this skillset doesn't seem to apply to their attempts at frozen food.

Besides their restaurant pedigree, I was initially optimistic while tossing these smaller "mini" egg rolls into the air fryer (which kind of defeats the purpose), thinking they would cook up quickly and evenly. But you know things are off to a bad start when the first two sentences of tasting notes start with "not good." These bite-sized versions have an intensely chewy wrapper right off the bat, which might be excusable if it were transporting something good inside. However, the fillings were completely lifeless, devoid of any discernible inspiring flavors or crunchy texture you're looking for.

I hoped the dipping sauce might provide at least a little reprieve, but I was instantly disappointed again: Not only did it have far too much ginger, but it still managed to be sickly sweet. This is a major drawback, because this product direly needs a dipping sauce, hot sauce, or both for it to taste like anything. If this is any indication of what the restaurant experience is like, I'd put this in contention as one item you should avoid ordering at P.F. Changs.

Even as a brand that had plenty of name recognition when asking friends for recommendations, I was impressed when I took these out of their packaging to heat up. They looked pretty legit, with a thick wrap and a hefty weight that led me to assume they would excel in this tasting. Unfortunately, things started to take a turn when I noticed an unappetizing smell coming out of the air fryer that got worse while I was cutting them.

While they were still on the cutting board, I immediately noticed each roll looked empty on the inside, almost like a potato chip bag effect with the all-important meat and vegetable fillings. Feeling duped, I took my first bite and immediately picked up boatloads of ginger that punched through any other flavor. A familiar abundance of cabbage provides texture, but it did nothing to elevate it from the overpowering ginger, which began to taste more candied than freshly grated with each bite.

I will say that my visual assessment was correct and that the wrap is sturdy, if a little tough. But strangely, this tasted the least fresh of the tasting lineup, which wasn't what I expected for something that looked like it could've come out of a restaurant kitchen at first. I realized that a bite I took with soy sauce and some sambal made things much better — but not enough for me to want to buy it again.

I was interested to see this option pop up among the most popular egg roll options. I have no aversion to trying products made with gluten-free ingredients, especially now that the sector has really honed in on what works and what doesn't. After all, having plenty of cabbage, carrot, and chicken is what I'm mostly after, and maybe this tempura wrapper could prove to be a dark horse contender.

It turns out that everything here was a little bit more middle-of-the-road. Ironically, Feel Good has a papery texture to the wrapping that doesn't feel great when handling it, resembling more of a taquito. But upon my first bite, I realized it actually still had a decent texture that held up instead of collapsing, and was a little lighter on the palate than other brands.

Unfortunately, that's sort of where the good news ended: The filling is not my favorite, with ginger overpowering everything else and carrots providing a chewy sweetness. And where's the meat?! In my notes, I wrote that it felt wet and mostly gummy on the inside with relatively hollow flavors that were only buoyed with a little sambal added. Of course, I would buy for a friend with gluten intolerance, but it would come with a caveat that it's not what I would want for them in the grand scheme of things.

When perusing the grocery store freezer aisles for this article, it became clear that Chung's was the most widely distributed brand across stores (at least in New York City). Once I got them home and opened the box, I realized they also looked authentic in size and texture, and were even individually wrapped in pairs along with packets of dipping sauce in each. This alone made it feel like a delivery experience.

I couldn't help but notice that these crisped up very quickly in the air fryer, getting relatively dark brown (and almost burnt) in some corners despite following the packaging directions to the letter. But even though I was expecting an overcooked roll, there was no denying that the texture of the wrap itself was great, feeling sturdy without being too tough and just crispy enough without disintegrating with every bite.

Once I got it on the cutting board, I was excited to note that the filling was very ample with a lot of visible chicken meat poking out of the cross-section. Unfortunately, I was a bit let down when I took my first bite and realized it didn't pack much flavor, with some soft sweetness coming from carrots and celery and a bit of crunch coming from cabbage. The chicken was definitely there, but was ultimately falling just a bit flat. Even the dipping sauce was surprisingly bland. While I was somewhat expecting a cloying condiment based on the texture, it was barely sweet and did nothing to elevate the roll.

While I wasn't personally familiar with this brand, some people I polled when putting my list together said this was the product they had purchased most often in the past, with most giving it decent-to-good reviews. That's why I was so confused when I had to go to three different grocery stores to find a package that wasn't well past its best-by date. But even if this wasn't the fastest mover in the freezer aisle, I was still hoping it would live up to its tepid hype.

Right out of the box, I appreciated the relatively thick and long shape, which gives a restaurant-like appearance. They also looked great when the timer went off, crisping up to a beautiful golden brown. And I immediately noted the abundance of filling when I cut into them, with plenty of veggies and chicken stuffed inside.

My first bite made me realize that there was a lot of celery and sautéed onion up front, and while I could feel chicken in my mouth, I couldn't taste it. It was also a little undersalted and underseasoned, which surprised me considering the reviews I had received going into the tasting. That being said, this isn't a terrible option! I would at least put it in the running for best wrapper, with the right crispy, toothsome texture without being tough or too chewy, and the outer layer lightly flaking off with each bite.

As someone who's not entirely familiar with Target's Good & Gather line, I have to admit I had no idea what to expect when I set these into the air fryer. While these are labeled as spring rolls, I was convinced that the slightly thicker size and chicken filling were enough to make an argument for them being in the egg roll category. This decision felt even more appropriate when I took them out of the tray and noticed the dimpled texture of the wraps.

To put it simply, this is a true standout product! Its filling is laced with subtle aromatics and carries a very solid, pleasing texture that doesn't shy away like the reheated vegetable core of other brands in the lineup. With each bite, I found that I was getting plenty of meaty filling, almost reminding me of a lumpia with its density (which is a good thing). The wrap also has solid integrity, but isn't chewy and crisps up beautifully when cooked following the instructions.

The sweet chili dipping sauce is way more balanced than I expected, providing some vinegar notes and a touch of sweetness that does its job in rounding out the roll itself. Still, a touch of sambal and soy sauce also worked deliciously. If you told me this had come from a restaurant, I'd believe you, and it's more than likely I'll be buying these again.

As someone who's a massive fan of everything from the fresh fish to prepared foods at Wegman's, I was fully expecting this frozen egg roll to nearly top the list. True fans of the grocery store know that its private label products are basically at Trader Joe's levels of consistent deliciousness, and a part of me had to see if my confidence would be misplaced.

Right out of the box, I noticed the rolls looked perfectly sized. And while they took a little longer than other brands (at a slightly lower temperature), they crisped up beautifully when prepared in the air fryer in a way that gave me hope. I'd say that the wrap itself arguably has the best egg roll texture of everything I tried, providing structure but holding up between bites and never becoming too chewy or tough. There was ample filling, with cabbage and carrot in proportions that feel restaurant-level.

While I was ready to give this brand its place atop the list, I can't help but feel this is one that would benefit from a dipping sauce. Fortunately, using what I had on hand made this a standout (especially sambal, which made it sing). I would probably say this would pass a blindfold test above everything else in the lineup as a restaurant-quality egg roll, as evidenced by the fact that I couldn't stop eating my samples.

I have to admit that I initially had some reservations about including this product on the list. But despite being labeled as spring rolls, the thicker size and use of chicken made me confident that someone in a blind tasting wouldn't know the difference. And as someone who's relied on Trader Joe's appetizers to carry me through hosting parties for a decade, it felt wrong to exclude them.

Of everything I tried, these crisped up the most evenly in the air fryer, which felt surprisingly satisfying. But it was the filling that really won me over, slightly sweet and aromatic with just enough basil singing through early to be bright but not overpower the palate, all finished with a slight kick of ginger. Despite looking incredibly crispy, the wrapper held up remarkably well between bites, flaking only in the way you'd want it to. I also noticed the texture of the meat felt less processed and more evenly dispersed.

Simply put, this is truly a great representation of an appetizer I love so much. In this case, calling it "restaurant quality" would mean this is equivalent to my go-to delivery spot in the neighborhood. I honestly don't think it needs a dipping sauce, but after trying it with some sambal, I wasn't surprised to find that it works nicely. This is hands down entering my permanent rotation.