Potstickers are great when we need to eat something quickly if hungry or when unexpected guests arrive and we simply have no time for cooking. However, not everyone might appreciate the traditional way of cooking them which involves frying these dumplings in a pan.
So if you are a bit concerned about fatty foods and you would prefer something lighter on your stomach, learn how to cook frozen potstickers in the oven. It is a very simple and pretty fast way of making them ready to enjoy!
How Do You Cook Frozen Potstickers In The Oven
If you have always boiled dumplings before, try out another way of cooking them. Especially since baking frozen potstickers is so simple that even a child will manage the process!
In a few simple words, to cook frozen potstickers in the oven, you need to prep your baking sheet and parchment paper, arrange the dumplings on it, sprinkle them with a bit of vegetable oil, and bake until golden on the edges.
However, like any food-making process, baking your potstickers in the oven still requires attentive and careful attitude. Otherwise, even using such a simple cooking method, it is possible to mess up with the food.
For instance, not everyone knows that you should check the internal temperature of the dumplings in order not to overbake them! Once the temperature inside the pot stickers reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit, it means that the dish is ready to serve.
This is why, to avoid any mistakes with cooking and consider all the detail, we recommend you read the detailed instructions on how to properly oven-bake your dumplings (or potstickers) so that they come out delicious and juicy.
Step One. Pep All You Need
A successful result always starts from the successful beginning. This is why it is so important to get everything ready in advance. Like this, you will not have to suddenly rush for oil or baking parchment paper in the middle of the cooking process!
So get your baking sheet, line it with parchment paper or grease lightly using the cooking spray you usually make use of. This will allow you to avoid the scenario when your pot stickers are stuck to the baking sheet!
Make It Hot!
Now it is time to get your oven ready. Heat it up to either 350 or 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Why so hot? Well, if the baking temperature is lower, then your pot stickers will have to spend more time in the oven. Like this, the higher the heat is, the faster you will be able to enjoy the delicious meal!
Get the Dumplings Ready
All right, so the oven is already heated up and the baking sheet is ready to welcome the yummies. Arrange the pot stickers on a baking sheet in a single layer. It is important that you leave approximately half an inch between each dumpling!
Feel free to brush them with a bit of vegetable oil on top. It will help the pot stickers to get crisp, and besides, oil will give them that taste you get when frying the dumplings.
Time to Bake
Finally, you can proceed to actually baking! For the best results, bake your dumplings at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for ten to twelve minutes. If you set your oven at 350 degrees, then extend the baking time to fifteen or better twenty minutes instead.
And remember to rotate the baking sheet halfway through the baking process to allow the pot stickers to get cooked thoroughly and evenly. You will easily tell when your dumplings are ready, by the way! Just wait until their edges turn golden brown.
To end your cooking quest, you only need to prepare a dipping sauce. It is best to be done while they are still being baked in the oven. Like this, you will save time and will already have a delicious dip to enjoy with the hot pot stickers!
Of course, there is no strict rule for how to make such a sauce. However, a traditional recipe says you need to mix some ginger, chili sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil, add a bit of lemon or lime juice, and stir it all in a bowl.
Oven-baked pot stickers can be served on a plate or ona serving platter with the sauce you made on the side.
Oh, and if you like them to be crispy on one side and soft on the other, try to let them bake for five minutes until they are golden brown on the bottom. And then simply pour some water over them, cover the baking sheet with foil, and leave the dish to steam for five or eight minutes, but not longer.
What Is The Best Way to Cook Frozen Potstickers
All of us have different taste preferences, this is why defining one cooking method as the best one and others as the less good ones is not quite correct. However, we can tell you that the quickest and the most common way of cooking frozen pot stickers is to fry them in a frying pan.
In addition, it is extremely simple! All you need to do is to take a frying pan, or better a skillet or a wok pan, and preheat two big spoonfuls or vegetable oil in it on medium high heat for one minute.
Then, place frozen pot stickers in a skillet or wok, and fry for four minutes still on medium high heat until they become light brown from the outside.
Afterward, reduce heat to simply medium and add four big spoons of water into it. Cover the frying pan/skillet/wok, and steam your potstickers for another four to five minutes. Another way to tell that they are ready to come out is that the water evaporates or the dumplings begin to get brown.
Such steamed potstickers are best to be served and consumed with a dipping sauce immediately after you take them out of the skillet. And surely, they are way more delicious than simply boiled dumplings!
How Do You Cook Frozen Air Potstickers?
There are several ways of how to cook frozen potstickers. However, for some reason, people mostly skip (or forget) about such an option as an air fryer! Nevertheless, cooking these dumplings in it will make them no less delicious than if you bake frozen potstickers in the oven.
In addition, this cooking method takes very little time which is a great benefit, especially for busy mothers or those who have no time for cooking. So, to cook frozen potstickers using your air fryer, you need to complete the following steps:
- get your dumplings ready. Do not thaw them!
- prep some non-stick cooking spray
- preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for two minutes
- spray its basket with the cooking spray you have prepared before
- place the potstickers in a basket in one layer and also spray them with the cooking spray
- cook for eight minutes
- serve them with your favorite dip and enjoy!
As you can see, no special cooking skills are required for cooking potstickers this way. And since the cooking method takes very little time, it is a real salvation for the situations when we need to eat quickly or serve some food for our unexpected guests or hungry kids!
Are Frozen Potstickers Precooked?
If you don’t buy frozen foods often enough, you might not be aware of certain nuances and specifics of these dishes. For instance, many people keep on asking whether frozen dumplings or potstickers are precooked.
Well, basically they are not. You see, to eat them we still need them to go through the cooking process from frozen (boiling, frying, or baking respectively). It means that the dish itself is not previously cooked.
One more nuance that you might not be aware of is that neither your frozen dumplings nor the frozen potstickers need thawing. The correct way of cooking them is to do this from frozen. So decide which cooking method you will be using, and then simply fry, boil, or bake them right after you take the foodstuff from your freezer!
How Do You Keep Frozen Potstickers From Sticking?
Frozen pot stickers save us each time we are hungry and have no time or desire to cook from scratch. Moreover, they are so delicious and go with so many different fillings! However, these yummies do have one nasty feature. They stick to each other.
We bet you already had to go through this if you bought frozen dumplings or other similar food at least once! You buy a packet of these, shove them in your frosting camera, but when you take them out, there is a solid dumpling “rock” in your hands! This also happens especially often to homemade dumplings, by the way.
That’s annoying and frustrating, we agree. Besides, it means that you will have to spend more time on separating them somehow since nobody wants to serve messy food.
This is why, if you make dumplings on your own, freeze them on a baking sheet lined with enough space between each piece. Like this, you will ensure they will not stick in the freezer later.
If you bought a packet of potstickers and you are afraid they can stick to each other, try to shake the packet thoroughly before putting it in a frosting camera. Like this, you will help the dumplings separate in case some of them already got stuck to each other.
Finally, there is one more trick you need to be aware of in regard to all that sticking thing. See, potstickers, as well as dumplings, often tend to stick to each other while being cooked. And it does not matter whether we are frying or boiling them!
To avoid this scenario and have your dish not only tasty but also good-looking, use one of the following methods depending on the cooking approach you chose:
- If you fry the dumplings, wait until they get light brown on the bottom, add some water, and steam for three minutes covered tightly with the lid.
- If you are boiling them, remember to stir the dumplings now and then until it is time to get them out of water.
Like this, you will not have to tear them from the pan or the bottom of your casserole, and your potstickers will look good and taste well.
How Long Do Potstickers Last After We Cook Them
Properly cooked food is not only delicious, it is also able to stay edible longer. As for the potstickers, they can be kept for later, however, their lifespan will not be that long unfortunately.
If we speak of cooked potstickers, they can be refrigerated for a day or two to save the leftovers. However, if you made the dumplings on your own and you want to save the leftovers, feel free to freeze them. Like this, you will be able to enjoy them whenever you want since the foodstuff will remain consumable for up to half a year!
| Fridge | Freezer | |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked | 1-2 days | - |
| Uncooked | - | 3-6 months |
Cooked potstickers are better to be reheated by pouring hot water over them once you get them out of the fridge. Or you can steam them in a pan if they are too cold.
So today we told you how to cook frozen potstickers, and you even learned what to do to keep frozen dumplings from sticking to each other while being kept in the freezer or cooked. Since now you also know several different ways of cooking this dish, you can choose how you want your dumplings or potstickers to be prepared today, being tender and juicy when boiled, or having a crispy golden crust after you fried or baked them in the oven.
Add your favorite dip, and enjoy this simple yet tasty dish alone or with your family!
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