Whether you call them crab rangoon or crab wontons these crispy delights are an American Chinese restaurant staple. With this easy recipe, you’ll be making them at home in no time!
Now I don’t know about you but whenever we go out for Chinese food at our favorite local place, crab rangoon is a must have. The crispy crunchy shell filled with the decadent creamy crab inside? Oh it’s the stuff that dreams are made of my friends.
And now I’ll show you how to make restaurant quality crab wontons at home.
And guess what, it’s easy.
Let’s start with the ingredients shall we?
What ingredients do you need?
Crab: Now, being from the Pacific Northwest I would love to use Dungeness Crab in this recipe every chance I get. But, it is pretty expensive. To limit costs, I’ve tried canned crab and it works just fine! If you can splurge do, but these babies will still be just as good (and probably closer to what you get at your local place) if you use canned.
Cream Cheese: Make sure this is at room temperature. It’ll be easier to mix everything.
Granulated Garlic: You get the garlic flavor without being over powering.
Green Onions: The subtle onion flavor is perfect in this recipe.
Worcestershire Sauce: A secret ingredient! It adds a deeper, umami flavor to the dish.
Salt and Pepper
Wonton Wrappers: Square wrappers made out of flour, eggs and water. You can usually find them in the frozen section or in the produce section. At my grocery store they are often next to the peppers and herbs.
Water: This will help seal the wrapper.
Oil for frying: Since you’ll be frying and using a larger amount of oil, use canola, vegetable or peanut.
How do you make crab rangoon?
Step #1: Mix the crab, cream cheese, green onions, garlic, Worcestershire, salt and pepper together in a bowl.
Step #2: Put about a teaspoon of the mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Dip your finger in water and then run it around the edges of the wrapper. 
DES’ TIP: Be sure not to overfill the wontons and press hard to seal. This will help ensure that none of the filling spills out when frying.
Step 3: Pull up the sides to seal wrapper. You can also simply fold it over and make into a triangle.
Step #4: Heat 2 inches of oil in a large pot to 350 degrees. Fry wontons, in batches if necessary, until golden brown. 2 – 3 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.
DES’ TIP: As with any fried food, you want to make sure that the pan is not over crowded so you may need to cook the wontons in batches. Overcrowding the pan will result in steaming instead of frying so the wontons won’t be as crispy.
Can you freeze these wontons?
Yes! I do frequently actually. I love having them on hand whenever I get the craving. To freeze them, simply place them in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer until frozen. This will ensure they don’t stick together in the container. Once they are frozen simply transfer them to resealable plastic bags.
To cook them simply thaw them in the refrigerator first and then fry as usual.
What is a good dipping sauce?
We love to dip crab rangoon in sweet Thai chili sauce! It’s the perfect sweet dip. Our fave Chinese spot also serves them with sweet n’sour sauce. Both are excellent options!
Want to make an Asian Style Takeout Dinner At Home? I mean, who doesn’t? I’ve got you covered! Here are some of my favorite Asian inspired recipes:
Shrimp and Pork Wontons in Spicy Sauce
Salt and Pepper Calamari Recipe
Looking for other easy appetizer recipes? These will always please a crowd!
Cheeseburger Sliders for a Crowd from the Cookie Rookie
Note: this recipe was originally posted in 2009. It was updated with a new recipe, step by step photos and tips in 2020.
Servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 5 ounces canned crab (drained (can substitute fresh crab))
- 1/4 cup green onions (minced)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- about 30 wonton wrappers
- 1 - 2 cups canola oil for frying
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together cream cheese, crab, green onions, granulated garlic, Worcestershire, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Mix well.
- To make the wontons, place a teaspoonful of the crab mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper, dip your finger into the bowl of water and run your finger along the edges of the wrapper. Pinch the corners together and make sure there is no trapped air and edges are sealed.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, fry wontons (in batches if necessary) until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes . Transfer a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet to drain excess oil and sprinkle with salt. Serve hot.
I like to lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet (you can put parchment down so that they don’t stick) and freeze them. Then once they are frozen, I put them in a freezer bag. Hope this helps!
How to store them uncooked
goated
I didn’t mean soy. Sorry you felt that way! Thanks for the feedback. Have a great day!
Worcestershire?? Don’t you mean soy? This was gross.
[…] Crab and Prawn Wontons | Jamie Oliver 2. Crab Wontons | Life’s Ambrosia 3. Crab Wonton Soup | What to Cook Today 4. Crab and Cream Cheese Wontons | […]
I never tried making wontons before but this recipe looks so easy!! I’ve added all the ingredients to my grocery list to try this week – so exited!!
Hi Christine- While I do prefer fresh crab, I know its not always possible since its so expensive. You might be surprised to know that when you order crab wontons at an Asian restaurant chances are they probably use imitation so if you want to use it in this recipe that will be fine. The instructions don’t change, simply substitute the imitation crab for the fresh crab.
can yiou do this recipe with iimitation crabmeat? if so what the instructions? i love crab but purse won’t allow the real thing all the time so i improvise Alot!!!!!! ssome things come out o.k. and somethings should be left alone and true to the recipe. i hope this one can be altered and still have that mmmmmmmmmmm! factor.
Mrs L.- I agree that the imitation stuff just isn’t that great. These should be good with canned crab though. I hope you like them! :)
Might have to try these, alas with canned crab. We looked at the prices of dungeness around here this past weekend and it was pretty dang high. We either eat fresh crab or canned, never the imitation stuff, just don’t like the taste.
Lori- You’re welcome! I am glad that these turned out so well for you. I just checked out your post and your wontons look beautiful :)
Deseree, I made them this afternoon and they were great!! I blogged about them, linking to your site. Thanks so much for a wonderful and easy recipe!
I totally forgot about sweet-chili sauce. It would be wonderful with these! I hope you enjoy them :)
I’ll bet sweet-chili sauce straight out of the bottle would be great with this, too. I’m hoping to make them this weekend. They sound delicious, and yours look perfect!
Thanks Zoe! In addition to plum sauce, I like to use hot mustard. I hear that sweet and sour and soy sauce are also good options.
You’re welcome Marta! I hope that you enjoy them. Not all of mine looked this pretty btw. Its whats on the inside that counts ;-)
These look like a fantastic excuse to splurge on real crab. I have no fine-motor skills, so I guarantee mine won’t be as pretty as yours, but I will give them a try because they look delicious.
Thanks for sharing :)
Mmm..sounds great. What other dipping sauces would go with this?