Crab Rangoon Mac and Cheese
This creamy mac and cheese is inspired by the Chinese food appetizer crab rangoons. It is a super indulgent and rich dish that is almost a cross between the famous rangoons and a southern hot crab dip. I added some pickled jalapenos and pepper flakes, not traditional rangoon ingredients, just to add a little tang and heat to cut the richness of the dish. Topping the pasta with some fried wontons really drove home the rangoon flavor and made this version of mac and cheese a must try!
This is one of those easy mac and cheeses where you use a soft cheese as a binder to form the sauce. In this case, it was cream cheese, because there is lots of cream cheese in crab rangoons.
Mix the cheese, cream cheese, crab, scallions, and jalapeno. Also a few pepper flakes and soy sauce.
A little pasta water helps everything come together as a nice sauce. Then just mix the pasta in.
While the dish bakes, make your wonton crisps. Just fry the wonton wrappers in a little oil until crispy.
Then lightly salt them and let them dry.
Top the baked mac and cheese with the crispy wontons.
This mac and cheese tastes amazing. Like a super rich crab cake or a creamy crab dip. But with pasta!
Crab Rangoon Mac and Cheese
Mac and Cheese inspired by the classic Chinese takeout appetizer crab rangoons
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound elbow pasta
- 1/2 pound lump crab
- 8 ounces jack cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1/2 cup pickled jalapenos optional
- 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 12 wonton wrappers
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil for the pasta. Grate the cheeses, chop the scallions and jalapenos. Preheat the oven to 350.
- Drop the pasta into the water. In a bowl, mix the everything except the pasta and the wonton wrappers. Stir well. Just before the pasta is ready, add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the cheese mixture and stir well. Strain the pasta and add it to the cheese mixture. Stir. Place in a baking dish or individual ramikins. Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and creamy.
- While the pasta is baking, cut the wontons into triangles and fry in a little oil in batches until crispy. Drain and salt.
- Serve the pasta with the crispy wonton wrappers.
