This crab rangoon recipe is real crab meat mixed with cream cheese and seasonings, then folded into wontons and cooked to golden brown perfection. You can either bake or fry your crab rangoon for a restaurant quality result!
I cannot resist the appetizers at my local Chinese restaurant, I always order egg rolls, lettuce wraps and these delicious crab rangoon. My homemade version of rangoon is just as good, if not better than, the restaurant recipe.
One day I ordered crab rangoon at a restaurant, and ever since then I’ve been hooked. Who could possibly resist crispy wontons stuffed with cream cheese and crab? Now that I’ve learned to make crab rangoon at home, I can skip the take out, and my family is just as happy with my version.
What is in a crab rangoon?
Crab rangoon consists of wontons stuffed with a mixture of crab, cream cheese, garlic powder, green onions and Worcestershire sauce. The wontons are either baked or fried until golden brown and crispy and are often served with a dipping sauce.
How do you make crab rangoon?
The first step is to mix together your filling ingredients. The filling is dropped onto square wonton wrappers, which are folded up, then baked or fried. I prefer to fry my wontons because they get a deep golden brown color and crunch that can’t exactly be replicated in the oven.
Can you make crab rangoon in advance?
You can assemble your wontons up to 4 hours in advance, then store them loosely covered in the fridge until you’re ready to bake or fry them.
Tips for crab rangoon
- I prefer using real crab meat for my rangoon. In this case I used frozen crab meat, but you can also purchase fresh crab meat at your local grocery store’s seafood counter. You can also use finely chopped imitation crab meat if you prefer.
- Wonton wrappers are often found in the refrigerated area in the produce section.
- You can fold your wontons any way you like. I typically just pinch them together to make these little squares because it’s easy, looks nice, and you can fit a lot of filling into this shape.
- Be sure to use a thermometer to bring your oil to the correct temperature for frying. The oil should be in the 350-375 degrees F range. If the oil is too hot, the wontons may burn. If the oil is too cold, the wontons can absorb too much oil and be overly greasy.
- These wontons are best eaten freshly made. If you need to reheat leftovers, use the toaster oven to re-crisp them up.
Baked Crab Rangoon
While this dish is traditionally deep fried, you can also bake your rangoon in a 400 degrees F oven for 12-15 minutes. They won’t get that same crunchy exterior, but it’s a good option if you’re looking to save on a few calories.
I like to serve my crab rangoon with a side of sweet and sour sauce and a garnish of sliced green onions. Sweet Thai chili sauce is also another great dipping option.
Crab rangoon are a fun party snack and pair perfectly with other Asian favorites like beef and broccoli and fried rice. Once you see how easy they are to make at home, you’ll never be tempted to order the take out version again!
More take out favorites
Crab Rangoon
Ingredients
- 8 ounces crab meat or chopped imitation crab
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons sliced green onions plus more for garnish
- 20 wonton wrappers
- 1 egg beaten
- oil for frying
- dipping sauce for serving
Instructions
- Place the crab meat, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and green onions in a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Place a wonton wrapper on a flat surface and drop 2 teaspoons of the crab mixture into the center. Brush the edges of the wonton with the egg.
- Bring 2 opposite corners together in the middle of the wonton and pinch. Repeat with the other 2 corners and pinch to form a package shape.
- Repeat with the remaining wontons and crab mixture until all are filled.
- Heat 4 inches of oil in a deep pan to 350 degrees F
- Fry 5-6 wontons at a time, turning them as needed to make sure they brown evenly. This process should take about 3-5 minutes.
- Drain the cooked wontons on paper towels and repeat the frying process with remaining wontons.
- Serve immediately with dipping sauce of choice and garnish with more sliced green onions.
Erin says
My husband said they were great. He had to resist eating them all in one sitting.
I had 2 issues though: the vegan wrappers I used were too thin on the bottom and the filling would sometimes leak out of them and leave empty shells. The other issue is that they really puffed out, I don’t know if that was oil getting in or air being in it already, though; so I have to work on that next time and use different wrappers. I would also say that I’ll probably make and cook them in batches so the wrappers don’t get soggy on the bottom and stick to each other xD
Great recipe though! I will 100% be making this again.
Angela says
Can’t to make these for my family. I don’t eat these, so my question is. How to slightly sweeten them. My dad told that the ones he get at the restaurant have a slight sweetness to them. Do you recommend something other than sugar?
Sara says
I’d add a tiny bit of granulated or powdered sugar!
Flo says
I stuffed these full of real crab and they were amazing.
Libby says
Tried these tonight for dinner, making rangoons for the first time. We did the star shape and every one turn out perfect! The only thing I would change is how much imitation crab was used. We used the recommended amount, but found the taste of crab was a bit overwhelming. May try 6 oz next time. Definitely keeping this recipe!! It made 38 small, but the right size, rangoons in wonton wrappers.
A'Kera Hampton says
If I bought frozen crab do I need to pre cook the crab before adding it to the mixture with the cream cheese?
Sara says
Most frozen crab is already cooked, so you just need to thaw it.
Joanna says
Excellent and so easy!
Maria Torres says
Can i make them and if i dont need them all can i just freeze them
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Michelle says
How do you thaw/warm them after freezing??
Sara says
Reheat in the oven at 425 degrees F from frozen, probably 6-8 minutes until hot and crispy!
Zee says
I have a simple recipe for this. I used the imitation crab, I get the cream cheese with chives and onion flavor, I added it with garlic salt and pepper. I stuffed them using the good wonton wrappers. Before frying , I wet the wanton so it’ll create the bubble texture on the wrapper. That’s about it. 🙂
Ava says
Awesome🤗
Marie says
Wow, thanos for the tip!
Mimi says
Excuse me Jaime, shallots are more potent. More like the white in green onions. Always enjoy learning when it comes to cooking.
Thank you Sara for sharing your fabulous recipe for crab rangoon.
Have a Happy National Crab Rangoon Day Sara!
Steven says
Just tried making these with the oven note. They turned out great. I made them into triangles instead of the traditional Rangoon shape, it’s easier to seal them in my opinion.
Brandi B says
I just tried these and they were delicious!!! Can these be made a head of time and frozen?
Sara says
Yes that works!
Pat G says
I tried this recipe with a few variations: I used egg roll wrappers, 1/2 cup each of both crab and small shrimp, replaced garlic with 1/4 tsp of old bay and replaced Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce.
They turned out fabulous!
Thank you for sharing.
Justin says
I tried this and failed. My crab rangoons kept ballooning really big and then leaking out all the filling. Am I missing a technique?
Sara says
It sounds like your wontons were not sealed and the oil was leaking in, did you brush the edges with egg to seal?
Justin says
I tried both egg and water And sealed as good as possible but the leak wasn’t from the seams, I am also using vegan wontons and I wonder if that’s part of the problem. They were the only ones available at the store. Gonna have to try to find some non vegan ones and see if they do any better.
Christina says
Try putting less crab mixture aand make sure you p pinch all the air out working. From. Bottom to top. You can use just water. Ive been cooking for awhile. It should work fine
Dwyane Garman says
Air pockets are the issue if they are “getting really big” before leaking. Press the wrapper tight around the mixture.
Linda says
Just wondering if these can be made ahead and reheated?
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Janet Osborn says
Simple. Easy. Delicious
Kayla says
Can I put these in an air fryer?
Sara says
That should be fine!
Gigi says
One of my favorites. It was delicious. Will be making this again.
Jaime says
Made these with imitation crab and shallots, instead of green onions. They tasted fabulous!