Egg Roll in a Bowl Recipe + First Date Story

If you are always on the hunt for quick, easy dinners, this Egg Roll in a Bowl will be your new go-to!

On busy nights I opt for ground beef, turkey or chicken because it cooks up so quickly. Egg Roll in a Bowl is a popular low-carb recipe because it is just made with protein and veggies, but I like to serve it over rice for a balanced, filling dinner! You can also eat it as is or serve it over cauliflower rice. 

ALSO – since we are making Egg Roll in a Bowl I thought I would tell you a funny story about this recipe…

Finn and I had just started ‘hanging out’, you know when you technically aren’t girlfriend and boyfriend but you are going on dates? Gotta love this generation, but anyway, this story takes place on our third ‘date’. 

Our first date was a hike, and our second date was a sushi place. I was really starting to like him, so of course I wanted to impress him. At this point I was a good cook, I grew up cooking with my parents, but I had never cooked for a BOY let alone a boy I was trying to impress. 

So I did what any 20 year old girl would do, I called my mom. I told her I wanted to make something easy so I couldn’t mess it up, but I also wanted something on the healthier side because Finn was training for an ironman back then and I didn’t want to mess up his training. Oh – and I was a college student so I had to keep the grocery cost down. 

My mom always use to make a variation of ‘Egg Roll in a Bowl’ – but it was pretty much the same thing. Ground pork, broccoli slaw, a gingery soy dressing served over coconut rice. Thank you Pinterest for coming up with the clever name. Anyway, she texted me the recipe and the date was planned. 

Things started out great, I got the coconut rice on, made the sauce, it was all going to plan. The kitchen smelled fantastic and I think Finn was definitely already impressed (for context all he could really cook was protein oats, eggs and microwave-in-a-bag sweet potatoes). 

But then comes the plot twist… I was dicing up the garlic and ginger (linking my favorite knives here – WARNING they are sharp!) and trying to look good doing it, and somehow in all the talking and laughing and chopping I managed to slice off part of the tip of my finger. 

I instantly went SILENT – if you’ve ever cut your finger you know that there is about 0.2 seconds before it starts hurting, but you know right away that you messed up. Cue the blood, you also know if you’ve ever cut your finger that those little things DO. NOT. STOP. BLEEDING.

I tried so hard to be brave and not freak out but that thing HURT. I was trying so hard not to cry that I got light-headed and had to sit down on the kitchen floor. 

Now enter Finn, the hero of the story. We called my mom who is a nurse, and after determining stitches were out of the equation Finn wrapped my finger up in paper towels like a little mummy. 

After a few minutes and some juice I was DETERMINED not to let my finger ruin our date. I was on a mission, and with Finn’s help we finished sizzling everything to perfection on my favorite non-toxic, non-stick pans (save 10% using code: CLAIRENOLANN10VIP) and piled it all onto a fluffy mound of rice. Then, I added a sprinkle of green onions and sesame seeds, and ta-da! My Egg Roll in a Bowl masterpiece was ready to impress!

Finn took a big bite, and what do you think happened? He loved it! So much that he had thirds. Fast forward 3 years later and he is my head taste tester and we laugh every time we make Egg Roll in a Bowl for dinner. 

And that’s the story of my unforgettable third date with Finn. But really, if you want a quick and easy dinner this is a must try. Now here’s the recipe!