Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Better than P.F. Chang’s)!
Posted Feb 29, 2016, Updated Jul 19, 2024
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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!
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!
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!
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. I do not suggest tampering 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!
Make the Lettuce Wrap Filling
Begin by cooking the onion, minced garlic and ground chicken until the chicken is lightly browned.
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.
Next, add the vegetables and cook until they are soft.
Finely Dice Vegetables
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!
Then, add the sauce and cook until slightly thickened.
Serve
I prefer to enjoy this recipe 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.
They’re also a great appetizer, along with these spring rolls dipped in peanut sauce, to some of our favorite Asian meals, like cashew chicken, vegetable stir fry, Asian quinoa salad, and this baked crispy tofu.
Store
Store any leftover lettuce wrap filling in an airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store leftover lettuce separately in the refrigerator, because storing them together will make the lettuce soggy.
Freeze
The lettuce wrap filling can be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw it by warming it in a pan on the stovetop over low heat.
Lettuce Wraps Recipe FAQs
There are three varieties of lettuce that I recommend to use when making these chicken lettuce wraps:
– Butterhead lettuce
– Green Leaf Lettuce
– Romaine Lettuce
Just be sure to choose a head of lettuce that has large and flexible enough leaves to use as a wrap!
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!
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (better than P.F. Chang’s)!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 Tablespoon peanut oil
- ½ onion (finely diced)
- ½ Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup red or green pepper (finely diced)
- 8 ounces water chestnuts (drained & finely diced)
For the Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce*
- 3 Tablespoons hoisin sauce**
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
To serve
- ¼ cup peanuts (crushed)
- Lettuce or your favorite Asian salad
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 Tablespoons peanut oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add ground chicken, onion and minced garlic.
- Cook until chicken browns and the onions are translucent, cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the peppers and water chestnuts and cook about 5 minutes or until peppers are slightly soft.
- Add the 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
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Got inspired when the beautiful local lettuce came into season! Comes together quickly with mostly stuff I keep on hand and pleased even my mother who doesn’t usually stray too far from her comfort zone. It’s in regular rotation at our house now!
Thank you Shanny!
gonna try this tonight, what do you recomend serving with this? if anything.
I found you and your recipes through a web search for Asian Lettuce Wrap. I AM SO THANKFUL! The first time I made this a few months ago, I used ground turkey, as that is what we had on hand. It was delicious! This has been a go to for a fast, flavorful and healthy supper for us. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thank you and keep on cooking and sharing! You do bring joy AND sunshine!
Thank you so much Patti! I’m so glad you love these as much as we do!
Perfect! We really enjoyed them. So fresh and healthy! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Laura,
My family was craving lettuce wraps last week, something we oddly have never tried making. My three girls insisted on a recipe that they found on Food Network. I gave in as I didn’t have a few of the ingredients I needed for yours. Their recipe was fine, but definitely missing something. So, I decided to make yours a few days later. I made it just as you said but threw in a little finely chopped shiitake mushrooms. Oh my yummy goodness. It was a huge success. My husband and girls all agreed. This will be an easy weeknight go to. Just finished eating the last few bites cold for breakfast this morning. Thank you so much. My girls love to cook so I look forward to checking out more of your recipes. Cheers!
Ps I also never write reviews. But this was so good and appreciated by this busy working mom that I had to.
Made this recioe exactly as written, it was a HUGE hit even with my pickiest of children. Thanks for sharing!!!
I haven’t made it yet, but plan to this weekend. My question is may I use ground ginger (In the spice bottle) rather than the powder or are you referring to fresh ground ginger?
Thanks so much!
Lori
I use powdered ginger. You can use fresh minced ginger if you prefer!
I was looking for a mushroom lettuce wrap recipe and came across this recipe that looks great and has awesome reviews. Think I can substitute a variety of mushrooms for the chicken?
Yes of course!
I have been to your site before (and use your wonderful guacamole recipe all the time) but this is my first comment. My husband and I have recently started eating healthier, i.e. lower calories, less meat and starches, more vegetables and I was searching for a lettuce wrap recipe. This came up and although I do not know the PF Chang version, I decided to try this. Lucky there are only 209 calories per portion because it was so good, i am embarrassed to say we each ate 3 portions (severely blushing). This will be a quick and easy dinner staple from here on out and I plan to make it for our annual non-traditional Christmas buffet. Thank you for the recipe and all the extra stuff you add like substitutions, etc. I stuck to the original recipe except that I used finely chopped chicken breast – I have a weird aversion to ground chicken.
Yes! Finally, one that promises AND DELIVERS on P.F. Chang style lettuce wraps. I didn’t have honey, so omitted, and I used ground turkey instead of chicken. It was so darn good I think I will stick to the ground turkey. Perfect! Thank you.
Woo hoo!!! Thank you Audrey! I’m so glad you enjoyed these lettuce wraps!