Baked Crab Rangoon Phyllo Cups Appetizer Recipe

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These tasty hors d'oeuvres take a traditional crab rangoon and deconstructs it into a delicious Asian inspired bite sized appetizer perfect to serve at any party. To make this recipe even better, it only takes about 5-10 minutes of prep and minimal dishes, making them the perfect bite-sized appetizer to add to your menu for a busy party or special occasion.

This easy recipe is the perfect appetizer for game days or parties and offers a fun twist on a classic, easy appetizer. It is especially delicious around the holidays when you are looking for a more fancy food feel that your party guests will love. This appetizer is great for Christmas and New Years Eve especially but can also be delicious to serve at Thanksgiving or even the 4th of July or Memorial Day.

You could also whip up a batch of these to serve to your significant other for a romantic Valentine's day dinner. They are one of the most perfect easy entertaining make-ahead apps to enjoy at your next gathering. I love apps like this because they make my life easier without lacking in flavor.

This was inspired by my Crab Rangoon Dip on this site, and pairs well with this Reverse Seared Steak recipe.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
How to Store Crab Rangoon Phyllo Cups
Top Tip
FAQ
Related
Pairing
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Ingredients

Mini phyllo cups are needed as the base of this recipe and also to assure you have the perfect bite-sized portions. The mixture that is added to each phyllo cup is made of lump crabmeat or imitation crab, cream cheese, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Each cup is then topped with sweet and sour sauce and green onions for extra flavor and texture.

crab meat
cream cheese
soy sauce
green onions
salt and pepper
sweet and sour sauce
phyllo dough cups

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop green onions.

Step 2: Combine cream cheese (softened), crab, soy sauce, chopped green onions and salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl.

Step 3: Place phyllo dough cups on a baking sheet. Fill each phyllo dough cup with crab mixture. Bake for 10 minutes or until crab filling is slightly golden brown.

Step 4: Spoon about a teaspoon of sweet and sour sauce on top of each phyllo dough cup. Top with extra green onions.

Hint: if you forget to soften the cream cheese, take it out of the package and place it on a paper plate. Microwave for 10 seconds at a time until it is softened enough.

Substitutions

Crab - instead of fresh crabmeat use imitation crab for a cheaper option
Sweet and Sour Sauce - use sweet chili sauce as an alternative, duck sauce can also be used
Soy Sauce - Worcestershire Sauce can be used to replace soy sauce
Phyllo Dough Cups - use wonton wrappers or pie crust as an alternative to phyllo dough cups, these will need to be baked or fried in advance

Variations

Classic Crab Rangoon - place filling in a wonton wrapper and deep fry until crisp
Crab Rangoon Dip - make a dip out of the filling and chips out of wonton wrappers and dip
Spicy and Peppery - add jalapenos along with red bell pepper to the mix for a little spice and texture

See this spicy version of this recipe on my website!

Equipment

To make this recipe, a small bowl or medium bowl, baking sheet or small muffin tin and a mixing spoon are needed. A sharp knife and cutting board is also needed to chop up the green onions. Overall, no special equipment is needed for this recipe.

An air fryer can also be used as a substitute to the oven if preferred. Air fry the crab rangoon cups at 370 degrees for 7 minutes after applying a thin layer of cooking spray to the air fryer basket.

How to Store Crab Rangoon Phyllo Cups

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Good for 2-3 days. Reheat leftovers in the oven or in the air fryer until warm.

These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Top Tip

Chop the crab meat up if it is lump crab meat. Since the bites are so small, you want smaller chunks of chopped crab so that it is evenly dispersed through the cream cheese mixture so you get a nice creamy crab texture in your tart shells.

FAQ

Do these crab rangoon cups taste like classic crab rangoon?

The phyllo shells provide a slightly different flavor and texture than what you get from the Chinese takeout crab rangoons made with wontons, but the basic crab rangoon flavors are all the same. The other difference is rather than deep frying this is a baked crab rangoon recipe which does change the flavor a little bit as well.

Can this filling recipe be used for regular deep fry crab rangoon?

Yes, the cream cheese filling mixture is the same as what is used in the classic appetizer which is why these crab rangoon cups have all the flavors of your favorite Chinese appetizer.

What should I use to bake the crab rangoon cups on?

Either a regular baking sheet or a small muffin pan are your best options for baking.

How can I add more flavor to this appetizer?

If you are looking for a way to add even more flavor, I suggest adding a teaspoon lemon juice or fresh grated garlic clove. Both will enhance the flavors of easy recipes like this without completely overwhelming the hot crab meat flavor.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with these Crab Rangoon Phyllo Cups:

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