Homemade chicken potstickers deliver a perfect golden-brown crust and juicy filling. These little pockets of joy are surprisingly fun to make and freezer-friendly. Master this Chicken Potstickers recipe for a rewarding, restaurant-quality meal at home.

Love Chicken Potstickers? So do we! If you're into Chicken Recipes or curious about Appetizer Recipes, you'll find plenty of inspiration below.

You Might Also Love

Chicken Vindaloo

15 “Illegal” Cheese Appetizer Dips...

Mongolian Chicken

Why You’ll Love This Chicken Potstickers

Perfectly Crispy & Tender: Golden crunchy bottom with a soft, steamed top.
Surprisingly Fun to Make: Folding becomes a relaxing, therapeutic activity.
Incredibly Freezer-Friendly: Cook straight from frozen for a quick meal.
Endlessly Customizable: Easily swap proteins or make a veggie version.

Ingredients & Tools

• 250 g ground chicken (preferably thigh meat for more flavor and juiciness)
• 1 cup finely shredded napa cabbage
• 2 green onions, very finely chopped
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 package (about 40) round potsticker or gyoza wrappers
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup water, for steaming

Tools: A large non-stick skillet with a tight-fitting lid, a small bowl of water for sealing, a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Notes: Don’t skip the napa cabbage—it adds crunch and moisture. Fresh ginger and garlic make a vibrant flavor base.

Nutrition (per serving)

Serves: 4 (about 10 potstickers per person) | Prep Time: 35 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes

Before You Start: Tips & Ingredient Notes

• Don’t skip salting the cabbage. After you shred the napa cabbage, toss it with a pinch of salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then, squeeze out the excess water thoroughly with your hands. This prevents your filling from becoming watery and soggy, which can make the wrappers tear during cooking.
• Use a light hand with the filling. When mixing your chicken and veggie filling, stir everything together just until combined. Overmixing can make the meat filling a bit tough and dense. You want it to be cohesive but still light and tender.
• Keep those wrappers covered! Gyoza wrappers dry out incredibly fast when exposed to air. Work with a few at a time, and keep the rest under a damp kitchen towel. This ensures they stay pliable and won’t crack when you’re folding your beautiful little parcels.
• Test your filling flavor. Before you commit to folding all your potstickers, cook a tiny spoonful of the filling in a skillet to taste it. This is your chance to adjust the seasoning—maybe it needs another dash of soy sauce or a pinch more ginger. It’s a simple step that guarantees a perfectly seasoned final product.

How to Make Chicken Potstickers

Storage & Freshness Guide

• Fridge: Store cooked potstickers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Freezer: Freeze uncooked potstickers on a parchment-lined tray, then transfer to a bag for up to 3 months.
• Reviving: Reheat in a skillet with a splash of water to re-steam and re-crisp.

Serving Suggestions

Complementary Dishes

• A simple cucumber salad — The cool, crisp, and slightly tangy flavor of a quick-pickled cucumber salad provides a refreshing contrast that cuts through the richness of the potstickers beautifully.
• Stir-fried greens with garlic — A quick bok choy or gai lan stir-fry with lots of garlic adds a healthy, savory element to the meal and makes the whole spread feel more complete and balanced.
• Hot and sour soup — Starting your meal with a bowl of this classic soup sets the tone perfectly. Its spicy, tangy broth is a wonderful prelude to the savory, dumpling-filled main event.

Drinks

• Jasmine tea — Its delicate, floral notes are a classic pairing that cleanses the palate between bites without overpowering the delicate flavors of the ginger and chicken inside the dumplings.
• A light lager or pilsner — The crisp, clean carbonation and mild bitterness of a cold beer are fantastic for cutting through the savory, slightly greasy goodness of the pan-fried potstickers.
• Ginger-infused sparkling water — For a non-alcoholic option, this provides a little zingy spice that echoes the ginger in the filling and offers a bubbly, refreshing sip throughout the meal.

Something Sweet

• Mango pudding — Its smooth, creamy texture and sweet, tropical fruit flavor is a light and lovely way to end the meal, leaving you feeling satisfied but not overly stuffed.
• Lychee sorbet — This is a wonderfully refreshing and palate-cleansing dessert. The bright, floral sweetness of lychee is a perfect, light finish after a savory dumpling feast.
• Fortune cookies — It’s a fun, traditional, and interactive way to wrap up your homemade potsticker night, adding a little bit of whimsy and a sweet, crunchy bite.

Top Mistakes to Avoid

• Overfilling the wrappers. It’s tempting to pack in more filling, but this almost guarantees they’ll burst open during cooking. A teaspoon is really all you need—it seems small, but it expands as it cooks. I’ve messed this up before too, and a potsticker explosion in the pan is a sad sight.
• Not getting the pan hot enough. If your oil isn’t properly hot when you add the potstickers, they’ll stick horribly and steam instead of fry, resulting in a pale, soggy bottom. Wait for that shimmer in the oil—it makes all the difference for that signature crisp crust.
• Lifting the lid during steaming. Patience is key here! Lifting the lid to check on them lets out all the precious steam, which drops the temperature and can lead to uneven cooking. Trust the process and set a timer.
• Skipping the post-steam crisp. After you steam them, letting them fry for another minute in the dry pan is non-negotiable. This re-crisps the bottom, which may have softened a bit during steaming, ensuring that perfect textural contrast in every single bite.

Expert Tips

• Tip: Create a quick flavor-packed dipping sauce. While the potstickers cook, whisk together equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar, a few drops of chili oil, and a tiny pinch of sugar. Let it sit for a few minutes so the flavors meld—it elevates the whole experience from great to incredible.
• Tip: Freeze them like a pro. After folding, arrange the uncooked potstickers in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then, transfer them to a zip-top bag. This “flash-freezing” prevents them from sticking together into one giant dumpling lump, so you can cook exactly how many you want, straight from the freezer.
• Tip: Add a cornstarch slurry for an extra-crispy “skirt.” For a dramatic, lacy, and ultra-crispy web on the bottom of your potstickers, mix 1 tsp of cornstarch into your 1/2 cup of water before adding it to the pan for steaming. It creates a stunning presentation and an amazing extra crunch.
• Tip: Use a cookie cutter for perfect rounds. If you can only find square wonton wrappers, just use a round cookie cutter to trim them into perfect circles. It makes the folding process so much easier and gives you that classic potsticker look.

FAQs

Can I bake these instead of pan-frying?
You can, but you’ll lose that signature crispy-steamy contrast. If you must bake, brush them lightly with oil and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 200°C for about 15-20 minutes, until golden. They’ll be more like baked dumplings—still tasty, but the texture is entirely different and they tend to be a bit drier.

My potstickers are sticking to the pan! What did I do wrong?
This usually happens for one of two reasons: the pan wasn’t hot enough before adding them, or you tried to move them too soon. Make sure your oil is shimmering hot, and let them form a crust for a full 2-3 minutes before you even think about nudging them. A good non-stick pan is also a huge help here.

How long can I store leftover cooked potstickers?
They’re best eaten immediately, but you can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a skillet over medium heat with a tiny splash of water to re-steam them and refresh the wrapper. The microwave will make them soggy, so I’d avoid it if you can.

Can I use a different protein for the filling?
Absolutely! Ground pork is a classic and wonderfully flavorful substitute. For a lighter option, ground turkey works well, or even finely chopped shrimp. Just keep the total weight of the protein about the same, and you can follow the rest of the recipe exactly as written.

Why are they called “potstickers”?
The name comes from the cooking method! The direct translation from the Chinese name (guotie) is “pot sticker,” which perfectly describes what happens—they are pan-fried and then steamed, and during the frying, they literally stick to the pot. That sticking is what creates that amazing, crispy crust we all love so much.