This is the best crab rangoon recipe I’ve ever made. These crab and cream cheese wontons are out of this world and easier to make than you might think.
I know it’s a bold statement, but these easy homemade crab rangoons really are the best I’ve had (including at my favorite restaurants). They are ridiculously good!
I’m so excited for you to try this recipe! We developed it with Chef Richard Hattaway, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Every time we’ve tested this recipe, the wontons disappear in minutes!
Key Ingredients
- Wonton wrappers: I use thin square wonton wrappers for crab rangoon. My grocery store sells them in the refrigerated section near tofu, but you’ll find an even better selection at International grocery stores. Consider using leftover wonton wrappers to make these baked wonton cups.
- Crab: I love using real crab for these. We used Dungeness crab in the photos and video, but blue crabmeat is also excellent. Imitation crab works, too (surimi), but it tastes milder and sweeter than real crab.
- Cream cheese: This makes our crab rangoon filling creamy and rich while helping to bind everything together. You might notice that our recipe calls for less cream cheese than other recipes, making these more crab-forward and less heavy.
- Veggies: For flavor, we stir in sliced green onion, chopped red bell pepper, and a bit of garlic. I highly recommend using all three.
- Soy sauce: Crabmeat is naturally salty, so you don’t need much seasoning in the filling. I add a teaspoon of soy sauce or tamari to the mix.
How to Make Crab Rangoon
My favorite crab rangoon filling is super simple to put together. I use real crab. Fresh or pasteurized crab is usually pretty wet, so I add it to a colander and let it drain for a few minutes. Then, I look through it and pick out any shells.
Once the crabmeat is drained and free of shells, I mix it with softened cream cheese, green onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and soy sauce. The filling is simple but so tasty!
There are a few ways to fold your wontons for crab rangoon, but I stick with the easiest method: making a simple envelope. Watch our video to see how I do it!
I start by adding a teaspoon of filling to the middle of my wonton wrapper (any more, and it will be too full). Then, I brush a little egg wash onto the edges. Next, I fold the bottom corner of the wonton over the filling to meet the top corner, which forms a triangle. As I press the triangle together, I press out any air trapped in the middle.
To finish, I brush more egg wash onto one side of the triangle and then fold the wonton like an envelope. If any of that was confusing, watch me fold wontons for crab rangoon in our video!
For the best crab rangoon rivaling your favorite restaurants, fry them in oil. That’s coming from someone who goes above and beyond to avoid frying at home. I’ve tried baking and air frying these, and while both methods work, fried is SO much better!
I fry them in a small, tall saucepan. This way, I don’t use a ton of oil, and since I only add 2 to 3 inches of oil, there’s plenty of room to fry the wontons without the oil rising too close to the top. Our recipe below makes about 24 wontons, so I fry them in batches, about 6 at a time. They only take a few minutes, so they go quickly!
Occasionally, a wonton will split and cause the oil to spit around it. If you’ve left enough room in your pot, this should not be a problem. If you are worried, place a splatter screen over the pot. And while we show cooking these on the stove in our video, I’ve since purchased a Fry Daddy, which works wonders for small-batch frying (not sponsored, just like it!).
I serve these with our homemade sweet and sour sauce (it’s so good), which takes 5 minutes to make. You’ll love it (the recipe is below).
Make Ahead and Storing Tips
- Filling: Store the filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Uncooked wontons: Freeze them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until hard. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag and store them for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, you can fry them directly from frozen.
- Cooked wontons: Freeze cooked crab rangoon in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag and store them for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
Easy Crab Rangoon
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our family absolutely loves this homemade crab rangoon recipe. While we don’t fry at home often, we fry these cream cheese and crab wontons. The wontons get super crispy! As you fill and fold your wontons, press as much air out of the middle and seal them well. I use a deep saucepan for frying and only fill it with a couple of inches of oil, leaving plenty of room between the top of the oil and the top of the saucepan. For baking or air fryer, see the tips below the recipe.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Crab Rangoon8 ounces (226g) fresh or pasteurized crabmeat, like blue crab or Dungeness crab
4 ounces (113g) cream cheese, softened
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
1 small clove garlic, grated on a microplane or finely minced
1 teaspoon light soy sauce or tamari
26 wonton wrappers
Peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying
Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce2 tablespoons Sambal Oelek chili paste (we use Huy Fong)
6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar
Directions
- Make Crab Rangoon
1Place the crabmeat in a colander and let it drain for five minutes. Then, pick through the crabmeat for any bits of shell and remove them.
2In a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, green onion, bell pepper, garlic, and soy sauce. Fold in the crabmeat.
3Make an egg wash by whisking one egg with a tablespoon of water in a small bowl.
4Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust with flour.
5Lay a few wontons out on a lightly floured work surface. Keep the rest under a damp towel or plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
6Place one teaspoon of the cream cheese filling in the middle of each wonton. Moisten the edges with the egg wash, then fold into a triangle, pushing as much air out of the middle as possible. Moisten one of the corners of the triangle, and then bring the two corners together, overlapping the moistened corner on top of the other corner and pressing to seal to make a little envelope. Watch us do this in our video.
7Place filled and folded wontons onto the prepared baking sheet and cover with a clean dishcloth. Repeat with remaining wontons (this recipe makes about 24).
- Cook Crab Rangoon
1To avoid using a large amount of oil, use a small, deep saucepan (like in our video). Fill it with 2 to 3 inches of oil, ensuring ample space to fry the crab Rangoons without the oil rising too close to the top.
2Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C) as registered on an instant-read thermometer.
3Carefully drop 5 to 6 wontons into the oil. Cook, adjusting the heat to maintain close to 350°F (175°C). Use a wire mesh spider to flip them in the oil.
4When the wontons look crisp and golden brown, carefully transfer them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with remaining wontons.
- Make Dipping Sauce
1Combine the chili paste, sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 30 seconds.
2Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and set aside for serving. If needed, warm the sauce after frying the wontons.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Crab substitute: You can use 8 ounces of imitation crab (surimi) cut into 1/2-inch pieces. You can also try cooked and finely chopped shrimp.
- Baked crab rangoon: These are not as golden brown and crispy. The edges become crisp, but since the filling is so wet, the areas touching the filling stay soft. Lightly brush with cooking oil and bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven until crisp. Check them at 5 minutes, and continue to bake until crisp (5 to 10 minutes more).
- Air fryer crab rangoon: Crispier than baked, but still not as good as fried. Lightly brush with cooking oil and air fry at 375°F (190°C). Check them at 5 minutes, and continue to air fry until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes more.
- Save and reuse the oil: After frying the wontons, allow the oil to cool completely (this takes a while), and then save it for another day. I use a fine mesh strainer to remove any bits and pour the oil back into the bottle using a funnel.
- Keeping fried wontons warm: Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Transfer the fried and drained wontons to a baking sheet in the warm oven and hold until ready to serve.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Nutrition is difficult with fried foods because we cannot determine how much oil is absorbed. So we have provided nutrition for everything but the oil. We realize this isn’t the most helpful, but it is the best we can do without a laboratory.
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Can the wontons be frozen after they are fried and reheated in an air fryer?
Hi Gayle, I bet that they can!
Hey whats the red? I want more veggies in my rangoons and I’m curious what you’re using.
We use bell pepper in this recipe.