I'm Making These Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps All Summer Long (Better than P.F. Chang’s!) (2024)

Recipes
Main Dishes

Emma Christensen

Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories

Jan Valdez

updated about 2 hours ago

summer

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Chicken lettuce wraps are super easy, and make a surprisingly quick weeknight meal.

Serves2 to 4Prep20 minutes to 30 minutesCook15 minutes to 20 minutes

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For all the times I have ordered chicken lettuce wraps at restaurants like P.F. Chang’s, inhaled entire “appetizers” by myself, and sighed with happiness while licking sticky sauce from my fingers, it never once occurred to me to try making this dish at home. Partly, lettuce wraps have always felt like an indulgence that needed restriction to restaurant visits only. Partly, I assumed that the secret to their deliciousness surely lay in a long list of ingredients, fussy technique, or both.

Tips for the Best Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Use ground chicken: Or if you prefer a coarser texture, you can mince chicken breasts or chicken thighs for the filling.
Bulk up the filling: Round out the filling with some diced mushrooms, crunchy water chestnuts, garlic, and fresh ginger.
For a thicker sauce: Whisk in the cornstarch if you like a more thickened, glossy sauce.
Use Bibb or butter lettuce: The leaves of Bibb or butter lettuce are the perfect size for these hand-held wraps, and they have a tender texture with bit of crunch.

Why You’ll Love It

This sauce is what gives the chicken filling its rich, savory depth. We can’t claim to know what P.F. Chang’s or other restaurants put in their secret sauce, but this is pretty close. It’s what makes these lettuce wraps so incredibly delicious.
Chicken lettuce wraps are a true 30-minute meal. Even including the time to chop up the vegetables.
This is a meal that won’t heat up your kitchen or feel too heavy to eat. It hits that magical middle zone of being both very satisfying and also surprisingly light and refreshing.

Key Ingredients for Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Sauce ingredients: The key ingredient is hoisin sauce — a sweet, salty, slightly tangy, spiced sauce. Here, it’s mixed with some soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil to make a sticky glaze for the ground chicken.
Ground chicken: Ground chicken is convenient, but you could mince some chicken breasts or chicken thighs if you’d prefer.
Mushrooms: To round out the filling, add some finely chopped white button or cremini mushrooms.
Water chestnuts: Their distinct crunchiness is always a nice surprise in each bite!
Bibb or butter lettuce: Bibb or butter lettuce are our picks for these wraps. They have sturdy, broad leaves that hold a good amount of filling without major risk of everything falling apart. Look for relatively small heads with fresh outer leaves that show no signs of wilting.

How to Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Make the sauce. Place 3 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk. If you’d like a more thickened, glossy sauce, whisk in the cornstarch; place near the stove.
Cook the ground chicken. Cook the ground chicken and transfer to a clean bowl; set aside.
Cook the vegetables and aromatics. Add the mushrooms and any optional vegetables, and cook, stirring occasionally until tender. Stir in the water chestnuts, garlic, and ginger, and cook until fragrant.
Combine the vegetables and chicken. Return the chicken to the pan and add half of the scallions.
Stir in the sauce. Add the sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbling and the sauce is warmed through. Taste and add more hoisin sauce if desired.
Serve with the lettuce. Break off all the lettuce leaves and pile them on a plate in the center of the table, along with small dishes with hot sauce, red pepper flakes, and the remaining scallions. Transfer the hot chicken mixture to a serving dish, or serve straight from the skillet.

Helpful Swaps

Gluten-free: To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free hoisin sauce, and tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
Ground turkey: Feel free to use ground turkey instead of ground chicken.
Other types of lettuce and greens: You could also use long leaves of romaine lettuce, cut into a few pieces, or even hearty greens, like Swiss chard or collard greens.

Make-Ahead and Reheating Tips

The chicken filling keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. This means you can make a big batch of it for dinner and then have the leftovers for lunch over the next few days, or make this for a party without cooking at the last minute. Add a splash of chicken broth if the filling looks dry; otherwise, heat up what you need in the microwave.

Make ahead: Refrigerate the cooked chicken filling in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To reheat: Reheat just what you need and add a splash of chicken broth if the mixture seems dry.

Lettuce Wraps Variations

Garlic and Ginger Turkey Lettuce Wraps
5-Ingredient Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps
Chili Lime Seitan Lettuce Wraps
Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps

What to Serve with Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Taiwanese Cucumber Salad
Cold Sesame Noodles
Spicy Cauliflower Stir-Fry
Sichuan Smashed Cucumber Salad
Crab Rangoon

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Chicken lettuce wraps are super easy, and make a surprisingly quick weeknight meal.

Prep time 20 minutes to 30 minutes

Cook time 15 minutes to 20 minutes

Serves 2 to 4

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

3 to 5 tablespoons
hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons
soy sauce
2 tablespoons
rice vinegar
1 teaspoon
toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon
cornstarch (optional)
1 pound
ground chicken
2 teaspoons
vegetable oil, divided
8 ounces
white button or cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
Optional vegetables: finely diced onions, finely diced bell peppers, finely diced or grated carrots
1 (8-ounce) can
water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
3 cloves
garlic, minced
1 tablespoon
peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup
thinly sliced scallions (from about 6 scallions), divided
2
small heads Bibb or butter lettuce
Serving options: red pepper flakes, sriracha hot sauce

Instructions

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Place 3 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk. If you'd like a more thickened, glossy sauce, whisk in 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional); place near the stove.
Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add 1 pound ground chicken and cook, breaking it up into small pieces, until cooked through and no longer pink, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean bowl; set aside.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the same pan. Add 8 ounces finely chopped white button or cremini mushrooms and any optional vegetables, and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir in finely chopped water chestnuts, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Return the chicken to the pan and add 1/2 of the scallions.
Add the sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbling and the sauce is warmed through, 30 to 60 seconds.
Taste and add more hoisin sauce if desired.
Break off all the lettuce leaves and pile them on a plate in the center of the table, along with small dishes with sriracha hot sauce, red pepper flakes, and the remaining scallions. Transfer the hot chicken mixture to a serving dish, or serve straight from the skillet. Give everyone a spoon and let them dig in — place a generous spoonful of chicken mixture in the middle of a lettuce leaf, top with scallions and sriracha hot sauce or red pepper flakes, and eat right away.

Recipe Notes

Make ahead: The cooked chicken filling keeps very well in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat just what you need and add a splash of chicken broth if the mixture seems dry.

Filed in:

appetizer

asian

chinese

Dairy-Free

dinner

easy