Potstickers are an easy appetizer or main dish. Make this homemade potsticker dipping sauce for a special extra touch that comes together in just minutes.
When you’re looking for a quick and easy meal, it’s pretty normal to look toward the freezer section of your grocery store. There are so many tempting entrees, appetizers, and desserts that lurk there.
Unfortunately, their pictures often look better than their actual contents.
However, one practically fail-proof frozen item is the potsticker. They cook up quickly, are available in pork, chicken, and meatless varieties, and give you that restaurant feel without the pricy bill.
Potstickers are one of our family’s favorite quick and easy convenience meals. I confess, I don’t make the dumplings from scratch. I buy the bag with the Panda on it at Costco’s freezer section. But, I do make the dipping sauce.
A homemade potsticker dipping sauce comes together in just a few minutes, yet it elevates a humble frozen food to something special.
Potstickers with Dipping Sauce
A ginormous bag of frozen potstickers costs about $10 and can serve our family 2-3 times, making it a pretty decent bargain for a convenience food.
This dipping sauce makes it, though. My friend Jessika shared it with me long ago, and I’ve tweaked it over the years.
What is potsticker dipping sauce made of?
Dipping sauces can range from savory to sweet, nutty to soy-based. This potsticker sauce is made up of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, pepper, and red pepper flakes. It’s a perfect mix of savory-sweet with a little kick from the ginger, garlic, and peppers.
What do you serve potstickers with?
It is so nice on a busy night to get rice cooking in the instant pot, toss a bag of stir fry veggies into a skillet, and start some potstickers in a pan. Mixing up a flavorful dipping sauce takes just a couple minutes more.
Up the ante a bit with these other take-out/fake-out recipes:
Hungry for more ideas? Check out my post over on The Kitchn about 10 different things to do with frozen potstickers.
How do you make Potsticker Dipping Sauce?
Potsticker sauce comes together quickly!
- Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in a saucepan or microwave-safe dish.
- Heat over medium heat or microwave until hot.
- Stir to combine before serving with potstickers.
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to share a picture on social media and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Potstickers with Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 16-ounce package frozen potstickers
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (chopped) I buy this is a tube so I always have some
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cook the potstickers in a large skillet with a lid, according to the package directions.
- While the potstickers are cooking, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and peppers in a glass dish and microwave until warm. Alternatively, heat over low heat in a small sauce pot.
- Serve the potstickers with the dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Leona K
I wish you had included the directions for making the sauce.
Jessica Fisher
The directions are on the recipe card.
Merrilee
Best potsticker dipping sauce ever! Clean, and perfectly complimentary!
Parker Tekin
What is that noodle dish and recipe in the background? (the pic with the cookies?) I’ll be trying the recipe tonight. Thanks for the recipe!
Jessica Fisher
That’s Homemade Vegetable Chow Mein .
Christine
Randomly bought some Sunday for the Super Bowl, but we did not need them. Cooked them last night with some fried rice and they were a big hit. I think I did them once years ago, but now they going on the regular menu. Plus, they are a great frozen backup meal when tired.
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them!
Sarah Kawell
This sauce is delicious! However, after making it for two, we have some leftover. How would you recommend storing it, refrigerator or freezer? We didn’t doubled dip… 🙂
Jessica Fisher
If you can use it up in the next four days, fridge. If not, freezer.
Jane
Sesame oil for me is confusing to purchase, the dark one is very strong and all recipes never seem to elaborate on which oil to use, can you help with this, love to know what to use and when
Jessica
I buy the sesame oil that is in the Asian foods section. It is probably considered dark.
Stacy
My friend, who is from China, taught me how to make potstickers years ago. I’ve not done it in a long time, but I should. It’s definitely something to get the kids in on and it’s not hard. You just sort of get a little assembly going and make tons of them. They are very good and I think very affordable. As I recall you just use the wonton wrappers, egg, ground meat, green onions, and some spices. Mix the filling together kind of like meatloaf or meatballs, then fill the wonton and pinch them closed with water. Then boil or fry. You’d want a recipe, of course, but I can tell you it’s easy if a little time consuming.
Potstickers are probably my hands-down favorite convenience food, and I’ve also bought them many times, mostly from TJs. I never grow tired of them but my husband is not a big fan of them.
Kristy Meyer
Hey Jessica, we try to avoid soy. Do you think this would work with amino acids instead of soy sauce? That is my go-to replacement for soy sauce. Thanks!
Kristy
Jessica Fisher
I think it should work just fine, especially if you’re used to using it. Make a small batch first and taste it?
Liz C
A ditto with Susie on the homemade potstickers! There’s some preservative in the commercial ones that doesn’t sit well, so we make our own (in HUGE batches). It’s very, very easy once you get the hang of folding the pleats. I do use purchased wrappers (about $2 for 60). My recipe is very similar to the one Susie linked. I use a food processor to whirl the cabbage (I use regular green, not Napa), some carrots, green onion, and already-chopped fresh ginger, and I do overwork the mixture just a tad so it holds together really nicely.
I spent $10 on our last batch… and made nearly 100 potstickers, so it serves us really well. They freeze like a dream, and cook from frozen exactly like the bagged ones do.
I am 100% with you on the simplified holiday meals! We do “party food” inexpensively with homemade treats, and everyone loves it.
Jessica
Wow! That is impressive. I may have to try them now.
Ellen
No homemade potstickers for us post kids, either, though Alton Brown has a great recipe. But Trader Joes has awesome frozen ones…
Susie E
I’ve discovered a great recipe for potstickers. It is flexible, easy, and makes a ton so you can freeze them for future meals. I start with the recipe found here: http://www.freezerdinner.com/recipes/mmmmm-pot-stickers/ but I tweak it to include whatever veggie I have on hand. I’ve read that the secret is to “overwork” the sausage so it will hold together. I just toss the ingredients it in the food processor while I get everything else together. I cook them by dropping them in boiling water. when they float to the top, viola! It impresses the kids every time.
PatsyAnne
Please give me the recipe for the pot stickers… thanks ever so much,
PatsyAnne
Jessica
I buy them frozen at Costco. 🙂
Melinda
What is neutral oil?might be a silly question but it confused me…lol
Jessica Fisher
Whatever doesn’t have flavor. Olive oil is usually flavored so that’s not a great option. But, avocado, canola, or vegetable are neutral oils.
AllieZirkle
@AllieZirkle, Yum! Last nite we had potstickers & fried rice from the leftover brown rice from dinner the prior night. (repurpose with a purpose!) Hubby wanted to try the included sauce. Next time we’ll try your sauce because the included sauce was too twangy for the little kiddos. This is definitely a good cheap eat for a mid-week meal!
🙂 Allie
AllieZirkle
This sounds oh so good! I think we’ll need to add this to our dinner list for next week, once the kiddos are back to school. I’m sure we’ll need a quick go-to dinner one of the nights.