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Healthy chicken lettuce wraps make for an easy and low carb Asian inspired dinner that your whole family will love! One of our favorite clean eating dishes to serve for a crowd!
Whenever I see chicken lettuce wraps on a menu, I immediately know I’m going to be ordering them because it’s one thing on the menu that I know will be a guaranteed winner.
It all started a few years ago when I went to P.F. Changs and tried their rendition of lettuce wraps that I have been hooked on the incredible flavors that come in each little bite. Cooking with sesame oil, which is a key ingredient in Asian cooking, is now a staple in my house.
And while I love the P.F. Changs lettuce wraps, I don’t always love the nutrition breakdown of all the extra oils and sodium they put in their dishes, so I sought out to create my own healthier version of chicken lettuce wraps.
Ground chicken is mixed with a variety of sauces and spices in order to get that authentic chicken wrap flavor. Each portion of chicken is nestled into a delicate butter lettuce leaf cup, and then each cup is topped with peanuts, green onion, and a little sriracha if you like it spicy.
I love making Asian inspired meals and also wanted to share my Healthy Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry recipe too.
Homemade chicken lettuce wraps
You can now find chicken lettuce wraps on the menu at most restaurants but creating them at home is actually a lot of fun! Plus you can customize them any way you want and can alter the flavors to be more in tuned with what you like.
They are easy to feed a crowd, too. Seriously I never would have thought of serving chicken lettuce wraps but something about just prepping the meat ahead of time and then serving it like a taco bar is perfect. You can line up all the toppings: cooked ground chicken, peanuts, sesame seeds, green onion, sriracha, butter lettuce cups, and then have your guests walk down the line and make their own cups.
People will rave over these simple yet healthy chicken lettuce wraps!
Ingredients in chicken lettuce wraps
To make healthy chicken lettuce wraps, you need a few simple ingredients that you already have at home or can find at your regular grocery store. If you already do a lot of Asian cooking, you probably have these ingredients on hand already.
- ground chicken
- sesame oil
- yellow onion
- garlic
- fresh ginger
- rice vinegar
- soy sauce
- hoisin sauce
- green onion
In order to make these chicken lettuce wraps healthier, we go light on all of the sauces and also use low sodium soy sauce. This is what differentiates our version from restaurant lettuce wraps.
Also, I used to think hoisin sauce was some sort of foreign sauce that I would never be able to find, but truth be told is that you can get it at any grocery store! Just head to the Asian section of your store and you will be guaranteed to find it. It’s an absolute must for this recipe and really gives these lettuce wraps that authentic flavor.
How to make lettuce wraps
Easy is the name of the game when it comes to making these lettuce wraps. The most difficult part is getting all of your ingredients together and on the counter!
The next hardest part is not eating all of the filling before you actually put it into any of the wraps!
First up, you’ll want to saute your onion in olive oil, eventually adding in the garlic and ginger so that they don’t burn. Once fragrant, add in your ground chicken and cook until almost fully cooked.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare your sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients from sesame oil to hoisin sauce.
Add this sauce to the ground chicken, stirring until well combined, reducing heat so that the sauce thickens. Add in your water chestnuts (my favorite…anyone else?!)
Let simmer for a few minutes before turning off the heat, and serving into lettuce cups. Top with peanuts, green onion, and sriracha.
What kind of lettuce for lettuce wraps
- Bibb/Butter lettuce – this is my favorite lettuce for lettuce wraps because its soft, buttery, and makes the perfect cup shape. It can be very thin at times so I suggest doubling them up. Butter lettuce is definitely my preference.
- Romaine lettuce – these long log leaves are also great for lettuce wraps because romaine lettuce is stronger and can hold a lot more. We like to use these for tacos as well. I like to use the sturdy ones closer so look for romaine hearts for a more firm cup.
- Iceberg – these are also more sturdy than butter lettuce but iceberg lettuce has less flavor and is more watery than any of the other lettuces. I would choose this last, but it will work if you can’t find either butter lettuce or romaine.
Hope you enjoy these healthy chicken lettuce wraps!
If you make this recipe, be sure to comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @erinliveswhole on Instagram and use the hashtag #erinliveswhole so I can see it and feature you!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!
Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Healthy chicken lettuce wraps make for an easy and low carb Asian inspired dinner that your whole family will love! One of our favorite clean eating dishes to serve for a crowd!
Ingredients
- 1lb ground chicken
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger paste/fresh ginger
- 1.5 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (coconut aminos for GF)
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion, more for topping
- 1/2 cup diced water chestnuts
- 1 large head of butter lettuce
*peanuts, sriracha, green onion for topping*
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and saute until mostly cooked.
- Add in garlic and ginger for one minute, then add in ground chicken.
- Allow chicken to cook almost all the way through, and while chicken is cooking prepare sauce.
- In a bowl, whisk together sesame oil, sriracha, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and hoisin sauce.
- Add in the sauce to the chicken and reduce heat to let simmer.
- Stir in diced green onion and water chestnuts and allow sauce to thicken.
- Once thickened, remove from heat.
- Wash and dry butter lettuce leaves.
- Add about 1/3 cup chicken mixture to each butter leaf and add toppings.
- Store remainder in fridge for up to five days.
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Darlene says
I made these today to have for my lunches during the week at work.
Super delicious and easy recipe. I did put in the whole can of water chestnuts because I didn’t know what else I would use them for so they have a nice bit of crunch, which I like.
Really good recipe.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Darlene, so happy you loved them so much and made them your own!
Ann says
These were SO good! Like, can’t stop thinking about them, good! I followed the recipe exactly and I’m so glad I did. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Ann, so glad you loved them! 🙂
catie says
This recipe is one of my absolute favorites! It is now a staple and I have these lettuce wraps for a whole week at least once a month. Love it!!
Erin says
Hi Catie, so happy you love them SO much!!
Christi says
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I added diced red pepper for more veggies!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Christi, so happy you loved them and great idea!!
Ashlin says
Super easy and quick to make, not to mention DELICIOUS!! We make this at least once a week! Leftovers are rare with this one!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Ashlin, so glad you loved them!!
Scarlett says
So good and easy to follow!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Scarlett, so glad you liked them!!
Sarah Krull says
These chicken lettuce wraps are amazing! I followed exactly first time but reduced to half the sriracha the second time. Perfect level of spice for me. Hubby added more on his. Thanks Erin 🙂
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Sarah, so glad you both loved them!!
Meaghan says
I think i’ve made over 30 ELW recipes and this is in my top 3 for sure. It is incredible, so easy and so delicious. My boyfriend and i consumed all of it in one sitting. Fabulous.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Meaghan, ahh thank you soo much for your support! That is so amazing to hear!! So glad you both loved these too!!
Sarah Dillon says
Amazing!!! Made during the Madeline moves challenge and they were great! I added minced garlic because I didn’t have fresh and just as tasty!!! 🥰
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Sarah, so happy you loved them and did the challenge!!
Emily Spadaro says
I have made this a dozen times, it’s a go to meal prep staple for me!!! Sooo flavorful 😍
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Emily, I am so happy you loved them so much!!
Reeves Coward says
The Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps are very flavorful and easy to reheat.
We added some red pepper flakes to add heat to taste! Yum!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Reeves, so happy you loved them and great addition!
Michelle says
A very nice recipee. I think that the low sodium soy sauce would be essential, I just used regular dark soy sauce and it was waaay to salty (my own fault). I added something to sweeten it a little (my own personal preference) but it’s a solid recipee, would be quite nice over rice as well.
Erin says
Hi Michelle, so happy you loved them and made them your own!
Nicole says
SOOO delicious! Made them multiple times now. The most recent time, I doubled the water chestnuts because I love the texture and it came out just as great!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Nicole, I am so happy you love them so much and great idea! 🙂
Katelyn says
Love how easy and healthy these are to make. The perfect dupe when you’re craving PF Changs lettuce wraps!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Katelyn, so happy you enjoyed them!
Leanne says
Love these! Part of the weekly rotation now. I find I crave them if I skip them one week!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Leanne, so glad you loved them!!
Rachel says
This is one of my go-to easy, healthy and delicious meals – my boyfriend and I LOVE it and it comes out perfect every time!
Erin says
Hi Rachel, so glad you enjoyed the wraps!!
Faith Simon says
So easy and a favorite in my house! I would recommend buying extra lettuce for leftovers. I also add bean sprouts to mine
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Faith, so happy you love them so much!!