Cranberry Sausage Wontons are an easy and absolutely delicious holiday appetizer! This sausage wonton appetizer are made with Italian sausage, cranberry sauce, jalapenos, cream cheese, and mozzarella cheese. They're savory, sweet, and completely addicting!
Whenever there are sausage wontons at a party, I am all over them. I just cannot get enough of the creamy sausage filling and the crispy wonton wrapper. I decided to make good use of my leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving and also added some diced jalapenos for a tiny bit of spice! These Cranberry Sausage Wontons are even better than the classic sausage wontons I remember!
What You'll Need
Sausage - I used mild Italian sausage, but you could use hot Italian sausage if you want a little bit more heat or breakfast sausage, like Jimmy Dean's.
Jalapeno
Cranberry Sauce - I used leftover cranberry sauce, which is this recipe! For these wontons, you need ½ cup of the sauce, so if you're just making it for the wontons, cut the recipe in half. You'll still have some leftover - add some to pancakes or waffles for breakfast!
Cream Cheese
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Wonton Wrappers - I find these in the refrigerated section by the produce at my local grocery store.
Green Onions - diced and used for topping. I love the flavor that they add!
Cranberry Sausage Wonton Questions
Can these be made in advance?
You can make the filling in advance, and just fill the wonton wrappers right before you're ready to bake and serve them. These are best served warm to room temperature, and I would recommend baking them right before serving.
Can I use a different type of meat?
The sausage lends a lot of flavor to these wontons, and I wouldn't recommend using anything else, except maybe turkey sausage. You can use Italian sausage or breakfast sausage - they are both delicious.
Can frozen phyllo cups be used instead of wonton wrappers?
I think this would work! I'm thinking of these little tart cups, and while they probably wouldn't hold as much as the wonton wrappers, I think they would still work to cut out some of the preparation time.
In a medium skillet, add the Italian sausage and cook until browned, breaking into small pieces as it cooks.
Add the jalapeno and cook another 3-4 minutes, to soften.
Add the cranberry sauce and cream cheese and stir until combined. Stir in shredded cheese. The shredded cheese doesn't need to be completely melted.
Remove from the heat.
Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
Gently press the wonton wrappers into the mini muffin pan. I like to pinch the wrapper together in a sort of flower shape and then press it into the pan, pressing it into place, to avoid tearing the wrappers.
Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes to slightly brown the wrappers.
Add a heaping tablespoon of the cranberry sausage mixture into each wonton cup. You may have more than needed for 24 wontons. If you have leftover wontons, just make another batch!
Bake for 7-8 more minutes, until the wontons are browned.