These easy and delicious Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are always on my dinner rotation. They are packed with flavor and are so fun to eat!
Lately, life feels like an endless list of to-do’s. When life gets busy, easy dinners are always a great idea, so these delicious Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are just perfect. It takes less than 20 minutes to make!
You can even dice all the ingredients in advance to save extra time, or just make it over the weekend for meal prep. Seriously, these Asian lettuce chicken wraps are so fast, easy, and convenient!
You can taste amazing Asian flavors in the homemade sauce. I also love wrapping the chicken filling with fresh and crunchy butter lettuce. Or you can also serve it with rice…try my easy coconut Jasmine rice recipe.
Fresh Ingredients
Basically, there are 3 parts in this Asian chicken lettuce wraps recipe – the filling, the homemade sauce, and the lettuce for serving. Below is a quick overview of the yummy ingredients!
For the filling:
- Ground chicken: I like using lean meats for this recipe. Chicken or turkey work great.
- Shitake mushrooms: Add depth of flavor.
- Carrots: For texture. I cook it until just tender but still a tiny bit crunchy.
- Ginger, garlic, and scallions: These are very common base ingredients in Asian cooking. Adds lots of flavor.
For the delicious sauce: hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar.
For serving, I use butter lettuce because the leaves are wide and pretty! Other good choices are romaine or iceberg lettuce.
How to Make It
Only 4 very simple steps:
- Make the sauce: Whisk all the sauce ingredients in a bowl until combined, and set aside.
- Make the filling: Brown and cook the ground chicken on a skillet with some oil, breaking it apart with a spatula. Add the carrots and ginger, and cook for a few. Then the mushrooms and garlic.
- Add the sauce: Pour the sauce over the filling, and combine. Let it cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Serve on lettuce “cups,” and garnish with sliced green onions.
Asian chicken lettuce wraps are seriously so easy to make! The chicken filling reheats really well, so feel free to double the recipe if you’d like.
It comes out so fragrant thanks to the ginger and garlic. I love it!
Make Ahead and Meal Prep
If you’re looking to prep all the ingredients ahead of time (I definitely do this!), here are some ideas.
- Veggies: Chop or dice the carrots, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and scallions. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Chicken: I usually cook the chicken the same day, but you can also pre-cook it 1 day in advance.
- Sauce: You can make the sauce up to 5 days in advance. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Lettuce: Pre-wash and pat-dry (or use a salad spinner) the lettuce and store in the fridge.
When ready to eat these chicken lettuce wraps, just throw all the ingredients on a skillet and cook. SO easy!
For meal prep, evenly divide up the cooked filling into containers. Should be enough for 3. This recipe makes enough for about 6 lettuce wraps. Place the lettuce next to the filling in the container, or bag it separately. It will be good for 3-4 days.
Substitutions and Variations
Whenever I make these Asian lettuce wraps for friends, the most common questions around substitutions are about the chicken and mushrooms.
- Chicken: You can also use ground turkey, ground pork, or diced firm tofu.
- Mushrooms: I used shitake mushrooms, but regular white mushrooms or baby bella mushrooms would work great too.
You can also add other veggies to the filling. Some of my favorite additions are water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and cashews.
And to spice it up, feel free to add Sriracha or chili sauce! Yummy!
I’m hoping life will be less hectic over the coming weeks. I’m optimistic! In the meantime, I’ll be meal prepping these delicious chicken lettuce wraps to save myself some time (and energy!).
The ground chicken filling is so flavorful. I love the sauce and the aromatic profile thanks to the garlic, ginger, and scallions. Delicious!
Other quick recipes I’ve been making lately:
- Avocado Tuna Salad
- Egg Salad with Spinach
- Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Caesar Pasta Salad by Joyous Apron!
Tips for Success
- Dice the carrots to about 1/4 inch thick, so it cooks properly.
- When pouring the sauce over the filling, do it gradually until it’s enough to your liking. Some people like it on the heavier side.
- Use crisp and fresh lettuce. I like crunchy ones, such as butter lettuce, romaine, and iceberg lettuce.
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
For the filling:
- Olive oil for pan
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ½ cup small diced carrots - about ¼ inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger, plus more to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 oz shitake mushrooms, diced - about 1 cup
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the sauce:
- ⅓ cup hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
For serving:
- 6 leaves butter lettuce - or romaine or iceberg lettuce
- 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- In a bowl, whisk all the sauce ingredients until evenly combined. Set aside.
Make the filling:
- Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the ground chicken and cook until browned about 4-5 minutes, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Drain excess moisture from the pan if needed.
- Add carrots and ginger, and cook for another 3 minutes, until softened and the chicken is cooked through. Add the garlic and mushrooms, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.
- Add the sauce gradually (you may not need to use all of it, add to your liking) until incorporated. Cook another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Assemble and serve:
- Serve on top of lettuce "cups." Garnish with sliced green onions. Enjoy!
Notes
- Other ingredients you can add to the filling: water chestnuts, cashews.
- If you can’t find shitake mushrooms, use regular white mushrooms or bella mushrooms.
- Instead of ground chicken, you can also use ground turkey, ground pork, or diced firm tofu.
Leave a Reply