Vegan Lettuce Wraps | P.F. Chang’s Inspired recipe
These Asian Lettuce Wraps, inspired by the flavors of P.F. Chang’s, are a delicious and satisfying dish made with savory mushrooms. Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or a meat lover, these wraps deliver bold umami flavor in every bite. Easily customize them with mushrooms or chicken for a crave-worthy, homemade version of a restaurant favorite!
Cooking for a family with different food preferences can be challenging.
If you’ve been hangin’ out with us for a while, you already know that my daughter is vegan.
I honestly thought that it was going to be a phase – but it’s been two years now, and she is still as committed as ever.
Over the last two years, she’s changed the way our entire family eats and the way that I plan food. Her commitment has shown me how one person can create a significant change.
I’ve had to figure out how to get everyone fed, get enough protein, and keep things vegan adaptable and gluten-free. Wow, that’s a lot of things to consider!
What I Love About these Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps
- The portobello mushrooms are hearty and have mad umami.
- The cashews and water chestnuts give this spicy Asian style wraps a little crunch.
- Meat eater and vegans both love this recipe.
- The filling tastes fabulous cold or warm, so it is excellent for packing and eating at your desk or on the run.
Recipe Notes
This recipe is straightforward to make. You can use ground chicken or pork instead of the mushrooms or in addition to the mushrooms. The filling in this recipe keeps well in the fridge and makes a super easy lunch or dinner recipe.
Ingredients
- Mushrooms: I use portobello mushrooms in this recipe. You can use your favorite variety of mushroom or even sub in ground chicken or ground pork if you’re not following a vegan diet.
- Veggies: Celery, carrots, and green onions all add flavor and crunch. The celery is a crucial part of the flavor in this recipe.
- The Sauce: The sauce in this recipe is a delicious umami filled ginger-soy-garlic lettuce wraps sauce. It has a spicy-sweet mix of flavors. Feel free to use this sauce in any stir-fry recipe.
- The Crunch Factor: Water chestnuts and cashews give this recipe a crunchy texture. The firm tofu is just another layer of protein.
- The Aromatics: Cilantro, green onions, and sesame seeds give the filling of these lettuce wraps fantastic depth of flavor.
How to Make the Filling for copycat P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps
- Make the sauce: The lettuce wraps sauce is a sweet and spicy garlic soy sauce. Mix up the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and set it aside.
- Prepare the vegetables: Start by prepping all of the veggies, so they are ready to go into the pan. The filling for the lettuce wraps cooks quickly. When you have all your veggies chopped and ready to go, this dish comes together in no time.
- Cook the mushrooms: Cook the mushroom by themselves. Cooking the mushrooms without any other vegetables gives them the best flavor. Mushrooms have a lot of water in them. To get a lot of flavor ou want to cook out a lot of water in the mushrooms so that they will brown nicely. The browning or the mushrooms is what gives them so much umami.
- Sauté the vegetables: Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside. Add the diced veggies to the pan and sauté until they are fragrant about 4 to 5 minutes. Return the mushrooms to the pan.
- Add the sauce: Create a well in the middle of the pan by pushing the vegetables out towards the edges. Turn up the heat. Cornstarch needs heat to activate its thickening property. Bring the sauce to a low boil and then reduce the temperature until the sauce thickens.
- Add the Aromatics: Remove the pan from the what and then toss in the aromatics and the ingredients that need no cooking time.
- Serve: Serve the lettuce wraps filling with romaine lettuce or butter lettuce leaves.
Other Vegan Recipes That You Might Like
A lot of my recipes are vegan-adaptable. Vegan-adaptable means that the recipe might call for an animal protein, but the recipe is designed in a way that allows you to easily swap out that animal protein for a vegan or vegetarian protein.
Vegan Lettuce Wraps (P.F. Changs copycat recipe)
Ingredients
The Sauce
- 4 cloves Garlic, pressed
- 1 tsp Fresh Ginger
- 1 tsp Mongolian Fire Oil
- 3 tbsp tamari, or Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Aji Mirin
- 2 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup, the real stuff
- 1 tsp Corn Starch
- ¼ cup Water
The Mushrooms
- 4 portabello mushrooms, cleaned and diced
The Veggies
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- ½ cup Celery , diced finely
- ½ cup Carrot, diced finely
- 4 Green Onions, save the greens for garnish.saute the whites,
The Crunch
- 1 can water chesnuts, diced
- ½ cup Cashews, roasted, unsalted
- ½ cup extra firm tofu, diced
The Aromatics
- 2 tbsp Sesame Seeds, black or white
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- Lettuce, butter lettuce or romaine works well here
Instructions
- Make the Sauce: Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook the Mushrooms: Sauté the mushrooms, on medium-high, in a heavy-bottomed skillet with coconut oil and a little salt.
- When the mushrooms are browned nicely remove them from the pan and set aside.
- Sauté the Veggies: Add the celery, carrots, the whites of the green onions, the ginger and the garlic. Sauté until fragrant. About 4 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: Make a well in the center of the pan and add the sauce to the center of the pan. Bring liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and then the sauce should thicken and be nice and glossy.
- Add the Crunch: Add the diced water chestnuts, the cashews, and the tofu. Return the mushrooms to the pan.
- Add the Aromatics: Remove from the heat and add cilantro, greens or the onions, and sesame seeds.
- Serve: Serve with lettuce cups.
YOUR OWN NOTES
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These were amazing! I followed the recipe exactly except for marinating and oven baking the tofu before I added it. Completely blown away by the delicious combination of flavours and textures, both my boyfriend and I absolutely loved it. Neither of us are vegan-so even omnivores looking to reduce their meat intake will love this!
Thank you Fiona for the awesome review! I’m so happy you loves this recipe.
💜Laura