Chicken lettuce wraps are for sure a healthier alternative for lunch or dinner. Naturally it’s a gluten free meal and the taste is out of this world. I mean a lettuce wrap, surely sounds better than a salad right? It still has the crunch factor, but with more delicious goodness.
Have you ever tired a lettuce wrap? Well, my friend you’re in for a real treat!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Ingredients Breakdown
What’s so great about this recipe is the use of inexpensive ingredients. Most of these items are hopefully readily available in your pantry. Let’s dive into them..
- Ground chicken – Really any kind of ground meat or meat alternative can be used. Examples of other healthier alternatives include ground turkey, tofu, or mushrooms.
- Garlic cloves – Honestly, we just love garlic. Feel free to use as little or as much as you want.
- Onions & Green Onions – Chopped onions add a little extra flavor as well as texture.
- Water chestnuts – Again, just like the onions the chestnuts add more texture and flavor.
- Bell peppers – Sliced and diced thinly. The red bell peppers add color to the dish.
- Sauces – Sauce is everything can we agree on that? In this recipe several things are used to create this incredible sauce. Which includes: hoisin, soy sauce, rice vinegar, red curry paste, vegetable oil, and sriracha.
- Seasoning – Seasoning any dish is highly important. So do not forget the salt and pepper.
- Ginger – Highly recommend purchasing minced ginger.
- Sugar – We used dark brown sugar to balance the heat of the dish. If you like things more spicy, feel free to remove the sugar.
- Peanut butter – The peanut butter is not necessarily needed, but if you want a different taste to the sauce….feel free to add it.
- Lettuce – Obviously, one cannot make lettuce wraps without the lettuce.
What’s the best lettuce to use?
Now let’s quickly talk about the different kinds of lettuce suitable for this dish. We highly recommend using bibb (butter) lettuce, romaine lettuce, or iceberg lettuce. Interested in ditching the leafy lettuce? Try using cabbage, kale, or collard leaves instead. It would surely create a tasty dish as well. No matter which option you choose, don’t forget to wash the leafy leaves before use!
How to make Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- In a large skillet over medium heat drizzle in the neutral oil (i.e. vegetable or peanut oil).
- Add in the ground chicken, minced garlic, red bell peppers, and chopped onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook until brown. Make sure to crumble the ground chicken as it cooks.
- In a bowl, mix together the following ingredients: minced ginger, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce, Sriracha, dark brown sugar, red pepper flakes,*optional peanut butter, vegetable oil, and red curry paste. Whisk well. (If needed add in cornstarch, to thicken up the sauce.)
- Next, stir in the sauce and allow the dish to mingle for 2-3 minutes.
- Then stir in the water chestnuts and green onions. Cook until tender (approximately 1-2 minutes). Feel free to add additional seasoning if needed.
- To serve, add several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of the lettuce leaf.
Looking for more weeknight recipes? Check out the links below:
- Spicy Chicken Enchiladas
- Sticky Korean Glazed Chicken Drumsticks
- Sheet Pan Beef Fajitas
- Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
- Shrimp Scampi
Chicken Thai Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Ground chicken
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp Neutral Oil
- 1 Onion chopped
- 8 oz. Water Chestnuts drained and chopped
- 1 tbsp Ginger minced
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 8 Butter lettuce leaves
- ¼ cup Hoisin
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- ½ cup Red bell peppers diced
- 1 tbsp Dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Rice vinegar
- ½ tbsp Red curry paste
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
- ¼ cup Peanut butter
- ¼ cup Vegetable oil
- ½ tsp Red chili flakes
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat drizzle in the neutral oil (i.e. vegetable or peanut oil). Add in the ground chicken, minced garlic, red bell peppers, and chopped onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook until brown. Make sure to crumble the ground chicken as it cooks.
- In a bowl, mix together the following ingredients: minced ginger, red chili flakes, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce, Sriracha, dark brown sugar, *optional peanut butter, vegetable oil, and red curry paste. Whisk well. (If needed add in cornstarch, to thicken up the sauce.)
- Next, stir in the sauce and allow the dish to mingle for 2-3 minutes. Then stir in the water chestnuts and green onions. Cook until tender (approximately 1-2 minutes). Season to taste.
- To serve, add several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of the lettuce leaf.