Cream Cheese Wontons are a favorite in many Chinese restaurants. These are so easy to make at home and with this recipe, I will show you how you can recreate your favorite Chinese appetizer at home.
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Homemade cream cheese wontons
There are a few items I love when I got to a Chinese restaurant. While these cream cheese wontons may not be authentic in any sense of the word, they are definitely a favorite of almost everyone who tries these. These are actually fairly simple to make.
Are cream cheese wontons authentic?
Cream cheese wontons are not authentic to Chinese cooking. The wontons are authentic to American Chinese food. Chinese cooks adapted many of their authentic recipes for American palettes.
These wontons were invented in the 1950s at Trader Vic’s, a popular chain of Polynesian-style “tiki” themed bars and restaurants that have been around since the 1930s. Many other budget-conscious cooks left out the crab and served a sweetened cream cheese stuffed wonton.
One thing is for certain, while not an authentic Chinese appetizer, they are loved just the same.
What are cream cheese wontons made of?
Cream cheese wontons are made with easy-to-find ingredients.
They are made of wonton wrappers, which you would normally get in the refrigerated section of your local produce department in the grocery store. Cream cheese is sweetened with granulated sugar and flavored with onion. You also need vegetable oil to fry them in.
Wontons ingredients
Here is what you need from the store to make them.
- Wonton Wrappers – You’ll find these in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Cream Cheese, Sugar, and White Onon – The filling is made with cream cheese, a touch of sugar, and a little onion.
- Egg and Water – You will need a simple egg wash to seal the wontons together.
- Vegetable Oil – What you fry the wontons in.
Recipe variations
Want to make these a bit differently?
- Consider adding a teaspoon or two of sliced green onion to this recipe.
- If you don’t have green onion on hand, half a teaspoon of onion powder will also work very well.
- You may want to add a couple of teaspoons of canned crab meat to the cream cheese mixture.
- Half a teaspoon of garlic powder also tastes wonderful in these cream cheese puffs.
How to Make Cream Cheese Wontons
- Set cream cheese out on the counter to warm to room temperature.
- Preheat vegetable oil to 350°F.
- In a medium-sized bowl combine cream cheese, grated white onion, and sugar. Mix until the cream cheese filling is smooth.
- Prepare an egg wash by whisking the egg and the water together in a small bowl.
- Brush two sides of a wonton wrapper with the egg wash.
- Fill the center of the wonton wrapper with about a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture.
- Fold over the edges of the wrapper and press together.
- Drop a few at a time into the hot oil, and fry until they are golden brown.
- Drain on a wire rack so they stay crispy. Draining on paper towels can make crispy shells steam and become soft.
The best dipping sauces for cream cheese wontons
These crispy wontons must be served with a dipping sauce. You may want to serve these with sweet and sour sauce. This is a great recipe for a sweet and sour sauce that is easy to make, this recipe actually has lemons and oranges in it. You may not need to go out for these anymore with this simple recipe.
These would also go great with Chinese mustard sauce. You could also dip these into your favorite hot sauce, Thai sweet chili sauce, or even sriracha sauce.
Use a damp paper towel to prevent wonton shells from drying out
When filling the wontons it is a good idea to place a damp paper towel or a towel over the wonton shells. The wrappers can dry out if you do not keep them covered.
Is cream cheese rangoon the same as wontons?
Yes, they are very similar to each other. Both cream cheese rangoons and fried wontons use fried wonton wrappers stuffed with cream cheese. The difference is what they are stuffed with. When they have crab, they are called crab rangoons.
Easy game day appetizer
Cream Cheese Wontons are a great appetizer and game day food. Make a double batch because these will disappear fast!
Cream cheese wonton recipe video
I love watching recipe videos. I made one showing you how easy it is to make these delicious Chinese appetizers. I hope the video helps you see the simplicity so you can make them yourself. Scroll down to see the video in the recipe card.
Looking for more take-out favorites? Try these recipes!
If you love eating Chinese takeout, here are a few more recipes you can make at home. You will love them!
- Chinese Spareribs
- Egg Foo Young Recipe
- Authentic Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Chinese Buffet Shrimp Crab Casserole
- Honey and Walnut Shrimp
- Simple Lo Mein
- Fried Crispy Wontons
- Copycat PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Favorite Japanese food recipes
Be sure to check out more of the best appetizers and Asian food recipes.
Cream Cheese Wontons
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon white onion grated
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons water
- 48 wonton wrappers
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Preheat vegetable oil to 350 degrees. You can use a deep fryer or a pot filled with enough vegetable oil so the oil is 4 inches deep.
- Combine cream cheese, sugar, and grated white onion. Stir together the cream cheese mixture until it is well blended.
- Prepare an egg wash by combining one egg and water in a small bowl.
- To fill wontons with cream cheese mixture, brush egg wash on two sides of the wonton wrapper.
- Drop about a teaspoon of cream cheese onto the wonton wrapper.
- Wet the sides of the wrapper with the egg wash. Seal the edges of the wonton wrapper by lifting up the middle of the 2 opposite sides so that they meet. Squeeze lightly together Bring the middle of the 2 other sides to close the wonton Gently squeeze to close the wonton. The wonton will remain slightly open.
- Drop the wontons in a couple at a time until they are golden brown. Drain on a wire rack or on paper towels. Serve immediately.
Melissa Sperka
These MUST be included on our gameday menu, thanks!
Aysegul Sanford
Every time we go to a Chinese restaurant we order these.. I am so glad to have found this. Now I can make them at home! 🙂
Katherine
I tried them… failed making them the first time then made them again and realized I forgot the cream cheese… then they were AMAZING! Thank you so much for this recipie Stephanie ????????????????
Michele
Also LOVE THE CREAM CHEESE WAN TONS……… COULD YOU GIVE ME A
NAVY BEAN SOUP W/ grated carrot
Onion. And a little ham off the bone. The cream base and the mesurments are killing me. The only recipes I can find have celery Tomato. And other things. I like my moms old
Bean soup. HELP HELP HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom has passed on and I can’t figure it out
Stephanie
I will keep your suggestion in mind. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter so you will know when I post this recipe.
Michele
Nowhere in the recipe did I see any crab. Our Chinese restaurant offers these as crab rangoons. And there is crab inside.
Mai Nguyen
Yes and no where in the recipe or title did it say “crab rangoon” lol. Just tried the recipe it’s great!
KC
Then you need to search for crab & cream cheese wontons. These are just cream cheese wontons. THere is a recipe for the ones your looking for these are JUST CREAM CHEESE WONTONS.
Virginia Beach
Exactly
E
Dude… just add your fake crab in there then. It doesn’t take a genius.
Virginia Beach
There’s no crab mentioned because these were cream cheese wontons not crab Rangoon wontons
Keithen
I have not got to try them yet but i did go through the comemts and they sound and look delicous thanks
JustMe
I must not use the right kind of wonton wrappers because I made some tonight with wonton wrappers from Publix and it basically ruined it for me 🙁 They were night light and crunchy like they are from the restaurant.
Stephanie
What happened? I don’t know what would be wrong from wonton wrappers from Publix.
Viv
Reading for the first time. “Just Me” may not have had the oil at the right temperature. If it wasn’t hot enough, the wontons would absorb oil & fail to finish crispy & light. If it was too hot, they would fry on the outside & not be fully crisped on the inside. My guess: Just Me had oil that was not hot enough. Suggestion: He/she should make an extra wonton next time the recipe is attempted. Then put the oil to the temp it was the first time & fry off the extra to test. That will determine whether to crank up the heat a tiny bit when the actual batch is made. Also…the wontons should be drained & dried immediately…not allowed to sit on an oily plate. Try placing a kitchen paper towel in the bottom of a collander; layer the wontons as they’re removed from the oil after cooking. Keep layering until the entire batch is ready. Cheers!
c
How do these compare taste wise to a chienese restaurant
Julian
I’ve tried this recipe and they taste almost exactly alike! It’s so good.
Stephanie
I am glad you liked them.
Mari
Thank you so much for the recipe! Could you please tell me what type of cream cheese do you use? any brand? I made cream cheese wontons today, but when i fried wontons in the pan all the cheese disappeared!! Do you know what happened?
Stephanie
If the cheese oozed out you may want to try to seal the wrappers a little more with some water. I typically use Philly cream cheese. I hope that helps.
Cindy Hulsey
I have a birthday lunch on Tuesday and I look forward to making these. You make them look so easy. I can’t wait. Thanks
Stephanie
They are very easy to make!
Judy Routen
These look so wonderful! Can they be made early in the day and fried later?
Cindy
I would make them and fry them right away. You could recrisp them in the oven later. I do this with leftover ones from the restaurants. The wrappers would dry out if not covered with wet paper towels. You might risk making them soggy if you wet them to much. You could make them in triangles that are flat. Then you could keep them between moist towels in the fridge.
Cynthia
I made these last night and they were so good! I did add some garlic though!
Stephanie
Ooo that does sound great.
Melinda Johnson
If u want to make more wontons do u add more or wat
Misty
I love these!!! I wanna learn how to do the old school pot stickers. The ones that was like a dumpling wit a piece of meat on inside but now they serve wonton wrappers with meat on inside. I want to learn the original pot stickers. Can anyone help???
kent
I would like a shrimp and lobster sauce receipe with Dark Sauce. I use dark soy sauce and I use fermented black beans mashed up but I can’t quite get the restaurant taste. Could you help me?
Jan Bolstad
Where are the rest of the instructions? there is nothing after putting the cream cheese in them where are the frying instructions?there is nothing after putting the cream cheese in them where are the frying instructions?
ws99
Read further…Add enough oil for frying into a pot to cover the bottom 4 inches of the pot. Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Drop the wontons in a couple at a time until they are golden brown. Drain on a wire rack or on paper towels. Serve immediately.Read more at https://copykat.com/cream-cheese-wontons/#IBQJKgOeyS50lCEc.99
Stephanie Manley
Thank you very much!
teri
My daughter and I make these with a tub of chive and onion creamed cheese.
Stephanie Manley
I could totally get into those.
Rick
Great idea
Krys Lee
Agreed!! These really do look beautiful!!
Ann
Thank you for this recipe. Do you have a recipe for Pot Stickers ? We would love to make some at home. Thank you.
Stephanie Manley
I will see what I can do.
Jake106
A restaurant in our neighborhood serves these cream cheese and crab wontons and they really are like a drug.
Stephanie Manley
These are almost like a drug!
It Bakes Me Happy
I love wonton appetizers, these sound so easy and delicious!
Stephanie Manley
These are very easy to make, I hope you give these a try.