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

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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

FAQs about Lettuce Wraps

What lettuce is best for wraps?

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!

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!

chicken lettuce wrap filling in a skillet

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.

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!

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.

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 (better than P.F. Chang’s)!

Laura
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (better than P.F. Chang’s)! A quick, easy, and healthy dinner that tastes delicious! Gluten and dairy-free! 
5 from 859 votes
Course Main Course
Cuisine asian
Servings 6 people
Calories 209.1
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes

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:

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 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.
  • 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!

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.

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

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Have a question? Leave a comment below!

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Recipe Rating




694 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This was excellent! I followed the recipe to a T with the exception that I used a diced up leftover rotisserie chicken breast instead of ground because I wanted to use it up. Served with egg rolls and chicken-veggie rice for a complete meal. The proportion of sauce was spot on. Thank you, I will make this again!

  2. 5 stars
    Delish. Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out GREAT. I doubled the recipe as I am taking it to a family party. We like to eat them with a slice of sushi ginger and sometimes a few drops of sweet chili sauce. Thank you for the great recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    Really good! I accidentally overlooked purchasing the sweet chili sauce, so I ended up subbing sweet and sour and adding chili flakes. I bet it’s even better when made exactly to recipe 🙂 Looking forward to enjoying this again!

  4. 5 stars
    This was so delicious! I added minced garlic, minced fresh ginger, and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. It’s a keeper!

  5. 5 stars
    You said not to change anything in the sauce because you’d worked really hard to perfect it. I took that to heart and you’re right, it’s excellent.
    I had no water chestnuts on hand I subbed in fresh corn. I did make extra sauce.
    Very very delicious- thank you!

  6. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have water chestnuts, so I added celery, mushroom and zucchini to replace. I also topped with green onions. The sauce was excellent!

  7. 5 stars
    This recipe is a gift from Heaven. It’s a perfect balance of flavours that tastes as good- if not better- than a Chinese restaurant. It’s so cool to make this at home and not have to ask for more lettuce leaves or sauce. I’m so grateful for this healthy, delicious, easy recipe that you’ll want to make once a week. A+++

  8. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I follow the sauce recipe exactly, but doubled it and made the rice exactly like the recipe and cooked it in my rice cooker.
    I used pork tenderloin cut into little cubes instead of chicken. We used Boston lettuce.
    It turned out perfectly!
    This is a keeper!