Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon is a tasty appetizer available at the restaurant. These are the creamy and crunchy wontons you would often find at your favorite Chinese food buffet. With just a few ingredients, you can be making a whole batch of similar cream cheese wontons in no time.
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Panda Express Rangoons
These Panda Express cream cheese rangoons are tasty and very simple to make. If you have ever had that craving for crispy rangoons but didn’t want to pay for takeout, then make some yourself.
What Makes the Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon the Best?
These crispy wonton apps are stuffed with a mixture of cream cheese, scallions, and a dash of garlic powder. They make satisfying finger food for game day, or you can try dolling them up to make casual cocktail appetizers.
The best part of rangoons may be that you can easily make them your own by adding your favorite ingredients to the filling or switching up the sauces you serve alongside.
What Makes This Recipe Perfect for You To Try?
This recipe is simple to make and can feed a crowd cheaply with few ingredients. Don’t feel intimidated by the wonton wrappers.
This recipe uses an easy fold-and-twist method that you can master quickly. After learning to make rangoons, you will always keep them in the freezer in case guests drop by unexpectedly.
Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon Ingredients
To make this Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon recipe, you’ll need:
- Cream cheese
- Scallions, thinly sliced (or green onions)
- Garlic powder, optional
- Wonton wrappers
- Vegetable oil or shortening
Ingredient Notes
You can find wonton wrappers in most supermarkets’ refrigerated or freezer sections. You can always buy them online if you can’t find them locally. Spring roll or egg roll wrappers also work, but your rangoons will be bigger, which is fine.
What type of cooking oil is best for rangoons?
Shortening will get you crispier rangoons. Plain vegetable oil, corn oil, sunflower, or canola oil will work well.
How To Make Cream Cheese Rangoons
To form the rangoons:
- Add softened cream cheese, scallions, and onion powder (if using) to a bowl. Mix well to combine.
- Make 48 rangoons filled with the cream cheese mixture. See below to learn how to fold them.
To fry the cream cheese rangoons:
- Place a heavy-bottom rondeau or Dutch oven over medium-high. If you have a deep fryer, use it to make things much easier.
- Add the vegetable oil or shorting and heat. Use a thermometer to check that the oil reaches 350 degrees F.
- Once the oil is hot enough, gently place four to five rangoons into the oil.
- Fry the rangoons for about a minute, flipping midway through if necessary.
- When the rangoons are golden brown, drain them on a paper towel, and place them on a wire rack over a baking tray.
- Repeat deep frying with the other rangoons.
- Serve at room temperature.
Ways You Can Modify the Rangoons
Add whatever you like to the cream cheese mixture to make this Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon recipe your own. Here are a few suggestions for variations:
- Cooked crab meat to make crab rangoons
- Crispy bacon or pancetta bits
- Minced hot peppers
- Grated cheese
- Roasted garlic
How Panda Express Folds Their Rangoons
- Lay out the wonton wrappers on your work surface.
- Spoon about a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture onto the center of each wrapper. If you are using larger egg roll or spring roll wrappers, you can adjust the filling accordingly.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the edges of the wrappers with water.
- Fold all four corners to the center and squeeze out any excess air.
- Twist the corners to make a tiny bindle bundle.
- Place the prepared rangoons on a wire rack and repeat the process with the other 24 wrappers.
What To Serve With the Panda Express Rangoons
Rangoons make ideal small bites for any occasion. They work with both Asian-themed at non-Asian entrees. Serve them with at least one sauce and your favorite beer or cocktail.
What Types of Sauce To Serve With Your Cream Cheese Rangoons
One sauce is a must, but the more options you have, the better. Feel free to get as creative as you want when pairing rangoons with dipping sauces, but here are a few options:
- Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Thai peanut sauce
- Ginger-soy sauce
- Campfire sauce
- Apricot chutney
- Yum Yum sauce
How To Store the Extra Rangoons
It is best to throw away any uneaten rangoons you serve, but you can keep any extras that didn’t make it out of the kitchen.
- Let the rangoons come down to room temperature.
- Place them in an airtight container and keep them in the refrigerator for up to two days. If you are using crab or other seafood, you should probably eat any leftovers the next day.
You can freeze rangoons for up to two months:
- Place the rangoons in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Put the uncovered tray in the freezer until the rangoons are frozen.
- Transfer the frozen rangoons to a freezer bag, and place them in the back of your freezer.
What’s the Best Way to Reheat the Cheese Rangoons
The best way to reheat rangoons is in the air fryer. You can reheat frozen or thawed rangoons, but you will have to readjust the time:
- Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Reheat frozen rangoons for 8 to 10 minutes. Cook thawed rangoons for about 5 minutes.
If you don’t have an air fryer, try reheating the rangoons in an oven. It is best to thaw the frozen rangoons when using this method:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the rangoons on a baking tray without touching each other or the sides of the tray.
- Cover the tray with aluminum foil and reheat for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the aluminum foil and spray the rangoons with a little cooking spray.
- Put the rangoons back in the oven until they start to sizzle.
Check Out These Panda Express Copycat Recipes
More Tasty Chinese Food Recipes
- Chinese Almond Cookies Recipe
- Chinese Coleslaw
- Chinese Donut
- Chinese General Tso’s Chicken
- Chinese Hunan Chicken
- Chinese Spare Ribs Recipe
- Crab Casserole with Cheese
- How to Make Chinese Hot Mustard
Find even more recipes for Chinese Food and restaurant appetizers on CopyKat!
Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon
Ingredients
- Vegetable shortening or oil, for frying
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
- garlic powder optional
- 48 wonton wrappers
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable shortening or oil to 350°F in a medium pot or electric fryer. The shortening or oil should be 2 to 3 inches deep.
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese and scallions. If desired, add a touch of garlic powder for additional flavor.
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture onto a wonton wrapper.
- Brush a little water over the edges of the wonton skin. Fold the wonton diagonally into a triangle. Be sure to seal all of the edges completely to prevent the filling from leaking out of the wonton as it cooks. Take the two opposite corners and press and twist them together. You may need to tack them together by brushing them with a little water.
- Use a thermometer or a small piece of wonton wrapper to make sure that the shortening or oil has reached 350°F. If the wonton wrapper bubbles immediately when dropped into the hot fat, it is ready.
- Drop only 4 or 5 wontons at a time into the hot fat. After about 1 minute, the wontons will begin to brown. Then they will brown rapidly, so be careful to remove them when they are lightly browned. If your oil is shallow, you may need to flip the wonton over so that it cooks evenly.
- Briefly drain the wontons on paper towels before serving.
Rebecca G
Don’t try to fry in olive oil it is a finishing oil because it has a very low smoke point and can’t be heated up to much before it smokes and you loose the effect you wanted from the olive oil
pamela
do you think these can be baked too?
Stephanie
I don’t think so. I think you are going to have to add some oil or something to help these crisp up.
Laura Jordan
You can bake these.. turn a muffin tin over and place wontons on each part. bake for about 3-5 minutes then place into the muffin tin cups. spoon the mixture into them then bake the allotted time. they will come out nice and crisp every time!
Karen Sawyer
Laura, when you heat the wontons initially on the reversed muffin tin, do you place the shaped wonton wrappers in between the projecting cups? Or do you place the flat wonton wrappers over the projecting muffin cups?
Thanks!
D'sMom
Yum!Have you ever tried them with chopped toasted pecans added?They are SO GOOD!What you do is,to the softened cream cheese,add the chopped pecans,green onions,& a few dashes of garlic powder.Roll up & deep fry(Dried cranberries are good mixed in to this to.)
On another note,coarsely chopped up shrimp,which has been seasoned,& cooked are also good added to a cream cheese mixture.
&we love to dip these in plum sauce or sweet & sour sauce.
Dani Stewart
I made these tonight for dinner and they were a hit. Thank you
Amy
They are amazing with Nutella and then sprinkled with a little powerderd sugar. We have made these them this way for special occasions ( all laundry done) and holiday gatherings and they are always a big hit. Just make sure they are sealed well and not to much Nutella or it will leak out.
stephaniemanley
Oh I am sure these are amazing. I want to give your suggestion a try.
Karen Sawyer
Amy, I love your Nutella wontons idea! Do you bake the filled wontons at the same 400° or less temp/time because it’s chocolate?
Thanks a bunch ..
Karen S
ashley :)
Is there a way for me to home make the wanton wrappers???
stephaniemanley
Ashley, I am sure there there is a way to do this. I will see what I can dig up sometime.
Momogian
Why do you waste the tops of the green onions?
And Panda express is called Panda express because of the Panda being one of the animals that China is famous for.
stephaniemanley
I usually put the green onion tops in something else. Thank you for checking out my recipe.
Josh
I think it was a joke.
JD Cooks
I have an old recipe that also adds a dash of curry powder to each one, or you could stir some into the mix.
stephaniemanley
I bet the wontons would be tasty with a dash of curry. I love what a little curry can do for a recipe.
Miki
I love crab rangoon. I am going to try this adding some minced crab meat to it. I think it will be so delicious.
Stephanie
I love crab rangoon too! Great idea adding some crab to this recipe.
stephaniemanley
These would be delicious with a bit of minced crab.
Sophia Gilleo
going to try this recipe. our panda express folds them differently, but the filling looks to be the same
stephaniemanley
My folding skills aren’t the best :(.
Elaine
Would like to make these ahead of time for a large baby shower. Can they be frozen after cooking and then just be defrosted for the shower? Also, what kind of dipping sauce would you use?
stephaniemanley
I am sorry I missed this, I think you could do it. I would use some bottled sweet and sour sauce.
Helen Edgar
can you make crab Rangoon with cream cheese and onions fried ahead of time and how would you store them or freeze and recook? is this out of the question?
Stephanie
I think it would be hard to do it at home. I would freeze them cooked, then reheat them later. To be honest I don’t tend to freeze anything so I really don’t know. I would try to lay them out on a cookie sheet, then once they are hard and put them in a ziplock bag.
Brenda
I have made these for years with jack cheese and canned chili peppers. When done we dip in sour cream and taco sauce.
stephaniemanley
Brenda, I love your idea on what to do with these. I love a little bit of spice.
JD cooks
A bit of curry powder gives a nice flavor variation.
Tjgrothe
I fry them in Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, I have found that it has a mild but pleasant flavor and scent making it a wonderful ingredient to add to your meals. I have found that coconut oil is the only healthy oil that retains it’s nutritional qualities and benefits at very high temperatures making it the best oil to cook with.
sajid Ayaan
Fold wonton by brushing a little water over all of the edges of the wonton skin. Fold wonton diagonally unto a triangle.and this is courge to eating food.
NorthMussel
Ew Taco Wontons, lol. Cream cheese wontons are the bomb! Knew this lady from Vietnam who made them.
Tinabutler
These are my favorite as well. I can’t wait to try the copy kat version.
Tinabutler
These are my favorite as well. I can’t wait to try the copy kat version.
Stephanie Manley
I’ll keep that one in mind.
Joycekuk52
i whish the picture would print out with the recipe thanks joyce
Marciaspe
Hi Joyce if you right click over the picture a window will open and it will say”save image as” then you can put it on your desk top. I do this all the time
Marciaspe
Hi Joyce if you right click over the picture a window will open and it will say”save image as” then you can put it on your desk top. I do this all the time
easy recipes teacher
I know this is an odd combo, but I would try it with some kind of Mediterranean salty cheese such as feta. The only question is how the cheese would stand up to high heat.