Vegan Lettuce Wraps (Copycat P.F. Chang’s)

You guys know that I’m not a health nut kind of vegan. I’m definitely more of a treat yo’ self, yolo, Leslie Knope waffle addict kind of vegan. Also, now I am addicted to vegan lettuce wraps, and you know what, I think they could actually be considered a healthy meal.

If you’ve been around here or if we’re friends on Instagram, you’ll know I shudder at the idea of a ‘diet’ and all together dislike diet culture. I don’t like the damage it can do to our minds and bodies, especially that of young women. We’re constantly bombarded with messaging that wants us to believe we have to be thin, restrict our carbs, hit our macros, and work out to our body’s max capacity to be beautiful or successful or loved. I’ve experienced anger, frustration and despair at my own inability to stick to a ‘diet’ like society says I should. Also, I’ve seen friends struggle with eating disorders, food related anxiety, and depression. And it breaks my heart to see diet culture appropriating these things in younger and younger girls these days.

I could really get on a soapbox about this issue.

But my point is, I’m not running a health food, diet for weight loss kind of blog. It’s just not my thing! However, I do support anyone who is trying to eat healthier and go vegan, so I’m excited to share the recipe for these vegan or vegetarian lettuce wraps!

(PS: Please don’t think I mean it’s healthy and sustainable to eat cake and ice cream for every meal and never exercise at all. I do my best to eat healthy, plant based and intuitively, as well as maintain moderate amounts of activity. It’s just that I hate the idea of diet being so ingrained in our society that we have 8 year olds cutting carbs and worrying they are too fat.)

But back to the vegan lettuce wraps!

No matter what your normal eating habits or opinions on diets, though, I think you’ll love this healthy vegan lettuce wrap recipe. There’s no need for any animal protein, but these tofu lettuce wraps won’t leave you disappointed. And they make great leftovers, if you manage to actually have any left over!

Ingredients and substitutions:

What do you need to make my vegan version of PF Chang’s lettuce wraps? Honestly, the ingredient list is pretty simple! The tofu mixture is comprised of onions, firm or extra-firm tofu, and water chestnuts. The sauce is an amazing concoction of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, almond butter or peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sweetener and sriracha.

If you can, use butter lettuce for your wraps, they are perfectly shaped into little lettuce cups, and way more flexible than romaine lettuce or iceberg lettuce. If you are a gardener or want to mix up the lettuces, try your wraps inside of collard greens or Swiss chard leaves.

Oh, and if you need to watch your sodium intake or want to make this gluten free, opt for a low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos.

Also, I know my sister has made this with Monkfruit sweetener and really liked it. I use brown sugar, but if you prefer Monkfruit, maple syrup, or something else, give it a try! This is especially helpful if you’re on a low sugar intake, as many recipes use premade teriyaki sauce or hoisin sauce. No need to replace them! The only changes you would need to make is swapping the brown sugar for your favorite sweetener.

If you’re worried they will be too spicy, you can reduce the amount of sriracha used in the sauce ingredients and just drizzle a little on top. This also makes it more family friendly if you have little ones who don’t like spicy food. As for the sesame oil, the one I have linked below is the kind of oil I used, it’s made from roasted sesame seeds so it has a richer flavor profile. If you don’t have any, feel free to use any mild flavored oil you have on hand.

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Method and tips:

1. Prep your tofu by draining and pressing between layers of paper towels. You can do this up to a day in advance. Once drained, crumble into small pieces and set aside.
2. Combine sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. You want to do this before you start cooking, I promise. Once you turn the heat on, this recipe comes together really fast. You don’t want to be scrambling to mince up your fresh ginger and then burn your tofu while you’re also having a hard time with minced garlic. Ha ha ha.. it’s almost like I speak from experience…
3. Ok, now you can heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add olive oil and when that’s hot, stir fry up the whole diced onion. Not the green onion, they have to wait their turn. After 3-4 minutes, or when the onions are softened and transparent, add the crumbled tofu. Cook another 3-5 minutes, not stirring too frequently, and letting the tofu dry out and get a little crispy. This is going to give you the texture of meatless crumbles. A bit of charring is a-ok!
4. Add in prepared sauce, water chestnuts, and the white part of your green onions, and stir to combine. Heat through. If there seems to be too much liquid, turn down to a simmer and cook uncovered for an extra few minutes.
5. Spoon filing into your crisp lettuce, top with additional sriracha, green onion tops. Serve with a side of brown rice, roasted sweet potatoes or roasted shiitake mushrooms, and enjoy your delicious vegan lettuce wraps!

If you make these, be sure to let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment below, or come visit me on my Instagram.