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
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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 made this recipe last week and Im back to make it again. Amazing! Better than PF Changs!
The PF Chang’s recipe has apparently changed through the years. It used to have lots of chopped mushrooms in the mix, and included a base of fried rice sticks–those crinkly little white noodle things. The kids always loved to see them puff up and curl when I dropped them into hot oil. We haven’t eaten there in several years since we live quite far from one of their restaurants. They have also dropped several of our favorite dishes.
I very much liked the inclusion of hoisin sauce in this recipe–my old one from the 1970s (predated PF Chang, of course) used oyster sauce, but other details were quite similar. I followed this recipe exactly, except for adding a generous cup of minced mushrooms, using Chinese black vinegar instead of the supermarket rice vinegar, and frying up rice sticks to provide a bed for the chicken filling in the lettuce leaves. Turned out delicious!
How do you make the puffy rice sticks?
My husband were looking for something different for dinner. We are dieting and cutting carbs and this was delicious and super easy to make when when I’m also making a completely different dinner for our 6 kids.
These are a part of our regular rotation. SO good and easy 🙂
Would love to try this Recipe!
These were good but not as good as PF Changs. The hoisin sauce was too overpowering. Maybe you can suggest a specific brand. I love the other ingredients and the crunch of the water chestnuts.
I didn’t have any hoisin at home so I had to substitute. I substituted about a tablespoon and a half of bbq sauce and about 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce. I used this recipe as a base and added chopped mushrooms, carrots, and chopped sweet/hot peanuts (I omitted the water chestnuts for the peanuts). I added garlic powder, onion powder, umami seasoning, Asian seasoning, and pepper- all to taste. It’s the best version of the PF Changs lettuce wraps I have ever made!!! 10/10!
So you didn’t make this recipe. It’s fine to make a substitution, say oyster sauce for hoisin if you have one and not the other. But when you’re omitting this, and adding that and this, then it’s no longer the same recipe. It might be quite good in its own right, but it’s not this recipe.
I used some leftover shredded turkey. Delicious! Do you have nutritional information for recipe as given? Thanks.
This recipe is amazing! So delicious!
I doubled the recipe because my expectations were high. Kids liked it enough, but it lacked something. I don’t like recipes that specify “salt and pepper, to taste”, which occurs all too often. I’d much prefer a suggestion. I added 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; not enough, in my opinion. Keep in mind that I doubled the recipe amounts. I’m a wanna-be dad cook (chef?) who would love to get feedback on recommended salt and pepper amounts.
The key to “salt and pepper to taste” is to taste your food as you go. Try it before you serve it, and add more if it needs it. In general, Americans fear salt, but adding a pinch every time you add a new ingredient (i.e., when you add the chicken to the pan, when you add the onions, and at the end when you add the water chestnuts) will deepen all the flavors and bring the dish to life.
As another aside, most recipes don’t specify a measurement of salt because every type of salt has a different level of saltiness. A teaspoon of kosher salt will be way less salty than a teaspoon of iodized table salt. All professional chefs agree that kosher salt is the way to go – I prefer diamond crystal kosher salt.
Delicious!! Super easy to make and full of flavor. The green onions and water chestnuts were stars! I’ll definitely be making these again.
I can’t get enough of this recipe!!! No joke! The flavor is awesome!
Delicious and quick! Will definitely make again. BF said he could eat it all the time.
Just made this tonight! Omg!! I followed the recipe exactly (didn’t use the optional siracha) and these taste just like PF Chang’s!! Thank you
Made this and it was just okay, didn’t love it. If I was going to make it again, I’d probably alter the ratio of hoisin and soy sauce (more soy, less hoisin) and maybe add sesame or peanut oil for added flavor.
I’ve been making this for years. So easy and SO damn delicious. Since I have celiac I found gluten free hoisin sauce (at Sprouts) and use tamari instead of soy sauce. Nothing is lost. So so good.
This is one of my favorite dishes to make. I add extra soy sauce and sriracha and some peanuts to give it a crunch.
So, so good!
This has become a regular in our house. I did make some tweaks. We cook whole pieces of chicken, then run them through the food processor to chop it into very small pieces, which is much more like Chang’s. We usually add carrots and onions as well. The carrots, onions, fresh ginger and water chestnuts all get run through the food processor to chop it very small.
This is also a great make-ahead meal! Just reheat the cooked filling in a non-stick frying pan or in the microwave. If it’s too dry, I just add a little water to re-moisten it while heating. It also works great kept in a slow cooker for a party.
We like this with a drizzle of Sweet Chili sauce on top.
This recipe was delicious! Everyone enjoyed it. It’s easy to make and taste wonderful
Takes exactly like P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps!
Thank you!
Made these as directed and they were incredible! Husband loved them too. I did find the amount of rice wine vinegar to be a bit powerful for my tastes, so I just added a little more hoisin and soy to my own preference. If you’re not a big lover of vinegar, maybe cut the recommendation in half. Definitely damn delicious!
I live in a small rural town and there’s nowhere for me to get lettuce wraps. This recipe has really been life changing for me. I added grated carrots because I had a bunch of them. It was so easy and quick! I’m upset that I just found the recipe.
Love this! Make it often!