Name: Crispy Southwestern Wontons
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Southwestern
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1/4 cup diced onion; 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1/4 cup frozen corn kernals; 1/4 cup canned black beans, drained; 5 oz (1 cup) chicken, shredded; 1/4 tsp pepper; 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 2 tbsp (1/2 pkg) dry ranch dressing; 24 wonton wrappers; canola or vegetable oil for frying

These Crispy Southwestern Wontons are the perfect appetizer or light dinner! This simple dish is a classic in so many cultures, and you can customize it with all your favorite flavors!

Crispy Wontons

I am a huge fan these crispy, restaurant-style wontons. They’re such a fun treat for dinner, and so easy to whip up at home. Here’s one of our favorite recipes for hot, lightly fried wontons stuffed with a cheesy southwestern ranch filling. Hope you enjoy these!

Here’s one of my secrets to make weeknight dinners quick and hassle-free. I keep frozen, diced vegetables on hand so they’re easy to grab and a cinch to throw into recipes. Here’s what I normally have on hand at all times: bell peppers, carrots, celery, zucchini, white onions, red onions, and corn. There’s also usually okra, edamame, peas, and broccoli, but I wouldn’t hyperventilate as much if I ran out of those.

Whenever I’m dicing vegetables, I use whatever I need for the recipe, then throw the rest in a Ziploc bag to keep in the freezer for the next time I need it. Makes things so much easier on me knowing I can just grab pre-diced vegetables from the freezer and whip something up!

How to Make Crispy Southwestern Wontons

All right, let’s put these vegetables to work. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add 1/4 cup diced onions and cook for about five minutes until they’re starting to turn golden.

Then add 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper and cook five more minutes until softened. Add 1 clove of minced garlic, and stir for about 1 minute.

Immediately add the frozen corn kernels and canned black beans, 1/4 cup each.

Next you’ll need about a cup of shredded chicken. Here I used leftover rotisserie-style chicken from this Brown Butter Ravioli with Toasted Walnuts and Crispy Sage, perfect for this execution!

Add the chicken to the vegetables and beans, stir to heat everything up, then move everything to a bowl, like the one above.

Season with a little pepper…

Add some cheese, about 1/2 cup.

And cover with about two tablespoons (1/2 package) of dry ranch dressing. Love this cool, tangy flavor boost.

Stir everything to combine.

At this point we can start heating the oil for the wontons. Rinse out the skillet used for the vegetables, (I could’ve done a better job of that here!) dry it completely, and fill with about a 1/2 inch of canola or vegetable oil. Begin heating over medium heat.

How to Assemble Your Wontons

While that’s heating up, it’s time to break out the wonton wrappers. I found this brand at Publix and I’m really partial to it. Unlike some other brands I’ve tried, these are nice and thick, so they don’t stick together when you’re trying to pull them apart, and they don’t rip when you’re stuffing and sealing the wrappers.

Scoop about a teaspoon of the chicken and vegetables into each wrapper.

Rub some water onto two sides of the wonton and fold over to seal, making sure to press out any extra air pockets in the wrapper.

Repeat for the remaining wonton filling. Here’s my assembly line!

By the time you have all your wontons stuffed and sealed, your oil should be good and hot. Set up a plate lined with a paper towel for draining, then go ahead and add about 6 wontons to the oil.

Or less, if you have a smaller skillet. You don’t want to crowd the wontons.

When they’re lightly golden (about 1 minute) flip to the other side. When both sides are perfectly golden and crisp, remove to the paper towel to drain and repeat with the remaining wontons. By the way, save that oil when you’re done, you can use it again next time. You’ll definitely want to make these again. :)

Lovely! I just want to take a big crunch out of these.

We also love stuffing these wontons with our favorite taco fillings or pizza toppings. They’re great for using up leftovers, because pretty much anything is delicious when stuffed in a wonton and fried.

You know what’s also cool about this recipe? After the wontons are sealed and stuffed, instead of frying you can place on a baking sheet and freeze overnight, then move to a Ziploc bag for long term freezing. Then when you’ve got guests you can whip these out for a quick and easy appetizer, no need to even thaw!

This recipe makes about 24 wontons, and if you’ve got a few extra wrappers leftover, hang on to them because I’ve got another recipe coming at you next week for a fun way to use them up.