Leftover soul food is the BEST! Repurpose that macaroni and cheese, candied yams, and collard greens and make these Soul Rolls. They are super simple to prepare, and it’s like biting into a little piece of heaven each time!

Grab this collard greens and macaroni and cheese recipe while you are here!

soul food egg rolls cut open sitting on a cutting board

When we make soul food, we always cook in big batches. Which means we certainly have leftovers! This is one of our favorite ways to enjoy our leftover Thanksgiving foods.

whole soul food egg rolls

Why we love this recipe

Repurpose your leftovers. We love to eat leftover Thanksgiving food, but can really only eat it for a day or two before it gets boring! So roll those candied yams, collard greens, and leftover macaroni and cheese into an eggroll.

They’re easy to make. Add your leftover soul food into the egg roll wrapper and wrap it up. Then you fry them, and they are done! This recipe is really that easy.

These eggrolls are very versatile. You can add virtually anything you want to your eggroll wrapper. Add some of that leftover turkey, leftover ham, leftover mashed potatoes, or even your green beans from Thanksgiving dinner.

soul food egg rolls cut open sitting on a cutting board

Ingredients for soul roll

You can use almost anything to make these egg rolls, which is the best part. For this particular recipe these are the ingredients we used.

  • Macaroni and cheese: if you have some leftover mac and cheese, you should definitely add them to these eggrolls.
  • Collard greens: leftover turnip greens are delicious reheated and enjoyed as-is; but they’re even better rolled up into a wrap and eat with sweet potatoes.
  • Candied yams: if you’re Christmas or Thanksgiving meals are anything like ours, you definitely have some leftover candied yams!
  • Egg roll wrappers: most often you will find these wraps in the produce section of your grocery store. They do need to stay refrigerated.
leftover collard greens sweet potatoes and macaroni and cheese to make soul rolls

How to make soul food egg rolls

You can use cold leftovers for this recipe, so there is no need to reheat anything. In fact, refrigerated, cold macaroni and cheese works best because it is easier to work with.

Start by separate the eggroll wrappers to make it easier to grab. Place one wrapper out on a clean surface.

soul rolls wrapped in an egg roll wrapper not fried yet

Add about one tablespoon of macaroni and cheese to one side of the wrapper. Then place a spoonful of the collard greens, and sweet potatoes right on top.

Roll the egg roll tightly, and fold the sides in when you get midway. Use a cornstarch slurry to seal the edges of the egg roll. Place them seam side down while you continue to roll the rest of the egg rolls.

Preheat your oil to 375° and gently place the egg rolls in the hot oil. Be careful not to over crowd the skillet or deep fryer.

soul food egg rolls fried sitting on a napkin to drain grease

Other leftover Thanksgiving food to use

You can add almost anything into these soul food eggrolls. The macaroni and cheese is definitely a key ingredient though; because you want that cheesy goodness!

Leftover mashed potatoes would be another great addition. If you have green beans, those would taste good too. Even adding corn to the rolls would be delicious.

soul food egg rolls cut open sitting on a cutting board

Use up your leftover ham and leftover turkey too. Just add them in with the other soul food. If you love black eyed peas, they would taste great as well.

Making black eyed peas for the New Year’s is a tradition. So add your hoppin’ johns to the egg rolls. Fried cabbage would be a great substitution for the greens too.

dipping soul food egg rolls in a sauce

Dipping sauce for soul rolls

An easy and delicious sauce to make is a hot honey sauce. You can add 2 tablespoons of honey and two tablespoons of hot sauce to a bowl.

Mix this up thoroughly, and you have hot honey sauce. Dip your fried soul food egg rolls in the sauce.

Another delicious dipping sauce for soul rolls is adding warming up some barbeque sauce with some pineapple syrup, or peach syrup. Mix it up very well.

You can also use your leftover cranberry sauce as a dip. Heat it up with about one tablespoon of barbecue sauce.

soul food egg rolls cut open sitting on a cutting board

More delicious recipes to use leftovers

soul food egg rolls cut open sitting on a cutting board
4.67 stars (3 reviews)

Soul Rolls

Leftover soul food is the BEST! Repurpose that macaroni and cheese, candied yams, and collard greens and make these Soul Rolls. They are super simple to prepare, and it's like biting into a little piece of heaven each time!

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pack Egg roll wrappers
  • 2 cups Macaroni and cheese, leftover and cold
  • 2 cups Candied yams, leftover and cold
  • 2 cups Collard greens, leftover and cold
  • Vegetable oil to fry

Slurry to seal egg roll wrapper

  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 tablespoon Corn starch

Instructions
 

  1. Place your egg roll wrapper flat on a clean surface.
  2. Add about one tablespoon of macaroni and cheese on one end of the wrapper. Next add about one tablespoon of the candied yams directly on top.
  3. Now add a spoonful of the collard greens over the yams. Make sure the greens are drained so there is not excess liquid.
  4. Begin wrapping them by rolling it upwards towards the other end of the wrapper, enclosing all of the ingredients.
  5. Once you get to the middle of the wrapper, fold the sides in and continue rolling.
  6. Be sure to roll as tight as possible. Add your cornstarch and water to a bowl and mix it together.
  7. Dip your fingers in the cornstarch slurry and run it along the free edge of the wrapper. Continue rolling upward and press the edge to seal the wrapper.
  8. You can wrap the egg roll in another wrapper if you want to have an extra layer and crunch.
  9. Add enough vegetable oil to a cast iron skillet or a deep fryer to submerge the egg rolls in. Heat it up to 375°F.
  10. Gently place the egg rolls in the hot oil one at a time. You can fry multiple egg rolls at a time, just be careful not to over crowd the pan.
  11. Fry them for 5 minutes and turn them over, then fry them an additional 5 minutes. Eggrolls are done when they are golden brown and crispy.
  12. Remove them from the hot oil and place them on a cooling rack or plate of napkins to drain the excess grease.

Notes

See the post above for some variations to add to your soul rolls, as well as delicious dipping sauce ideas.
Serving: 1, Calories: 283kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 370mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 13g
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