The Best Crab Rangoons: A Quick & Easy Seafood Appetizer Recipe! (2024)

These crab rangoons are easy to make with wonton wrappers, then stuffed with a delightfully rich cream cheese filling featuring tender bits of crab meat! They're a perfect appetizer to serve with your Chinese food dinners while watching a game, or just to snack on because they're THAT GOOD! Serve with some soy sauce, sweet and sour, or hot mustard for an amazingly tasty snack!

Chinese Fried Crab Rangoons Recipe

Crispy and unsurprisingly addictive, these simple-to-prepare Crab Rangoons are the perfect go-to for appetizers, party snacks, and finger foods. I love ordering them at my favorite Chinese restaurant, but my homemade ones are extra special. Sweet crab combined with cream cheese and spices makes these crab rangoons so appealing.

Simple ingredients make these easy to whip up, so there is not much wait time before you can devour your crab creations. When you are in the mood to snack on something savory, crab rangoons hit the spot every time.

My shrimp rangoons and cream cheese wontons are also a crowd-pleaser! If you're a fan of crab meat, try my crab egg drop soup!

🥘 Ingredients

This is a pretty short list of simple ingredients. They can be modified to suit your flavor preferences!

• Wonton Wrappers – 24wonton wrappers. Find these pre-made in the produce section of your supermarket. Cover the unused wrappers with a damp paper towel while you are prepping so they don’t dry out.
• Cream Cheese – 8ounces ofcream cheese. I use the Philadelphia brick style, regular fat content, that has been allowed to soften at room temperature.
• Crab Meat – 10ounces ofcrab meat. You can use two 5-ounce cans of drained crab, or 10 ounces of fresh crab meat, cooked crab, or imitation crab meat. Fresh is my favorite, but they all come out delicious!
• Soy Sauce – 1teaspoon ofsoy sauce(or lemon juice). Kick up the flavor with a punch of salty soy sauce!
• Garlic Powder – ½teaspoon ofgarlic powder. Seasonings make these a standout, and the rich and unique garlic flavor is a welcome addition.
• Chives – 1tablespoon ofchives(or use 1 ½ tablespoons of dried chives). Adds color and freshness to every bite!
• Egg White – 1largeegg white(beaten). Use egg white to seal up your wontons once the filling is inside. You really don't want the rangoons exploding in your fryer oil!
• Fryer Oil – Where the magic happens! Use your preferred cooking oil for frying.

*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*

🔪 How to Make Crab Rangoons

The total prep time is only 25 minutes. Before you know it, your crab rangoons will be gone! Take out a small mixing bowl, parchment paper, pastry brush, and deep fryer (a saucepan or deep-frying pan would work too) to get started.

This recipe will make 24 delicious crab rangoons, so there is plenty for sharing!

Mix the Filling

1. Combine. Combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Mix the 8ounces of room-temperature softened cream cheese, 10 ounces of drained crab meat, 1teaspoon of soy sauce (or lemon juice or Worcestershire sauce), ½teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1tablespoon of chives. *For best results, mix your cream cheese with just the soy sauce until smooth, then add the remaining ingredients to combine.

Fold the Crab Rangoons

1. Fill. Work in small batches of 2-3 wonton wrappers at a time on a sheet of parchment paper. Place a 1 tablespoon portion of the filling into the center of each wonton.
2. Fold. Fold the wontons in half and seal them completely for triangle-shaped rangoons, or fold them by pinching the two opposite corners together. Then fold the remaining opposite corners together to meet the center two.
3. Seal. Seal the edges by tracing around the outside edge of the wonton wrapper with the egg white. You can use a pastry brush or your finger. *Water can work in place of egg whites, however, egg whites are still the best option.

Fry the Rangoons

1. Preheat. In a deep fryer, saucepan, or deep-frying pan, heat the oil to 350ºF (175ºC).
2. Fry. Working in batches again, fry your crab rangoons until all are cooked. Fry at 350ºF (175ºC) for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Transfer. Place the fried wontons onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain off any excess oil as you complete the rest of the wontons. Give your oil a minute to return to the correct temperature, then drop the next batch.
4. Serve. Serve immediately once all the wontons are fried.

You can provide a dipping sauce such as additional soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, yum yum sauce, or hot mustard. But these are so good, they don’t need a thing more! Enjoy!

💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes

• Work in small batches of 2-3 wonton wrappers at a time while filling and folding each wrapper.
• If you put too many rangoons in the oil at a time when frying, the temperature of the oil will go down. Plus, they need room to brown on all sides without cramping.
• You can vary the sauce that you use to flavor the crab filling. When I want to dip in soy sauce, I like the soy sauce in my rangoons.

🥡 Storing

If they are not all gobbled up, which would be rare, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days at a maximum. They may become a bit soggy, but the taste is still terrific!

Freezing Crab Rangoons

The best way to freeze and store your prepared crab rangoons is to assemble them as directed in the recipe card below, then set them on a baking sheet and flash freeze the rangoons. After about 15 - 20 minutes in the freezer, your crab rangoons can either be fried or packaged for freezing and cooking at a later time.

Reheating Crab Rangoons

Place a few crab rangoons at a time on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 20 seconds. Heat for another 10-15 seconds if needed.

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❓ FAQ

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📖 Recipe Card

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