These incredibly quick and easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps are a delicious dinner in under 25 minutes. These Asian-inspired lettuce wraps are so much better than P.F. Chang’s, and the chicken mixture is freezer-friendly for an easy make-ahead meal.
These wraps are perfect for a quick lunch or a light dinner. Serve them with egg drop soup and/or Thai cucumber salad for a complete and satisfying meal!
Ingredients
- Ground chicken
- Lettuce
- Hoisin sauce
- Water chestnuts – Rinsed, drained and diced.
- Yellow onion
- Green onions
- Oil – Olive oil and sesame oil. If you don’t have sesame oil, using only olive oil will work.
- Ground ginger
- Sriracha – A hot sauce that has a sweet and tangy flavor with a moderate to high level of heat, depending on the brand.
- Soy sauce – I always use low sodium so that I can have more control of the saltiness.
- Rice wine vinegar
- Garlic
- Sesame seeds – Optional garnish, but I highly recommend garnishing with sesame seeds. Despite their tiny size, they add a little extra crunch to the ground chicken mixture.
How to Make Lettuce Wraps
Following is a brief overview of how to prepare. Please see the recipe card for full detailed instructions.
- Cook the ground chicken. In a skillet over medium high heat, heat the olive oil and sesame oil. Add the ground chicken and cook until chicken is browned and no longer pink.
- Add yellow onions, garlic, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and sriracha. Stir to combine and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
- Add water chestnuts and green onions. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until green onions are tender. Spoon the mixture into lettuce leaves.
Common Questions
You’ll want to use a sturdy lettuce that has a crisp texture for the best results. I prefer butter lettuce (also known as Bibb lettuce). Other types of lettuce that are an excellent choice for lettuce wraps are iceberg, romaine, red leaf, and green leaf lettuce.
Cut the lettuce at the base and peel away the leaves one at a time. Remember to rinse the lettuce (to remove any dirt and debris) and pat dry with a clean dish towel or paper towels.
Helpful Tips
- Choose a sturdy lettuce to hold the filling.
- Serve immediately after filling the lettuce wraps to prevent the lettuce from becoming soggy.
- Finely dice the onion and water chestnuts so that the chicken mixture can easily be spooned onto the lettuce leaves.
Recipe Variations
- Swap out the ground chicken for ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork.
- Customize the filling by adding diced veggies such as zucchini or carrots.
- Increase the heat by adding crushed red pepper flakes.
Storage
Store the lettuce leaves and chicken mixture separately so that the lettuce stays crisp.
- Refrigerator: Once cooled, store the chicken mixture in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Freezer: Once cooled, store in a freezer-safe container. Leave about ½ inch of space at the top of the container to allow the mixture to expand when frozen. The mixture can also be frozen in a resealable zip-top plastic freezer storage bag. Press out as much air as possible before sealing. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- â…“ cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons sriracha
- 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts drained, rinsed and diced
- ¼ cup sliced green onions white and green parts
- Lettuce leaves butter lettuce, iceberg, romaine, green or red leaf. Rinsed and patted dry with a clean dish towel or paper towels.
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat olive oil and sesame oil in a skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until chicken is fully cooked, browned and no longer pink (about 5 to 6 minutes). Crumble chicken with a wooden spoon while cooking, stirring frequently. Drain off fat.
- Add yellow onion, garlic, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and sriracha. Stir to combine. Cook until onions are soft and translucent (about 3 to 4 minutes).
- Add water chestnuts and green onions. Cook an additional 2 minutes, or until green onions are tender, stirring frequently.
- Spoon chicken mixture onto lettuce leaves and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Notes
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
- This recipe yields approximately 4 cups of ground chicken mixture.
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
Yummy!
This sounds delish and plan to make it. My daughter has become a vegetarian. I’m not! Can you suggest a substitution for the meat to make it a vegetarian dish?
Hi Carol, I haven’t substituted anything for the meat in this recipe so I’m sorry I can’t give any advice. Here is an article regarding meat substitutions you might find helpful. I hope you enjoy it!
I just made this awesome dish! It was amazing. Thanks so much
Thanks so much, Stacey! 🙂
Finally.found.the recipe!..woo hoo