Learn the best, easiest way to make crispy wonton cups. I’ll also share my favorite ways to fill them to make delicious wonton appetizers and desserts everyone loves.
Bite sized appetizers are the way to go, whether you’re hosting a fancy cocktail party or a more laid back get-together to watch the game. Wonton cups are one of my favorite things to serve because there are so many different ways you can fill them.
Sweet, savory, cold, piping hot, cheesy or saucy — there’s a wonton appetizer for every palate.
Once you master the basics of how to make wonton cups, you’ll unlock the door to a variety of different delicious appetizers and desserts, like these
- Chicken Salad Wonton Cups
- Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups
- Pepper Jelly Cream Cheese Wontons,
- Avocado and Chorizo Stuffed Wontons
- Apple Pie and Cream Cheese Wontons
Looking for even more ideas for how to use wonton wrappers? Here are 100+ wonton recipes, plus my family’s favorite pork fried wonton recipe. (There’s also an air fryer version.)
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Why Wonton Cups Make the Best Appetizers
- They’re quick easy to make in large quantities
- They can be made ahead of time and filled just before serving
- They can be stuffed with a variety of different fillings
- Bite-sized appetizers eliminate the need for serving plates and utensils
What to Put in Wonton Cups
Anything goes, really! You’ll find that you can use crispy wonton shells to hold all kinds of sweet and savory fillings, including dips, salads, meats, chicken and cheesy appetizers.
- Chicken Wonton Cups – Place a lettuce leaf, a scoop of homemade chicken salad and a tomato slice in each cup.
- Taco Wonton Cups – Fill with seasoned ground beef, salsa, shredded lettuce, cheese and sour cream.
- Fill with homemade chili, shredded cheese and sour cream.
- Scoop some cookie butter dip into cinnamon-sugar wonton cups and add a strawberry for dipping.
- Mix together cream cheese, carrots and homemade pepper jelly to make cream cheese wontons.
- Shrimp Wonton Cups – Serve boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce in a wonton cup or make a shrimp ceviche salad filling.
- Stuff baked cups with squash and corn salsa.
- Sausage Cups – Brown ground sausage in a skillet, then add to wonton cups topped with shredded cheese and green onions.
- Cheeseburger Wonton Cups – Layer ground beef, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato and a pickle slice in a crispy cup.
- Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups – Make this slow cooker buffalo chicken dip and spoon it into wonton cups instead of serving with chips or crackers.
- Whip together cream cheese and preserves or pie filling to make mini wonton desserts.
- Thai Chicken Wonton Cups – Stuff the appetizer shells with tasty Asian chicken salad.
- Fill with homemade pimento cheese and garnish with red pepper slices. Try a scoop of my southern style pimento cheese or this three-cheese pimento cheese spread.
- Make spicy jalapeno popper wontons by combining cream cheese and diced jalapenos. Serve them cold or warm them in the oven until the filling is creamy.
How to Make Wonton Cups
You’ll need the following ingredients and supplies:
- Wonton wrappers – Find these in the produce section of the grocery store, near the tofu and egg roll wrappers.
- Muffin pan – You can use a regular sized muffin pan or a mini muffin pan.
- Wooden tart tamper – This handy baking tool is optional, but it works really well to form the appetizer cups.
- Cooking spray or oil – I usually don’t use cooking spray or oil when making these, but you may find it helpful, especially if you’re not using a nonstick muffin pan.
Forming the Cups
Use your fingers, a shot glass. the back of a spoon or a nifty wooden tart tamper, to press the wonton wrapper gently into the muffin pan. Don’t press too hard.
Tip: If you’re making a large batch, you may find it helpful to wrap the stack of wonton wrappers in a damp paper towel so they remain pliable and don’t dry out.
Baking the Appetizer Cups
Bake at 350-degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the wontons are light golden brown and crispy.
If you’re making a recipe like pepperoni pizza dip cups or lasagna cups with a lot of filling, you may want to layer two wonton wrappers in each muffin pan. You may have to cook them for a few minutes longer.
Allow crispy wonton shells to cool for a few minutes before removing from the muffin pan.
Once cooled, add filling and serve, or store empty cups in an air tight container in the pantry for up to 3 days.
How to Avoid Overcooking or Burning Wontons
My trick for not overcooking or burning wonton cups is to bake them at a lower temperature. I bake mine in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are light golden brown.
I recommend keeping. a close eye on the wontons while they’re in the oven to ensure you don’t burn them.
It’s not necessary to spray the muffin pan or wontons with cooking spray before baking them. But if you do so, they’ll brown more quickly and develop some crispy bubbles. If you use cooking spray or oil, decrease baking time to 8 to 10 minutes.
Par Baking Wonton Cups
If your cups need to go back into the oven after they’re filled, reduce the initial cooking time to 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove the par baked wonton cups from the oven when they’re crispy, but not browned. Then, fill and return to the oven and continue baking until the filling is cooked and the wonton cups are golden and crispy.
This method is similar to par baking (or blind baking) a pie crust.or pizza crust.
By par baking the wonton cups before filling them, you’ll ensure that they are crispy and not soggy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wonton cups are baked, crispy bite-sized appetizer shells made from wonton wrappers.
They can be filled with a variety of sweet and savory toppings. There are literally hundreds of different hors d’oeuvre, dessert and snack recipes you can make using them.
For best results, use a nonstick pan and be careful not to press the wrapper dough too firmly into the muffin pan. Then, you should have no trouble removing the cups after they’re baked.
If you like, you can spray the muffin cups lightly with cooking spray before baking. But I don’t find this step necessary. You may need to reduce the cooking time if you use oil or an oil spray.
Yes, you can make wonton cups ahead of time. In fact, that’s one of my time-saving entertaining tips.
I don’t recommend adding the filling to the cups until you’re ready to serve them. This will ensure that the cups don’t get soggy.
Bake the wonton cups ahead of time and store in an air tight container on your countertop or in the pantry. They should stay crispy for several days. If you find that they’ve gone slightly stale and you need to crisp them back up, throw them in a 350-degree oven or air fryer for a few minutes, being careful not to burn.
You don’t have to do anything to the wonton wrappers before making the cups.
But you can spray them with cooking spray or brush them lightly with oil and season them with spices, if it suits your recipe. If you use oil or cooking spray, you may need to reduce the cooking time to prevent the wonton wrappers from becoming too brown.
If you’re making a dessert-style wontons, you may want to brush the wrapper with butter or oil, or spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.
You can do the same thing when making savory wonton appetizers. A light coating of oil and sprinkling of seasoning salt, garlic powder or a favorite seasoning blend will given them a nice flavor.
Wonton wrappers are super-thin square or, in some cases, round pieces of dough. They are made from wheat flour, water and salt. Some brands also include vinegar and cornstarch.
Many wonton wrappers are marked as vegan.
You can also find gluten free wonton wrappers.
Wonton wrappers are available in most grocery stores in the produce section, near the tofu and eggroll wrappers.
You can also find them in specialty grocery stores. I have found them in the frozen section of some Asian markets.
If you have a small muffin pan or silicone baking cups that will fit in your air fryer, you can make the cups in the air fryer.
I tested this recipe in my Ninja Foodi Grill air fryer combo, and they came out nice and crispy.
Gently press wontons into the muffin tin, preheat air fryer to 350 degrees and air crisp for about 8 minutes. Cooking times may vary with different air fryers. I recommend checking on them after 5 minutes and adjusting the cooking time, as necessary.
More Wonton Recipes
Wonton cups aren’t the only things you can make with wonton wrappers. Try these other appetizers or desserts:
Pin This! How to Make Wonton Cups
Printable Recipe Card
Crispy Baked Wonton Cups
Equipment
- muffin pan
- wooden tart tamper
Ingredients
- 12 wonton wrappers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Gently press a wonton wrapper in each muffin cup using a wooden tart tamper.
- Bake wonton cups for 10-12 minutes until light golden brown.
- Allow wonton cups to cool and remove from the muffin pan.
- When ready to serve, fill each baked wonton shell with the toppings.
Notes
Notes
It is not necessary to spray the muffin pan with cooking spray or brush the wonton wrappers with oil before baking. If using oil or cooking spray, you may need to reduce the cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes to prevent over-browning. You can brush the wonton wrappers lightly with oil and season them with spices, if it suits your recipe.- For dessert-style wonton cups, yoou can brush the wrapper with butter or oil, or spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.
- For savory appetizers, a light coating of oil and sprinkling of seasoning salt, garlic powder or a favorite seasoning blend will given the wonton cups a nice flavor.
Making ahead of time
If you want to make the baked wonton cups ahead of time, simply cook them and allow to cool before placing them in an air tight container. Store in the pantry or on your countertop. Wonton cups should remain crispy and fresh for several days.Tips
Some wonton appetizer recipes may required you to par bake or blind bake the cups before filling them and returning them to the oven. Par bake for 5 to 7 minutes and remove the wonton cups from the oven when they’re crispy, but not browned. Then, fill and return to the oven and continue baking until the filling is cooked and the wonton cups are golden and crispy.Wonton filling ideas
- chicken salad
- dips
- pimento cheese
- taco filling
- ground meat and cheese
- pie filling
- cream cheese blended with other ingredients
[…] a wonton taco bar. Set out baked wonton cups on the appetizer table with an assortment of toppings and fillings. (I love a good toppings […]