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    Home » RECIPES » Appetizers

    Vegan Wonton Recipe

    Published: May 23, 2010 / Modified: May 18, 2020 by: Karen Lee / This post may contain affiliate links. As Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. /

    steamed vegan wontons in yellow bowl next to dipping soy sauce

    I had nothing - n.o.t.h.i.n.g. - to cook for dinner tonight. I'm sure you had one 'those' days. C'mon. Fess up. I know you did.

    Saturdays are usually, "cook-whatever-is-left-in-the-fridge" day and I literally had: a package of wonton skins, tofu, scallions, cheese, eggs, soy milk, and some wilting greens. So, what did I do? I gathered up the ingredients and thought, "Hmmmm......I can stuff them all up into the wonton skins!" So I made meatless wontons, much to my family's dismay. Mind you, they are carnivores and they believe wontons and dumplings are meant to be stuffed with either pork or shrimp. I had neither.

    So I made vegan wontons and I thought I'd share the recipe with you because I thought they were f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s.!

    Triangle wontons on black plate before steamed

    Vegan Wontons

    1 package of wonton wrappers
    1 package of FIRM organic tofu
    2 scallions - chopped
    2 teaspoon of minced ginger
    3 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
    ½ teaspoon salt
    ¼ black pepper
    1 teaspoon sesame oil
    1 teaspoon black sesame seeds or plain sesame seeds
    1 teaspoon organic corn starch or potato starch
    (Optional - if you eat eggs, you can add 1 egg beaten instead of starch)

    ¼ cup of cold water (for sealing the wrapper)

    Instructions

    1. The hardest part is squeezing all the water out of tofu. I use double layer cheesecloth bag. Rinse tofu under cold running water. Pat dry, put tofu inside a cheesecloth bag and squeeze as much water out of tofu as you can. When you can't get any more water out, put tofu in a medium bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix well - preferably with your hand and squeeze all the ingredients together. (You can make the mixture up until this part ahead. Store in a glass bowl in the refrigerator)

    Tofu scallion and black sesame seed mixture Tofu scallion and black sesame seeds mixed

    2. Put about 1 teaspoon of the mixture in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Using your finger, wet the two consecutive edges with cold water. Gather the opposite corners of the wrapper, one from the wet side and one from the dry side, forming a triangle, and seal the two edges together. While you are making the wontons, boil water in a large pot.

    one teaspoon of filling on center of square wonton wrapperwonton folded in half to make triangle

    3. One package of tofu made about 30 wontons. One package of wonton wrappers has about 200 wrappers. Store the remaining wrappers in a tightly sealed glass container or freeze them in a tightly sealed container for later use. If you are going to freeze the wrappers, separate them into the portions you want to use and freeze them separately. Defrost in the refrigerator when needed.

    Triangle wontons on black plate before steamed 4. You can make large batches and freeze them for later use. Since tofu mixture can be eaten without cooking them (I eat tofu right out of the box!), you don't need to boil these that long. When the wontons wrappers look transparent, they are done. You can use slotted spoon and take them out. If  you want to use them in a soup, like I did, you can put them in boiling broth AFTER you cook them in water for a couple of seconds.

    *Update: In order to make this shape, bring the long corners together and pinch them together.

    platter of wontons before steamed

    5. You can also steam these in a bamboo steamer or stainless steel vegetable steamer. Line the bottom with lettuce leaf or a coffee filter and then put the wontons in a single layer. Dip them in soy sauce and white distilled vinegar. Or seasoned soy sauce.

    I love dumplings or wontons. They are so versatile and easy to make. You cane make the mixture ahead of time and stuff them while listening to music or watching a movie. Or have your family members join you and have a wonton party. Kids love making them too. It's like playing with play doh. And what's even better is that there is no right or wrong way to shape them. Get creative. Get imaginative. Create some wild shapes.

    The only one problem with making wontons is that you can't make them fast enough!! Enjoy!

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    About Karen Lee

    I am a food writer, recipe developer, and a cookbook author sharing my family’s favorite simple & easy, allergy-friendly recipes with you! Let's connect on Instagram || Facebook || Pinterest || YouTube Learn more about me on the ABOUT page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lara says

      September 30, 2011 at 10:35 pm

      I want to make these!! I finally found egg free wonton wrappers at an asian market, so excited!!

      • karen says

        October 02, 2011 at 12:56 pm

        Wonderful! So glad you found them. Let me know how they turn out.

    2. Tennille says

      August 29, 2011 at 3:48 pm

      Karen, just a little tip--I know you titled these vegan but the majority of wonton dough wrappers sold at the grocery store contain egg and therefore aren't vegan. Make sure you read the ingredients to ensure they are in fact vegan. I end up just making my own wonton wrapper dough for this reason. Love the rest of the recipe though 🙂

      • ecokaren says

        August 29, 2011 at 4:37 pm

        Thanks for that tip Tennille! I had no idea they included eggs. My package doesn't have any eggs (I just double checked) so I didn't mention it. Of course, home made is always the best! Thanks! 🙂

    3. Tommy says

      May 06, 2011 at 6:37 pm

      This is an easy make. Great for family time and movie time. Thank you so much !!

    4. Erin from Long Island says

      May 25, 2010 at 8:45 pm

      That is great advice! When I have a free afternon, I will certainly try again, thanks!

    5. Karen says

      May 25, 2010 at 6:30 pm

      Hmmm....may be you are buying the wrong brand? The wrappers are usually coated with flour or corn starch so they should make your hand icky. You might be stuffing them too much of the mixture, making them tear. Sorry to hear that you don't have fun making them. You should sit when you make them. Better for your back. And have a drink. It doesn't do anything for the wontons but it'll be more fun that way. 🙂

    6. Erin from Long Island says

      May 24, 2010 at 2:56 am

      these seem so easy! everytime I make wontons the wrappers always tear....and I get frustrated....and my hands get all icky...and it takes too long...and my back starts to hurt....

      But I love the IDEA of making them, so I am bookmarking this recipe anyway!

    7. Mary says

      May 23, 2010 at 10:48 am

      yum! I'm definitely going to try it.

    8. Becky says

      May 23, 2010 at 9:47 am

      Oh, yum! I love dumplings.

      • Karen says

        May 23, 2010 at 3:21 pm

        Becky; if you go to H Mart, they will have all the ingredients. You can also add cooked bean sprouts to make it crunchy, if you'd like. Just make sure to squeeze all the water out before you mix it. Otherwise, the mixture will be soggy.

        Mary: I'm so used to dumplings and wontons with meat inside that I thought I wouldn't like it that much but these were really delish!

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    Karen Lee

    Hi, I'm Karen! I am a food writer, recipe developer, and a cookbook author sharing my family’s favorite allergy-friendly, simple & easy recipes with you!

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