Crumbed Sausage and Creamy Cheese Wontons

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A Crispy, Cheesy Party Appetizer That Feeds a Crowd

hese Sausage and Cheese Wonton Bites are one of those appetizers that disappears approximately five minutes after you put them on the table.

Crispy wonton wrappers are baked in a mini muffin pan and filled with crumbled breakfast sausage, ranch dressing, roasted red peppers, cheddar and pepper jack cheese.

They’re creamy, cheesy, crispy and just a little tangy.

I first had these years ago at Mister Tipsy’s mom’s house and immediately became obsessed with them.

Tipsy cannot claim that I invented the sausage wonton cup.

I CAN tell you that I’ve made enough of them over the years to know there are never as many leftovers as you think there will be.

The Appetizer Everyone Asks About

There are certain party appetizers that look like you did much more work than you actually did. This is one of them. This is one reason I love them.

People see these individual little crispy cups filled with sausage and cheese and assume you’ve been performing delicate culinary procedures all afternoon.

You have not. You pushed a wonton wrapper into a muffin tin.

They’re easy enough for football Sunday but cute enough for a shower, holiday party or New Year’s Eve.

What Are Wonton Wrappers?

Wonton wrappers are thin squares of dough traditionally used for wontons and other dumplings.

For THIS recipe, we’re using them as tiny edible appetizer cups.

You’ll usually find refrigerated wonton wrappers near tofu, refrigerated Asian ingredients or produce.

They are much smaller than egg roll wrappers.

What If I Accidentally Bought Egg Roll Wrappers?

You can cut them into smaller squares. Just use kitchen shears or a knife.

The goal is simply to have enough wrapper to cover the bottom and sides of each mini muffin cup with some points sticking up.

Those points become crispy little edges. For me, this is the best part.

Let the Wrappers Warm Up a Little

Straight-from-the-refrigerator wonton wrappers can be a little stiff.

Let the package sit out briefly while you’re preparing everything else.

I don’t mean leave them on the counter all afternoon. Just take the refrigerator chill off. They’ll be easier to press into the muffin pan without tearing.

Keep the Rest Covered

Once you open the package, wonton wrappers can dry out quickly.

Work with the wrappers you need and keep the rest covered with their packaging or a slightly damp paper towel.

What If a Wrapper Tears?

Don’t panic, a small tear isn’t going to destroy the recipe.

You can usually patch it with your finger and a tiny bit of water.

The filling is thick enough that we’re not pouring soup into these.

Why Pre-Bake the Wonton Cups?

This is important.

Bake the empty wonton cups for about 5 minutes at 350°F before filling them.

That gives the bottom of the wrapper a head start.

If you fill completely raw wrappers with creamy sausage filling, the bottoms have a much harder time becoming crisp.

Pre-baking gives us crispy cups instead of floppy little sausage purses.

The Sausage

I use a 16-ounce roll of breakfast sausage.

Cook it in a skillet until completely cooked, breaking it into small crumbles as it browns.

Drain the Sausage

Breakfast sausage can give off quite a bit of grease.

Drain it well after cooking.

I even like blotting the sausage with paper towels.

We want the richness from the sausage. We do NOT need a puddle of grease soaking into the bottom of our wontons.

Roasted Red Peppers

I use about 1/4 cup finely diced roasted red peppers from a jar.

They add a little sweetness, tang and color.

After draining the sausage, add the peppers to the skillet with a tiny splash of liquid from the pepper jar.

Use that liquid to scrape up the browned bits from the skillet. This is where all the flavor resides.

Ranch Is the Creamy Part

The original recipe uses 2/3 cup ranch dressing.

That’s what binds the sausage, peppers and cheese together and gives these their tangy flavor.

Use a ranch you actually like. This is also a liquid ranch, not the powdered kind. I get asked this all the time.

The Cheese

I use:

1 cup shredded cheddar

and

1 cup shredded pepper jack

I particularly like sharp cheddar because you can actually taste it against the sausage and ranch.

Pepper jack adds a little heat.

If you’re making these for people who don’t like spice, use Monterey Jack instead.

Fill Them Generously

Once the empty cups have been pre-baked, fill each with the sausage mixture.

You want them full but not overflowing all over the muffin tin.

Add another little sprinkle of cheese over the top if you want.

I usually want all the cheese these cups can hold. But that is just me.

Bake Until GOLDEN

Return the filled cups to the oven for approximately 7 to 10 minutes.

The filling is already cooked.

At this point we’re melting the cheese, heating everything through and crisping the wonton wrappers.

Watch the edges. When they’re golden brown and crisp, they’re ready. You will know when these are ready simply by looking at them.

How to Get Them Out of the Pan

Let the wontons sit for a few minutes after baking.

Then gently loosen them with a small butter knife or offset spatula if needed.

Usually once the wrappers are crisp, they lift out pretty easily. Take your time so you do not tear these up.

Can I Make These Ahead?

The FILLING can absolutely be made ahead.

Cook the sausage and peppers, add the ranch and cheese, cool it and refrigerate it in a covered container.

You can also pre-bake the empty wonton shells earlier the same day.

I prefer filling and doing the final bake closer to serving so the shells stay crisp.

Can I Reheat Them?

Yes. The oven or air fryer is better than the microwave.

The microwave will heat them, but the wonton wrapper loses some of its crispness.

Reheat only until hot.

Party Food Perfect for a Crowd

One batch makes approximately 24 wonton bites.

For a larger party, double the recipe.

I would rather use two mini muffin pans than try to hold the first batch forever while the second batch cooks.

These are especially good for:

Football parties

Super Bowl Sunday

Christmas Eve

New Year’s Eve

Birthday parties

Baby showers

Bridal showers

Game nights

Or standing in your kitchen eating appetizers instead of making an actual dinner. This is where you will find me.

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