These Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps are healthy and full of Asian flavor. This recipe only takes 30 minutes and it's a fun customizable lunch or dinner, where everyone can choose their own toppings.
This Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe is like a spin on taco night, but healthier! I absolutely love these wraps for the New Year because it lets us know that eating healthy can still be delicious. Food doesn't have to be bland in order for us to live a healthy lifestyle. I don't know about you, but I need FLAVOR or why am I even living?
If you are looking for more healthy lunch ideas, be sure to check out my Chicken Salad Croissants recipe, Harvest Salad, or this Peach Burrata Salad.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- It's guilt free
- It has a ton of flavor with lots of topping ideas to add
- The wraps are the perfect lunch or dinner idea
- They only takes 30 minutes to make
- Easy clean up because we are only cooking in one pan (my kind of meal)
The Ingredients for Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
Soy Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Sesame Oil, Rice Vinegar, Minced Garlic, Grated Ginger, Red Pepper- The perfect combination for the sauce to flavor our filling. This Asian lettuce wrap sauce combines salty, sweet and tangy flavors with a bit of spice from the ginger and red pepper flakes. It is delicious!
Olive Oil, Ground Chicken, Red Bell Pepper and Sweet Yellow Onion- The delicious filling ingredients. Ground chicken is a great protein option and a good choice when you're on a budget. Plus, it's super easy to cook too. The red bell pepper and sweet yellow onion give a nice sweetness to the filling.
Carrot, Cilantro, Crushed Peanuts, Green Onion- Fresh ingredients for toppings. You can get creative here & choose any of your favorites! I love the peanuts & carrots for the added crunch. Highly recommend!
Romaine Hearts- The base for building our lettuce wraps. I prefer Romaine hearts for their hearty structure.
Variations & Substitutions:
- While I really prefer Romaine hearts in this recipe, you can replace the Romaine Hearts with Iceberg or Bibb Lettuce.
- Looking for more veggies? Try adding in some mushrooms or zucchini with the peppers and onions. Yum!
- If you don't have ground chicken on hand, you can use ground turkey or ground pork to replace it. I don't recommend ground beef. It has a lot more fat and really doesn't pair well with these flavors. Stick with chicken, turkey or pork.
- Love sauces? Try drizzling a little store bought red chili dipping sauce onto these. So good!
How to Make Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
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Here are the Step by Step Instructions on these Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
Start by prepping all of the toppings, along with washing the lettuce leaves. Cut off the last two to three inches of the romaine heart stem, then carefully pull the leaves apart. Rinse and set over paper towels to dry.
For the carrots, I like to do a julienne cut, so they look like little matchsticks. Do a rough chop of the peanuts. Finally, mince the cilantro and thinly slice the green onions. Set aside for serving. (See the ingredients photo above for a visual)
Into a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, minced garlic, grated ginger and red pepper flakes (optional). Set the sauce aside.
Into a pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Once the oil starts to heat up, add the ground chicken and begin to break up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Allow the chicken to cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
Add in the peppers and onions. Cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.
Add in the soy sauce mixture and lower heat to medium low for the last 3 minutes.
Allow the filling to cool for a minute or two, then serve.
Spoon filling into each lettuce leaf and top with carrots, cilantro, peanuts, and green onion.
I also like to drizzle some red chili dipping sauce onto mine! SO GOOD!
Expert Tips:
- When washing the lettuce, be gentle with it and run it under cold water. Hot water will cause it to wilt. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove the excess water.
- I recommend using a stainless steel skillet for its ability to heat evenly. It sears the chicken and vegetables really well and they don't stick at all.
- Take the time to chop up all the toppings. It's the perfect last minute addition to make these really appealing.
- When grating the ginger, I recommend peeling the outside of the skin with a spoon. Then, grate it on the smallest side of the cheese grater or use a lemon zester. Be careful not to get your fingers. This quick video below from Livestrong Woman shows how to remove the skin with a spoon.
Recipe FAQs:
Absolutely! This recipe works with ground pork or ground turkey as substitutions for the ground chicken.
Of course! I ate this for lunch the day after I made it for dinner. It is a great recipe to prep ahead for lunches during the busy week.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of the romaine heart for lettuce wraps. This lettuce is crunchy, delicious, and can hold some serious weight. My second choice is a Boston bibb lettuce, which has a much softer texture than romaine hearts. You can also use iceberg lettuce, which is very crisp with a nice crunch. Romaine hearts and iceberg lettuce are both highly concentrated with water, but Romaine is known to have more nutritional benefits because of the leafy green ends.
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Recipe
Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
This Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe is healthy and full of Asian flavor. It only takes 30 minutes and it's a fun lunch or dinner, where everyone can choose their own toppings.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (I used regular, not reduced sodium)
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 romaine hearts (bibb or iceberg work for substitution)
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
- ½ cup carrot, julienne cut (like little matchsticks)
- ½ cup cilantro, minced
- 2 tablespoons peanuts, roughly chopped
- ½ cup green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Start by prepping all of the toppings, along with washing my lettuce leaves. I cut off the last two to three inches of the romaine heart stem, then carefully pull the leaves apart. Rinse and set over paper towels to dry. For the carrots, I like to do a julienne cut, so they look like little matchsticks. Do a rough chop of the peanuts. Finally, mince the cilantro and thinly slice the green onions. Set aside for serving.
- Into a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, minced garlic, grated ginger and red pepper flakes (optional). Set the sauce aside.
- Into a pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Once the oil starts to heat up, add the ground chicken and begin to break up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Allow the chicken to cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add in the peppers and onions. Cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add in the soy sauce mixture and lower heat to medium low for the last 3 minutes.
- Allow the filling to cool for a minute or two, then serve.
- Spoon filling into each lettuce leaf and top with carrots, cilantro, peanuts, and green onion. Enjoy!
Notes
- When washing the lettuce, be gentle with it and run it under cold water. Hot water will cause it to wilt. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove the excess water.
- I recommend using a stainless steel skillet for its ability to heat evenly. It sears the chicken and vegetables really well and they don't stick at all.
- Take the time to chop up all the toppings. It's the perfect last minute addition to make these really appealing.
- When grating the ginger, I recommend peeling the outside of the skin with a spoon. Then, grate it on the smallest side of the cheese grater or use a lemon zester. Be careful not to get your fingers.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Lunch
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: asian
Keywords: ground chicken lettuce wraps, easy lunch ideas, 30 minute dinners
Jennifer
I’d be ok if I never ate anything else. So so so good!
★★★★★
Tara Smithson
I am so glad you liked them! Thank you so much for leaving a review. It means the world to me! xoxo~Tara
holly
So YUMMY!! Thank you!
★★★★★