Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Low-Carb, High Satisfaction

By
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
A recipe developer and food photographer, Leah Maroney is an ardent home cook and food blogger who has written over 300 recipes for The Spruce Eats.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 01/30/23
chicken lettuce wraps

The Spruce / Leah Maroney

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 12 wraps

Chicken lettuce wraps are salty, sweet, crispy, and crunchy. Cute little lettuce cups are filled with the tastiest, spicy ground chicken along with thin, crispy rice noodles for a bit of crunch. It all comes together for a healthy and satisfying appetizer, lunch, or dinner. 

You can make the ground chicken ahead of time and reheat when you’re ready to serve, but it’s also delicious served at room temperature or cold. To make this recipe vegetarian, just replace the ground chicken with firm tofu or seitan. Or use a variety of vegetables like chopped carrots and celery along with more mushrooms.

Serve chicken lettuce wraps as an appetizer or a lunchtime main. For a bigger meal or dinner, serve with sautéed green beans, stir-fried eggplant, or even fried rice.

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons canola oil, or other neutral oil, divided

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

  • 1 pound ground chicken

  • 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and diced

  • 1/2 pound mushrooms, diced

  • 4 scallions, diced, whites and greens separated

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce

  • 2 tablespoons water

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

  • 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

  • 1 head butter lettuce

  • Crispy rice noodles, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    chicken lettuce wrap ingredients

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

  2. Heat 1 teaspoon each of the canola oil and sesame oil in a medium sauté pan over high. Add the ground chicken, breaking it into small pieces as you transfer it to the pan; cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes or until the chicken is browned on one side. 

    chicken cooking in a pan

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

  3. Break up the chicken into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon and stir to finish cooking. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

    browned chicken in a pan

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

  4. Add the remaining canola oil to the pan and heat over high. Add the water chestnuts, mushrooms, and scallion whites and light greens. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until softened and browned.

    mushrooms and water chestnuts sauteed in a pan

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

  5. Return the chicken to the pan. Add the garlic, hoisin sauce, water, brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, cornstarch, and chili garlic sauce. Stir to combine all of the ingredients. Cook for about 4 minutes over medium heat until heated through and the sauce is slightly thickened.

    chicken and vegetables in a pan

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

  6. Stir in the remaining scallions until combined.

    scallions in chicken lettuce wrap mixture

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

  7. Wash the lettuce and gently separate the leaves from the head. Fill each “cup” with a heaping spoonful of the filling, then top with a sprinkle of crispy rice noodles. Serve and enjoy.

    chicken lettuce wraps

    The Spruce / Leah Maroney

Recipe Variations

  • If you want to make the recipe spicier, you can add Sriracha or more chili garlic sauce.
  • You can use as many or as few of the rice noodles as you wish.
  • This recipe also works well with ground pork or turkey.
  • Butter lettuce or Bibb lettuce is the best type of lettuce for wraps since it is crisp and makes a nice cup-like shape to hold fillings. If you can't find butter lettuce, try romaine or curly-leaf lettuce.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
449 Calories
17g Fat
46g Carbs
31g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 449
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g 22%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 122mg 41%
Sodium 757mg 33%
Total Carbohydrate 46g 17%
Dietary Fiber 5g 17%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 31g
Vitamin C 12mg 58%
Calcium 66mg 5%
Iron 3mg 18%
Potassium 1513mg 32%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)