Skip the takeout Chinese food and make homemade Crab Rangoon in the Air Fryer instead. Your favorite crispy wontons filled with crab and seasoned cream cheese – done in 25 minutes!
Recipe Overview
Crab Rangoon is a must-order item when my family orders Chinese food. There is just something irresistible about the crispy wontons filled with crab meat and cream cheese that everyone loves.
Usually, crab rangoon is made in a deep fryer, but you don’t need to go through all that trouble to make a batch of crab rangoon for your family!
The air fryer will crisp up crab and cream cheese wontons just as well as a deep fryer, and with much less fat too.
You can make Air Fryer Wontons without crab if you’re looking for a vegetarian version of this appetizer, or stay here, and learn exactly how to make Crab Rangoon in the air fryer that is just as amazing as any take-out food you’ll find.
Pair these crispy homemade air fryer crab rangoons with Air Fryer Fried Rice and steamed veggies for a healthier, homemade Chinese food meal.
What You’ll Need
- Wonton Wrappers – You can usually find these near the tofu in your grocery store. At my local store, it’s in the produce section, but some stores may also have them in the freezer. Be sure to buy the small, square-shaped wrappers rather than the large egg roll wrappers.
- Cream Cheese – Allow the cream cheese to soften at room temperature so that the rangoon filling is easy to mix.
- Imitation Crab Meat – Imitation crab is made from white fish. It’s inexpensive and generally sweeter than real crab meat.
- Green Onion – Green onions add a fresh, onion flavor.
- Sweet Chili Sauce – Sweet chili sauce is typically served to dip crab rangoon into so we’re adding a bit to the filling as well. It adds a hint of sweetness and spice.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Worcestershire sauce adds an earthy, umami, and salty flavor and enhances the seafood flavor of the crab.
- Garlic Powder – This seasoning adds a delicious savory flavor to the cream cheese filling.
- Olive Oil Spray – To get super crispy wontons, we’ll spray the crab rangoon with oil before cooking them in the air fryer.
Steps to Make
- Make the filling by combining softened cream cheese, chopped imitation crab, sliced green onions, sweet chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder together in a mixing bowl.
- Working with a few at a time, fill each wonton wrapper with about two teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture.
- Brush the edges of the wonton wrappers with water and pull all of the corners into the center.
- Pinch the seams closed to seal in the filling.
- Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray, and place the sealed wontons in the basket in a single layer.
- Air fry crab rangoon at 365°F/180°C for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Cook in two batches if needed.
- Serve immediately with sweet and sour sauce or sweet chili sauce for dipping.
How to serve Crab Rangoon
These little wontons make a fabulous party appetizer, and because they only take a few minutes to cook, you can also use your air fryer to make other tasty snacks too!
Try serving air fryer crab rangoon at a football party or holiday get-together, along with Air Fryer Pigs in a Blanket, Air Fryer Boneless Wings, or Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs.
Tips and tricks 🪄
- Add more crab if you like! I like my filling to be nice and creamy, so I only add 4 ounces of crab to the recipe. For a meatier filling, use 6 ounces.
- Dice the crab finely. Air Fryer Crab Rangoon will be easier to eat if the pieces of crab are very small.
- Don’t let the wrappers dry out. Once exposed to air, wonton wrappers will get dry and brittle. As you’re making the crab rangoon, keep the wrappers you aren’t working with under a damp paper towel.
- The crab rangoon filling is already fully cooked, so these only need to be air fried long enough for the wrappers to crisp up and become golden brown. 5 or 6 minutes is plenty of time.
- You can fill wonton wrappers with other fillings too, and air fry them using this method! Try them stuffed with mozzarella and pepperoni to make your own homemade air fryer pizza rolls.
- Use egg roll rappers instead of wontons to make crab rangoon egg rolls!
FAQs
While this Chinese food dish is normally made with imitation crab meat, you can certainly use fresh crab meat if you want to. Look for cooked crab meat in the seafood section of the grocery store.
You can use egg roll wrappers to make this recipe, but you’ll want to cut the larger wrappers in half first, or just fill them up and make crab rangoon egg rolls! I like to use egg roll wrappers to make Air Fryer Egg Rolls instead, stuffed with delicious ground pork and cabbage filling.
The wonton wrappers will become sticky if they get wet, so all you need to do is lightly brush the edges of the wrappers with water, and then pinch the edges together to fully seal the filling inside.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat for a minute or two in the air fryer at 365°F/180°C for 1-2 minutes.
More Easy Air Fryer Appetizer Ideas
For a super quick and easy appetizer, use the Air Fryer to cook up your favorite frozen snacks! Frozen Fried Pickles, Frozen Spring Rolls, and Frozen Dumplings all cook up perfectly crispy in just a few minutes.
If you have a bit more time, try making Air Fryer Calamari Rings from scratch, or breaded Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower. Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms are another easy favorite!
Air Fryer Crab Rangoon
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4-6 ounces imitation crab meat finely diced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce plus more for dipping
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 24 wonton wrappers
- Olive oil spray
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese, imitation crab, sliced green onions, sweet chili sauce, worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder.
- Fill each wonton wrapper with 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture.
- Brush the edges of the wonton wrapper with water and pull all of the corners to the center. Pinch the seams to seal in the filling.
- Repeat steps 2-3 with the remaining wontons.
- Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray and add as many rangoons as will fit– make sure not to overcrowd the basket.
- Spray the rangoons with olive oil spray and cook at 365F for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining rangoons.
- Serve immediately with sweet and sour sauce or sweet chili sauce for dipping.
Notes
- Add more crab if you like! I like my filling to be nice and creamy, so I only add 4 ounces of crab to the recipe. For a meatier filling, use 6 ounces.
- Dice the crab finely. Air Fryer Crab Rangoon will be easier to eat if the pieces of crab are very small.
- Don’t let the wrappers dry out. Once exposed to air, wonton wrappers will get dry and brittle. As you’re making the crab rangoon, keep the wrappers you aren’t working with under a damp paper towel.
- The crab rangoon filling is already fully cooked, so these only need to be air fried long enough for the wrappers to crisp up and become golden brown. 5 or 6 minutes is plenty of time.
- You can fill wonton wrappers with other fillings too, and air fry them using this method! Try them stuffed with mozzarella and pepperoni to make your own homemade air fryer pizza rolls.
