Healthier, crispy Baked Cream Cheese Wontons (Rangoon) stuffed with melty cream cheese, ready to dip into your favorite sweet and sour sauce!
I haven’t mentioned it for what feels like forever but remember how I used to work in a Chinese restaurant? I did. For three and a half years – all through high school and then the summer afterwards til I left for college. That was a bittersweet day. On to bigger and better things but oh how I would miss the abundance of (mostly free) freshly made Chinese food in my life.
I worked a lot in high school. At least, a lot for a high school student ya know? I usually worked the dinner shift 3-4 times during the week and then pulled a double (lunch and dinner) on Saturdays. I worked through many many holidays too and even though I do love Chinese, it’s just not exactly what I’m craving on Thanksgiving if you know what I mean. But the moral of the story: I was at the restaurant a lot. And that means that I ate a lot of Chinese food for three and a half years. Cream cheese wontons were a nearly-daily staple in my life. Deep-fried of course.
These days I try to limit the amount of deep-fried foods I consume – even though, let’s be honest, deep-fried food is pretty darn delicious. But not so great for the health so, like I said, I tryyyy to keep it under control. And that’s difficult because you guys… I LOVE french fries. And onion rings. And carnival corn dogs! And cream cheese wontons. So I don’t cut any of these things out of my life, I’m just… choosey. I don’t have fries every single time I go out to eat. Instead I have them maybe 30 percent of the time. The other times I try to have a salad or something less-deep-fried-in-oil-ish.
But I’ve found that creating baked versions of my favorite fried foods brings me hoards of satisfaction, and not just because I’m heeding a constant craving (which I am) but also because I am weird and totally get a kick out of making unhealthy things that I love somewhat healthier and less dangerous to my arteries. I love it. I do it probably way too often (don’t believe me? check out this collection of 22 baked-not-fried foods I’ve made and shared right here on CDLC) but whatever, I enjoy it. I enjoy making the food and you bettah believe I enjoy eating it.
These baked cream cheese wontons (or rangoon as many people call them) are my newest, latest and greatest baked-not-fried creation and I am crazy about them. Crispy little pillows of cream cheesy wonderfulness smothered in sweet and sour sauce happening right in your mouth. You can use store-bought sweet and sour sauce for these (I totally get it, I have those weeks too) BUT if you want to (and you really do folks, you want to) you can make my very favorite and extremely simple homemade sweet and sour sauce, which I’ve provided the recipe for below.
Now grab yourself the FOUR ingredients you need to make these little puppies and get cookin!
Baked Cream Cheese Wontons (A.K.A. cream cheese rangoon)
Ingredients
- 12 wonton skins - (you can find these chilled, usually near the tofu and similar Asian ingredients)
- 8 ounces cream cheese - (the kind that comes in a block)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- olive oil spray - (you can buy this where you find nonstick cooking sprays but could also brush it on in liquid form)
- ยฝ cup homemade or store-bought sweet and sour sauce - (see my favorite recipe below!)
Sweet and Sour Sauce (see note)
- ยพ cup sugar
- ยฝ cup apple cider vinegar - (may sub white vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ยฝ teaspoon onion salt
- ยผ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease a baking sheet. Lay out your wonton skins in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Cut your cream cheese into cubes (about 1-inch cubes is great) and place one cube in the center of each wonton.
- In a small bowl whisk together egg and water until foamy. Dip your fingers in the egg wash and use the same fingers to pinch together the corners of each wonton so that the cream cheese is closed inside the wontons.
- Spray (or brush) the wontons with olive oil (make sure to get some on the whole outside surface of the wontons). Bake for 8-15 minutes until golden and edges start to brown.
- While the wontons are baking, prepare the sweet and sour sauce (if not using store-bought) by whisking together all sauce ingredients except for corn starch and water in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl whisk together corn starch and water til dissolved, then pour into sauce and stir until thickened. Set heat to the lowest setting until ready to serve with your wontons.
Can’t wait to try these! I want to add a little crab meat to them!! YUM! Thanks for sharing ๐
Hi, turn the same into a dessert by dipping into honey or drizzling honey over after baking. Its delish. please do try ๐
Will note the sauce recipe. Thanks.
I love the idea of baked because I don’t have a fryer so I will be trying these soon. I have a quick question about the sauce recipe you listed though. Do you just mix the ingredients together and heat or do you need to bring it to boiling? I’m actually more excited to try the sauce than anything! lol I have been looking for the perfect sweet & sour sauce for years – I’ve come close, but it never seems quite right. Since you worked at a Chinese restaurant I am very hopeful that yours will be the one. ๐ Thanks!
Great recipe! I think I will try it tonight! I love making healthier versions of my favorite foods, also. Makes me feel so self-righteous! Lol! Thanks!
Great recipe! My family loved them! I also love that they are baked! Thank you, Tiffany, for all the great recipes!