Lumpia Wrappers substitute

Best substitute

Chinese or Vietnamese wheat spring roll wrappers

Use the same amount sheet for sheet as the lumpia wrappers you are replacing

Best for lumpiang shanghai

Close match

A lumpia wrapper's only job is structure: a skin thin enough to hold filling and crisp without turning bready. Chinese or Vietnamese wheat spring roll wrappers are literally the same product under another name, so use them 1:1. Egg roll wrappers from the refrigerated case work 1:1 too but fry thicker, bubblier and chewier, so roll them tighter and fry a minute longer at a slightly lower temperature. Phyllo needs two oiled sheets per roll and shatters into flakes rather than snapping. Rice paper cannot be deep fried the same way and gives a bubbly, glassy shell that softens within minutes. For fresh lumpiang sariwa the correct answer is not a wrapper at all but a thin homemade crepe.

Other lumpia wrappers substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Egg roll wrappers
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount sheet for sheet; fry at 170 to 175C for about a minute longer
Thicker sheets of raw egg-enriched dough from the refrigerated section, and the substitute most American supermarkets can actually supply.
What changes
Best for
lumpiang shanghai, hearty meat-filled lumpia, baked or air-fried rolls
These fry into a bubbled, blistered, distinctly chewier and breadier shell rather than the thin snap of a lumpia skin, and the roll ends up noticeably heavier. They are raw dough, so they need a longer fry at a slightly lower temperature or the outside browns before the middle cooks. Roll them as tightly as you can to keep the wall thin. Do not use them for fresh unfried lumpia, where they are unpleasantly doughy.
3Wonton wrappers
Taste and texture differ
Use 2 square wrappers overlapped by 1 centimetre for every standard lumpia, sealed with flour paste
Made from similar dough to egg roll wrappers but much smaller, which makes them a workable option if you are willing to overlap two per roll.
What changes
Best for
cocktail-sized lumpia, lumpiang shanghai, using up a packet
Fries crisp and a little brittle, thinner than an egg roll wrapper but with the same faintly eggy flavour. The overlapped seam is a weak point and will occasionally open in the oil, so seal it well with flour and water paste and fry seam side down first. Best accepted as small lumpia rather than fought into full-size ones.
4Phyllo (filo) pastry
Taste and texture differ
Use 2 sheets for every roll, each brushed lightly with oil or melted butter, cut to lumpia size
A genuinely good option for a different kind of crisp, and the one that works best if you want to bake rather than deep fry.
What changes
Best for
baked lumpia, turon and dessert rolls, party food made ahead
Phyllo shatters into buttery flakes instead of giving the smooth glassy snap of a lumpia skin, and it browns much faster, so bake at 200C for 15 to 20 minutes or shallow fry briefly rather than deep frying hard. The fat between the sheets is not optional; without it the layers do not separate and you get a tough sheet. It also dries out in minutes, so keep the stack under a damp tea towel while you work.
5Rice paper (banh trang)
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 sheet for fresh rolls; 2 sheets for every roll for frying, dipped very briefly and fried at 190C
The right answer for fresh rolls and a workable one for fried, as long as you know that it behaves nothing like wheat wrappers in oil.
What changes
Best for
fresh spring rolls, gluten-free fried rolls, chewy blistered fried rolls
Fried rice paper puffs into a bubbly, glassy, uneven shell that chews rather than snaps, and it goes soft again within five or ten minutes of coming out of the oil, so it cannot be made ahead. Dip it for two seconds only and let it soften on the board rather than in the water, since a sopping sheet sticks to itself instantly and will spit violently in hot oil. Use two layers or the filling will burst through.
6Homemade thin crepe (the correct wrapper for fresh lumpia)
Taste and texture differ
1 cup plain flour, 1 egg, 1 ½ cups water and a pinch of salt makes about 10 wrappers
Not a compromise at all: the soft wrapper of lumpiang sariwa is a crepe, so if fresh lumpia is what you are making, this is the real thing rather than a substitute.
What changes
Best for
lumpiang sariwa, fresh vegetable lumpia with peanut sauce, gluten-free versions using rice flour
Whisk the batter smooth, rest it fifteen minutes, then cook thin pale rounds in a lightly oiled non-stick pan for about a minute a side without letting them brown. They come out soft, tender and faintly eggy, which is exactly right for a fresh roll and completely wrong for frying, since a crepe in hot oil goes leathery rather than crisp.
7Homemade lumpia skins
Different texture
1 cup plain flour, 1 tablespoon cornflour, 1 ¼ cups water, ½ teaspoon salt makes about 12 sheets
Worth doing once if you cannot buy wrappers at all, and closer to the real thing than any of the swaps above.
What changes
Best for
fried lumpia when no shop stocks wrappers, small batches, cooks who enjoy the process
Make a thin, pourable batter, then either swipe a thin film onto a hot dry non-stick pan with the back of a ladle or wipe a ball of stiff dough across the surface, cooking about thirty seconds until the sheet sets and lifts at the edges. Do not brown them. Homemade skins are slightly thicker and less even than commercial ones, so the fried roll is a little sturdier and less delicate, but it snaps properly. Stack them with cling film between sheets.

What is Lumpia Wrappers?

Lumpia Wrappers is the Filipino name for paper-thin sheets of wheat flour, water and salt, also sold as lumpia skins or spring roll wrappers, that are lightly cooked before packaging, which is what makes them pliable straight from the freezer and lets them fry into a thin, glassy, blistered crisp.

Cooking tips

Thaw frozen wrappers overnight in the refrigerator, never in the microwave and never in a warm room. Frozen sheets are welded together and will tear in half the moment you pull, while microwaved ones go gummy at the edges and rubbery in the middle. Once thawed, peel from one corner with a fingernail and lay each sheet under a damp tea towel so it does not dry.
Seal with a flour and water slurry rather than egg. A paste of one tablespoon of flour to one tablespoon of water grips better, does not brown ahead of the wrapper, and will not leak out and burn in the oil the way egg wash does.
Roll tightly and squeeze the air out as you go. Trapped air expands in hot oil and blows the roll open, which is the usual cause of the mid-fry blowout that sprays filling everywhere. Rolling firm also keeps the wrapper wall thin, which is where the crispness comes from.
Fry at around 175 to 180C for wheat lumpia skins, in oil deep enough for the rolls to float. Too cool and the wrapper drinks oil and goes leathery; too hot and it darkens before a raw pork filling is cooked through. Egg roll wrappers prefer the lower end of that range and a minute longer.
Freeze rolled uncooked lumpia flat on a tray before bagging them, then fry them straight from frozen with an extra two or three minutes. This is standard practice in Filipino kitchens because a chilled firm roll holds its shape in the oil, and it means you can roll a hundred on a Sunday and fry ten at a time.

Frequently asked questions

Are lumpia wrappers and spring roll wrappers the same thing?

For the fried wheat kind, yes, and you can swap them sheet for sheet with no adjustment. Filipino lumpia skins and Chinese or Vietnamese wheat spring roll wrappers are both thin par-cooked wheat sheets sold frozen, and many packets carry both names. The only real difference is size, with lumpia skins commonly around 20 centimetres square. Note that the term spring roll wrapper is also used for rice paper, which is a completely different product.

Can I use egg roll wrappers instead of lumpia wrappers?

Yes, sheet for sheet, and it is the most common supermarket substitution. Understand what changes: egg roll wrappers are raw, thicker and egg-enriched, so they fry into a bubbly, chewy, breadier shell rather than the thin glassy snap of a lumpia skin, and the roll feels heavier. Roll them as tightly as you can, fry at 170 to 175C for about a minute longer so the dough cooks through, and do not use them for fresh unfried lumpia.

Can I use rice paper for fried lumpia?

You can, but it behaves completely differently. Dip each sheet for no more than two seconds, use two layers per roll, and fry at around 190C. The result is a puffed, bubbly, glassy shell that chews rather than snaps, and it turns soft again within five or ten minutes, so serve it immediately. Rice paper is the right choice for fresh rolls and for gluten-free frying, and the wrong choice if you want lumpia that stays crisp on a platter.

What do I use for fresh lumpia, lumpiang sariwa?

A thin homemade crepe, which is what the dish actually calls for. Whisk one cup of plain flour with one egg, one and a half cups of water and a pinch of salt, rest the batter fifteen minutes, then cook thin pale rounds in a lightly oiled non-stick pan without browning them. Fried lumpia skins are far too brittle for a fresh roll and egg roll wrappers are unpleasantly doughy uncooked, so this is one case where making the wrapper is easier than substituting it.

Why do my lumpia burst open or go soggy in the oil?

Bursting is usually air trapped inside, a loose roll, or a wet filling that steams. Squeeze the air out as you roll, seal the seam with flour paste, drain and cool any cooked filling before it goes in, and chill or freeze the rolls before frying. Sogginess is almost always oil that is not hot enough: below about 165C the wrapper absorbs oil instead of crisping. Fry in small batches so the temperature does not crash, and drain the rolls on a wire rack rather than paper, which steams the underside.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Lumpia Wrappers substitute

Other lumpia wrappers substitutes

2Egg roll wrappers

3Wonton wrappers

4Phyllo (filo) pastry

5Rice paper (banh trang)

6Homemade thin crepe (the correct wrapper for fresh lumpia)

7Homemade lumpia skins