These chicken lettuce wraps contain ground chicken and veggies cooked in a savory sauce and served in cool lettuce leaves. A PF Chang’s copycat recipe that’s super easy to make and tastes just as good as the restaurant version!
I can never resist ordering chicken lettuce cups when I see them on the appetizer menu at my favorite Asian restaurant. They’re flavorful, yet light enough to be the perfect start to the meal. Serve your lettuce wraps with other Asian food recipes such as Spam fried rice, Buddha’s delight, Hunan chicken, Kung Pao beef, vegetable lo mein and potstickers.
If you’re all about a quick and delicious lunch or dinner, these chicken lettuce wraps are quite satisfying. Made with light and healthy ground chicken, PF Chang’s lettuce wraps are even great for a party appetizer. Plus, they’re easy as can be which makes them even better!
Table of Contents
Chicken Lettuce Wraps Ingredients
This recipe is made with ground chicken, mushrooms, vegetable oil, onions, sesame oil, butter lettuce (also known as bibb lettuce), hoisin sauce, water chestnuts, ginger, garlic cloves, salt, black pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar and green onions.
How Do You Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps?
Place the vegetable oil in a pan or large skillet, then add the chicken. Cook the chicken and season it with salt and pepper. Next, add the mushrooms and onions to the pan, and cook until the veggies are tender. Stir in water chestnuts, garlic and ginger. Make the sauce by whisking together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Pour the sauce into the chicken mixture, and stir to combine. Add a sprinkle of green onions, then spoon the chicken mixture into lettuce leaves and serve immediately.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory sauce that can be found in the ethnic foods aisle of most grocery stores. It is a critical flavor component of this dish and there is not a great substitute.
- Choose ground chicken that is 96% lean for the best results. This is the ground chicken thighs blend, as ground chicken breast may be dry in this recipe.
- The leftover chicken mixture will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store it separate from the lettuce in an airtight container.
- Looking for a spicier option? Feel free to add some sriracha or red pepper flakes.
- You can also serve the chicken mixture over a bed of lettuce as a main course salad offering for a different take on this dish!
Quick Tip
I find that shiitake mushrooms give this recipe the most authentic flavor. You can also use diced button mushrooms if that is what you have on hand.
Recipe FAQs
Chicken lettuce wraps contain ground chicken, garlic, ginger, onions, mushrooms and water chestnuts in a sauce of hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce. The chicken mixture is served in lettuce leaves.
When I serve this dish as a meal, I often do a side of steamed white rice. Asian style noodles would also be a great choice. You can also serve your lettuce cups alongside other Asian inspired appetizers such as egg rolls or fried wontons.
I recommend using butter lettuce for wraps, as it has a sweet mild flavor and the leaves are naturally rounded into cups to hold all that great filling. Iceberg lettuce and romaine lettuce are other great options. For a more vibrantly colored dish, try red leaf lettuce.
It’s important to make sure your lettuce is very dry before you make your wraps. If the lettuce is wet, the moisture can make the filling soggy. I recommend using a salad spinner to get all the water off your lettuce. You should also only fill your lettuce cups at the last second right before eating, because they can get soggy if they sit for an extended period of time.
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Flavor Variations
While this recipe is fabulous as-is, you can change up the ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Protein: You can use ground turkey, ground pork or ground beef instead of chicken. If you’re a seafood lover, try using coarsely chopped shrimp.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add other veggies to the mix such as shredded carrot, finely diced zucchini or chopped bell peppers.
- Toppings: Finish your lettuce wraps with fun toppings such as sesame seeds, chopped peanut, sliced almonds, wonton strips, or crispy rice noodles.
- Lettuce: Swap out the butter lettuce for romaine lettuce, cabbage leaves or iceberg lettuce.
I love how easy these chicken lettuce wraps are to make. I’ve served them at get togethers before and they always go over extremely well. I think people really enjoy a delicious yet healthier option when it comes to parties.
More Asian Inspired Recipes You’ll Love
Chicken Lettuce Wraps Video
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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems discarded, caps finely diced
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 8 ounce can water chestnuts drained and finely diced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/3 cup sliced green onions
- 1 head butter lettuce leaves separated
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until mostly cooked through.
- Add the mushrooms and onion to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
- Stir in the water chestnuts, garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 more minute.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil.
- Pour the sauce over the ground chicken mixture and toss to coat evenly.
- Sprinkle the green onions over the chicken mixture.
- Spoon the chicken into the lettuce leaves and serve.
Notes
- Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory sauce that can be found in the ethnic foods aisle of most grocery stores. It is a critical flavor component of this dish and there is not a great substitute.
- I find that shiitake mushrooms give this recipe the most authentic flavor. You can also use diced button mushrooms if that is what you have on hand.
- Choose ground chicken that is 96% lean for the best results.
The first time I make a new dish, I follow exactly the recipe so that I’ll know what and how much to tweak for my husband’s taste. I made these tonite and he is still raving about them. Because this recipe was so well received, so easy and light but filling, it will become a staple exactly as published here. Thank you so much.
So happy to hear your husband enjoyed them, thanks so much for reporting back!
Oh Yum! Never thought about making them myself and this looks so easy!
I’m going to make this. But it also made me think about the powered mushroom I bought from a high-end spicery. I’m guessing that whirring the stems in a coffee grinder would give the same result to add to soups and stews. Or saving them to add to a broth would be a great enhancement to a broth or bouquet garni.
I love lettuce wraps and this recipe looks like it’s so yummy! I need to try this for sure!!
I plan on making a whole lot of lettuce wraps for the school lunch year. These wraps look simply to die for. No doubt my kids will love them
Would be great to have these chicken lettuce wraps for dinner tomorrow. They are so perfect for summer and for any other day when you want something fresh and healthy!
I love lettuce wraps. I only make it once in a while though but you made me miss it so I might make it again.
We too like Lettuce wraps. They give a different and unique twist to a dish. I was not much aware of Butter Lettuce. Nice to read about it and how it is different from Romaine Lettuce.
Thank you for reminding me that I love lettuce wraps. Seriously – I order them every time we dine out but I never think of making them at home. Will have to try out your recipe!
I’ve been really enjoying lettuce as a replacement for bread and this classic favorite is always so awesome to make at home! It’s a wonderful recipe for a meal!
This is so good but I’ve never tried cooking it at home! Thanks to this recipe, we can now have this for lunch or dinner. I love lettuce wraps, the flavor is simply amazing!
With recipes like this, who needs to go out to dinner? Looks really great to me!
I’m not familiar with butter lettuce. That has to be the brightest color green lettuce that I’ve ever seen. I have a friend that will love these as she gave up bread.
What a perfect meal. I just love having lettuce wraps. I feel healthy while eating them. That way I can have a donut afterwards and not feel as guilty 😉
This recipe looks so yummy. I love that it’s a healthy alternative and it looks like something that I could pretty much make on a whim which is perfect for me.
We adore lettuce wraps and eat them often. My favorite is thai chili style, but my daughter loves tacos! I can’t wait to make these for the family. YUM.
Perfect for me , as I don’t eat bread or dairy! Will be printing this out and pinning so that I can refer back…thank you.
That looks absolutely delicious! I am looking for healthier dinners and this totally fits the bill! My mouth is watering just thinking about eating this! I can’t wait to make to this!
I’m always looking for new and healthier ways to make chicken and I know my family will love your lettuce wraps. They look amazing.
This just happens to be one of our favorite ways to eat lunch. Even my husband likes them over all the bread. Fun and easy to make. Love the extra crunch the lettuce give the sandwich.