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Easy Homemade Wonton Soup Recipe (Chinese Takeout Style) is the warm, ginger forward, brothy bowl that beats takeout every single time, and Maddie asks for these tender pork wontons floating in clear chicken broth every chilly Sunday afternoon. Homemade wontons take 15 minutes to fold, the broth is 5 ingredients in one pot, and the whole bowl tastes exactly like the wonton soup you order from your favorite Chinese spot. If you love a comforting takeout fakeout like our Beef and Broccoli Recipe, this is your new Sunday soup.
Ground pork, wonton wrappers, and a ginger garlic chicken broth deliver the Chinese takeout style Wonton Soup the whole family asks for on weeknights.
Wonton Soup Recipe Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 60 minutes (includes folding 40 wontons)
- 🍴 Cook Time: 14 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 74 minutes
- 🍽 Servings: 8 bowls (40 wontons)
- ⚡ Calories: Approximately 220 kcal per bowl
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Clean ginger garlic broth, savory pork filling, scallion finish (classic Chinese takeout style).
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our other Asian inspired recipes.
Quick Answer
Authentic Chinese style Wonton Soup is a clear chicken or pork broth gently flavored with ginger, garlic, scallions, and soy sauce, with hand folded pork or pork and shrimp wontons floating on top. The broth stays clean and uncloudy because the wontons cook in a separate pot of water and only transfer to the broth at the moment of serving. Total prep is about an hour for 40 wontons, and the soup itself comes together in under 20 minutes.
Jump to:
- Wonton Soup Recipe Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Wonton Soup Recipe
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Wonton Soup Recipe FAQs
- Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
- Easy Homemade Wonton Soup Recipe (Chinese Takeout Style)
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Pork plus aromatics for the cleanest filling. Ground pork mixed with finely minced scallion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a teaspoon of cornstarch produces a juicy, well seasoned filling that does not weep out the wrapper while cooking.
- Boil wontons in plain water, not the broth. Cooking wontons directly in the soup pot clouds the broth with starch and seasonings from the wrapper. Boiling in a separate pot keeps the final broth crystal clear, takeout style.
- Infuse the broth, then strain. Adding whole scallion stalks, smashed garlic, sliced ginger, and a splash of soy to the chicken stock then simmering 15 minutes pulls all the flavor out. Straining before serving leaves a polished, clean broth.
- Cornstarch slurry seals the wrapper. A tiny dab of cornstarch water in the wonton crease glues the wrapper shut tighter than plain water and keeps the filling locked in during the boil.
- Make ahead friendly. Fold all 40 wontons in one batch, freeze on a sheet tray, then transfer to a freezer bag. Boil straight from frozen, adding 2 minutes to cook time. Sunday soup any night of the week.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Better than takeout. Clean ginger garlic broth, real pork filling, no MSG. The whole bowl costs less than one takeout order.
- Make ahead freezer staple. Fold 40 wontons in one session, freeze, and pull out a handful any night you want soup.
- Customizable filling. Pork plus shrimp, all chicken, all vegetable, you swap the filling and keep everything else exactly the same.
- Family approved. The soup Maddie asks for by name when the temperature drops below 60.
- One pot broth. Five ingredients, 15 minutes of simmering, restaurant level depth.
Key Ingredients
- Ground pork: 1 pound. The classic Chinese takeout style filling. Look for 80/20 ground pork (not lean) for the juiciest filling.
- Wonton wrappers: 1 package (about 50 wrappers). Found in the refrigerated section near the tofu and Asian produce. Square wrappers are traditional.
- Chicken stock: 8 cups, unsalted. Unsalted lets you control the seasoning. Homemade chicken stock takes it to another level if you have some.
- Scallions: 6 stalks. Some go into the filling minced, the rest infuse the broth whole and garnish the finished bowl.
- Fresh ginger: 2 inch knob. Sliced thin for the broth, grated fine for the filling. The single biggest flavor maker in real wonton soup.
- Garlic: 6 cloves. Three in the filling minced, three smashed for the broth.
- Soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, white pepper: the four background notes that make the filling taste like Chinese takeout instead of generic pork.
- Cornstarch: 2 teaspoons. One in the filling for bind, one in a slurry to seal the wonton wrappers shut.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and the full ingredient list.
Variations and Substitutions
One base recipe, six ways to switch up the filling or the broth.
- Pork and shrimp filling: swap half the ground pork for finely chopped raw shrimp for a takeout classic version. Drain the shrimp on paper towels first.
- Chicken wontons: swap ground pork 1:1 for ground chicken thigh. Use thigh, not breast, so the filling stays juicy.
- Vegetable wontons: swap the meat for finely diced mushrooms, shredded napa cabbage, water chestnuts, and tofu. Saute the mushrooms first to drive off moisture.
- Spicy broth: stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of chili crisp or a drizzle of chili oil right before serving for a Sichuan style kick.
- Bok choy add in: drop a few baby bok choy halves into the broth during the last 3 minutes of simmering for an extra green vegetable.
- Egg drop combo: drizzle 2 beaten eggs in a slow stream into the simmering broth for a Wonton Egg Drop Soup hybrid.
How to Make Wonton Soup Recipe
The full filling and folding instructions live in the recipe card below. This walkthrough covers the broth assembly + final boil + serve. The wontons can be folded ahead of time and frozen, so this is the fast 20 minute soup phase.
- Build the broth: add 8 cups chicken stock, 6 scallion stalks, smashed garlic, sliced ginger, soy sauce, and a splash of rice vinegar to a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Bring to a low simmer and let the broth infuse for 15 minutes. The aromatics pull all their flavor into the stock without clouding it.
- Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve to remove the scallion stalks, garlic, and ginger. You should have a clean, polished, takeout style broth.
- In a SEPARATE pot, bring water to a gentle boil. Add the wontons in batches of 10 (do not crowd) and cook 3 to 4 minutes until they float and the filling is cooked through.
- Lift cooked wontons out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon and let them drain briefly. Boiling in plain water keeps the soup broth crystal clear.
- Place 5 to 6 wontons in each serving bowl, ladle hot broth over the top, garnish with sliced scallions, and serve immediately while the broth is steaming.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Six moves that separate authentic Chinese takeout style Wonton Soup from a watery broth bowl.
- Boil wontons in WATER, not broth. This is the single biggest takeout secret. Cooking wontons in the soup pot turns the broth cloudy and starchy.
- Use a cornstarch slurry to seal wontons. A drop of cornstarch dissolved in water on the wrapper edge glues the wonton shut tighter than plain water.
- Do not overfill the wontons. 1 teaspoon of filling per wrapper is plenty. Overfilled wontons burst open during the boil.
- Strain the broth. Once the aromatics have done their job, strain them out. The clean broth is the takeout signature.
- Use 80/20 ground pork. Lean ground pork makes dry, sad wonton filling. The fat keeps the filling juicy.
- Freeze the wontons in one layer. Lay folded wontons on a parchment lined sheet tray to freeze, THEN transfer to a freezer bag. Freezing in a pile causes them to stick together permanently.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Chinese takeout dinner at home: serve alongside our Beef and Broccoli Recipe and a tray of Air Fryer Frozen Egg Rolls for the full takeout fakeout spread.
- Light starter: serve smaller bowls (2 to 3 wontons) before a heavier main like our Easy Chinese Chicken Recipe.
- Garnish bar: set out small bowls of sliced scallions, chili crisp, a drizzle bottle of sesame oil, and crispy fried wonton strips so everyone customizes their own bowl.
- Sick day soup: the ginger and garlic in this broth are exactly what a sore throat needs. Add a squeeze of lime for the ultimate cold weather pick me up.
- Lunch box thermos: hot wonton soup packed in a wide mouth thermos is a lunch upgrade your kids will not stop asking for.
Fold up a batch of these homemade Wontons this weekend and tell us how the broth turned out. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen, leave a star rating below, and let us know if you went pork only, pork and shrimp, or got creative with the filling.
Wonton Soup Recipe FAQs
Yes. Fold the wontons, lay them in a single layer on a parchment lined sheet pan, freeze 2 hours until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. They keep for 3 months. Boil from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the cook time.
Wontons use square or round wonton wrappers (very thin) and are typically boiled in water and served in broth. Dumplings use thicker dumpling skins and are usually pan fried or steamed. The fillings can be similar, the wrapper and cooking method are what set them apart.
You can, but the broth will turn cloudy and starchy from the wrapper. Takeout style Wonton Soup boils the wontons in plain water and only transfers them to the broth at the moment of serving. This is the single biggest tip for restaurant style clear broth.
Fresh wontons cook in 3 to 4 minutes once dropped into boiling water. They float to the surface when done and the filling reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Frozen wontons take 5 to 6 minutes from frozen.
Unsalted chicken stock infused with whole scallion stalks, sliced ginger, smashed garlic, and a splash of soy sauce, simmered 15 minutes then strained. Pork stock or a chicken pork blend also work. Avoid pre seasoned stocks, they clash with the soy.
Store the broth and the cooked wontons separately in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat the broth gently on the stove, then add the wontons in the last minute to warm through. This keeps the wonton wrappers from going mushy.
Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
If you made this Easy Homemade Wonton Soup Recipe, leave a star rating and a comment below. We love hearing how your batch turned out. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen so we can see your bowls.
Craving a Chinese feast? Add homemade sweet and sour chicken next.
Looking for more? Try Asian glazed Chilean sea bass for another easy family favorite.
Looking for more? Try Chow Mein with Ramen Noodles for another easy family favorite.
Looking for another Chinese takeout favorite to make at home? Try our easy egg foo young recipe recipe for fluffy, veggie-packed egg patties smothered in homemade brown gravy.
Easy Homemade Wonton Soup Recipe (Chinese Takeout Style)
Ingredients
For the wontons
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
- 12 ounce package wonton wrappers
For the soup
- 10 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger thinly sliced
- 6 whole cloves garlic peeled
- 4 scallions
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- pinch white pepper
- thinly sliced scallions to serve
Instructions
- Mix the pork, scallion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil, and white pepper in a medium-sized bowl until combined.
- Place a wonton wrapper onto a clean work surface. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center. Dip a fingertip into water and run it along the edges of the wrapper. Fold a pointy end over the filling and secure the edges. Press out any air. You will now have a triangle.
- Make a little indention at the bottom of the wrapper. Run a little water on each of the bottom points of the triangle. Bring the points together and secure them by pressing the edges together firmly with your fingers. Refer to the visual tutorial for clarification.
- Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. Place on a sheet tray covered with a clean kitchen towel while you work on making the wontons so they don’t dry out.
- In a large pot over medium heat, add the chicken stock, ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Discard the solids out of the soup and keep warm.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add as many wontons as you are about to consume to the boiling water. Boil for 4 minutes. They will start to float.
- Take the cooked wontons out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them into your serving bowl. Top with some of the soup and add more scallions. Serve immediately.
Notes
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
- The wontons can be boiled in the broth, see my tips above on that.
- The broth and wontons can both be frozen, see my tips above on how to store.
- Black pepper can be used in place of white pepper.
- Instead of ground pork, you can use ground turkey or ground chicken.
- You can add vegetables to the soup, see which I recommend above.
- Makes 46 wontons.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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This was a delicious meal very filling the wontons were a little consuming to make but were worth it was a big hit with my friends now they want me to make it all the time.
This turned out great was very tasty and filling will make it again
To be clear for health reasons, the raw pork wontons take only 4 minutes boiling to cook through to a safe temperature to eat? Thank you!
This soup is the closest you can get to an authentic won ton soup!! So delicious! I want to eat this everyday…so good!!
The wontons were great, but the broth was disappointing. Will keep looking for a better soup.