Vegetarian Wontons

This Vegetarian Wonton Recipe is filled with delicious Asian-inspired ingredients including, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, ginger spring onions, and served with a soy and sweet chili dipping sauce.

Wrapping wontons is easier than you think, and you’ll be ready to do this simple appetizer or light dinner in just 30 minutes!

Vegetarian wontons are made by filling soft rice wrappers with a vegetable mixture of small diced vegetables tossed in a sauce. They are then folded in the classic wonton shape and then steamed, boiled, or pan-seared. Serve them with a dipping sauce and a side of fried rice, roasted broccoli, or sweet and sour soup. They will quickly become one of your favorite appetizers, light lunches, or easy dinner options!

Vegetarian and vegan gluten-free
30-minute meal
Freezer friendly
Quick and easy

Equipment

• Food processor
• Saute pan
• Large mixing bowl
• Variations

TOTAL TIME10 mins

SERVINGS7minutes people

CALORIES127 kcal

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients for vegetarian wontons:

Veggie Wonton Filling

For the filling

• Sesame oil 2 tbsp
• Ginger Shredded 1/4 cup
• Mushroom
• Cabbage
• Carrot
• Soy Sauce
• Shives
• Sesame seeds

For The Chili Sauce

• Rice vinegar
• Sesame oil
• Soy sauce
• Chilli sauce
• Honey
• Garlic

Wonton wrappers: If you use vegan wonton wrappers, this recipe will automatically be vegan! 

Get Creative

Here are some different ways you can make these delicious vegetable wontons.

Vegetarian wonton filling ideas:

Try using different vegetables and filling ingredients like wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, green onions, ginger, a drizzle of chili oil, crispy napa cabbage, or bok choy. 
You can also add black pepper or white pepper to make Sichuan spicy wontons.

Sauces:

Some other options to include in the sauce are rice vinegar, avocado oil, olive oil, mirin, or oyster sauce.

Cooking method:

Preparation:

• Use the food processor to shred the carrots cabbages and ginger to chop finely, ensuring not to make a paste. Do that separately, once at a time. Scrape out and set aside.
• Dice the mushroom.
• Mince the garlic

Saute the vegetables:

Heat a skillet over medium heat, add the carrot mixture, and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. 

Add the cabbage and mushroom and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Remove to a large bowl.

Wrap the Wontons:

Prepare a small bowl of water for dipping your fingers into.

Take a round wonton wrapper at a time and place it on your palm. 

Place one tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper.

Dip your finger in water and smear along the edges of the wonton wrapper. 

Fold the wonton half (into a rectangle) and gently press the edges together to seal the filling inside.

Bring two bottom folded corners together and wrap them under to overlap and seal. You can dab a little bit of water first on the edges to help make them stick together better.

 

Repeat with all the wontons and place them all on a parchment-lined bakery tray. 

Cover with a tea towel to prevent the wrappers from drying out.

Pan-fry the Wontons:

In a non-stick frying pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat for 2 -3 minutes.

Place a batch of 12- 15 wontons on the pan, spacing them approximately 1-inch apart to prevent them from sticking together.

Cook for 3 minutes until the bottom turns golden brown.

Add ½ cup of cold water to the pan. 
The water should start sizzling and boiling immediately. 
Make sure the water covers half of the wontons’ height. (½-inch deep).

Cover with the lid and continue to cook for 7-8 minutes until almost all the water has evaporated.
Take out the lid and reduce heat to medium. 

Cook for another 2 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. 

The bottom of the wontons should be cooked crispy.
Repeat the same steps with another batch of 12 -15 wontons.

Dipping Sauce:

• Rice vineger
• Sesam oil 
• Soy sauce
• Chilli sauce
• Honey 
• Garlic

Spring onions: 

A dipping sauce from the same ingredients used to coat the filling adds layers of flavor to the dish.
There are 2 cooking methods:
The first one is by using the pan
This easy vegetarian wonton recipe gives instructions on how to steam the dumpling wrappers, but you can also deep fry, pan fry, boil, bake, and add them to a broth to make a vegetarian wonton soup.


Steam:

vegetarian wontons in a steamer basket
Bring a pot of water to simmering over medium-high heat. 
Arrange the wontons in a steamer basket lined with baking paper over a pot of water in a single layer and steam for 15 minutes. 
You may need to steam half of the wontons and then the other half if the basket isn’t big enough.

Make the dipping sauce:

While the wontons are cooking, mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Serve: 

Serve the cooked wontons with the dipping sauce.

Recipe FAQs

WHAT IS WONTON FILLING MADE OF?
Vegetarian wonton filling is made from all types of vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, and ginger. You can mix and match to make any veggies you have on hand

ARE WONTONS THE SAME AS DUMPLINGS?
Not quite – wontons are a type of dumpling, but dumplings are a broader category of food characterized by dough wrapped around a type of filling. Dumplings may or may not be filled, but homemade wontons always have a filling enclosed in a wrapper made from rice.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WONTONS AND RANGOONS?
Rangoons are like crispy wontons filled with crab and cream cheese. They are usually deep-fried and you can sometimes find them at your favorite Chinese restaurants.

ARE WONTONS HEALTHY?
There are many great recipes for wontons, and depending on the filling and the preparation, wontons may or may not be healthy for you.

In this vegetarian wonton recipe, we steam the wontons – making them a healthy appetizer, snack or meal! If wontons are fried, they aren’t healthy because they will be high in added fat and calories. Steaming or boiling wontons is the healthiest preparation. Additionally, this recipe has a filling made with plant protein and veggies; whereas a meat-heavy filling wouldn’t be as healthy.

How To Serve
Wontons can be a great appetizer, or main dish, or added to a gingery broth to make vegetarian or vegan wonton soup. Here are some ideas on what to serve with them.

Add the wontons to this Curried Creamy Butternut Squash Soup at the last minute over medium heat to give the soup a fun texture and make it a whole meal.

Pair them with Buffalo Cauliflower Wings or these Mushroom Toast with Spinach and Roasted Garlic appetizers at your next party.
Add these wontons as a side dish to your main meal like Sweet Potato Cauliflower Curry or Tofu Yellow Curry with Vegetables.
How To Store
You can keep wontons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days after cooking them.

You can also freeze them and thaw them in the refrigerator to eat later. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. The best way to do this is to lay them out on a baking sheet and freeze them for 15 minutes. Then remove them from the baking tray and put them in a large freezer bag back in the freezer.

This will keep them from sticking to each other and allow you to take them out one at a time when you’re ready to eat them.

Expert Tips

Here are some important tips and simple steps to make sure your vegetarian wontons turn out perfectly on your first attempt.

Cut the vegetables and get everything ready before filling the wontons and cooking them. This will help streamline your prep time.
The cooking time will doesn’t vary much when you use different methods. They cook quickly, so keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t overcook and get mushy.
If the veggie mixture ends up with extra water after sauteeing, squeeze the vegetables in a paper towel to remove any extra liquid so the wontons stay tightly sealed, before adding them to a bowl with the tofu.
Make sure to remove as much liquid as you can before filling the wrappers and then seal the bottom corners with a little water.
Remove as much air as you can when folding the wontons so they won’t form bubbles while cooking.
Wontons can be steamed, fried, or boiled.
easy vegetarian wontons served on a white plate with dipping sauce.

Recipe Card

This Vegetarian Wonton Recipe is filled with delicious Asian flavors including tofu, cabbage, carrots, ginger, mushrooms, and spring onions, and served with a soy and sweet chili dipping sauce. Wrapping wontons is easier than you think and you’ll be ready to serve dinner in just 30 minutes.

Vegetarian Wonton

Ingredients:

• Wontons
• 30 wonton wrappers
• 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
• 6 oz cabbage, roughly chopped
• 6 button mushrooms, cut into quarters
• 1 spring onion, sliced thinly
• (reserve 1 tbsp of the green part of the onion for the sauce)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch ginger, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1½ tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sweet chili sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sweet chili sauce
• 1 tbsp reserved spring onion, green part only

Instructions:

1. Drain the tofu, and press firmly in between 2 pieces of paper towel to remove any excess liquid. Using a fork, mash the tofu until it resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside.
2. Place carrot, white of the spring onion, garlic, and ginger into a food processor and pulse several times to chop finely, ensuring not to make a paste. Scrape out and set aside.
3. Place the cabbage pieces into the same food processor bowl and pulse several times. Remove and set aside.
4. Place the mushrooms into the food processor bowl and pulse several times, remove and set aside.
5. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add the carrot mixture, and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the cabbage and mushroom and cook for a further 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
6. In a large mixing bowl add the crumbled tofu, cooked vegetable mixture, and the remaining filling ingredients. Stir until well combined. Adjust seasoning to taste.
7. Bring a pot of water to a boil while making the wontons.
8. Place a wonton wrapper on a flat surface, and spoon a tsp of the filling mixture into the center of the wrapper.
9. Using your finger, spread a thin layer of water around the edges of the wrapper. Fold one corner over the mixture to form a triangle, and press along the edges to make sure it seals well.
10. Take one corner and wrap it over the other corner, using a little water to seal it.
11. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
12. Arrange the wontons in a steamer basket lined with baking paper and steam for 15 minutes. Depending on the size of the steamer basket you may need to repeat this step.
13. While wontons are cooking, mix all sauce ingredients and set aside.
14. Serve the cooked wontons with the dipping sauce.

Calories: Approximately calories

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 

NOTES

The recipe makes 30 wontons. 1 serving = 3 wontons + dipping sauce.
Squeeze out excess liquid from the tofu to ensure the mixture isn’t too wet, cooking the vegetables before making the wontons will also help the mixture to not be too wet.
Wontons can be made ahead of time and frozen for up to 3 months.
Wontons can be steamed, fried, or boiled.

NUTRITION

• Serving: 3wontons:
• Calories: 108kcal 
• Carbohydrates: 17g 
• Protein: 5g 
• Fat: 2g 
• Saturated Fat: 1g 
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g 
• Monounsaturated Fat: 1g 
• Cholesterol: 2mg 
• Sodium: 742mg 
• Potassium: 122mg 
• Fiber: 1g 
• Sugar: 2g