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 sweet and sour pork, vegetable lo mein, homemade egg rolls, chicken 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? This staple of American Chinese restaurants is surprisingly easy to make. Now that I’ve learned to make crab rangoon at home, I can skip the Chinese takeout, and my family is just as happy with my version.
These rangoon are perfect to serve with other Asian inspired recipes like kung pao shrimp, beef and broccoli, chicken and green beans and shrimp lo mein.
Table of Contents
Crab Rangoon Ingredients
To make crab rangoon you will need crab, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, green onions, wonton wrappers, egg and oil.
How Do You Make Crab Rangoon?
Make crab rangoon by mixing together the crab, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and green onions in a large bowl. Place two teaspoons of the creamy crab mixture into the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush the edge of the wrapper with egg. Fold up each corner of the wrapper to make a packet shape around the filling and pinch the wrapper at the top to seal the packet. Repeat to form the rest of you rangoon. Heat oil to 350 degrees F, then fry the wontons in batches until they are deep golden brown. Transfer the wontons to paper towels on a baking sheet to absorb any excess oil, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Crab Rangoon
- I prefer using real crab meat for this dish. In this case I used frozen lump 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.
- 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.
- Cover any wrappers you are not using with a damp paper towel so they don’t dry out.
- Use a spider strainer or a slotted spoon to place the wontons in the oil and to remove them from the oil.
- 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.
Quick Tip
You can often find wonton wrappers in the refrigerated area in the produce section.
Recipe FAQs
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.
You can assemble your wontons up to 4 hours in advance. Store them loosely covered in the fridge until you’re ready to bake or fry them.
Both crab rangoon and cream cheese wontons contain cream cheese deep fried in a wonton wrapper. The difference is that rangoon contain crab and often other seasonings. Cream cheese wontons are less seasoned and don’t contain seafood.
You can freeze cooked crab rangoon in an airtight container or a freezer bag for about 2 months. Reheat them in an oven at 350 degrees F. for about 15-20 minutes or until warm on the inside. You can also reheat them in an airfryer at 350 degrees F. for about 7-9 minutes.
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Baked Crab Rangoon
While traditionally people deep fry crab rangoon, you can also bake your rangoon. Simply place them on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray 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.
Flavor Variations
- Dips: I like to serve these wontons with a side of sweet and sour sauce. Sweet Thai chili sauce is another great dip. You can also try soy sauce, plum sauce or oyster sauce.
- Garnish: I like to sprinkle thinly sliced green onions over the top of the this dish. You could also drizzle a little toasted sesame oil over the top.
- Vegetarian: For a vegetarian version, try replacing the crab with a quarter cup of finely grated carrot and a quarter cup of thinly sliced green onions. Brush the edges of your wrappers with water instead of egg before folding them if you prefer.
Crab rangoon are a fun party snack. They pair perfectly with other Asian favorites like Hunan beef and veggie 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 Takeout Favorites
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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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.
Notes
- For baked crab rangoon, assemble the wontons as directed then coat the tops with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- I prefer using real crab meat for this dish. 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.
- 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 look so perfect! I can’t wait to try them!
WOW! These look incredible! I bet they taste amaaazing!! YUM!
I love Crab Rangoon! This looks SO GOOD! I can’t wait to try it!
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.
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?
I’d add a tiny bit of granulated or powdered sugar!
I stuffed these full of real crab and they were amazing.
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.
If I bought frozen crab do I need to pre cook the crab before adding it to the mixture with the cream cheese?
Most frozen crab is already cooked, so you just need to thaw it.
Excellent and so easy!
Can i make them and if i dont need them all can i just freeze them
Yes that’s fine!
How do you thaw/warm them after freezing??
Reheat in the oven at 425 degrees F from frozen, probably 6-8 minutes until hot and crispy!
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. 🙂
Awesome🤗
Wow, thanos for the tip!
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!
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.
I just tried these and they were delicious!!! Can these be made a head of time and frozen?
Yes that works!
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.
I tried this and failed. My crab rangoons kept ballooning really big and then leaking out all the filling. Am I missing a technique?
It sounds like your wontons were not sealed and the oil was leaking in, did you brush the edges with egg to seal?
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.
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
Air pockets are the issue if they are “getting really big” before leaking. Press the wrapper tight around the mixture.
Just wondering if these can be made ahead and reheated?
Yes that’s fine!
Simple. Easy. Delicious
Can I put these in an air fryer?
That should be fine!
One of my favorites. It was delicious. Will be making this again.
Made these with imitation crab and shallots, instead of green onions. They tasted fabulous!