PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
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These chicken lettuce wraps is a PF Chang’s copycat recipe, except you can whip this up in just 20 min and it tastes so much better at home!
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Why you’ll love these pf chang’s chicken lettuce wraps
- Lightning fast recipe. This recipe comes together in just 20 minutes start to finish, making it so much quicker than waiting for delivery or takeout.
- Budget-friendly. Making this copycat favorite at home costs a fraction of dining out using pantry staples. For example, the dish costs around $16 for 2 servings, but making a batch at home costs around $10, easily yielding about 4 to 6 servings.
- Low-carb yet so filling. Lettuce wraps are a hearty, low-carb meal choice, cutting out grain-based carbs with lettuce leaves and filling them with lean proteins such as ground chicken or turkey.
- Flexible recipe. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled, or adapted to be gluten-free or extra veggie-loaded for picky eaters!
- Freezes so well. The filling is incredibly freezer-friendly and reheats like a dream, making it a perfect candidate for meal prep for busy weeknights ahead.
Ingredients
Ground chicken
This is a great economical, quick cooking option. Ground turkey, pork, or extra-lean beef can also be used.
Garlic
I love subbing in garlic puree, one of my favorite weeknight hacks to cut down on prep time even more.
Onion
Yellow, sweet, or white onion will all work well here.
Hoisin
Hoisin sauce is a key ingredient, adding complementary sweet, savory, and tangy flavors to the filling.
Soy sauce
Tamari or coconut aminos can be used for a gluten-free option.
Rice wine vinegar
Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar can be used interchangeably.
Ginger
Similar to the garlic, I love subbing in ginger puree in a pinch.
Sriracha
Sriracha adds a little bit of heat! Chili garlic paste is also an excellent swap.
Water chestnuts
This helps bulk up the filling while adding a nice little crunch.
Butter lettuce
Sturdy lettuce such as Bibb or butter lettuce are both excellent options.
How to make PF Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps
- Cook the chicken. Place a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add a splash of oil. Then add the ground chicken and crumble into small, even pieces until browned, about 3-5 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
- Combine. Stir in the garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and Sriracha until the onions are tender, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add crunch. Stir in the water chestnuts, green onions, salt, and pepper until the chestnuts are heated through and tender, about 1-2 minutes. Pro tip: the water chestnuts are key for that signature crunch.
- Assemble. Spoon several tablespoons of the warm chicken mixture in the center of each lettuce leaf and serve warm. Pro tip: if preparing for leftovers, store the lettuce leaves separately from the filling to prevent soggy lettuce.
what to serve with pf chang’s chicken lettuce wraps
Tools For This Recipe
PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Frequently Asked Questions
Bibb or butter lettuce are both excellent choices – they are both strong and sturdy that can hold up the filling without breaking apart. Romaine lettuce is also a great option for a crisper wrap.
The optional Sriracha adds a little bit of heat but it can be skipped altogether without compromising flavor.
Use gluten-free hoisin sauce and swap out the soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos. Rice wine vinegar is generally gluten-free (such as Marukan Rice Vinegar).
Leftover filling can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, adding a splash of chicken broth when reheating (if needed). Always store the leftover lettuce separately in an airtight container or Ziploc bag to prevent sogginess and wilting.
Yes! Let the filling cool completely and portion into plastic freezer bags. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, gently reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha, optional
- 1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 head butter lettuce
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and Sriracha until onions have become translucent, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf, taco-style.
Equipment
Notes
- Choose your favorite protein. This recipe will work well with quick-cooking ground chicken or ground turkey. Finely diced chicken breasts or chicken thighs can also be used.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Dice into small, even pieces. Finely chop the onion and water chestnuts into very small, uniform pieces for even cooking and a consistent bite.
- Load up on veggies. Add nutrient-dense veggies such as shredded cabbage, bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots for extra fiber and vitamins.
- Make it mild. Need something a little more mild for the littles at home? Skip the Sriracha altogether.
- Sturdy leaves are best. Use Bibb or butter lettuce – both are ideal for wrapping as they have wide, pliable and sturdy leaves without falling apart when filled.
- Avoid overfilling. Add a few tablespoons of filling per lettuce leaf, making them easy to serve without overspill.
- Add a garnish. Finish the wraps by garnishing with sesame seeds or crispy rice noodles.
- Freeze leftovers. The filling is very freezer-friendly! Portion the leftover filling into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe?
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I loved your recipe! At PF Chang’s they serve theirs with a little sauce that you spoon over it. Do you know the recipe for their sauce?
Thank you.
Susie
Not at this time – sorry!
BTW – Don’t kill yourself trying to find “Rice Wine Vinegar”. “Rice Vinegar” is readily available at any grocery store and it is virtually indistinguishable from the rice wine vinegar.
I know that this is a copy cat recipe and it IS delicious but if you want to change it up, add 1 shredded carrot and some peanuts or cashews. Maybe even a drizzle of toasted sesame oil at the very end. I upped the hoisin sauce to 1/3 cup instead of 1/4 cup. I made it once with ground turkey and once with ground chicken. Both seem to work well. If you don’t have all fresh ingredients on hand, I did a cheaters version that used 1 1/2 t ground ginger and 1 1/2 t garlic powder. I was hesitant to use an entire chopped onion so I scaled back a little on the 1st batch. I used an entire onion in the 2nd batch. Don’t let the 1 full onion scare you. It’s fine. I also consider the Sriracha sauce (or any red chili sauce) to be essential. I like a little heat so I actually used 2 T of sriracha instead of the 1 T that is listed. I skipped the added salt completly. There is so much salt in the other elements of the recipe, you don’t need any additional salt. It’s a great recipe. Thank you!
Made this tonight and my husband and I loved it. He is the pickiest eater ever and he went back for seconds. Its missing a few original ingredients like mushrooms and rice noodles, but I still thought it tasted fabulous.
Is the serving size the whole batch? Trying to track my macros
The nutritional information is for each serving.
Love your recipes and those lettuce wraps, I just drool over them but I would like to know just how many of your recipes could be appropriate for Diabetics or altered to make them Diabetic friendly (I try but I make for a terrible Diabetic)..
Thank you
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Yum! I love lettuce wraps, and thanks to you, I have a new favorite. I’ll be making this often!
I so enjoy your site and your recipes. Would you please consider adding a print option so we can enjoy your recipes a little more easily. Thank you.
Gloria, there actually is a print option so you can easily save my recipes – just look for the PRINT RECIPE button located in the recipe box. You can’t miss it!
These were amazing! And so quick & easy!
Thank you for this recipe. It was amazing and even better than PF Chang’s! It was awesome with turkey 🙂 The lettuce I got was a little too wilted for wraps, so I chopped it up into a salad with the filling on top and it was still really really good!
I felt compelled to leave a comment. I have made this dish from this very recipe a good 4 times already and it never fails. I use other Asian ingredients I have laying around also just because they are there, but if you follow the recipe as is, it is delicious. I add a little oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sambal.
Sadly I was a Sou Chef for PF Changs for 2 years and this is not close to the recipe. We used Mushrooms that were fried. No saracha is in the recipe as well as rice wine. So you Grind the chicken and cook with about half a cup of garlic (Per wok) you use WHITE pepper, black doesn’t come close to the flavor. Pf change is americanized so the true flavors you will never come close to unless your travel. I Replace the Ginger with galangal (Spicy Ginger) to give it a bit of bite. But this is supposed to be a savory dish not spicy. Use water chests nuts and soy sauce. Those are the only ingredients in chicken lettuce wraps. Anyone who tells your didn’t doesn’t know true asian cuisine.
Who told you how to write? You’re a chef and you can’t properly dictate you’re ingredients? Or spell the name of your restaurant or clearly advise as to why different types of pepper make a difference. No wonder you worked at PF Changs
When I made it – a friend said OMG this tastes better than PF Chang”s!!!! Funny you should say, I said… !
is it 8g sugar one wrap or the whole meal?
The nutritional information is for each serving, not for each wrap.
Kids loved it. My wife and I – not so much. Wasn’t bad, but definitely lacked something compared to our experience at PF Chang. I used legitimate hoisin sauce and went light on the siracha sauce for my wife and daughter. Would really have liked to have instructions on the side sauce.
This recipe ISO much better than PF Changs. Thanks so much for sharing. Love your site!
These even smelled good while they were cooking and so easy to make. Whole family loved them. Had to cut my kids off so there would be enough for everyone.
These were awesome! I used turkey instead of chicken and still turned out great. They seemed fine without any additional sauce as well, but I did use some Sriracha for dipping. Thanks for the recipe – definitely going to be a go-to!
Ok – I rarely leave comments on food blogs, although I voraciously read them. But I made this a couple of days ago – on Valentine’s Day, to be precise, to share as a loving plate – and this recipe is legitimately damn delicious. My husband said it blows away PF Chang’s version. I loved it so much that I am making a big batch of it to share with coworkers next week. I love taking the results of good recipes to work to share – and I will definitely be sharing the link to your recipe.
I did have one minor modification as it was what was available in my kitchen – I cut up some boneless chicken thighs into small-ish strips and sautéed that up instead of using ground (didn’t have any ground).
This recipe is definitely one to keep around.
Thank you so much for posting this! Just made it and it came out great! I also added carrots and cabbage (diced in food processor) instead of water chestnuts. Everyone loved it – even my 2 year old.