Gyoza Wrappers substitute

Best substitute

Wonton wrappers

Use the same amount one wrapper per dumpling as the gyoza wrappers you are replacing

Best for pan-fried gyoza and potstickers

Different texture

Wonton wrappers are the best swap and go one for one; they are square, so either fold them into triangles or cut rounds with the rim of a glass. Egg roll wrappers cut into three and a half inch circles also work, though they are thicker and want a couple of extra minutes of steaming. If you have flour and thirty minutes, homemade is genuinely the best answer and needs nothing but flour, hot water and salt. Everything here is about structure, not flavour: the wrapper is a container that has to pleat without cracking, hold a wet filling without going soggy, steam translucent, and crisp into a brown lacy base. Anything that cannot do all four will change the dumpling.

Other gyoza wrappers substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Egg roll wrappers, cut into rounds
Different texture
1 wrapper yields 1 large or 2 small rounds
Thick square wheat sheets from the refrigerated case, cut down with a 3.5 inch cutter or the rim of a mug.
What changes
Best for
potstickers, pan-fried dumplings, big hearty dumplings
Sturdy and forgiving, which makes them good for a first attempt, but noticeably doughier. A dumpling made from them is chewy and bready rather than tender, and the pleated top can stay stubbornly raw and pasty, so add two to three extra minutes to the covered steaming stage and use a splash more water. Roll the offcuts and re-cut rather than wasting them.
3Homemade dumpling wrappers
Close match
2 cups (250g) plain flour, ¾ cup (180ml) just-boiled water, ½ teaspoon salt makes about 30
The correct answer if you have no wrappers at all and a filling already made, and it is much easier than it sounds.
What changes
Best for
gyoza, potstickers, jiaozi, steamed dumplings
Hot water is the trick: it partly gelatinises the starch and slackens the gluten, giving a soft dough that rolls thin without snapping back. Mix with a spoon, knead three minutes once it is cool enough to handle, then rest covered for 30 minutes. Roll a log, cut into cherry-sized pieces, and roll each into a disc thinner at the edges. Texture is better than any packet wrapper: chewier, more tender, and no cornstarch dust.
4Rice paper (banh trang)
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 sheet for every dumpling, cut down if large
The gluten-free option, softened for a few seconds in warm water.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free steamed dumplings, fresh non-fried parcels
Be realistic about this one. Rice paper is sticky rather than silky, welds itself to the steamer and to other dumplings, and cannot hold a pleat, so you get a rough parcel rather than a neat crescent. It also will not produce a proper crisp base; in a hot oiled pan it blisters and then quickly turns chewy and gluey. Dip briefly, line the steamer with baking paper or cabbage leaves, and eat immediately.
5Fresh pasta or lasagne sheets, cut into rounds
Different texture
roll to the thinnest setting, cut 3.5 inch rounds
Fresh egg pasta rolled thin, or no-boil lasagne sheets soaked in warm water until flexible.
What changes
Best for
boiled dumplings, ravioli-style dishes, dumplings in broth
Treat these as ravioli rather than gyoza. The dough is thicker, wheatier and firmer, it needs a rolling boil for four to five minutes, and it does not pan-fry into the thin crisp skirt that makes a potsticker a potsticker. It will not sit in the fridge raw either, because the filling moisture softens the pasta. Flour the rounds well or they fuse.
6No wrapper at all: pan-fried filling patties
Different texture
Use 2 tablespoons of filling for every patty
The honest fallback when there is no usable wrapper in the house and the filling is already mixed.
What changes
Best for
using up dumpling filling, low-carb or gluten-free eating
Roll the filling into small flattened patties, dust them lightly with cornstarch, and pan-fry three to four minutes a side until browned through. You lose the whole point of a dumpling, the contrast between chewy skin and juicy filling, and you lose the juices the wrapper normally traps, so keep them small and serve with the dipping sauce you were going to use anyway. It is a good dinner; it is not gyoza.

What is Gyoza Wrappers?

Gyoza Wrappers is Gyoza wrappers, sold variously as gyoza skins, dumpling wrappers, potsticker wrappers, jiaozi skins or gow gee wrappers, are thin round discs of wheat flour, water and salt, rolled slightly thicker in the centre than at the rim so the pleated edge stays delicate while the base takes the heat of the pan.

Cooking tips

Whatever wrapper you use, keep the pile covered with a damp cloth and fill one dumpling at a time. A dried-out rim is the single reason most home dumplings unseal in the pan, and no amount of pressing fixes it once the edge has gone papery.
Wheat wrappers seal with plain water and nothing else: wet the top half of the rim, fold, then press from the middle outwards so the air escapes rather than getting trapped. Rice paper needs no water at all, it is already tacky. Egg wash is unnecessary on any of them and makes the seam slippery.
The crisp base of a potsticker comes from a two-stage cook, not from frying alone. Brown the bottoms in oil for two minutes, then pour in about a quarter cup of water per pan, cover immediately and steam six to eight minutes until the water is gone. For a lacy skirt, use a slurry of one teaspoon of flour or cornstarch stirred into that water.
About one pound of filling fills 40 to 50 wrappers, at a rounded tablespoon each. Overfilling splits the seam and the juices then burn onto the pan, gluing the dumplings down. If your first three tear, you are using too much filling, not the wrong wrapper.
Freeze uncooked dumplings spread out on a floured tray until solid, then bag them. Cooked from frozen they need the same method with three or four extra minutes of steaming and no thawing at all; thawed raw dumplings turn to mush because the filling weeps into the wrapper.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use wonton wrappers for gyoza?

Yes, and it is the best substitute available. They are square rather than round and a little thinner, so either fold them into triangles, gather them into a pinched parcel, or cut rounds with the rim of a glass. Because they are thinner they crisp faster and tear more easily, so use slightly less filling and pull the pan off the heat a minute sooner than the recipe says.

Are gyoza wrappers, dumpling wrappers and potsticker wrappers different products?

Mostly they are the same thing under different names, which is why they are interchangeable on the shelf. Japanese gyoza skins tend to be the thinnest and are usually eggless; Chinese jiaozi skins are a little thicker and chewier because they are often boiled; gow gee wrappers, the Australian name, sit in between. Any of them will pleat, steam and pan-fry, so buy whichever your shop has.

Can I use rice paper to make gluten-free dumplings?

You can steam or fresh-roll with it, but manage your expectations. Rice paper is sticky rather than silky, it will not hold neat pleats, and it fuses to the steamer and to other dumplings unless you line the basket. It also will not give a proper crisp fried base, going glassy and then chewy. If you need gluten-free potstickers with a real crust, a homemade dough of rice flour and tapioca starch does better, though it cracks and needs patient handling.

Can I use puff pastry or pie dough instead?

No, not for anything recognisable as a dumpling. Both are laminated or shortened doughs full of fat, so they puff, flake and taste distinctly of pastry, and neither survives steaming, which is how a dumpling actually cooks. If puff pastry is genuinely all you have, make small baked hand pies with the filling instead and accept that you have changed the dish.

How do I cut rounds without a cutter?

Use the rim of a drinking glass, a mug or a cookie cutter around three and a half inches across, pressing straight down through two or three stacked wrappers at once. Dip the rim in flour if it drags. Offcuts are not waste; press them together, rest the scrap dough ten minutes and roll it out again, or drop the strips into soup as noodles.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Gyoza Wrappers substitute

Other gyoza wrappers substitutes

2Egg roll wrappers, cut into rounds

3Homemade dumpling wrappers

4Rice paper (banh trang)

5Fresh pasta or lasagne sheets, cut into rounds

6No wrapper at all: pan-fried filling patties