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!
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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.
Did this.
Used 8% lean ground chicken- couldn’t really brown the chicken bc lots of noisy in pan-(enemy of browning) i decided it was flavor so didn’t drain the liquid. Added my sauce + & it was great-
my husband had it over rice while I ate it all in Lettuce.
Love the flavors of the sauce.
Will make a batch of sauce ahead and try freezing it for quick meals.
Thank you for sharing this! We all love it!
This recipe is fantastic! We have some ‘vegetarians’ in the family so I made two skillets – one with the ground chicken and the other with tofu (previously brushed with the sauce and baked) . Excellent….this is a great hot weather meal….but great cold or warm…..
Tofu works so well in this recipe!! I’m so glad you love it and you were able to accommodate all your family members’ needs!
We LOVE these – and make them regularly! With the ground chicken and with bite sized chicken breasts!
I’m so happy you love them, Marcia!
I’ve made this a few times now, definitely a go to. Today we hosted a football party and I pulled out the creative juices. My store was out of ground chicken, so resorted to ground pork. I made an asian slaw, then fried some round wonton wrappers and shaped like mini taco shells – mini asian tacos! Big hit!! I’ll make the ground chicken and lettuce wraps the majority of the time for dinners or lunch, super yummy. But I’m keeping the mini asian tacos in my recipe folder as a potluck hit!
Love how you made this your own, Nancy!
Omg ! I made it for supper and my kids loved it thank you sooooo much!
I’m so glad your kids love it, Maria!
Awesome flavors
Thank you Brenda!
I made this for my son and I and we both loved it. Will be making again.
Thank you Amy!
So delicious!!! Simply a perfect recipe as is! I just discovered this site and I know I will be visiting it many times.
Thank you so much Robin!I hope you find many more recipes you love here!
Thanks for the recipe! It was a hit with the whole family.
I’m so glad you love it, Christina!
Absolutely loved it!!! I am going to make them with a friend this weekend. Ps, I added carrots,celery and cashews…. So so good.