These easy crab rangoon egg rolls taste just like they are from your favorite takeout spot! Ready-made egg roll wrappers get filled with both real crab meat and imitation crab meat and cream cheese, have three cooking options then dipped in sweet chili sauce. These crab cream cheese rolls are crispy, creamy, and sweet!
The beauty of this recipe is there are several options of how to cook the crab rangoon spring rolls including options for frying, air frying, or baking. Here you'll use imitation crab for that nostalgia of classic Chinese takeout and real crab to really level it up. Let's just say this recipe is not skimping on the crab meat in the filling!
These egg rolls can also be made ahead, making them great party appetizers if you are hosting! Make the filling and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours before filling and cooking. You can also fully assemble the egg rolls, fry, then store them in the fridge for a couple of days. When ready to serve, reheat them in the oven or air fryer.
Or if you want to make these well in advance, cook, cool, and freeze the egg rolls on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a zip-top bag and freeze for one month. When you're ready to eat, you can bake or fry them directly from frozen!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Crab - This recipe uses two different kinds of crab meat in the filling to really live up to its name. Imitation crab meat brings that classic takeout taste and look with the bright orange color. And real crab meat adds delicious richness and flavor. You won't be searching for crab in these seafood egg rolls, and you can make them as thin or thick as you want, and they are delicious no matter what.
Crispy - These homemade egg rolls are extra crispy, whichever cooking method you use! Whether fried, air fried, or baked, these rolls will be brown and crunchy on the outside with a warm, creamy filling in every bite.
Sweet chili sauce - No heavy lifting here...just open the lid on a jar of store-bought sweet chili sauce to dip these decadent egg rolls into. No need to work extra hard and make your own. Sometimes you just can't beat the classic, and this stuff is so good! You could also use duck sauce or sweet and sour sauce if you prefer.
Ingredients
- Egg roll wrappers. You can find these in the refrigerated section near the produce or the specialty organic foods section.
- Scallions. This gives the filling a ton of flavor and shouldn't be omitted!
- Crab. Both real crab meat and imitation crab meat are used in these egg rolls. Use any kind of real crab you'd like (I used "special" in this recipe). Or, you can use all imitation crab.
- Cream cheese. This is the base of the recipe and should be at a very soft room temperature so the mixture combines easily.
- Sweet chili sauce. Found in the Asian or international aisle of the grocery store, this dipping sauce is perfect to accompany the crab rangoon egg rolls. You can also use duck sauce or your favorite dipping sauce. This ingredient is also found in my boom boom shrimp!
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Mix in chopped, cooked shrimp with the imitation and canned crab meat.
- Swap out the crab filling with this buffalo chicken dip or a spinach artichoke crab variety.
- Use an egg wash instead of flour paste to seal the egg rolls.
- Add less filling to make a larger amount of thinner rolls.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Slice the scallions and roughly chop the imitation crab.
Two: Use a rubber spatula to smooth out the cream cheese until no longer lumpy.
Three: Add the remaining filling ingredients and fold it into the cream cheese until evenly combined.
Four: Add 2-3 tablespoons of filling to the bottom third of the wonton wrapper. Spread a mixture of flour and water on each edge of the wrapper.
Hot tip! Work with one egg roll wrapper at a time. Place assembled egg rolls on a sheet pan and cover with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out and cracking.
Five: Fold the bottom corner up and over the filling.
Six: Fold in both the left and right sides.
Seven: Roll the egg roll and gently press the final corner to seal. Repeat until all filling is used, then refrigerate while you heat up the oil.
Eight: Fry 3-4 egg rolls at a time, turning every 15-30 seconds until golden brown with bubbly outer shells. Transfer to a wire rack or sheet pan with paper towels and continue frying all egg rolls.
Hot tip! Use a splatter screen if you have one. The egg rolls will begin popping and splattering quite a bit once they're almost done frying.
Air Frying and Baking Egg Rolls
To air fry the egg rolls, brush all over with olive oil or a neutral oil, and air fry at 400℉ for 7-10 minutes, turning over at half.
To bake the egg rolls in a conventional oven, add the egg rolls to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush all over with olive oil or neutral oil and bake in a preheated 425℉ oven for 15-20 minutes, turning them over at half.
For both methods, start cooking process with the seams down.
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Expert Tips
- Use room temperature cream cheese for easy mixing.
- Keep the egg roll wrappers you aren't using in that moment covered so they don't dry out. Add them to a baking sheet and cover with a dish towel or damp paper towel to keep them pliable.
- Finely chop the imitation crab to match the texture of the canned crab meat.
- Be sure the egg rolls are totally sealed before cooking or they will burst open and the filling will come out during cooking.
- Add the rolls to the fridge while the oil pre-heats. Starting with a slightly chilled filling helps prevent bursting!
- Don't overcrowd the pan while frying. This will bring the temperature of the oil down and can make your egg rolls soggy.
Recipe FAQs
It's typically made with imitation crab, but this recipe uses a combination of both or could be made with just real crab.
They have the same ingredients, but wonton wrappers are thinner than egg roll wrappers, and are much smaller. If using wonton wrappers, adjust the cook time accordingly as they will cook faster.
They are typically in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the produce or dairy sections.
For the real crab meat, I look for the special blend or claw meat to keep it wallet-friendly. For the imitation crab, you can use any kind such as sticks, flakes, or shredded because it will get chopped up.
Storage
Store cooked egg rolls in a covered container for up to two days. Reheat by frying, air frying, or in the oven until warmed through. Note the wrappers will not get as crispy this time around.
Pre-cooked, assembled egg rolls can be stored in an airtight container for two days and cooked when ready.
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What to Know When Cooking with The Cozy Plum
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
- If you'd like to make the recipe in a different pan, use the pan size converter.
📖Recipe
Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls
Equipment
- Heavy bottomed pot
- tongs
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 12 oz full-fat cream cheese room temperature
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large green onions thinly sliced (whites and greens)
- ½ lb real crab meat drained
- ½ lb imitation crab meat finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons water
- 12-16 egg roll wrappers
- Vegetable or canola oil for frying
- Sweet chili sauce for dipping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, soy sauce, honey, onion and garlic powders, salt until smooth. Fold in the green onions.12 oz full-fat cream cheese, ½ tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon honey or sugar, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 4 large green onions
- Add in the crab meats and fold to combine, careful not to break up the crab too much.½ lb real crab meat, ½ lb imitation crab meat
- Mix together the flour and water until a paste forms.2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons water
- Working one wrapper at a time, place one wrapper down and add 3 tablespoons of filling (in a log shape) to the bottom third of the diamond. Brush all the edges with the flour paste.12-16 egg roll wrappers
- Fold the bottom corner over top of the filling, then fold the left and right sides on top. Finish rolling the wrapper upwards into a log and run your fingers along the seams to be sure it’s sealed.
- Transfer the egg roll to a baking sheet and cover with a dish towel or damp paper towel. Repeat with the remaining wrappers until the filling is gone.
- Note: Place the rolls in the fridge while the oil pre-heats. This allows the egg rolls to seal and prevents the filling from busting out.
- Add 2-3 inches of oil to a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot and heat the oil until it reads 350℉ on an oil thermometer.Vegetable or canola oil
- Fry the egg rolls in batches of 3-4 (don’t overcrowd) for 1-2 minutes until golden brown and bubbles form. Rotate the egg rolls during the cooking process for even browning. Remove to a wire rack or paper towel-lined baking sheet and continue until all egg rolls are cooked.
- Note: use a splatter screen if you have one, they will begin splattering once they are close to done).
- Serve warm with sweet chili sauce, duck sauce, or your favorite dipping sauce.Sweet chili sauce
Video
Notes
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Lauren says
You have 2 air fry recipes. One cooking at 325°, the other at 400°. They have very different cooking times, the 400° being longer. Which is correct?
Callan Wenner says
Lauren- thanks for bringing this to my attention. I've gone through everything and corrected it!
madison says
Where are the instructions to bake??
Callan Wenner says
Hi Madison - those instructions are in the body of the post. I've just added them to the notes section of the recipe card, though, for easier instruction!
Kara says
As someone who can screw up the directions for a frozen pizza, I was shocked at how well these came together on the first try. Literal chef’s kiss… so so so good!