These air fryer southwest egg rolls are just like the appetizer served at Chili's restaurants, but made at home with this easy air fryer copycat recipe! The Southwest egg rolls feature chicken, black beans, corn, cheese and seasonings in crispy wrappers.
We saved fat, calories, and clean-up by preparing the copycat Chili's Southwestern Egg Rolls in the air fryer rather than deep frying. It also cuts down on cost, since a deep fat fryer wastes so much grease. Air frying uses very oil little compared to the deep fried version of the egg rolls and is much more approachable for the home cook.
Air Fryer Southwest Egg Rolls make a fantastic appetizer or main dish when served with side dishes like sweet potato fries, loaded potato salad, or a simple green salad.
If you are putting together a football spread toss some frozen pierogies into the air fryer when the rolls are done. They are a quick easy addition and go well with the same sauces and dips.
The rolls would also make a great starter choice when serving dishes such as Cajun Pasta, baked tilapia or Salsa Chicken.
How to Make Air Fryer Southwest Egg Rolls
The recipe makes 6-8 Southwestern egg rolls.
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 18 mins (10 minutes for the filling and 8 minutes per batch of egg rolls)
What's in chili's egg rolls?
Here's what you need to make the air fryer Southwest egg rolls.
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 8 oz of chicken breast
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
- ¼ cup corn rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup black beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup red bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ cup onion diced
- ¼ cup frozen chopped spinach
- 1 jalapeno peppers diced
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro minced
- 6-8 egg roll wrappers
Directions:
Dice chicken into small pieces and add with oil to a skillet on medium heat. Lightly brown the chicken.
Once chicken pieces are cooked, add all the vegetables and spices. Cook for 5 minutes.
Once cooked, remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted and evenly distributed through the filling.
Place egg roll wrapper on a flat surface. Using some water, wet the edges of the wrapper. Add a tablespoon or 2 of filling onto the wrapper in the center.
Tip: Make sure to keep egg roll wrappers you aren't directly working with covered. They dry out quickly, which makes them prone to cracking.
Fold in the right and left corners of the wrapper.
Fold in the top corner and tightly roll the wrapper. Add water along edges to help seal the wrapper closed.
Arrange the egg rolls in the air fryer basket in a single layer and spray with oil or nonstick cooking spray. If they all won't fit with room for air to circulate between them reserve some for another batch to air fry after.
Cook on 320 degrees for 6 minutes, flip and cook for 2 minutes more. The egg rolls will be golden brown and crispy when done. If you had to split the rolls into two batches, repeat with the remaining egg rolls.
Let cool and enjoy.
Variations on Recipe
A few simple alterations that you may prefer:
- Use shredded leftover rotisserie chicken in the filling rather than starting with raw. Simply skip the step to brown the chicken, and mix in after lightly sautéing the vegetables.
- A reader suggested using flour tortillas. While this is not authentic to the original, the results are delicious and a great alternative.
Dipping Sauce Options
If you are like me you are going to want a dipping sauce for your Chilis Southwest Egg Rolls. I suggest a ranch based dip. My Avocado Lime Ranch dip is fantastic with these. You could also simply stir some ranch seasoning mix into a bowl of sour cream or yogurt to make a quick sour cream dip.
Some salsa, guacamole or a splash of hot sauce are also good options.
Chili’s Southwest Egg Rolls (Air Fryer)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 oz of chicken breast
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ¼ cup corn rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup black beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup red bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ cup onion diced
- ¼ cup frozen chopped spinach
- 1 jalapeno peppers diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro minced
- 6-8 egg roll wrappers
Instructions
- Dice chicken into small pieces and add with oil to a skillet on medium heat. Brown chicken.
- Once chicken pieces are browned, add all the vegetables and spices. Saute for 5 minutes
- Once cooked, remove from heat and add the cheese. Melt and mix in the cheese.
- Place egg roll wrapper on a flat surface. Using some water, wet the edges of the wrapper. Add a tablespoon or 2 of filling onto the wrapper in the center.
- Fold in the right and left corners of the wrapper.
- Fold in the top corner and roll the wrapper closed. Add water to help seal the wrapper closed.
- Place egg rolls in the air fryer basket and spray with oil.
- Cook on 320 for 6 minutes, flip and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Let cool and enjoy.
Nutrition
Runa says
These were so good. Not exact but a pretty good match of the ones from Chili's. The kids even ate them.
Sheila Morrin says
We loved these southwestern egg rolls. I only had a few left in the package of egg roll wrappers so I also filled some low carb flour tortillas and those came out like a chimichanga.
Robin Gagnon says
Great idea to use the flour tortillas. I have used them both in baking and air frying with other fillings successfully.