Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

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 much better (and healthier) than take-out!

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

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!

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!

Take-Out Favorites at Home

• Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
• Easy Beef Stir Fry
• Crispy Homemade Egg Rolls
• Egg Drop Soup
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Chicken Chow Mein
• Shrimp Lo Mein

Did you love these Chicken Lettuce Wraps?  Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below! 

5 from 3 votes

Review Recipe

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Holly Nilsson

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Asian

A deliciously flavorful chicken stir fry wrapped in fresh crisp lettuce leaves. This makes a great appetizer or meal.

PrintPin

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 chicken breasts diced3 chicken breasts diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced/grated2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced/grated
• 2 cloves garlic minced2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 green onions sliced, whites & greens separated2 green onions sliced, whites & greens separated
• 8 ounces water chestnuts diced8 ounces water chestnuts diced
• ¼ cup red bell pepper diced¼ cup red bell pepper diced
• lettuce leaves iceberg or butter lettuce for servinglettuce leaves iceberg or butter lettuce for serving
• toppings as desiredtoppings as desired

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce plus extra for serving1 tablespoon hoisin sauce plus extra for serving
• 1 tablespoon lime juice1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil½ 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

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 degrees. 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

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Recipe inspired by Food Network Magazine