Are Rice Paper Rolls Healthy or Not? Analysed by a nutritionist.

Author: Mikhaela Cugliari, Last Update on : 12 May 2023
Healthy Blog image 300x300

Rice paper rolls are quick and easy to make, convenient for a lunchbox snack. They are also perfect as a light dinner or meal on the run. The common question is rice paper rolls healthy or not.

Great things about rice paper rolls:

The great thing about rice paper is that they don’t have to be cooked to eat and are free of oil and fats. It is made of white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water. They can stay fresh for three to five days when kept in a sealed container in the fridge.
Traditionally, rice paper rolls are stuffed with fresh raw vegetables, rice noodles and/or meat. Since the only starch is made from rice, the roll is gluten-free. If you don’t put too many rice noodles inside, the calories can be very low averaging around 110cal per roll. This is quite dependent on what you put inside though and how you cook the meats.

Main proteins are diverse:

Rice paper rolls are often filled with a protein source. You can choose healthier low-calorie options, such as prawns, shrimp or cottage cheese in place of higher-fat ones, such as beef. Vegans can source their protein from ingredients such as tofu, egg omelette or legumes instead. Protein helps to reduce the risk of overeating by making you feel fuller with less food. As you eat less, the amount of calories consumed are then decreased, reducing the risk of weight gain. Weight gain may further lead to many health problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.

Rice noodles are lower GI and although they may theoretically help blood glucose levels. The ingredients inside are important for day-to-day health and performance. They may not keep you going for quite as long and are not ideal for a reliable fuel source.

Lots of vegetables:

The more vegetables that are packed in, will increase the amount of fibre and nutrient content as well as reducing the carbohydrate amount. A diet high in fibre can help you lose weight by making you feel fuller with fewer calories consumed. It can also help reduce cholesterol and lower your blood sugar levels. Be sure to include herbs such as coriander and mint or even basil. Because it’ll give the rolls that extra flavour so that you don’t have to drench them in dipping sauce which often can be quite high in fat, sugar and salt.
Rice paper rolls are generally quite low in fat, but fillings like avocado and fish will provide some healthy omega 3 fatty acids. Do keep in mind, if the filling is crumbed and deep-fried, or combined with mayonnaise, this will bump up the trans fat content and is not recommended.

Create Your Own Fresh Rolls

Healthy eating meaning:

Healthy eating means eating a variety of foods in the right proportions and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body. A healthy diet should provide us with the right amount of energy, from foods and drinks to maintain energy balance. Energy balance is where the calories consumed from the diet are equal to the calories expended by the body. We need these calories to carry out everyday tasks such as walking and moving about. They also for all the functions of the body we may not even think about. Processes like breathing, pumping blood around the body and thinking also require calories.
Rice paper rolls are a delicious and nutritious option to enjoy as a snack or as a meal. The roll is low in carbohydrate and fat and offers a moderate protein content. The vegetables make the roll high in fibre and offer your body lots of good vitamins and minerals.

This is a general opinion to see if the rice paper rolls healthy or not. For the right healthy consulting, please work with your nutritionist.

See and use our first-to-market Roll Nutrition Calculator, specially designed to calculate rice paper roll nutrition.

Read more for rice paper rolls for diabetics.

So should you have a try of Rice Paper Rolls?

It cannot be disputable or deniable that rice paper rolls become more and more popular around the world. In every country around the world that has Vietnamese community, you can easily find at least one restaurant or lunch-box shop serving rice paper rolls. US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Canada, just name a few. 

If you love rice paper rolls, and want to create and enjoy making and eating the fresh rolls, we have many product options to serve you. You can find a product that helps you easily make rice paper rolls in the Products Menu.

We sell and ship our products worldwide through our Rolling Fun Ebay Store.