Air Fryer Crab Rangoon
This air fryer crab Rangoon turns out SO unbelievably crispy, they taste like they’re deep-fried! A savory, creamy crab filling, stuffed into a warm, crave-ably crunchy wonton wrapper that you can hear when you take a bite. But no oil or stovetop needed! I’m sharing how to make homemade crab Rangoon in the air fryer as well as baked in the oven, including my tips for crispiest results.
If you’ve never tried homemade crab Rangoon before, now is the time. Seriously, working with wonton wrappers at home is very easy and loads of fun. Once you learn the folding technique, you’ll see how easy these air fried crab Rangoon are to make. Just pop them into the air fryer for 6-8 minutes (or into the oven for about 15 minutes), and you’ve got a crispy appetizer ready to devour!
What is crab Rangoon anyway?
If you’ve never tried it, crab Rangoon is a crunchy, typically deep-fried wonton snack with a crab and cream cheese filling. In other words: it’s freaking delicious! Generally, it’s served with a tasty sweet-and-sour dipping sauce of some kind and makes for an unforgettable appetizer.
What is the difference between crab Rangoon and fried wontons?
Rangoons and wontons have a lot of overlap, but they’re not the same. In broad, ‘Americanized’ terms, both fried wontons and crab Rangoon involve crispy wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese. What makes crab Rangoon unique is that the cream cheese filling contains crab or (more often) imitation crab.
What is imitation crab made of? Can I use real crab meat instead?
As the name implies, imitation crab doesn’t contain any actual crab meat. Instead, it’s a mixture of minced fish, starches, egg whites, seasonings, and additives designed to look and taste like crab. It tends to be cheaper and easier to find than genuine crab meat, and you’re welcome to use it in this recipe. Or, if you’d like to use real crab meat, I recommend looking for canned lump crab meat in the grocery store!
How to Make Crab Rangoon in Air Fryer
The process is quite simple, and the result is so satisfyingly crispy! However, you can only cook around 7-9 crab Rangoon in the air fryer at one time, so it’s best to prepare and cook them in multiple batches. The process involves 3 key steps:
- Prepare crab and cream cheese filling mixture.
- Fill each wonton wrapper with 1-2 teaspoons of filling. Moisten edges of wrapper with water, then fold up opposite corners and pinch closed at the top, forming a pointed ‘purse’ shape. (Optional: brush outsides with melted butter before cooking.)
- Add 7-9 Rangoon into air fryer and cook at 350°F (180°C) for 6-8 minutes, until crispy.
How to Make Baked Crab Rangoon
Cooking crab Rangoon in the oven is just the same as outlined above, except that you can prepare all of your crab Rangoon, and then cook them all at the same time. Simply add filled crab Rangoon onto a prepared baking sheet, then bake at 350°F (180°C) for 15-18 minutes.
How do you reheat crab Rangoon in air fryer or oven?
Without a doubt, crab Rangoon are best served warm and crispy! But, if you happen to have leftovers or want to freshen up a batch after they’ve sat for a while, you can reheat them in the air fryer or oven. Simply preheat to 350°F (180°C) and pop them in for 3-5 minutes. As soon as they’ve crisped to your liking, serve and enjoy!
Taste Test: Oven vs. Air Fryer Crab Rangoon
Hands down, the air fryer recipe is the winner of this duel. If you’ve ever had crab Rangoon at a restaurant (or any deep-fried dish, really), you know the unbeatable satisfaction of a truly crispy, crunchy, fried texture. By brushing them with a bit of melted butter before cooking, they turn out JUST as crave-ably crunchy as deep-fried!
The oven baked Rangoons are still yummy, they’re just softer, chewier/doughier, and not as crispy. Personally, anytime I make these, air fried will be my method of choice!
For more air fried fun, try my air fryer garlic parmesan wings or my air fryer stuffed mushrooms recipe!
To see how this recipe is made, watch my Oven vs. Air Fryer Appetizers video!
Air Fryer Crab Rangoon
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 6 oz canned crabmeat, drained and flaked , (4.25oz drained)
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, (or additional soy sauce)
- 24-36 wonton wrappers
- 1-2 Tbsp melted butter or oil , (optional, to brush on before cooking)
Instructions
Air Fryer Crab Rangoon
- Preheat air fryer to 350°F (180°C).
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese with flaked crab meat, green onions, garlic, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Lay a wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. (Keep other wonton wrappers stored in their container or covered when not in use, to prevent drying out.)
- Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, add 1-2 tsp of filling to center of wonton wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with water, using a brush or your finger.
- To fold, bring opposite corners together in the middle of the wonton. Pinch closed along the top, near where the filling is. Repeat with other 2 corners to form a pointed ‘purse’ shape. Press along edges to seal.
- Transfer prepared wontons to a plate or cutting board, then cover with plastic or a wet cloth.
- Repeat until you have 7-9 wontons. (You can only cook so many in the air fryer at one time!)
- Optional: Before cooking, brush outside of each prepared wonton with a bit of melted butter or oil for maximum crispiness!
- Add 7-9 wontons to preheated air fryer and cook for 6-8 minutes, until crispy.
- Repeat wonton prep process until all of filling mixture isused. (I was able to make 28 wontons.)
- Serve warm with desired dipping sauce and enjoy!
To Make Crab Rangoon in Oven
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare wontons as described above. (For this method, you can prepare all wontons at once since they can all cook in the oven at the same time.)
- Add wontons to a lined baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
9 Comments on “Air Fryer Crab Rangoon”
How do you keep the batch warm in between cooking the next one
Can I make a whole batch and freeze some uncooked? Thanks!
Hi, great question! We haven’t tested freezing these crab rangoons, but I suspect they wouldn’t hold up very well in the freezer. Although you can freeze cream cheese, it will typically change in texture and become grainy once it’s thawed. I also don’t know that the folded wonton wrappers would freeze and thaw so well. If you want a make-ahead option, I’d try prepping them a few days ahead of time and storing them uncooked in the fridge, until you’re ready to air fry 🙂
Can I make the filling in advance?
Can I store left over made ragoons in the fridge and heat up?
Hi Caitlin, great questions. Although we haven’t tried going so personally, you can likely make the crab & cream cheese filling in advance, yes – but I wouldn’t make it more than 1 day or so in advance. Just be sure to store it in a covered container in the fridge.
As for the cooked air fryer rangoons, we recommend eating them fresh for the best flavor and texture! If you have leftovers, you can store them in the fridge and reheat them – either in the air fryer or in a toaster oven. They just won’t be as crispy the next time around.
I hope this helps 🙂 We’d love to know how they turn out if you try making crab rangoon in the air fryer!
What kind of dipping sauce do you use? Recipe? Or brand?
Hi Christine, we like to serve our air fryer crab rangoon with sweet chili sauce or a sweet and sour sauce (Trader Joe’s brand is great). Any umami flavored teriyaki sauce could also be tasty 🙂
There’s 2 things I can never say no to. Keanu Reeves movies, and Crab Rangoons.
Lol this air fryer crab rangoon recipe IS on par with Keanu’s many amazing films! So glad that you enjoy this recipe as much as the genius of *woah* himself 🙂