P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps {Copycat Recipe} 🥬🥡 Skip the restaurant version and make chicken lettuce wraps at home in 20 minutes! So EASY and they TASTE WAY BETTER!
Easy Copycat P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps
This recipe for lettuce wraps from P.F. Chang’s was originally published in 2017 and since then has become a reader favorite. I’ve updated some photos, added video, and am resharing it because they are just THAT good!
I don’t go to P.F. Chang’s all that often, but when I do someone in my group or family will order their chicken lettuce wraps because they’re just so good. Now you can skip the restaurant version and make your own in 20 minutes. And I promise you this homemade version tastes better.
There are so many layers of flavor from the hoisin soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, and green onions! Better-than-takeout for sure.
We inhale these ground chicken lettuce wraps, and I usually make a double-batch of the high protein chicken filling so we can enjoy them again the next day for lunch of a super easy dinner.
I’ve also got this P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef (Copycat Recipe) and you can use that filling in lettuce wraps. Also try my Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps to mix up the protein choice and add some heat.
“Best lettuce wraps I ever tasted and so easy. I now make a double batch since I can’t keep them in the house. A must try if you enjoy lettuce wraps.” — Debbie
Ingredients for Copycat P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
To make these P.F. Chang’s copycat lettuce wraps, you’ll need the following. In case you’re concerned, I find all the ingredients in the Asian section of my regular grocery store. They all play their own role to add authenticity to the recipe and I recommend using them all.
- Olive oil
- Sesame oil – It really helps drive home the Asian-inspired flavor profile.
- Ground chicken – Ground turkey may also be used.
- Yellow onion – White onion may be subbed.
- Hoisin sauce adds subtle sweetness, chili garlic sauce adds heat, and soy sauce is the savory sauce not to miss. I prefer low sodium soy sauce.
- Rice vinegar – Sometimes called rice wine vinegar, it’s one in the same.
- Garlic – If you’re short on time, garlic powder works.
- Ground ginger – I use ground ginger because I always have it in my pantry but you can use freshly grated ginger to taste.
- Green onions
- Water chestnuts – Don’t skip these, they give awesome crunch and texture!
- Lettuce – Look for butter lettuce with nice, fresh looking leaves. Sometimes I can find “living lettuce” in my grocery store which has the root attached and comes in a plastic container. It’s great for these lettuce wraps. A head of romaine lettuce is a good swap because you can make romaine boats with chicken filling.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps
These chicken lettuce wraps are a cinch to make, and even easier to devour! Here’s a look at how the lettuce wraps are made:
- Add the ground chicken and oils to a large skillet and continually crumble the meat while it cooks.
- Next, add in the onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and chili garlic sauce. Cook until the onion is soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and taste to see if you’d like to make any flavor adjustments.
- Spoon the mixture into lettuce cups and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
The chili garlic sauce adds a perfect amount of heat that we enjoyed, but if you’re sensitive to spices you can always reduce the amount.
I prefer using butter lettuce leaves when making ground chicken lettuce wraps as they’re more flexible than iceberg lettuce or romaine and hold much more filling.
Yes, I’ve made this P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps recipe using both ground chicken and ground turkey and both were excellent.You can also use ground beef in case you want another option. Or try my P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef (Copycat Recipe).
I’m sure you could also use a soy sauce alternative like tamari or coconut aminos but I tend to stick to what I call for in the recipe so add them to your own taste preferences.
Yes! If you have a busy week ahead of you, make a big batch of the chicken filling and freeze some for later. It reheats incredibly well!
“Last night I made the PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps recipe and the first comment out of my husband’s mouth when he took his first bite was, “This tastes just like PF Chang’s!” I agree. The recipe came out perfect! Can’t wait to try all the other copy cat recipes!!” — Diane Daniels
More Easy Lettuce Wrap Recipes
P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps {Copycat Recipe}
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 pound ground chicken, (I use 93 to 95% lean; I’ve also used ground turkey with good results)
- 1 medium/large sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, diced small
- ⅓ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, (use tamari or coconut aminos to keep gluten-free)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Asian chili garlic sauce, or to taste (sriracha may be substituted)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed (or garlic powder to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger, or to taste
- one 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and diced small
- 2 to 3 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- butter lettuce leaves, for serving (romaine lettuce may be subbed and used as lettuce boats rather than wraps)
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the oils, chicken, and cook over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through; stir intermittently to crumbly while cooking.
- Add the onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce, stir to combine, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until onion is soft and translucent and most of the liquid has been absorbed; stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic, ginger, stir to combine, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Add the water chestnuts, green onions, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Taste filling and make any necessary flavor adjustments, i.e. more soy sauce, hoisin, pepper, etc.
- Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the lettuce leaves to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Copycat Take-Out Recipes:
ALL OF MY ASIAN-INSPIRED RECIPES!
P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef (Copycat Recipe) — Make the restaurant favorite at home in 20 minutes! Easy and it has so much flavor! Tastes even better than the restaurant version!
Better-Than-Takeout Cashew Chicken – Juicy chicken, crisp-tender vegetables, and crunchy cashews coated with the best garlicky soy sauce! Skip takeout and make your own restaurant-quality meal that’s easy, ready in 20 minutes, and healthier!
Easy Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice – One-skillet, ready in 20 minutes, and you’ll never want takeout again after tasting how good homemade is! Way more flavor, not greasy, and loads of juicy chicken!
Easy 15-Minute Sweet and Sour Chicken — Faster, easier, healthier, and tastes better than takeout or a restaurant! Perfect balance of sweet yet sour Asian flavors that the whole family will love!
Kung Pao Chicken — An easy, BETTER-THAN-TAKEOUT recipe with juicy chicken and such a flavorful sauce!! Don’t call for takeout when you can make this HEALTHIER version at home in 20 minutes! So AUTHENTIC tasting!!
Better-Than-Takeout Sticky Chicken — Stop calling for takeout or going to the mall food court and make this AMAZING sticky chicken at home in 15 minutes!! So EASY with the perfect balance of sweet and spicy with plenty of sticky sauce!!
Originally published April 17, 2017 and republished January 9, 2021 with updated text and photos.
My friend made these for me and they were delicious! Only problem is my mouth is very sensitive to spicy food. I see you said you could lower chili sauce but is it possible to eliminate it or substitute it for something else?
If you’re very sensitive to spices I would eliminate the Asian chili garlic sauce and also cut the ginger down or eliminate all together. There is nothing to really replace those items with. It’s an all or nothing. You can always make it and try it and if at the end you think it is too mild, you can add a tiny bit of the Asian chili garlic sauce, to taste and/or some ginger.
What is a good side to accompany these? We are trying not to eat rice or bread or other carbs.. any susuggestions??
Enjoy a salad!
Cauliflower fried rice! I buy the Green Giant medley and follow the recipe on the back.
These were very good. I’m not sure why people have to comment in a negative manner. If it’s not your thing pass on it and move on.
Thank you, glad you liked the wraps, and I totally agree :)
Made these the other night. They were absolutely delicious!! I usually make my lettuce wraps with beef, but the chicken is a cleaner taste. And less fat as well!
This was awesome. We just switched to GF, soy free and with a few substitutes this got rave reviews. We swapped out the water chestnuts, forgot them, with celery, and the hioson and soy with coconut amino. So good!
Sound delish and glad everything worked out wonderfully!
I just want to let you know, we eat this WEEKLY! We LOVE it!!! Such a GREAT copycat recipe & we are hooked! Thank you for doing this!! ❤️
I love that you make it weekly and that you’re hooked! Great to hear!
Substituted very finely chopped celery for the water chestnuts to lower the carb intake. Worked out pretty good. Definitely a good sub if you are on a low carb diet.
Great tip, glad it worked out well for you!
What a great tasting easy to make dinner. I will keep this on my tool bar for quick easy access. I would hate to lose the recipe! I made a double batch and didn’t have a crumb left over. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you all loved and didn’t have a crumb leftover!
These wraps are an awesome dish which I can’t wait to try, Averie. Can I use fresh ginger for this recipe?
Yes of course if you have it on hand, go for it!
How about a printable version of the sweet potato casserole
Every recipe has the ability to be printed. Go to that URL and print it. Enjoy!
My grocery store didn’t have the brand of hoisin sauce that you linked, they only had the “Soy Vay” version that is “Hoisin Garlic”. Do you think it would make much of a difference? Also, they only had “rice vinegar… is this different than rice wine vinegar?
I think that you should go with whatever brand of hoisin sauce you can get your hands on given the availability in your area. And rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are one in the same.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! Made it tonight and followed directions exactly. I will make it again and again and again. Unbelievably delicious!! Even my picky 12 year old loved it!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad picky 12 y.o. even approved!
Made this tonight to rave reviews. Made mine exactly per your recipe but on half of the meat left out some of the sauces and water chestnuts for the hubby who is doing low-carb. He still raved.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Just curious– what do you serve with this dish?
Anything you want! Another favorite side dish, a salad, or nothing at all. Whatever sounds good to you.
Thanks! I feed a lot of big men in my family and they would definitely want something more! I just couldn’t think of something Asian to go with.
Here are lots of ideas! https://www.averiecooks.com/category/entrees/asian
My niece wants to have a “lettuce wraps” bar for her HS grad party. Your recipe looks like a winner. I’m doing the cooking and I’m not looking elsewhere! Since the idea of a “Bar” is to build your dish, could you suggest toppings to go along with lettuce butter cups and meat? And how many 1/4 cup servings does 1 recipe make? Thank you
I would make the recipe once on your own so you can get a feel for how many people you think it will serve since everyone has a different sized appetite.
I would prep your other favorite party sides. Enjoy!
Wow, This is a hit. A bit sweet (hoisin) and a bit spicy (chili sauce) and delicious. Made without changes and no changes are needed. Thank you for sharing, a quick weekday recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe exactly as is and loving it as is!