A Crab Rangoon Cream Cheese Transforms Your Morning Bagel

Crab rangoons are arguably the best part about ordering takeout from your favorite local Chinese food joint. These little fried shells of wonder are made with a decadent filling of shredded imitation crab meat, scallions, cream cheese, seasoning, and a tiny bit of sugar. They're especially delicious hot or when dipped into a sticky sweet and sour sauce — and we wouldn't blame you if you ate a whole order of them as your main meal. When you really think about the cream cheese filling inside of these crab rangoon, you might be reminded of another, equally tasty food: bagels. 

If you try making a homemade batch of crab rangoons for your next party, save some of the filling for the morning after to schmear on a bagel. After all, cream cheese and bagels were a match made in heaven, and this tasty way to use imitation crab will help amp up the savory notes to complement your bagel flavor of choice. Plus, you can customize your crab rangoon cream cheese spread to match perfectly with your favorite bagel flavor. Sprinkle on some extra seasoning or take inspiration from bagels with lox and add red onions, fresh herbs, or other toppings to the mix.

You'll want to make your crab rangoon spread by whipping your cream cheese together with your shredded crab, scallions, and seasonings of choice. The seasoning component is where you can get creative; try adding a little splash of soy sauce for something salty or add a little sweet chili sauce for a delicious (but still tame) heat. Then when your cream cheese is good to go, spread it on a bagel of choice — either toasted or not. There are so many types of bagels that you could use for this recipe, including an everything (to bring the savory flavor up a notch), plain (to highlight the cream cheese), or garlic bagel. The salt bagel would also be another great choice to use, as it has flavor that can stand up to the boldness of the cream cheese without distracting from it. 

Besides schmearing it on a bagel, you can also save this spread to serve with crackers or bagel chips to your party guests. It may not be as crunchy as a rangoon shell, but we can assure you that it's just as delicious.