My family can’t get enough of these incredible Asian ground chicken lettuce wraps with ginger and hoisin sauce. Every time we make them, we can’t help but do a little happy dance because they taste that good!
I first tasted Asian chicken wraps years ago at P.F. Chang’s. I loved them so much that I immediately wanted to recreate them at home. My version is delicious, quick, and healthy!
To make them, you’ll cook ground chicken with a simple list of ingredients and then serve it in fresh lettuce cups. I use my homemade hoisin sauce, which I highly recommend, but you can always use your favorite store-bought sauce!
Key Ingredients
- Ground Chicken: I love using ground chicken for these lettuce wraps, but you can substitute ground turkey or pork. I recommend choosing ground meat with at least 7% fat for added flavor and the best texture.
- Aromatics: To make these lettuce wraps super flavorful, I cook the ground chicken with fresh garlic, ginger, onion, and green onions. This combination adds incredible flavor and only takes a little extra prep time.
- Sesame Oil: I add a generous splash of toasted sesame oil, which gives the chicken an authentic, nutty, toasted flavor.
- Hoisin Sauce: I use my homemade hoisin sauce for this recipe, but store-bought works just fine. Hoisin sauce is a popular condiment in many Chinese dishes, adding a sweet and savory flavor to the ground chicken. I love how it coats the chicken and turns into our sauce.
- Gochujang or Sriracha: This adds a little heat to the dish. I cook with gochujang a lot (it’s an incredibly flavorful Korean fermented chili paste with a sweet/spicy flavor). If you can’t find it, sriracha works well as a substitute.
- Water Chestnuts: I buy the sliced water chestnuts sold in cans. I love the crunch they add to these lettuce wraps.
- Lettuce: Use lettuce that you can easily break into cups that won’t tear easily. I’ve used butter lettuce in my photos, but iceberg, romaine, and green leaf lettuce are also great options.
- Toppings: I love topping my lettuce wraps with chopped peanuts, sliced chile peppers, and a squeeze of lime juice. You can also serve them with extra hoisin sauce on the side or make my light dipping sauce (recipe provided in the tips below the recipe).
How to Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Our chicken lettuce wraps are such an easy meal! First, you’ll make the flavorful ginger hoisin chicken filling. Start by cooking your ground chicken in a bit of oil in a hot skillet.
Once it’s starting to brown, stir in plenty of fresh minced garlic, ginger, onion, and green onions.
When the chicken is cooked through, and the onions are soft, stir in hoisin sauce, gochujang (or sriracha), and those crunchy water chestnuts.
I highly recommend my homemade hoisin sauce, as it’s incredibly delicious! Store-bought hoisin is okay, but keep in mind that it might be slightly saltier or sweeter than my homemade version, so adjust to your taste. (If you do make my homemade sauce, you can also use to to make our hoisin sticky ribs!)
Now, it’s time to assemble your lettuce wraps. I like to serve this family style and let everyone dig in. I also love serving some extras on the table for people to add, like chopped peanuts, chilies, sliced green onion, lime wedges, more hoisin sauce, and my favorite Vietnamese-inspired dipping sauce (not something P.F. Chang’s serves, but it’s so tasty). For another light and healthy lettuce wrap recipe, see our hummus lettuce wraps with chicken and veggies.
Incredible Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This easy lettuce wrap recipe features ginger hoisin ground chicken and is a delicious, quick, and healthy meal. Every time we make them, we can’t help but dance a little because they taste amazing! They’ve become a family favorite. Feel free to substitute other ground meat for the chicken, like turkey or pork. You can also use shredded firm or extra firm tofu (I use a box grater) or plant-based crumbles.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 head Bibb or Romaine lettuce
1 tablespoon neutral oil like sunflower oil
1 pound (450g) ground chicken, at least 7% fat
1 tablespoon minced garlic, 3 to 4 cloves
1 tablespoon minced ginger, 1-inch thumb-sized piece
Half of a medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced, light green and dark green parts separated
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
4 to 5 tablespoons hoisin sauce, we recommend homemade hoisin
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Gochujang or sriracha, optional for heat
1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and sliced
Optional: Fish sauce, Limes, Chopped roasted peanuts, finely diced chilies
Directions
1To prepare the lettuce for your wraps, separate the leaves and remove the core. Handle the leaves carefully to prevent damage, and trim any large or tough stems as needed. Give the leaves a thorough wash and dry them before storing them in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
2Heat the sesame oil and sunflower oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and press down into the oil to flatten it. When the underside starts to brown, use a wooden spoon to break the meat into crumbles.
3Stir in minced garlic, ginger, chopped yellow onion, and the sliced light green parts of the green onion (you will use the darker green parts later). Keep stirring everything in the skillet as it cooks.
4Once the onions have become tender and the chicken is fully cooked, add the hoisin sauce, gochujang (or sriracha), and water chestnuts. Stir everything together until well coated in the sauce. Taste, and add more sauce if needed. If it doesn’t pop with flavor, add a small splash of fish sauce.
5Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in half of the dark green parts of the green onion, and then serve with lettuce leaves and toppings.
6Serve lettuce wraps family-style with optional toppings on the table. We love the remaining sliced green onion, chopped peanuts, finely diced chilies, and fresh lime wedges for squeezing on top.
7Serve lettuce wraps family-style with optional toppings on the table. We love the remaining sliced green onion, chopped peanuts, finely diced chilies, and fresh lime wedges for squeezing on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Chicken alternatives: Ground chicken is popular, but ground turkey or pork can also work well. If you prefer a plant-based alternative, shredded firm tofu or plant-based crumbles are great substitutes.
- Lettuce: Try Butter lettuce (also known as Boston Bibb), Iceberg lettuce, Romaine lettuce, or Green Leaf lettuce.
- Hoisin sauce: Our homemade hoisin has a thinner consistency and is less salty compared to the store-bought version. If you use store-bought, add to your tastes as it might be more salty or sweet.
- Optional sauce for dipping: (shown in photos) Stir together 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 3/4 tablespoon lime juice, and 1 tablespoon sugar until the sugar dissolves.
- Make ahead: You can make the filling in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or freeze for up to a month. To serve, reheat the filling on the stovetop or microwave. If you’ve frozen the filling, thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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I made this for dinner for myself, as I love eating them at restaurants. A wonderful Asian flavor. I used ground chicken. Looking forward to making again trying ground pork. These will be on my menu as an appetizer at all future dinner parties. So easy to prepare in advance.
Yay! Love it 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and it was so tasty and delicious!😋 And a very easy, quick recipe! Served on romaine lettuce leaves and also had white rice as a side. I will definitely be making this regularly! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
That’s wonderful, Barb! Thanks so much for coming back and letting us know.
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve been trying to eat less red meat and have been looking for new chicken recipes that aren’t chicken breast. I haven’t had ground chicken before so I’m definitely trying this. Then I’m going to research chicken burgers and sausage!!!
Hi Joan, you are going to love these wraps 🙂