Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Easy homemade Chicken Lettuce Wraps. These are low in carbs but loaded with protein so it’ll keep you full for hours without all the guilt! Great for a light lunch or dinner!
Lettuce Wraps!
More specifically skillet sautéed ground chicken, diced mushrooms, and onions all drizzled with a homemade asian inspired sauce that’s loaded with things like sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce. These are spicy, tangy, and savory. Absolutely… top notch.?
I’m loading this simple stuffing into lettuce leaves and scarfing them down like it’s my job with no shame because these are completely summer bod aka waistline friendly.
It’s been quite a while since i’ve made a meal that doubles as an easy, portable lunch. Load the stuffing into a small tupperware container and wrap the butter lettuce leaves into a small zip-top baggie and you’ve got a protein filled desk lunch that’ll keep you full without the 3pm slump.
The same can be said about dinner too. And it’s also the ideal Sunday afternoon lunch so that the leftovers can be used throughout the week for quick lunches or dinners. You can certainly make a double batch and serve it on a bed of rice topped with shredded lettuce and wonton or sesame sticks if you’re feeling extra generous. And chicken lettuce wraps are perfect for busy weeknights when it’s all about getting something out FAST.
The stuffing can be made with chicken, turkey, or beef. I prefer to use ground white meat chicken but ground chicken thighs will definitely add more flavor for those who care for dark meat. And luckily, for those of us who aren’t sooo fond of leftovers, this stuffing actually tastes better as it sits. We enjoyed this for lunch on the weekend and I used the leftovers for a single lady dinner on a weeknight and to my pleasant surprise, the stuffing was even more flavorful than the day I made it. <<SCORE!>>
And Anees requested a variation of lettuce wraps for every weekend lunch. Um.. low carb? Hubby approved? DONE.
Let’s talk about the ingredients for the lettuce wraps. I’m adding minced mushrooms to help bulk up the filling a bit. If you want them to be more like the P.F Changs version of a lettuce wrap, add in chopped waterchestnuts for lots of crunch and texture. It all starts with sautéing the minced mushrooms in a little bit of oil. I remove them when they’re cooked through and then sauté chopped shallots (or onions) and then hit it with a bit of garlic before adding in the ground chicken. This helps flavor the chicken right off the bat.
Then comes the sauce. It’s simple. All you need to do is add sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, rice vinegar, sriracha, a hint of sugar, oyster sauce, and a tablespoon of hoisin sauce to a mason jar and give it a few good shakes until it combines. When the chicken is done, add the mushrooms back in along with the prepared sauce and let cook for 1 minute on high heat.
Full disclosure here, i’m not a huge fan of hoisin sauce so I kept it to a minimum in the recipe. I feel it’s one of those ingredients that kinda just takes over the dish and you really can’t taste much of anything else. If you do like hoisin sauce though, you can drizzle additional sauce straight onto each individual lettuce wrap. I top mine with some crushed peanuts and sesame seeds because I love the added texture.
Give these a go! I kid you not, these are amazing in too many ways. Also, they leave you plenty of calories so you can enjoy this for dessert. ?
Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Easy homemade Chicken Lettuce Wraps. These are low in carbs but loaded with protein so it'll keep you full for hours without all the guilt! Great for a light lunch or dinner
Ingredients
Chicken Filling:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 8 baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 pound ground chicken (turkey or beef)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 small chopped shallot (or 1/2 red onion)
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon EACH: toasted sesame oil, hoisin sauce, sriracha sauce, AND rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons EACH: low sodium soy sauce AND oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- CHICKEN FILLING: Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté them for 3-4 minutes or until the mushrooms reduce to half their size. Remove to a bowl.
- SAUCE: Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a mason jar. Screw on the lid and give it a good shake until all the ingredients combine, set aside for later.
- CHICKEN FILLING CONTINUED: Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and cook the shallots over medium high heat for 1 minute before adding in the garlic. Let the garlic cook for 30 seconds before adding in the ground chicken. Break the lumps in the ground chicken using a wooden spoon and let the chicken cook for 5-7 minutes or until it cooks all the way through. Add the mushrooms back into the skillet and drizzle with the prepared sauce. Let cook for 1-2 minutes. Allow the filling to cool for a few minutes before filling in butter lettuce leaves. Top with sesame seeds and crushed peanuts.
Notes
- Leftover filling can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- You can add in 1 (4-6 ounce) can of chopped water chestnuts when you add the sauce to the chicken if you want them to taste more like P.F. Changs lettuce wraps.
*Please note: the nutritional facts calculated are an estimate based on the ingredients i’ve used. If you’d like a more accurate count, please calculate them using the ingredients/brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe. The nutritional facts are for 1 1/14th of the recipe, including the butter lettuce leaf.
Great recipe!
I will definitely make it again soon.
I also added some carrots as well, which blend in nicely and add some color and crunch.
So delicious, absolutely would make again.
The sauce really makes this recipe.
Have made this many, many times. Fantastic. Ground turkey is a reasonable substitute if chicken is costly or unavailable. The kids LOVE it.