Let’s talk about Asian food. It’s all amazing. I could literally eat it every day. And my favorite way to begin any Asian meal is with these fried cream cheese wontons. So I finally decided to try my hand at frying. That’s right, my previous frying experience is next to nil. But the temptation to eat fresh wontons in the comfort of my own home made me do it. I was helpless to resist. I bet you will be too once you see how crazy easy it is!
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Wontons – Kids Love Them Too!
That’s my 2 year old daughters hand dipping her wonton there. I had no clue the kids would like these so much, but they were all chowing down. So there’s another reason to make these. AND they can be super cheap to make. AND it’s easy to make a ton in no time at all, so they’re the perfect party food. That’s like a million reasons right there. What more do you need?
Wonton Ingredients
Cream Cheese – I prefer to stick with full fat, quality cream cheese here. The fat helps keep the cream cheese from getting watery and leaking out while frying. I haven’t tried it yet, but there are some great dairy-free cream cheese options out there if you’re dairy sensitive.
Shallots – I adore shallots. I replace onions with this sweeter little brother any time I can. They also have a low water content, which helps keep the filling thick.
Granulated White Sugar – It may seem a bit odd to add sugar, but this is the perfect complement to the tangy cream cheese. The sweetness brings out the flavor of the shallots too.
Wonton Wrappers – These are often found in the freezer aisle near frozen breads or Asian foods. Make sure to give yourself enough time to defrost the wrappers. They’re thin, so they don’t take too long.
Frying is really simple
Look how cute and perfect they came out? This is with no previous experience. I’ve made them 3 times now, so I’m no expert, but they’ve come out perfect every time. So if you’ve never fried anything before, don’t be intimidated, it’s really quite simple.
Shallots in Wontons
Shallots are my favorite onion. They’re so sweet and such a perfect size for smaller recipes. I use these more than any other kind of onion. Like in my Balsamic Fig Sauce and my Quinoa Side Dish with Spinach and Bacon.
After digging around online, I finally found a great explanation why shallots are so amazing. They have an intensified sweet onion flavor but have a much lower water content, so they can be added to fillings and sauces without watering them down.
Yikes, those look amazing! Why don’t we all eat Asian food all the stinkin’ time? They seriously know what they’re doing.
I used a pre-made dipping sauce from Trader Joe’s called Sweet Chili Sauce. It did the job just fine, but my next mission is to make an amazing dipping sauce for these babies. I’ve created a Korean BBQ sauce that would be amazing with these!
Love these cream cheese wontons? Try these other delicious appetizers!
Asian Salad in Baked Wonton Cups 
The BEST Artichoke Dip
If you decide to give this recipe a try, be sure to snap a photo to share, tagging @theovenlight and #theovenlight on Instagram or Facebook!
Fried Cream Cheese Wontons
Ingredients
- 1 8oz package cream cheese use full-fat for best results—keep cream cheese cold until ready to use
- 1 medium shallot diced (or 2 small shallots)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 package wonton wrappers found in the freezer section of your grocery store
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Defrost the wonton wrappers by setting on the counter at room temp for about 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, using a spoon, stir together cream cheese, diced shallot and sugar until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk up your egg with 1 Tbsp of water. Set nearby.
- Place about 2 tsp of cream cheese mixture in the middle of each wonton. Dip your finger in the egg mixture and dab a little onto the center part of each side. Press opposing sides together and pinch in the center to enclose the cream cheese.
- Don’t worry if they flop over a bit, they’ll perk up when you fry them.
- In a heavy-bottomed deep pan, pour 3-4 inches of vegetable oil. Heat on medium until 350°F, using a candy thermometer.
- Once oil is hot, use a slotted spoon or frying spoon strainer to gently place 4-5 wontons in at a time and leave for about 1 minute until lightly browned. If they flip or turn, gently coax them so the points are up and the filling stays in.
- Once cooked, remove wontons from the oil and place on a cooling rack with a cookie sheet or paper towels underneath to catch the dripping oil.
- Repeat with the remaining wontons until they're all fried. Watch your temperature as you fry and adjust your heat as needed to keep it close to 350°F.
- I like to serve immediately, but you can keep them in a warm oven up to 30 minutes to keep them hot for whenever you're ready to serve. Enjoy!!!!
These look delicious and so easy!
They are! You should definitely try them!
can I make them before hand and fry them last minute ?
Hi Sam! I haven’t tried it this way, I’d be concerned they wouldn’t stick together well enough to wait to fry. But you could certainly make the filling ahead of time, and I would guess you can fry them and reheat in the oven. When I get a chance to experiment I’ll let you know!
I tried these out and they were perfect. My family loved them
I’m so glad! They’re a favorite of my whole family too!
Can i bake them instead?
I haven’t tried baking these, but I’ve seen that it can be done based on other recipes. Bake at 400°F for 10-12 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. Be sure the edges are sealed so they don’t burst open. Let me know how it goes!
Alternate dipping sauce is a mixture of mayonnaise and icing (confectioners) sugar in fairly equal amounts.
I know it sounds weird, but it’s good!
Making it today for a pot luck.
Ooh, thank you for the tip Tracy! I’ll have to try that next time.
Can you make then with spring roll papers
Spring roll papers are not made to be fried (as far as I know), so no I would not recommend. I’ve seen gluten free wonton wrappers made from coconut flour in the frozen section though, if you’re looking for a GF substitute, try that!
I have made this before and they’re wonderful Rangoons. My niece would like me to make this with crab meat. How much crab meat should I add to your recipe? And do you have any tips for air frying this? Thank you
Hi Abby, thank you for your comment! I haven’t tried air-frying these yet, but I’ll let you know. I’m so glad you loved them! I would cut the cream cheese in half and add do equal parts with crab meat.
Third time making these. Altered recipe by adding eight oz. of finely chopped crabmeat, Cut down on shallots( personal preference) and cooked in basket style af for seven minutes at 345* FABULOUS