A copycat recipe from P.F. Chang's for Chicken Lettuce Wraps you can make at home in 20 minutes, and it tastes even better and is healthier! Your friends and family would love you for it. And this lettuce wrap is so easy to make and it is budget-friendly too!
How many times have you gone out to a restaurant and said "I wish I could make this at home!?" Lucky for you, I always love a challenge, and recreating restaurant dishes at home is something I enjoy doing. I will be sharing more copycat recipes here on my blog. So please bookmark my website.
Jump to:
- Why this recipe works
- Ingredients Needed
- Key Ingredients Note
- How to Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- How To Cook Mung Bean Noodles
- Fun Facts About P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps
- Substitutions and Variations
- Frequently Asked Questions About Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Other Chicken Recipes You May Like
- 📖 Recipe Card
- 💬 Reviews
Why this recipe works
The flavor from this Chicken Lettuce Wrap is a common base used in many Asian cuisines, so it was fairly easy for me to recreate.
Lettuce wraps are a great way to have a very satisfying guilt-free meal in minutes!
This recipe has been kid-tested and approved!
And most of the ingredients can be found in your local grocery store. Take a look below for a list and photo of what you will need to make this chicken lettuce wrap copycat recipe.
Ingredients Needed

- Sesame oil - I used roasted pure sesame oil. It gives the dish a nice smoky flavor which goes well with the other sauces used in this lettuce wrap recipe. You can find Sesame oil in the Asian aisle of the grocery store. This one is my favorite!
- Ground chicken
- Onion - any variety will work
- Garlic
- Soy sauce - You can use either regular or low-sodium.
- Hoisin sauce - Gives this lettuce wrap recipe that authentic Asian flavor.
- Ginger
- Rice vinegar
- Sriracha sauce
- Water chestnuts - They are canned and you can get them whole or sliced.
- Green onions
- Lettuce - I used Boston Bibb lettuce. See substitution below.
- Mung bean noodles (optional) - They are also known as Bean Thread noodles and are typically gluten-free.
*See the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full written instructions on how to make Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
Key Ingredients Note
The following ingredients can be found in the Asian aisle at your local grocery store.
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Sriracha sauce
- Water chestnuts
- Mung bean noodles
How to Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps

- Add sesame oil to a medium skillet on medium heat. Add the ground chicken and cook until it is no longer pink.
- On the same skillet, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook until soft and translucent.
- Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha sauce.
- Fold in water chestnuts, green onion, and more sesame oil. You can stop right here, and start enjoying your chicken lettuce wraps if you wish. Steps 5 and 6 are for preparing the mung bean noodles if you want to add noodles to your lettuce wraps. See instructions on how to cook mung bean noodles below.
*See the recipe card below this post for full written instructions on how to make Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
How To Cook Mung Bean Noodles
You have the option of stir-frying the noodles or deep-frying them.
Some people like to deep fry the mung bean noodles because it gives an extra crunch to the dish. In my personal opinion, the water chestnuts give the lettuce wrap that crunch and it has flavor. Deep-fried mung beans don't have flavor by themselves. They need to be eaten with savory dishes.
I chose to stir-fry the noodles in this recipe because it gives the noodles more flavor and gives them a nice golden color. Stir-frying also eliminates the extra fat from deep-frying the noodles.
But you have options!
- If stir-frying, first soak the noodles. Drain. Using the same skillet, add the noodles and stir-fry. Add a bit of water to scrape off bits from the pan.
- If deep-frying put dry noodles in oil, and cook until noodles puff up. Using a slotted spoon, remove the noodles from the pan and place them on a plate covered with a paper towel to help absorb the oil from the noodles.
- NOTE: Whether you're stir-frying or deep-frying the mung bean noodles, be sure to cut them first so they're not too long and will be easier to eat.
- Serve ground chicken mixture on a bed of stir-fried (or deep-fried) mung bean noodles and wrap it in a lettuce leaf. Garnish with sliced green onions and more sriracha sauce as needed.
*See the recipe card below this post for full written instructions on how to make Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Fun Facts About P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps
Did you know that lettuce wraps originated in Southeast Asia over a thousand years ago?
And did you also know that the name P.F. Chang originated from the names of the two guys who created the idea and the vision behind P.F. Chang restaurant, named Philip Chang and Paul Fleming? Philip was born in Shanghai and came to the States with his mom Celia Chang. Philip started his own bistro and served small plate types of dishes, with a focus on fresh ingredients.
One of his regular patrons, Paul Fleming, the co-owner of Ruth Chris Steakhouse, convinced Philip to open up a restaurant specializing in Asian cuisine.
And the rest is history.
Substitutions and Variations
What I love about this recipe is that the ingredients are so versatile you can make some substitutions if you wish to suit your own flavor profiles and make your own version of this lettuce wrap copycat recipe. Enjoy!
- Sesame oil - any other oil you choose would work fine. We prefer the roasted flavor of the sesame oil which complements the other sauces in this recipe.
- Ground Chicken - you can use ground turkey or ground pork if you prefer.
- Vegetarian - use tofu in place of ground chicken. I will have a recipe for that coming soon.
- Onion - you can substitute and use shallots.
- Soy sauce - use Coconut Aminos to make this gluten-free.
- Hoisin sauce - there are gluten-free brands, be sure to read the label.
- Sriracha - any of your other favorite hot sauces will do. Note that Sriracha sauce is naturally gluten-free. Make this recipe kid-friendly and omit this ingredient if they do not like spicy!
- Lettuce - Iceberg, Romaine, Boston, Butter Bibb lettuce leaves are all great options.
- Mung Bean Noodles - you can use vermicelli rice noodles, glass noodles, or cellophane noodles.
NOTE: By substituting the soy sauce for coconut aminos, this Chicken Lettuce Wrap recipe can be made gluten-free. It can also be made complete vegetarian, by replacing ground chicken with tofu or just omitting the ground chicken altogether.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Absolutely! To help you save time, you can cut, pre-cook the meat with or without the sauce, cook the noodles, then at dinner time, all you will have to do is blend the ingredients together and assemble the lettuce wrap.
Sliced radish or jicama would be a great substitute to use in place on water chestnuts.
Cellophane noodles, vermicelli rice noodles, glass noodles, or bean thread noodles. These noodles are typically gluten-free. Be sure to read the label.
Promptly store any ground chicken mixture leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge. Store any leftover lettuce leaves separately in a resealable plastic container or bag. Good for 2 or up to 3 days in the fridge.
While the ground chicken mixture may be frozen, some of its flavors will be lost, for this reason, I will not recommend freezing any of the leftovers. And lettuce leaves don't stand up well to freezing.
Other Chicken Recipes You May Like
📖 Recipe Card

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 1 pound Ground Chicken
- 1 large Onion chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce regular or low-sodium
- ¼ cup Hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoon Fresh Ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 3 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 can Sliced water chestnuts drained, chopped
- 1 stalk Green Onion thinly sliced for garnish
- 1 head Lettuce washed and dried
Instructions
For the chicken filling:
- In a medium skillet on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Swirl the oil around the skillet then add the ground chicken. Using a spatula, separate the chicken into small pieces (see photo #2) and cook until it is no longer pink.
- On the same skillet, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook until soft and translucent.
- Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha sauce.
- Fold in water chestnuts, green onion, and more sesame oil (if needed). Remove from the pan. You can stop right here, and start enjoying your chicken lettuce wraps if you wish. Steps 5 and 6 are for preparing the mung bean noodles if you want to add that to your lettuce wraps. See instructions on how to cook mung bean noodles below.
- Serve ground chicken on a bed of stir-fried (or deep-fried) mung bean noodles and wrap it in a lettuce leaf. Garnish with sliced green onions and more sriracha sauce as needed.
For the mung bean noodles:
- If stir-frying, soak the noodles in a bowl filled with tap water for 15 minutes. Drain. And now we're ready to stir-fry the noodles. Using the same skillet, add the noodles. Add a bit of water to scrape off bits from the pan. This will add more flavor to the noodles and will give them that nice golden color (see photo #6). See notes.
- If deep-frying, heat oil for about 345 °F (174 °C). Put dry noodles in oil, and cook until noodles puff up. This is kind of fun to watch! Using a slotted spoon, pick up the noodles and place them on a plate covered with a paper towel to help absorb the oil from the noodles. See notes.
Notes
- Whether you're stir-frying or deep-frying the mung bean noodles, be sure to cut them first so they're not too long and will be easier to eat.
- Serve ground chicken on a bed of stir-fried mung bean noodles and wrap it in a lettuce leaf. Garnish with sliced green onions and more sriracha sauce as needed.
- Can also be served with a side of steamed or fried rice.
- The following ingredients can be found in the Asian aisle at your local grocery store.
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Sriracha sauce
- Water chestnuts
- Mung bean noodles
- For a vegetarian option, use tofu in place of ground chicken.
- Ground turkey or ground pork can also be used instead of ground chicken.
- Coconut aminos can be used instead of soy sauce for a gluten-free option.
- If you can't find mung bean noodles, you can replace them with other clear noodles, like glass noodles, cellophane noodles, and bean thread noodles, all of which are gluten-free options.
- Don't want to use water chestnuts? No problem. You can omit or use jicama or radishes to give some crunch to the dish.
Katerina
Really liked this version more than the original. I was looking for a copycat recipe that is easy to follow. Glad I found your website. Will be bookmarked for sure. Can I make this using tofu?