These Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are quick, easy, full of flavor, and ready in less than 30 minutes. Serve them as the main course for dinner or lunch or as an appetizer!
Cool, crisp lettuce cups are filled with ground chicken and water chestnuts in an Asian-style sauce and then topped with carrots, cucumber, and green onions for a burst of crunchy freshness!
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This is one of my favorite recipes to make for dinner in the summertime, especially on hot days or super busy days - or on hot and super busy days - or when I feel like I might need to eat a little bit lighter.
It's light, lower-carb, super tasty, and it gets me in and out of the kitchen in a hurry. In fact, it cooks so quickly that it'll probably take you longer to prep the veggies and other ingredients.
But even so, you'll still be ready to eat in about 30 minutes, which is probably faster than it would take to get takeout (and I'll bet it's just as good, if not better)!
Lettuce wraps have really become quite popular in recent years. I'm guessing that's thanks to P.F. Chang's and everyone making homemade versions of their signature dish.
I've only been to a P.F. Chang's once (sadly, there aren't any near me). I loved it, but I didn't get the lettuce wraps that day, so I have no idea how these might compare.
But it doesn't matter, really, because they're absolutely delicious in their own right!
And it's just fun to change things up and have something out of the ordinary for dinner once in a while to keep things interesting!
Ingredients You Need
Note: Ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Vegetable oil
- Ground chicken
- Onion
- Garlic
- Hoisin sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Fresh ginger
- Light brown sugar
- Toasted sesame oil
- Sriracha (optional)
- Canned water chestnuts
- Lettuce leaves (I use romaine; butter or iceberg lettuce can also be used)
- Carrot
- Cucumber
- Green onions
Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, and canned water chestnuts can be found in the Asian/international foods section of the grocery store.
How to Make Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Note: This is just a brief overview of the steps. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe with detailed instructions.
Tips & Tidbits
- Because this cooks so quickly, prep all the veggies and measure out all of the ingredients and have them ready before you start cooking.
- Chicken breasts or thighs cut into small pieces could be used instead of ground chicken.
- You can use any type of lettuce that will be able to hold the chicken without breaking.
- Butter lettuce is great for wraps like this because the leaves naturally have a deep cupped shape (they can sometimes be a little flimsy, though).
- Since I can't ever seem to get a good head of butter lettuce at my local grocery store, I opt for sturdy romaine leaves instead (I like to use the ones closer to the heart, which have a more curved shape to them).
- You could even use iceberg lettuce leaves if that's all you've got (sometimes it can be hard to peel the individual leaves away without breaking them, so be careful).
- If your lettuce tears easily or is on the flimsy side, you can always double up on the leaves for extra sturdiness.
- Don't overfill the lettuce cups; it will make them very messy to eat (admittedly, I overfilled the ones in the photos and paid the price).
- I opted for 8 less-filled cups rather than 4 super-full cups, which gives you 2 wraps per serving.
- If your lettuce is on the smaller side, use a few more leaves if you need to.
- If you're not going to eat all of these in one sitting, just assemble the ones you plan to eat and then separately store the leftover filling and lettuce leaves in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days (this will keep the lettuce from getting soggy).
So, how do you eat these lettuce wraps? Just pick 'em up with your hands and enjoy them kind of like you would a taco.
Steamed or stir-fried veggies, white or brown rice, fried rice, egg rolls, spring rolls, wonton soup, or egg drop soup would be great options for side dishes.
And if you really want to knock your socks off, try them with a side of my Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles. They're a perfect pair!
I hope you try this Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe and love it and much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went. Please leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 cup chopped onions, about ¼ to ½-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sriracha, optional (add more, less or omit for the amount of heat you want)
- 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and cut into ¼ to ½-inch pieces
- 8 medium to large romaine lettuce leaves, butter or iceberg lettuce can also be used (use as many leaves as you need)
- ½ cup julienned carrot, for topping (optional)
- ½ cup julienned cucumber, for topping (optional)
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium to large skillet (I use a 10") over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken and onions to the skillet; cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the chicken into small pieces, until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low; add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Add the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, brown sugar, sesame oil, and sriracha (if using); stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
- Add the water chestnuts; stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, for another minute.
- Divide the chicken mixture evenly among the lettuce leaves; top each with some of the carrots, cucumbers and green onions, if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Because this cooks so quickly, prep all the veggies and measure out all of the ingredients and have them ready before you start cooking.
- Chicken breasts or thighs cut into small pieces could be used instead of ground chicken.
- Don't overfill the lettuce cups; it will make them very messy to eat. I opted for 8 less-filled cups rather than 4 super-full cups, which gives you 2 wraps per serving.
- If your lettuce is on the smaller side, use a few more leaves if you need to.
- I prefer to use romaine lettuce because it is more sturdy than some other lettuces; I like to use the leaves closer to the heart, as they have more of a curved shape than the outer leaves.
- If you use a different type of lettuce and the leaves are a little flimsy and tear easily, you can double up on the leaves to make the wraps sturdier.
- If you're not going to eat all of these in one sitting, just assemble the ones you plan to eat and then separately store the leftover filling and lettuce leaves in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days (this will keep the lettuce from getting soggy).
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