Mother-In-Law-Approved Pumpkin Spring Rolls (Zero White Sugar, Gluten Free)

What is Halloween without pumpkins? And I mean not just for decorating and making scary lanterns.
Pumpkins are one of the symbols of the abundant autumn – full of color and plenty of harvested veggies and fruits!

Image source: Milica Vladova

So, I thought I could share a recipe with pumpkins you may have never heard of – it is a sugar-free pumpkin spring roll recipe – a gluten-free variation of the traditional pumpkin burek coming from my motherland – Bulgaria. Here we call it Tikvenik, which literally comes from the word for pumpkin (tikva).
Unfortunately, the original recipe is full of unnecessary substances like white flour and white sugar.

Image source: Milica Vladova

So, today I will show you another version of this deliciousness with much healthier alternatives – gluten free rice sheets, coconut sugar, and dry fruits (not treated with sugar or other chemicals). If you have a dehydrator at home, you can successfully use it to preserve your own organic fruits and veggies with zero sugar! Alternatively, you can use the kitchen oven at 50° C/ 122° F with the fan-assist option.
Fortunately, my variation turned out to be even better than the original! (Brag much?! 😀 ) Well, not every day you have your mother-in-law calling you to ask for the recipe! 😛

Image source: Milica Vladova

Now, for these pumpkin spring rolls, I used some raisins and dehydrated cherries left from the previous spring. But you can use whatever you prefer or have at hand – prunes, dates (mmmmm, I need to try the date version, I bet it will be awesome!), sour cherries, apricots, etc.

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To make this recipe a lot healthier, I also substituted white sugar with coconut sugar. This natural sweetener is produced by the nectar of the coconut palm blossoms. The good news here is that it has relatively low glycemic index and it does not cause such big insulin spikes like other sugary products.

Image source: Milica Vladova

It also cannot be processed – coconut sugar is produced by dehydrating the nectar, which naturally crystallizes. This product is full of nutrients, amino acids, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, and many more beneficial goodies. Sounds good, huh?
But, enough chit-chatting! Here is the recipe for my mother-in-law-approved pumpkin spring rolls (well, that’s a paradoxical name! 😀 ):

Print Recipe

Sweet Pumpkin Rolls (Tikvenik Recipe)

Course

Desserts

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

50 minutes

Passive Time

40 minutes

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

• 11 pieces rice sheets (see notes)
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 6 Tbsps. olive oil (or sunflower oil)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dry fruits* (plums, apricots, figs, raisins, etc.)

Course Desserts Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 50 minutes Passive Time 40 minutes Servings pieces Ingredients 11 pieces rice sheets (see notes) 2 cups pumpkin 1/2 cup walnuts 6 Tbsps. olive oil (or sunflower oil) 1/2 cup coconut sugar 1 tsp. Cinnamon 1/2 cup dry fruits* (plums, apricots, figs, raisins, etc.)

Instructions

1. First, peel and grate the pumpkin, or mince it in a kitchen chopper to save some time. Place it in a metal pot along with some oil and the coconut sugar and cook until soft.
2. In the meantime, cut the fruits in small pieces and grind the walnuts.
3. When the pumpkin is ready, let it cool down, and then – mix it with the fruits, the walnuts, and the cinnamon. Our filling is ready – at this point, you can divide it into 11 equal parts for each spring roll.
4. Next, soak a rice sheet in some lukewarm water for a few seconds and wrap some of the stuffing with it. Repeat the procedure with the remaining 10 spring rolls.
5. Now, take baking pan and grease it with some oil or butter, arrange the spring rolls, and bake in a medium oven (at 180° C /356° F) until fully cooked (about 40 minutes depending on your oven).
6. Finally, take out the desserts and cover them with a clean kitchen towel until they cool down completely. Enjoy

Recipe Notes

• For this recipe I have used 1/4 cup raisins and 1/4 cup dry cherries.
• It i best to use simple rice sheets without any starches (such as tapioca) - they are easier to chew and more suitable for cooking.
• Nutritional info according to Cron-o-meter. This will depend on the type of spring roll wrappers and dry fruits you use. I have used simple starch-free rice sheets and  1/4 cup raisins and 1/4 cup dry cherries.

Read more:

Most Common Mistakes When Going Vegan
What Are the Vegan Diet Benefits?

If you want more tasty vegan recipes like these yummy pumpkin spring rolls, check out “The Healthy Vegan Recipes Cookbook: Vegan Waffles and Pancakes, Incredible Cake Recipes, Vegetable Cupcakes, Fully Raw Vegan Recipes, and Other Veganish Meals Suitable for a Catholic Fasting“!

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In this volume you will find:
– Healthy vegan main course dishes;
– Bread and salty snacks recipes.
– Dips and side dishes.
– Yummy sugar-free desserts.
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“The Healthy Vegan Recipes Cookbook” is your guide to the world of healthy vegan cooking!

Stay tuned for more healthy stuff like the pumpkin pie recipe I just showed you!

Bon Appetite and stay healthy!