by Holly
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!
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.
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
- Whisk
Combine the sauce ingredients and whisk well. - 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
- Marinate
Finely dice chicken, toss with cornstarch and refrigerate. - Cook
Cook garlic, ginger & green onions until fragrant. Add chicken and cook a few minutes. - 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!
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!
Homemade Favorites
- Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
- Easy Beef Stir Fry
- Crispy Homemade Egg Rolls
- Egg Drop Soup
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Shrimp Lo Mein
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 servings
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
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
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Recipe inspired by Food Network Magazine
Can I prepare chicken to corn starch stage and then freeze until I want to cook it at the cottage?
Hi Pat, we haven’t tried freezing it at that stage but it should work well. Let us know how it turns out!
My husband and 3 children loved it (ages 5, 11, and 16). Will definitely be making again!
Can you use Romaine lettuce for this recipe or does it taste better with Iceberg/Butter lettuce?
Thank you for posting it looks great!
I find Iceberg/Butter are my favorites with this recipe but romaine will work if its all you have on hand.
Looks delicious but I can’t find a hoisin sauce in our area. What can I use as a substitute? Thanks.
You can buy hoisin sauce on Amazon. You could try teriyaki sauce, but it tends to be thinner, so try adding a little less at first. Enjoy Gayle!
What are the ingredients for the Asian sauce?
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
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.
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
Sounds super yummy!
These look delish. My daughters and I are on diets now, and this fits!
I love lettuce wraps. You can put just about anything in them to eat.
I love lettuce wraps and cannot wait to make these thanks!
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!!!