Cream Cheese Rangoons

Cream Cheese Rangoons are crispy, creamy, slightly sweet, and utterly delicious. They make a great side for your favorite Asian-inspired meal or an unexpected tasty game-time treat.

WHAT ARE CREAM CHEESE RANGOONS MADE OF?

This Cream Cheese Rangoon recipe is a great side for a variety of Asian dishes. Not only are they absolutely delicious and add the perfect crunch to your meal, but you’ll only need five ingredients to make them (six if you include the oil you need to fry them in).

Here’s what you’ll need to make these delicious rangoons:

Wonton Wrappers- These are usually found in the produce section of your favorite grocery store next to the tofu and other vegan-friendly food items.

Cream Cheese– This is what makes the warm, creamy center of this delicious deep-fried treat.

Garlic Powder- Helps balance the flavors of the other ingredients.

Granulated Sugar- Don’t worry. It doesn’t make them overly sweet. It simply brings out the flavors of the hoisin sauce.

Hoisin Sauce- A sauce that is a combination of sweet and spicy flavors. You’ll only need a tiny bit.

Peanut Oil- You can also use vegetable or canola oil to fry these cream cheese wontons. Peanut oil gives them that traditional slightly nutty flavor you’ve grown to love from your favorite carryout restaurant.

HOW TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE RANGOONS

This Cream Cheese Rangoon recipe is so super simple to make. It’s even fun to get the kids involved! You do all of the filling and mixing and let them get creative making their own shapes with the wonton wrappers.

Here’s how you do it:

Step 1: Soften the cream cheese and season. Bring the cream cheese to room temperature and add the garlic powder, sugar, and hoisin sauce.

Step 2: Mix up the cream cheese. Mix the cream cheese and spice mixture and get out a stack of wonton wrappers. Add some warm water to a separate bowl.

Step 3: Fill the wonton wrappers. Add a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture to the center of the wonton wrapper. Dip your fingertip in the bowl of water and slightly wet the edges of the wrapper.

Step 4: Using your thumb and middle finger, gently pinch the opposite sides of the wonton wrapper to make an X-shaped pouch. The cream cheese mixture will be below where you pinch the top edges together.

Step 5: Once you have created the basic shape, use your fingers to seal the edges of the wonton wrappers to prevent the cream cheese from seeping out during the frying process.

The end result should look like the picture below before you fry them. This is just one technique for folding Cream Cheese Rangoons. Feel free to get the kids involved and mix it up to create new fun shapes!

Step 6: Fry them. Bring your oil up to 350F. Gently place the rangoon in the oil with the folded sides facing up. This will ensure your cream cheese gets nice and melty without burning the delicate tips of the wonton wrappers.

Step 7: Remove any excess oil. Carefully lift your cream cheese rangoon out of the oil and place them on a paper towel or dish towel to remove any extra oil that may have collected in the folds.

Step 8: Dip and enjoy! Plate these cream cheese wontons and dip them in your favorite sauce.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RANGOONS AND WONTONS?

Generally speaking, wontons are boiled whereas rangoons are deep-fried.

The difference in the names has become a bit blurred, as they use the same outer shell to create the delicious bites.

Traditionally wontons are meat-filled wonton wrappers that are boiled. They are a Chinese and Cantonese dish that are served in many of our favorite takeout spots.

Rangoons are cream cheese-filled dumplings that are deep-fried and originated in South Asian countries. They have been wildly accepted in the United States as comfort food.

IS CRAB RANGOON THE SAME AS CHEESE WONTONS?

Are they the same? Nope. Are they very similar? Yes. The recipes for these two different dishes are identical except for one thing–the crab.

So, if you’re looking for a tasty crab rangoon recipe, just follow the steps below and add a little crab meat. Voila! You have crab rangoon.

TIPS, TRICKS, & VARIATIONS

This recipe is inspired by one of our favorites– Crab Rangoon. Since we live in the midwest, finding fresh seafood is virtually unheard of. Instead of using imitation, frozen, or canned crab, we tried making them by just omitting the crab completely. Much to our surprise, they were still delicious! So, mixing up this recipe is almost always a win.

Here are a few other variations that you might enjoy as well:

• Add crab. Obviously, adding crab to create crab rangoon is going to be a win. If you live near the coast, or are open to using imitation or canned crab, mix a little bit in with your cream cheese filling and cook as directed.
• Make them sweet. Omit the garlic and hoisin. Add in some powdered sugar and vanilla. Fry and dip in chocolate or strawberry syrup for a tasty dessert or snack.
• Fill with your favorite dip. Most of our favorite dips are cream cheese based. So why not use them to fill wonton wrappers too?!
• Make it meaty. Fry up some pork or hamburger and fill your rangoon with it before frying.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH THEM

Cream Cheese Wontons are a great side dish for some of my favorite Asian-inspired recipes. Here are a few of my favorite main courses to serve them with:

• Springfield Style Cashew Chicken
• Chicken Fried Rice
• Beef Lo Mein
• Teriyaki Steak and Broccoli
• Bourbon Chicken

If you’re looking for the best dipping sauces to serve with them, try one of these family favorites:

• Sweet and Sour
• Cashew
• Teriyaki
• Soy Sauce
• General Tso’s Sauce

MAKE AHEAD AND STORAGE

These Cream Cheese Rangoons don’t take very long to prep or cook, so I generally just make them while my rice or noodles are cooking for my main dish. If you love them (which you will) so much you want to serve them as an appetizer, game time treat, or after-school snack, you may want to make them in bulk for later.

HOW TO REHEAT CREAM CHEESE WONTONS

If you have leftovers (who has rangoon leftovers!?) they stay just as delicious in the fridge for up to 3 days in an air-tight container.

To reheat the cream cheese rangoons, just pop them back in the 350F oil for about 20 seconds, or air fry them at 325F for 2-3 minutes.

HOW TO FREEZE THEM FOR LATER

I wouldn’t recommend freezing these after they’ve been cooked because of how delicate the wonton wrappers become once they’re fried, but you can definitely freeze them before they’re fried.

The way I folded them in the pictures above doesn’t work well for freezing, so for this, you will want to fill the wonton wrappers as the recipe states, but instead of pinching in the four sides to create the same design, you will want to make triangles. Just fold opposite corners over once to create a triangle shape and close the edges using your fingertip and a few drops of water.

Once your triangles are made, place them in a single layer on top of parchment paper. Then place the parchment paper inside of a freezer-safe bag or container. Store them flat in your freezer to prevent the wonton wrappers from breaking.

These frozen cream cheese rangoons will last up to 3 months for easy dinner sides and snacks.

To reheat, bring your choice of oil up to 350F and fry as normal. They will take an additional minute or two to cook than when you make them fresh, but the flavor and texture will be just as delicious.

If you love these Cream Cheese Rangoons as much as our family does, make sure you share the recipe with your family and friends so they can try them too. Don’t forget to pin the recipe so you can make them again soon!