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You are here: Home / Chicken / Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Better than P.F. Chang’s)!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Better than P.F. Chang’s)!

Last updated on September 2, 2020. Originally published February 29, 2016 302 Comments

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Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (better than P.F. Chang’s)! A quick (less than 30 minutes), easy, and healthy dinner that tastes delicious! Gluten and dairy-free!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I know that’s a pretty bold claim…Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps you can make at home that are better than the beloved dish from P.F. Chang’s?! It may be bold, but it’s true! This Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe is one that took me years of trial and error, and lots of taste-testing, to get it just right.

These Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps wraps are one of my favorite dinners (along with this cashew chicken stir fry). They are quick and easy and my whole family loves them.  Even my kids eat them, and have tons of fun doing it!

front view of four Asian Chicken Lettuce wraps on a plate with peanuts sprinkled on top

How to make Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps 

Let’s walk through the process of making this chicken lettuce wraps recipe step-by-step. Don’t forget to watch the video too!

Make the sauce

The first step in this lettuce wrap recipe is making the sauce. The sauce is the key to the flavor of this recipe. And I beg you not to tamper with the sauce. It is the part of this recipe that took me years to perfect, and is absolutely delicious as-is!

It’s really simple to make! Just whisk all the ingredients together. If you use a thicker peanut butter that is solid at room temperature, you may need ot warm it slightly before using it to make this Asian lettuce wraps recipe!

six-photo collage showing how to make the sauce for asian chicken lettuce wraps

Make the Lettuce Wrap Filling

  • Brown the ground chicken! This recipe is very straightforward! There is, however, one very important step and that is to brown the ground chicken. Making sure the chicken is nice and crispy and brown is essential to the overall flavor and texture of this dish!
  • Use a Wok, Sauté pan, or a cast iron skillet. For traditional Asian recipes I love pulling out my wok. But as you can see in the photo above, a regular sauté pan or cast iron skillet works perfectly!
  • Dice the vegetables very small. This is one of the keys to making sure every bite is bursting with both texture and flavor! Sometimes I even let my food processor do the chopping for me!

overhead view of six photos showing how to make this Asian Chicken Lettuce Wrap Recipe step-by-step

What lettuce is best for wraps?

There are three varieties of lettuce that I recommend to use when making these chicken lettuce wraps:

  1. Butterhead lettuce
  2. Green Leaf Lettuce
  3. Romaine Lettuce

Just be sure to choose a head of lettuce that has large and flexible enough leaves to use as a wrap!

chicken lettuce wrap filling in a skillet

How do you cut lettuce for lettuce wraps?

It’s actually very simple! Just cut the bottom part of the head of lettuce off. Then carefully peel away each lettuce leaf! Don’t forget to wash and dry the lettuce leaves before serving!

Serving Suggestions 

I prefer to eat them the traditional way…as lettuce wraps!  However, I usually serve these Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps to my kids over noodles or rice, or with a side of our favorite homemade fried rice, because it’s much easier for them to eat with a spoon than wrapped in a piece of lettuce!

up close overhead view of an Asian chicken lettuce wrap on a plate

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Ingredients & Substitutions

As always I recommend making this recipe exactly as it’s written! Like I said, I tested and retested this recipe more times than I can count to achieve lettuce wrap perfection! However, here are a few potential substitutions!

  • Ground chicken: Finely diced chicken breasts are a great substitute for ground chicken! You can also use ground turkey or ground beef!
  • Peanut Oil: Any oil can be used here if you don’t keep peanut on hand or if you have a peanut allergy. I recommend olive oil or avocado oil!
  • Soy Sauce: If you have a soy allergy you can substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce.
  • Peanut Butter: If you have a peanut allergy any nut or seed butter could work here, but peanut butter definitely gives the best results!

overhead view of four chicken lettuce wraps on a plate

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Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
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4.97 from 139 votes

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (better than P.F. Chang's)!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (better than P.F. Chang's)! A quick, easy, and healthy dinner that tastes delicious! Gluten and dairy-free! 
Course Main Course
Cuisine asian
Keyword asian chicken lettuce wraps, asian lettuce wraps, chicken lettuce wraps, chicken lettuce wraps recipe, lettuce wrap sauce, lettuce wraps, lettuce wraps recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 209.1kcal
Author Laura

Equipment

  • non-stick fry pan
  • measuring spoons
  • measuring cups

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 TBS peanut oil
  • ½ onion minced
  • 1 cup red or green pepper diced
  • 1 8 oz can water chestnuts drained and minced

For the Sauce:

  • 3 TBS soy sauce*
  • 3 TBS hoisin sauce**
  • 1 TBS sesame oil
  • 1 TBS rice vinegar
  • 1 TBS peanut butter
  • 1 TBS honey
  • 2 tsp sweet chili sauce (Trader Joe’s!)
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp powdered ginger

To serve

  • ¼ cup peanuts crushed.
  • Lettuce or your favorite Asian salad
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Whisk together sauce ingredients until well combined. If you use a firmer peanut butter you may need to microwave the mixture for 30-60 seconds in order to melt it and ensure everything is well-mixed.
  • Heat 2 TBS peanut oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add ground chicken.
  • Cook until some pieces are starting to brown. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is becoming translucent.
  • Add the peppers and water chestnuts and cook about 5 minutes or until peppers are becoming soft.
  • Add sauce and simmer on low heat until the chicken and veggies are evenly coated and everything is heated through.
  • Serve in lettuce leaves, on top of your favorite Asian salad, or over noodles or rice!

Video

Notes

Notes on ingredients: 
  • Ground chicken: Finely diced chicken breasts are a great substitute for ground chicken!
  • Peanut Oil: Any oil can be used here if you don't keep peanut on hand or if you have a peanut allergy. I recommend olive oil or avocado oil!
  • Soy Sauce: If you have a soy allergy you can substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce. 
    • *be sure to choose a gluten-free soy sauce to keep this asian lettuce wraps recipe gluten-free, like this one.
  • Hoisin sauce: **be sure to choose a gluten-free hoisin sauce to keep this recipe gluten-free, like this one.
  • Peanut Butter: If you have a peanut allergy any nut or seed butter could work here, but peanut butter definitely gives the best results!

Nutrition

Serving: 1lettuce wrap (1/6 recipe) | Calories: 209.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.3g | Protein: 18.7g | Fat: 9.2g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 26g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 43.6mg | Sodium: 675mg | Potassium: 112.5mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 8.6g | Vitamin A: 665IU | Vitamin C: 55.2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.4mg

 

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine! 

 

You might also like:

Ground Turkey Italian Stuffed Peppers
Healthy Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Filed Under: Chicken, Gluten-Free, Main Dish, Popular Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: asian food, dairy free, fast & easy, gluten free

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Peggy Keelan

    January 15, 2021 at 8:14 pm

    I have a question. Making these tomorrow. You don’t call for Green Onions/Scallions but I see them in the photo. Did you add them in addition to the chopped onion or instead of?

    Reply
  2. Kim Lott

    January 13, 2021 at 10:14 am

    5 stars
    I also made this exactly as defined in the recipe. They are everything folks seems to agree they are…. 5 Star Freaking DELICIOUS. Even my husband, who is not a ‘lettuce wrap’ kinda guy.. was in Love! Today, I just shredded up the lettuce and ate the meat on top, like a salad.. I’m typing this and watching the last of it disappear… so sad! LOL

    Reply
  3. Isabelle

    January 11, 2021 at 4:36 pm

    5 stars
    I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of peanut oil (I only had rice bran oil). It was amazing. I’ve me this twice and will be making this again soon.

    Reply
  4. Brandy L.

    January 10, 2021 at 4:47 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was delicious! I forgot to take a picture because we were starving! I’m usually really good about taking phots of the food I make from online recipes too. haha. Oh well. Anyway we loved the flavor! Had two each. We have one more each for lunch tomorrow.

    I wanna say.. when I came across your recipe here that I loved SO much that your page was so clean and that I didn’t get bombarded by ads! It ruins my experience every time and I end up leaving as soon as it begins.

    Last thing.. I have to laugh now but when I saw the picture of your BEAUTIFUL family, I thought your arm looked oddly long and I had my head tilted for a bit before I finally said to myself.. nah.. and zoomed in to see that it wasn’t your arm extending that far down onto your daughters upper arm. LOL it was yours AND her arm!

    Thanks for sharing this yummy Asian chicken lettuce wrap! I’ll sign up for emails!

    Reply
  5. Marie

    January 2, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    Wonderful recipe! I used 2 chicken breasts that I cut into small pieces while still partially frozen and then chopped in the food processor under almost ground. Also substituted Sriracha for the sweet chili. My husband said it was the best he ever tasted. Will be making this again.

    Reply
  6. Jen

    December 22, 2020 at 4:51 pm

    5 stars
    Like any new recipe I try, somehow I manage to use every cooking utensil, bowl and pan in the kitchen…and forget to unscrew all lids from the sauces before whisking. All in all, a great recipe that I’ll be making again. My vital mistake: using ground turkey meat and not draining the excess liquid from the pan prior to adding the sauce. It definitely diluted the sauce unfortunately. I may play around with the sauce mixture a bit in the future as i found it heavy on the peanut flavor – personal preference. Thank you very much for sharing a fairly simple recipe with some good flavors!

    Reply
  7. Danielle Joyce

    December 8, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    5 stars
    We made this tonight with a few modifications, and it was great! Made the sauce as is. It didn’t smell good but we went with it and the flavor was awesome after the cook. We added serrano peppers to the chicken & onions, leaving out the green peppers (can’t digest them and hubby won’t eat them). I added some orange peppers to my lettuce wraps separately. Seriously good and I will make these again! Thank you!

    Reply
  8. J

    December 6, 2020 at 3:11 pm

    5 stars
    This is the first review I have ever left but I needed to tel you that this recipe is AMAZING. It may be the best thing I have ever ate! I followed the recipe as directed but added peppers and spinach cut in small. Truly a great recipe and you nailed the sauce.

    Reply
    • Laura

      December 7, 2020 at 7:30 am

      Thank you so much! I’m so glad you love this recipe as much as we do!

      Reply
  9. Jennifer R Hicks

    November 24, 2020 at 5:23 pm

    5 stars
    Making this for the 3rd time tonight. Each time I’ve made it, my super picky children scarf it down and ask for more. It must be good if they will eat it!! My hubby and I are also Fans! Comes together quickly and is DELICIOUS.

    Reply
  10. Laurie Berger

    November 21, 2020 at 8:45 am

    I’ve made these a few times since I’ve found your recipe and it came out excellent every time. I do use 2 fresh minced chicken breasts, omit the chili sauce finding it a bit sweet and add in a tsp of hot chilies in oil. I also add 1 tbs of Chinese black vinegar to give it a slightly silky buttery taste.
    Thank you for a great recipe!

    Reply
  11. Judy

    November 20, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    5 stars
    We love this recipe! The only thing I changed was slicing the water chestnuts for more crunch.
    Will make many many more times

    Reply
  12. Anne

    November 15, 2020 at 2:39 pm

    5 stars
    Really great! Better than others I’ve tried. I eliminated chili sauce and substituted bean sprouts for water chestnuts. (Hate them). Delicious!

    Reply
  13. Heather Nicole

    October 27, 2020 at 10:18 am

    Is peanut butter 100% necessary? I have a peanut allergy, so I was wondering if sunflower butter would be an OK alternative?

    Reply
    • Laura

      October 27, 2020 at 11:44 am

      Sunflower butter works well too!

      Reply
  14. Alissa

    October 12, 2020 at 12:09 pm

    Oh my gracious!! I wanted to post a photo, but they were so delicious, they vanished right before my eyes! I followed the recipe verbatim and wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you for this morsel of a recipe!

    Reply
  15. Lisa

    October 10, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this and it was delicious!! Exactly the taste we were looking for and super easy to make!

    Reply
  16. Rosie

    October 7, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! I followed the recipe with the exception of the meat. I used ground bison.

    We also squeezed lime on top.

    It was delicious! Thank you!

    Reply
  17. Kim

    October 4, 2020 at 3:49 pm

    5 stars
    I made it exactly as the recipe says and I can definitely say that these Lettuce Wraps are way better than PF Changs! These were amazing and so easy to make! This will definitely be a staple meal in my house now!

    Reply
    • Laura

      October 5, 2020 at 7:10 am

      Thank you Kim!

      Reply
  18. Ugo

    September 30, 2020 at 11:17 am

    5 stars
    I loved this
    I cook mostly African Yesterday was my second time trying this out and it came out perfect both times
    My family loved it. Perfect way for getting them to eat greens as lettuce. My daughter loved the the leftovers with rice for lunch today.
    Really fast to make, very tasty and does not break the bank like making our typical recipes.

    Reply
  19. Nancy Lamell

    September 23, 2020 at 4:25 pm

    The pictures accompanying the recipe clearly include green onions, but they are not mentioned in the ingredients or instructions. I assume they are not cooked but added at the end as garnish. How much do you recommend?

    Reply
    • Phyllis

      September 29, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      Not the author, but I cook lots of Asian food because we love it! I’d use 2 – 3 green onions as garnish.

      Reply
  20. Sarah

    September 16, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    5 stars
    I wanted to tweak the recipe, but I bit the bullet and made it exactly as written.
    And. It. Was. Perfect. 🙂

    Reply
  21. Mandy House

    September 12, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    5 stars
    Great quick meal and my kid is eating it over rice noodles instead of lettuce wraps. Thank you!

    Reply
  22. Alena Hawkins

    September 11, 2020 at 1:47 am

    5 stars
    This recipe is by far the easy and the best tasting.

    Reply
  23. Terri Clark-Kveton

    September 7, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    Great recipe but I used fresh ginger and garlic for the sauce, just a personal preference. 😋 And since I am not an iceberg lettuce fan and my other lettuce greens are just bulking up again I decided to go slightly “fusion” and used Pallo Rosa radicchio leaves for the wrapper.they need to be trimmed and the spine shaved but then they wrap like little cabbage rols–so cute and tasty, if you like bitter greens as a counterpoint taste.

    Reply
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About Laura

 

Hello I’m Laura! I am a former chemistry teacher turned wife and mom of five beautiful babies with one on the way in 2021! I’m a green smoothie addict, lover of the outdoors, and a peanut butter & nap enthusiast! Click here to read more >>

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