Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoons are a crisp, creamy appetizer that delivers familiar takeout comfort in every bite.
Photo by Tatiana Mik
Copycat Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoons
Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoons are fried wontons filled with a smooth, mildly sweet cream cheese mixture. They’re crunchy on the outside, creamy in the center, and easy to recognize.
These come together quickly once assembled. The key is sealing the wrappers well and frying just long enough to get that light, golden crunch without overbrowning.
Quick Recipe Overview
- Best For: Appetizers, party snacks, takeout-style meals at home
- Flavor Profile: Creamy, lightly sweet, crisp and savory
- Skill Level: Beginner friendly
- What Makes It Like the Restaurant: The smooth cream cheese filling and light, crispy wonton shell
Panda Express
Panda Express built its brand on Chinese-American dishes designed for speed, consistency, and broad appeal. The menu focuses on familiar flavors served in a fast-casual format that works for both quick meals and family orders.
Appetizers like Cream Cheese Rangoons play a supporting role, offering something crunchy and shareable alongside the main dishes. Their popularity comes from simplicity and reliability rather than bold or complex seasoning.
The Takeout Appetizer Everyone Knows
Cream cheese rangoons are a staple of American Chinese restaurant menus, even though they’re not traditionally Chinese. Their appeal comes from contrast: crisp fried wrappers paired with a soft, rich filling.
This style of appetizer became popular because it’s easy to share and easy to like. Mild sweetness, creamy texture, and crunch make it a dependable crowd-pleaser at restaurants and at home.
Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoons Recipe
Make our Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoons Recipe at home tonight for your family. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your Rangoons will taste just like Panda Express.
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce package Cream Cheese softened
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Scallions sliced thin
- One package Wonton Wrappers
- Oil for cooking
- Sweet and Sour Sauce, for Dipping, store bought or homemade (See link below for our EASY Chinese Restaurant-Style Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe)
Instructions
- Heat enough oil to fill 2 to 3 inches in a medium sized cooking pot or wok.
- Cream together cream cheese and scallions. If making crab rangoons, add the crab meat into the mix.
- Spoon approximately 1 teaspoon of cream cheese mixture into wonton.
- Fold the wonton. You can do the star shape that Panda Express uses or some of the more traditional shapes. We have a video below that shows how to fold the wontons. Just remember to brush a little water over the edges of the wonton skin you want to stick together.
- Check that the oil is hot. Test with a small piece of wonton skin --if the wonton skin bubbles immediately when dropped into the hot oil, it is ready.
- Drop in 2 to 3 wontons at a time.
- Remove the wontons when they start to brown -- usually about 1 minute.
- Remove and drop in the next batch.
- Drain on a paper towel and serve.
Related Copycat Recipes
And here’s the BONUS Video we promised you in the recipe that shows you exactly how to fold the wontons –
Andrea Nguyen shares some wonton-folding expertise. There’s the extra-simple triangle, the lovely flower bud (which looks like tortellini), and the nurse’s cap (which looks like the Flying Nun’s headpiece).
Video Courtesy of Chowhound
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Questions People Ask
Are Panda Express rangoons sweet or savory? They’re lightly sweet with a creamy, mild flavor rather than being savory or spicy.
Can these be baked instead of fried? They can be baked or air fried, but frying gives the closest restaurant-style texture.
Do they include crab? Panda Express versions are cream cheese-based and do not rely on real crab.
Can I make them ahead? You can assemble them ahead and fry just before serving for best texture.
What dipping sauce works best? Sweet and sour sauce or a light chili sauce pairs well.
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This is the original Crab Rangoon recipe as it was served at Trader Vic’s, where the dish was first created and made famous. If you want the authentic flavor and texture, this is the version to make.
Click HERE Now to Make Trader Vic’s Original Crab Rangoon at Home
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Photo of Panda Express Cream Cheese Ragoons by Tatiana Mik, shared on FoodSpotting and used by kind permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0). Photo of “Panda Panda Panda Yum” is by Eric Mills and is used by permission under the Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode. Thank you, Tatiana and Eric. Great Pictures. Photos may be representative of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe is our adaption of several recipes formally widely-circulated on the internet – courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Original Video of Wonton Folding can be found at How to Fold a Wonton – CHOW Tip. Panda Express information courtesy of https://www.pandaexpress.com/ and Wikipedia, where it is used by permission.
Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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It takes 10 seconds and helps other takeout fans recreate a classic appetizer at home.