Are you ready to have your mind blown? I just developed a recipe for tasty crab rangoon that have ONLY 41 calories a piece! And then take 15 minutes, start to finish, to make. Hold onto your hats because there is a bit of a back-story…
I was in a bit of a blogging slump this weekend. I love blogging, it is something that has become an amazing outlet for me as well as a way to connect with lots of wonderful people. My day job is very serious and analytical, so I appreciate the opportunity to be creative with food, writing and photography. But, as any food blogger will tell you, sometimes all the shopping, cooking, styling, photo taking, cleaning up, writing, posting, and editing gets exhausting. So I was feeling a little down about it and, of course, Craig comes to the rescue. He started throwing out dozens of yummy recipe ideas and offering to help with the cooking and clean up. He is such a sweetheart. One of the things he begged me to make was crab rangoon.
Now. I don’t like crab rangoon. I’ve never understood the appeal of deep fried pockets of melted cream cheese. I will try one from time to time, but its not something I ever order or enjoy. Apparently, this puts me in the minority because most people think I’m absolutely insane. Our favorite new Thai place in Somerville, Sweet Ginger (see post about our visit there) makes curry crab rangoon, which is quite a nice twist. Everyone who tries them has raved (including the Boston Globe). So. Craig begs me to make curry crab rangoon and all of a sudden the wheels start turning in my head…..
I figured there has to be a better way to prepare these. So I thought about what I don’t like about the ones I’ve had. First, that they are deep fried, and second, that there is so little crab and too much cream cheese. With my new inspiration, I set out to makeover the traditional crab rangoon. Make them light and healthy while keeping the delicious flavors and texture associated with the unhealthy version.
I am so happy to say these were a smashing success! I LOVED them. I couldn’t stop gobbling them up. I made 24 and Craig and I demolished them in 5 minutes. Here’s the best part: my skinny recipe has only 41 calories per rangoon!!!!!! So you can enjoy this indulgence without racking up a ton of calories. These also can be made in only 15 minutes.I was going to make a dipping sauce for these, but turns out the flavors are so intense that you don’t need one at all. I decided to forgo the extra calories of a sauce and just enjoy the complex curry deliciousness.
Here’s the deal: I bought some really nice jumbo lump crab meat (frozen will do fine if you thaw it first) and mixed that with curry powder, ground ginger and cayenne. I added just enough cream cheese to make them melty and creamy, but not to overpower the delicious crab and spices. I then placed wonton wrappers in a mini muffin tin, filled them with the crab mixture, and folded the ends over. 10 minutes in the oven and you are ready to serve. I am just bummed I didn’t make these before the holidays – this would be a fabulous party food! Now I want to have a party just for an excuse to make them again…]
PLEASE NOTE: Curry is not for everyone. If you don’t enjoy curry and curry flavor, either do not make this recipe or simply omit or reduce the amount of spice you use. The mixture of curry, cayenne and ginger is quite potent!
NOTE: As many of my lovely readers have pointed out, imitation crab works in this recipe as well. Just make sure to buy the LUMP imitation crap, not the sticks and do a 1:1 substitution with the crab meat. I love hearing from all of you so keep the suggestions coming!
Nutrition Info: makes 24 rangoons
Per piece:
41 calories
1.1g fat
2.7g protein
Step by Step Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Spray mini muffin tin with olive oil spray
3. Push a wonton wrapper into each muffin tin
4. In a mixing bowl, combine crab, Worcestershire, curry, ginger and cayenne
5. Mix with a fork, breaking up large chunks of crab
6. Add cream cheese, mashing with a fork until fully incorporated
7. Using a teaspoon, spoon filling mixture into wontons
8. Fold ends of wonton wrapper over mixture, wet finger to seal
9. Bake for 10 minutes, until ends are slighly browned
10. Serve hot garnished with scallions
- 24 wonton wrappers (I used Nasoya brand)
- olive oil cooking spray
- 8oz lump crab meat
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ cup reduced fat cream cheese
- ⅓ cup scallions, washed and thinly sliced
- Preheat oven to 375
- Spray mini muffin tin with olive oil spray
- Push a wonton wrapper into each muffin tin
- In a mixing bowl, combine crab, Worcestershire, curry, ginger and cayenne
- Mix with a fork, breaking up large chunks of crab
- Add cream cheese, mashing with a fork until fully incorporated
- Using a teaspoon, spoon filling mixture into wontons
- Fold ends of wonton wrapper over mixture, wet finger to seal
- Bake for 10 minutes, until ends are slightly browned
- Serve hot garnished with scallions
 |
these sound so delicious! definitely want to try these very soon!!
Love this… thanks for sharing.
I'm falling out of my chair. Awesome!
These look amazing. I am not a seafood fan but these could change my mind.
Wow. Only 41 calories? Looks amazing!
XO,
Catherine
(Click here to enter my anthropologie kitchen tools giveaway.)
This is brilliant! Sadly, I'm allergic to crab…and I love the cream cheese ones. I wonder how this would be with chicken? I suspect I'd like these better than the originals! BRAVO! (and I'm glad you were inspired!)
Wow! These are amazing. I love crab. YUMMMM!
What a brilliant idea! I love crab and this can work very well in my household
Tes
http://tesathome.com
I want to try your delicious recipe soon!!
These look delicious!
These look great Dara. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of the deep fried appetizer and they all seem to be just that. The added calories takes the deliciousness away for me. Oven baking is a great alternative. To be even less caloric, have you considered using phyllo pastry instead? I am going to bookmark these and save for my next dinner party.
Great idea!! Thank you so much for sharing
Wow these look great! I really want to try this for the next party. I like how they are baked and not fried, such a good idea!
These look so good!! I love crab rangoon but they're always so greasy! Loving this lightened up version, great recipe!
- Lacy @ NYCityEats.com
I love that you made these low calorie! I am totally saving this recipe for future use as I'm always looking for a good crab rangoon low calorie recipe. Thanks for sharing and Happy Valentines Day!
Wow, those are amazing for that few calories!
Looks elegant and delicious!
How beautiful! I'm with you on the rangoon but I think I would love yours!!
What a delicious makeover! Definitely want to try it.
Cannot WAIT to make these!
Made these over the weekend…they were a smash. And soooo simple. Thanks!
Thanks KC! So happy you enjoyed.
Thank you for this recipe!! I used to love these at the local Chinese restaurant near where I grew up. Now living overseas I miss them but would never consider deep frying anything at home. Now I have a great new option for when I get homesick : )
Just made these. Not bad. Next time I am leaving out the ginger (way too much for my taste) and maybe skipping the curry too. But the wraps are awesome and easy to make! thanks for the idea!!
So you used real crab right? Has anyone tried this using imitation crab? Sounds great btw!
I did use real crab. It’s readily available up here in New England. I don’t see any reason why imitation crab wouldn’t work just as nicely. If you do give it a try – let me know how it turns out and I can make a note in the recipe.
Made these tonight. Very good and so satisfying to eat them guilt free! (I just had to stop myself at a few…rather than eating the entire batch!) I will probably tone down the curry just a touch next time…just as a personal preference. I’m also excited to play around with different flavors for these. They’ll be fun to make for parties as well.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these Miranda! It’s really hard not to finish the whole batch.
I was so excited about trying these. We followed the instructions completely. These are disgusting! We each took one nibble and threw the whole batch away!! If you like mild food, this recipe will be way too spicy for you. Just want to warn anyone so they don’t waste their money and ingredients making this.
Jessica. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. Thanks for your feedback.
I’m sorry, but I have to agree, we couldn’t eat them either. I would try again with little or no curry because that is all we tasted, we didnt even taste crab at all.
I LOVE these!!! I think I’ve made them at least 10x since I found your recipe. I also have made some with buffalo chicken filling and some with sausage and peppers. I like to make a batch Saturday afternoon, then when I put them in the oven after bar close I am a hero
Hi Alicia! You just made my day. I am so thrilled you like the recipe. Adding buffalo chicken is an AMAZING idea. I think I might try that next.
I just made some tonight ’cause I couldn’t stop thinking about them haha! I mixed shredded chicken, buffalo sauce and crumbled blue cheese. Amazing.
I made them with imitation crab simply because I live far from the coast and I’m a poor college student! They turned out amazing so I see no reason why imitation can’t be used! Just buy the “lump” version instead of the strips and it works out the same. They might taste a little better with real crab and if I make them at home with my mom I’ll try with real, but if your taste isn’t too refined the imitation still provides the flavor!
Thanks for the recipe it is awesome!
Hi Bridget! I am so happy to hear these came out well. Thanks for the tip. I will add it to the recipe.
I love your passion for food and the way you try things that are out of the ordinary. This has become one of my favorite places to look for recipes. You are a great cook.
Thanks so much Laurie! Your kind words are very much apprecaited. Thanks for stopping by my site.
Do you think this would work subbing laughing cow or greek yogurt for the cream cheese?
Thanks!
Audrey thanks for commenting! I am not sure. I think of the two, laughing cow would be a better choice because it has more of the consistency of cream cheese. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.
So easy! They were a little spicy for me but I just added a dollop of sour cream. I also did not have the ginger so that may have affected it. Thank you!
Disappointed.
I’m a huge fan of crab rangoons but my family and I are staying away from fast food and making all our foods from scratch at home now. So when I seen this I was head over heels excited and put it in with our dinner plan tonight…..quinoa stir-fry. I’m sorry to say this but these were horrible. You can’t taste anything or smell anything but the over load of curry. The rangoons were soggy at the bottom as well. I think I will try this again but with several changes.
just tried this recipe! it’s so great! thanks for sharing!
I just made these. I’m not a big curry fan, so I only used 1 tsp of curry. These def. have a kick with the cayenne pepper. Very curry, very spicy. I probably won’t use curry powder next time, and opt for light soy sauce and maybe some garlic, def. just a sprinkle of cayenne if any. Thanks for sharing!
These were really yummy!!! But OH EM GEE, these were like eating a laxative pill– I felt like I was going through a detox!!! I probably won’t be making these again, unless I’m really prepare to go through an actual detox.