Vegan Crab Rangoon (With Air Fryer Instructions!)

If you need a vegan appetizer that EVERYONE will love, you HAVE to make Vegan Crab Rangoon! These crispy, fried wonton puffs are filled with a delicious, creamy, gooey vegan cream cheese mixture and a super easy vegan crab substitute. You will not be able to stop eating these, especially with the delicious 5-minute vegan sweet and sour sauce.

These vegan rangoons can be prepared and/or cooked ahead of time and frozen for an appetizer that you can have ready in 3 minutes from the freezer to your plate!

Crab-less vegan rangoons

The secret ingredient that I use instead of crab is finely diced mushroom, specifically the trumpet mushroom (but any mushroom you can get your hands on will do!). It adds a subtle little texture and umami to the cream cheese filling mixture without tasting mushroomy. 

If you don't want to use mushrooms, you can use finely minced hearts of palm, or simply skip the mushrooms. 

The cream cheese filling is tasty enough without mushrooms, thanks to the scallions, a little bit of garlic and onion powder, and a touch of vegan worcestershire sauce.

Ready to make these??

Looking for more vegan appetizers? Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

For the crab-less rangoon:

• 4 oz vegan cream cheese, softened at room temperature (½ tub of Tofutti, or about ½ - ¾ cup of homemade vegan cream cheese, no need to be exact)
• 1 trumpet mushroom, finely minced or grated (or use ~¼ cup of any diced mushroom, or skip this)
• 1 scallion, minced (or a tablespoon of diced chives, or a sprinkle of dried chives)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce (optional, use a pinch of salt if skipping)
• 18-20 wonton wrappers
• Vegetable oil for cooking (2-3 cups, depending on your pot size)

You'll also need a small bowl of water nearby for forming the wontons.

For the vegan sweet and sour sauce:

• ⅓ cup water
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons vegan ketchup
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (substitute apple cider vinegar or lime juice if you don't have rice vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch (or use 3 for a thicker sauce)

Looking for more crispy vegan appetizers? Vegan Buffalo Tofu Nuggets

Instructions

For the crab-less rangoons:

Step 1: If your cream cheese is still form, transfer it to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 10-15 seconds, just to soften it. Keep an eye on it if you are a rebel and press the automatic 30 seconds and walk away! You don't want to melt the cream cheese!

Step 2: Combine the softened cream cheese with the next 5 ingredients, from the minced/grated mushroom to the Worcestershire sauce. Mix together.

Looking for more Asian-inspired vegan recipes? Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry

Step 3: Place a wonton wrapper on a clean cutting board or plate. Add 1 teaspoon of the vegan cream cheese mixture to the center of the wonton. Dip your finger into cool water and run the finger along the edges of the wonton wrapped to make a border - this makes the wonton stick together.

Step 4: Fold the wonton wrapper to seal it completely shut, making sure that the cream cheese mixture is not sticking out anywhere. To do this, place your hands under the wonton wrapper. Pull up the flat sides of the wonton wrapper from the bottom and pinch together 2 opposite corners. Rotate the crab Rangoon and pinch the other 2 corners. Then pinch the center together to make sure there are no holes where the cream cheese will ooze out of while cooking. 

If they corners get floppy, just let them flop in the same direction so the finished rangoon can look pretty instead of misshapen. 🙂

Repeat until you form all the vegan rangoons, or at least a bunch of them. If you're coordinated in the kitchen, you can continue folding while you start to fry the first batch. If this is your first time making fiddly fried appetizers, I recommend forming all the vegan rangoons, and then moving on to the frying step.

Deep frying instructions:

Step 5: In a medium saucepan, heat the cooking oil. You'll want at least 2 inches of oil in the pot, and you want the pot to be a few inches higher than the oil - do not do this in a shallow skillet. Test that the oil is hot enough by carefully inserting a toothpick. If small bubbles form, the oil is ready. If the bubbles are very vigorous, lower the heat a little.

Use tongs or a long metal spoon to carefully place the rangoons into the hot oil. Do not crowd them - they can touch a little, but don't have them right next to each other. Allow to cook for 2-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a slotted metal spoon or tongs to remove them and set aside on a plate with a paper towel. Repeat until all the vegan rangoons are fried. 

Step 6: Allow to cool a few minutes (they'll cool as you cook the rest of the batches) and serve warm with the dipping sauce.

Looking for more recipes using vegan cream cheese? Vegan Cheesecake

Vegan crab rangoon dipping sauce

Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small saucepan and whisk until no lumps remain. Heat over medium heat until a light simmer forms, stirring constantly to prevent burning and clumping. It will thicken as it cools and turn a translucent color. You can CAREFULLY taste the sauce - make sure it cools down first - and adjust the flavor if you want it to be sweeter (agave) or tangier (rice vinegar or a squeeze of lime juice).

Allow to cool and serve immediately or store refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Sauce tip: If you get any lumps, just finish cooking the sauce and then pour it through a fine mesh colander or sieve into another pot or wide bowl, using a wooden spoon or a whisk to scrape along the inside of the colander to help it along. 

Looking for more vegan appetizers? 50 Vegan Grazing Tray Ideas

Frying tips

This is important!! Read this!

Do not flip the rangoons upside down when frying—that will cause the cream cheese filling to ooze out. Not only will this result in less delicious wonton puffs, but it will also bubble violently in the oil and the mushroom pieces will burn very quickly.

To get the top of the rangoons to brown more, you can use a metal spoon to carefully (!) baste hot oil over the top as the wontons fry. That is totally optional though.

Looking for more vegan appetizer ideas? Crispy Cauliflower Bites

Air fryer vegan crab rangoons

Yes, you can make these in the air fryer! Just a warning though, the wonton wrappers do get a little sharp on the corners when air fried. And they're slightly less crispy than oil-fried rangoons. But definitely a legit option if you want to cut down on the calories. 

To air fry, you can spray the wonton puffs with oil spray, or choose to leave them un-sprayed for an oil-free crab rangoon. (I like a little oil for extra crispiness!)

I air fry these cream cheese rangoons at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-4 minutes and they turn out just as golden brown as the deep-fried ones. I have the Instant Pot Vortex Air Fryer, and it gets preheated before I add the food. Other air fryers do not need any preheating time, so you might need to fry these longer.... however, I just can't imagine them being fried for more than 8-10 minutes, I think they will burn completely. 

So if you plan on air-frying, keep an eye on the rangoons after 3-4 minutes to make sure they do not burn.

Looking for more vegan air fryer recipes? Check out these 25 Vegan Air Fryer Recipes!

Can you freeze vegan crab rangoons?

Yes! This recipe is brilliant because you can freeze these before or after cooking the wonton puffs. You can make a double batch and have an easy homemade vegan appetizer for later that will be ready in just a few minutes, from freezer to table.

I recommend freezing cooked rangoons, because then it's OK if they break while being transferred to and from the freezer.

To freeze cooked vegan rangoons: Allow them to cool completely to room temperature, then carefully transfer to a freezer storage bag or container. I recommend freezing these up to 1-2 weeks, to prevent freezer burn. You can definitely do it for longer, but they will not be as fresh.

To heat frozen cooked rangoons, simply pop frozen ones in the oven or air fryer for 350 degrees Fahrenheit for just a few minutes, or until heated through. I needed only 3 minutes in the air fryer. An oven would take 5-7 minutes. Watch to prevent burning.

To freeze uncooked vegan rangoons: Place the formed wonton puffs onto a large plate or cutting board in a single layer and allow to freeze. Carefully transfer to a freezer bag or container. I recommend freezing these for up to 1-2 weeks as well, especially if you plan to deep fry them. You don't want any ice crystals forming on these! DO NOT DEEP FRY ANY BROKEN WONTONS FOR SAFETY REASONS!

To cook frozen raw rangoons, follow the cooking steps above directly from frozen (using the air fryer or by deep frying). You might need to add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time. If oil-frying, be very careful placing these in the hot oil, watch out for splatters if there are any tiny ice crystals on the wontons. 

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