Chicken

Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

by Holly
5 from 9 votes
August 1, 2020 · 16 Comments

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Chicken Lettuce Wraps are an easy option for a meal or an appetizer! Chicken, bell peppers, and green onions are tossed in a quick homemade sauce and served in a fresh crisp lettuce cup. 

These are so delicious and loaded with fresh veggies and lots of flavor!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps in a wooden bowl

Lettuce for Lettuce Wraps

Chicken lettuce wraps can be wrapped in any kind of lettuce but the following are my favorites:

  • Butter Lettuce or Bibb Lettuce:  has a great shape and won’t crack when folded but is soft so it can rip if you’re not careful
  • Iceberg Lettuce: fresh, sturdy and crunchy. Can crack if you bend them.

To Prep the Lettuce

  • Carefully separate the lettuce leaves and rinse and pat dry.
  • Keep them whole, and if you must, slice off any white or hardy ends that won’t wrap well.

Lettuce can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance, patted dry and placed in a container or bag with a piece of paper towel.

Pouring sauce over chicken and peppers in a pan

How to Make Lettuce Wraps (Chicken)

With these lettuce wraps, it’s really all about the sauce! Feel free to add red pepper flakes or Sriracha for some heat!

Sauce

  1. Whisk
    Combine the sauce ingredients and whisk well.
  2. Thicken
    Make a slurry by dissolving the cornstarch in a little bit of water and then add to the sauce mixture to thicken. Set the sauce aside.

Chicken Filling

  1. Marinate
    Finely dice chicken, toss with cornstarch and refrigerate.
  2. Cook
    Cook garlic, ginger & green onions until fragrant. Add chicken and cook a few minutes.
  3. Thicken
    Add remaining ingredients, including sauce and simmer until thickened.

To serve, scoop into a section of lettuce leaf and top with chopped peanuts, extra hoisin sauce, peanut dressing, or Sriracha!

Chicken in a pan surrounded by vegetables for lettuce wraps

What to Serve with Lettuce Wraps

The original PF Chang’s lettuce wraps are served on a bed of deep-fried rice noodles but we put out a huge plate of fresh healthy toppings instead:

  • cabbage
  • carrots
  • peppers
  • cucumbers
  • cilantro
  • chopped nuts

If the lettuce wraps are part of an entire meal, serve them alongside some slow cooker honey garlic chicken, or wonton soup for something lighter! Or serve alongside our favorite takeout meals below!

Overhead shot of Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Homemade Favorites

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
5 from 9 votes
Review Recipe

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Holly Nilsson
A deliciously flavorful chicken stir fry wrapped in fresh crisp lettuce leaves. This makes a great appetizer or meal.
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 3 chicken breasts diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced/grated
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 green onions sliced, whites & greens separated
  • 8 ounces water chestnuts diced
  • ¼ cup red bell pepper diced
  • lettuce leaves iceberg or butter lettuce for serving
  • toppings as desired

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce plus extra for serving
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon sesame oil

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Instructions

  • Combine diced chicken with cornstarch. Refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  • Combine all sauce ingredients and set aside.
  • Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add ginger, garlic and the whites of the green onions and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  • Add chicken and cook until almost cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Add water chestnuts, bell pepper and sauce. Simmer 2-3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
  • To serve, place a scoop of the warm chicken filling in a lettuce leaf. Add desired toppings and drizzle with a little bit of hoisin sauce.

Recipe Notes

If you've had lettuce wraps at PF Changs, they are served with crispy rice noodles. I opted not to include the rice noodles in this recipe to make it a little bit healthier. If you want to add them they are fairly simple to fry up!
Heat 2 cups of vegetable or peanut oil to 350°F. Separate your noodles and drop one in. If it crisps up right away, your oil is ready. Drop noodles in the hot oil in small batches until they crisp up (just takes a few seconds). Drain on paper towels. Serve with lettuce wraps.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 195, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 514mg, Potassium: 500mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 268IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 1mg

(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)

Keyword best chicken lettuce wraps recipe, chicken lettuce wraps, chicken lettuce wraps recipe, how to make chicken lettuce wraps
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Asian
© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps in small brown bowls with a title.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps with writing.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps in small brown bowls garnished with green onion, with a title.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps in brown bowls, and ground chicken in a pan under the title.

Recipe inspired by Food Network Magazine

Restaurant style Lettuce Wraps with a title
Lettuce Wraps with a title
closeup of lettuce wraps garnished with carrots, green onion

 

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Holly

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Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!

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Comments

  1. Can I prepare chicken to corn starch stage and then freeze until I want to cook it at the cottage?

    Reply

    1. Hi Pat, we haven’t tried freezing it at that stage but it should work well. Let us know how it turns out!

      Reply

  3. Can you use Romaine lettuce for this recipe or does it taste better with Iceberg/Butter lettuce?
    Thank you for posting it looks great!

    Reply

    1. The sauce ingredients are listed in the recipe.
      Sauce
      1 tablespoon hoisin sauce plus extra for serving
      1 tablespoon lime juice
      2 tablespoons soy sauce
      1 tablespoon rice vinegar
      1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
      2 teaspoons cornstarch

      Reply

  6. A restaurant in Morgantown, WV, called Chili’s, has or had a lettuce wrap that was so good and served it with two sauces, one sort of sesame ginger and one sort of a peanut butter with some spice. Loved both sauces. I like these because they are not overly filling and fun.

    Reply

  7. Hi Holly,
    I just love lettuce and the combination of flavor for your wraps look delicious! Have a great St. Patrick’s Day and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
    Come Back Soon,
    Miz Helen

    Reply

  12. boy oh boy! how many times I use similar ingredients then have so many added carbs by using taco shells, over rice, pasta, etc. Have to try lettuce leaves and this entire recipe is a must do!!!

    Reply