Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon (Copycat)

24 wontons
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon with a creamy center and crispy exterior are the perfect appetizer for your next Chinese takeout meal.

Chinese Food recipes are among the most popular on this site, and top of the favorite list are my Panda Express Copycats like Orange ChickenBeef and Broccoli, and these crispy cheese wontons!

Sabrina’s Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon

Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon may seem like the Chinese restaurant appetizer, but it is actually not the crab wontons you’re used to. In this version, the crispy wontons are filled with a cream cheese, garlic, and scallon mixture. These crunchy, creamy bites are super addicting so you may want to double the batch! And of course, don’t forget the Sweet and Sour Sauce for dipping.

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Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon

Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon with a creamy center and crispy exterior are the perfect appetizer for your next Chinese takeout meal.
Yield 24 wontons
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Chinese
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
  • 2 tablespoons scallions , minced
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 24 wonton wrappers
  • oil , for frying

Instructions

  • In a small bowl mix the cream cheese, scallions and garlic powder together.
  • Preheat oil in a heavy bottomed pot, a couple inches high to 350 degrees.
  • Put 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of a wonton wrapper and with your finger add water to the edges.
  • Push the four centers of each side into the middle and press them together.
  • Once the middle is connected from all four sides connect the little wings coming out from the middle.
  • Let sit while you make all the wontons and when you start to fry, begin with the wontons you made first, they’ll be the driest.
  • Cook rangoons in batches in the hot oil until golden brown (about 10 minutes total for all wontons.)

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 54kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 73mg | Potassium: 19mg | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Chef’s Note: Folding the Wrappers

The hardest part of making cream cheese wontons really just lies in making the same shape. If you remember playing the fortune teller paper game as a kid, that’s what your hand looks like when making these. You have to fold into the center from the center of each side so you make little wings that you can seal together. While it isn’t necessary or add to the flavor, it is definitely cute and adds to the copycat nature of the recipe. You can also just fold the wonton in half into a triangle and fry them up!

Recipe Video

Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes, store assembled uncooked rangoons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. You could also freeze them and fry them from frozen.

Nutrional Facts

Nutrition Facts
Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon
Amount Per Serving
Calories 54 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 11mg4%
Sodium 73mg3%
Potassium 19mg1%
Carbohydrates 4g1%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 130IU3%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 13mg1%
Iron 0.3mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

How to Store

  • Serve: Do not leave the cooked Rangoons at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
  • Store: Kept in an airtight container, these fried wontons will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a single layer on a baking sheet at 375 to make crispy again.
  • Freeze: Freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen in a single layer at 375.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make Cream Cheese Rangoon in the air fryer?

Absolutely! Prepare the rangoons as described, making sure to spray both the air fryer basket and the rangoons with oil. Then cook in your air fryer for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees, checking half way through to rotate and spray more oil if needed.

How do I make Vegan Cream Cheese Rangoon?

Simply swap out the cream cheese in this recipe for your favorite dairy free cream cheese and have an allergy friendly version of Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon!

What other fillings can be used?

Try mixing in sesame seeds, red chili flakes, lime zest or cilantro with the cream cheese mixture to add more layers of Asian flavor to your Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon.

More Delicious Chinese Appetizers

Collage of filling, frying and cooked rangoons

The following photos were in previous versions of this post:

Rangoon on serving plate with dipping sauce
Collage of filling, folding, and frying steps
Collage of prepping the filling steps

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Hello Sabrina,

    I went through all the questions on your post, to find if anyone had asked the question:
    What oil you used for frying the Rangoons?
    I didn’t find any questions on the type of oil used.
    So, I will ask you to please send a reply as to what oil was used to fry the
    Rangoons in your recipe? Thank you, Marta

  2. I was craving the wontons from panda and found this recipe – it was spot on and so easy!! These were very easy to prepare ? thank you for the recipe!

  3. Really easy and delicious! Make sure you’re keeping an eye on the edges to get a sense of the color, the outside edges will crisp and brown much faster because there’s no filling. When that starts get golden, they’re done. Don’t wait for the whole thing to get golden