One of our all-time favorite dinners is ground beef wontons. My hubby and I love them, and the kiddos fight over the last one every time. I first learned to make beef wontons from my mom, and have fond childhood memories of helping her assemble them in the wrappers. Over the years I’ve made the recipe my own with some ingredient tweaks, and our family truly loves them. You should see the way everyone lights up when they see me bring home wonton wrappers from the grocery store! Today I’m sharing my beef wonton recipe. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as we do!
If you’re ready to get cooking, you can Jump to Recipe at the bottom of this post. For some of my tips for preparing these beef wontons (along with some step-by-step instructions with photos), keep reading.
Love wontons? Check out our other popular wonton recipe:
Bacon and Shrimp Rangoons recipe
How to make ground beef wontons
Our homemade ground beef wontons recipe is much easier to make than you might think.
To start, combine ground beef, chopped green onions, sesame oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and ground ginger in a bowl and mix well.
Heat frying oil (I prefer vegetable or corn oil) to 350 degrees in a deep skillet or fryer.
Next, set up a beef wonton assembly station. I use about half of a 16-ounce package of 4.5-inch prepared wonton wrappers for this recipe. Place a wonton wrapper on a plate or cutting board (you can also prep a few at a time by placing several of the wonton wrappers out at a time, as long as they’re not overlapping). Pour some water into a small bowl next to the plate.
Dip your fingertips in the bowl of water and swipe some water around the edges of the wonton wrappers.
Form about 1 tablespoon of beef mixture into an oval ball and place it on one side of each wrapper.
Fold the wontons in half so that they form a triangle around the beef mixture.
Wet your fingers with additional water from your water bowl and pinch the edges of the wrapper together. Place the folded beef wontons onto plates (making sure they don’t overlap, or they will stick together and tear) while you assemble the remaining wontons.
Place the ground beef wontons into the hot oil, making sure not to overcrowd the skillet, since things will move pretty quickly. Fry for 2 minutes on one side, then carefully flip the wontons with tongs. Cook on the second side until the wontons are crispy and the edges are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the wontons to a paper towel-lined plate to let cool while you cook the rest of the wontons in batches (the meat will continue to cook inside the wontons as they cool).
Serve your beef wontons with a mixture of soy sauce and sesame oil for dipping. We love eating them with white rice and soy sauce on the side.
True story, my oldest saw me writing this post and now he’s requesting these for dinner tonight. I’m not kidding; they are one of our family’s all-time favorites.
Here’s my recipe for beef wontons! Enjoy!
Print Recipe
Beef Wontons
One of our all-time favorite dinners is ground beef wontons. I first learned to make beef wontons from my mom, and have fond childhood memories of helping her assemble them in the wrappers. Over the years I've made the recipe my own with some ingredient tweaks, and our family truly loves these crispy, savory, fried treats. Here is my recipe! I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as we do.
Combine ground beef, green onions, sesame oil, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and ginger in a bowl; mix well.
Heat oil to 350 degrees in a deep skillet or fryer.
Place several of the wonton wrappers on a plate or a cutting board without overlapping. Pour some water into a small bowl next to the plate.
Form about 1 tablespoon of beef mixture into a ball and place on one side of each wrapper. Dip your fingertips in the bowl of water and swipe some water around the edges of the wonton wrappers. Fold the wontons in half so that they form a triangle around the beef mixture.
Wet your fingers with additional water and pinch the edges of the wrapper together. Place folded wontons onto plates, making sure they don't overlap, while you assemble the remaining wontons.
Place wontons into the hot oil, making sure not to overcrowd the skillet.
Fry for 2 minutes on one side, then carefully flip the wontons with tongs. Cook on the second side until the wontons are crispy and the edges are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer wontons to a paper towel-lined plate to let cool while you cook the rest of the wontons in batches (the meat will continue to cook inside the wontons as they cool).
Serve with a mixture of soy sauce and sesame oil for dipping.
Recipe Notes
This recipe can be modified for the air fryer, too! See the recipe and instructions for making my Air Fryer Beef Wontons on Allrecipes here.
Wontons are basically fried dumplings that are filled with a mix of vegetables and meat, typically ground beef or pork. Wontons wrappers are typically thinner and made with wheat flour, whereas dumplings can be made from potato or wheat flour. Both can be boiled, steamed, or fried.
Serve while hot with the sweet-and-sour sauce for dipping. These wontons can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month. You can also refrigerate them overnight and fry them the next day, but don't refrigerate them for longer than that.
Wontons are well stuffed. The stuffing is usually a mix of minced meat (pork or beef the most common, but other meat might also be used, even shrimps) and chopped vegetables like pak choi / Chinese cabbage, celery, mushrooms, shephed's purse, leek, etc.
What is the difference between crab wonton and crab rangoon? Crab rangoon is a type of fried wonton, so they are really very similar. The difference is all in the filling. Traditional wontons are not ever filled with cream cheese (which is one of the main components in crab rangoon recipes).
To the pork and shrimp, add chopped scallions, minced garlic & ginger, then season with light soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, sugar, and msg. Mix in ONE direction with your hand until you see streaks on the bowl as seen in the images below.
The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.
I like to use either peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep frying. Both are neutral flavored and have a high smoke point. They can handle the amount of heat needed to make sure that your wonton strips fry up crispy without absorbing too much oil.
Try dusting off the flour as much as you can beforehand and fry the wontons on low to medium heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the wrappers are golden and the bubbling starts to subside (a sign that the wrappers are crispy.) Tip : Remember, keep the heat medium low.
Consuming fried or steamed wontons is not likely to impart any significant health benefits. The food does provide energy in the form of carbohydrates and fat. If meat, poultry, or seafood is added you'll also get a small benefit from protein which helps to build and maintain muscle mass.
The Cantonese source of wonton is wan t'an, "stuffed dumpling." Definitions of wonton. a Chinese dumpling filled with spiced minced pork; usually served in soup. synonyms: won ton. type of: dumpling, dumplings.
Wontons originate from China, with evidence of its existence going as far back as the Qing Dynasty (1644). Wonton soup was enjoyed by the rich, upper class families but after World War II, it became more widespread.
Spray the wontons with oil and place them in the air fryer basket without overlapping. (You can use a perforated parchment sheet on the bottom to prevent sticking). Air fry at 350°F (176°C) for about 4 to 5 minutes, until golden.Flip the wontons over and air fry for 3 to 4 minutes longer, until golden brown and crisp.
These simple pantry ingredients create a quick, easy, and flavorful dipping sauce for Chinese dumplings. What goes good with wontons? Wontons pair deliciously with dipping sauces like soy sauce, ponzu, sweet chili sauce, or this simple wonton dipping sauce recipe.
When comparing Chinese dumplings vs wontons, some key differences are: Wrappers: Wonton wrappers are thinner, are usually square, and may contain egg.Dumpling wrappers are thicker, are usually round, and don't require egg. Filling: Dumplings can be filled or unfilled.
The most common filling is ground pork or chicken and shrimp with a small amount of flour added as a binder. The mixture is seasoned with salt, spices, and often garlic or finely chopped green onion. Factory-made, frozen varieties are sold in supermarkets.
There are many types of wonton fillings, but I'd say that pork and shrimp/prawns are the most common. Then there are all sorts of additions, including mushrooms, water chestnuts, chopped up Asian greens and even carrots.
If you've never had wontons, they're basically juicy, chewy balls of minced meat folded inside thin sheet of doughs. Wontons are a quintessential Chinese dish with a ton of variations, both in folding techniques and fillings, throughout the different regions of China.
In Chinese cuisine, there are many distinct varieties of dumplings, and a wonton is one of them. Wontons are often filled with meats, pork, or vegetables, however, dumplings can be eaten with or without a filling across the world.
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Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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