Baked Vegetable and Cream Cheese Wontons

Making dumplings is a big tradition in my family. When I was young, my mother would wake me up early on Sunday mornings to make dumplings with her and my grandmother. We would spend an hour or two filling and shaping dumplings, and then cook them for brunch for the rest of the family.

It was a lot of work, but I always got first dibs on the freshly made dumplings!

Now that I live away from my family, I still try to keep that weekend dumpling-making tradition alive.

If you have never made dumplings before, these vegetable and cream cheese baked wontons are a great place to start. The filling comes together quickly and folding the dumplings is quite simple compared to other, more elaborate dumplings.

Plus, there’s no deep-frying involved!

Store-bought wonton wrappers are so convenient. For this recipe, buy square-shaped wonton or dumpling wrappers. Technically, you could make the wontons with circular wrappers, but you won’t get the same pyramid shape that you see in the photos.

Store-bought wrappers are usually dusted with flour or another starch to prevent them from sticking together in the package. I feel that once baked, this tends to make the wontons quite dry.

You can keep this from happening by brushing all the wontons with a thin layer of oil right before baking. You don’t need a lot of oil, just enough to moisten the wrapper on the outside. You can also use cooking spray to apply the layer of oil.

Because these wontons are baked (as opposed to deep-fried), most of the crunch will come from the golden brown “X” on the top of the wontons. Using whisked eggs to seal the “X” makes this part extra-crunchy!

These baked wontons taste great all on their own, but I have included a quick recipe for a soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce that you can serve alongside, if you like. If you want something on the sweeter side, try a sweet chili sauce.

Baked Vegetable and Cream Cheese Wontons Recipe

To make wontons ahead: Freeze the unbaked wontons on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Do not refrigerate the wontons; the moisture from the vegetables will seep into the wonton wrappers and turn them into mush.) When you are ready to bake, brush or spray a thin layer of oil over the frozen wontons; do not thaw. Bake the frozen wontons at 400ºF for about 12 to 13 minutes.

Ingredients

For the wontons:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (from a 1-inch piece of ginger)
• 5 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (green cabbage is also ok)
• 1 large carrot, grated (about 1 1/3 cups grated)
• 3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 large egg
• 48 to 50 square wonton wrappers
• 4 1/2 to 5 ounces cream cheese

For the dipping sauce (optional):

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

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