These Asian Lettuce Wraps are seriously packed with flavour. Ground chicken in a delicious hoisin sauce mix, stuffed into a lettuce leaf with carrots and noodles and then topped with plenty of crunch toppings. Ready in under 20 minutes, these lettuce wraps are fresh and tasty and a lovely light lunch or snack.
At just 175 calories per lettuce cup, this is a deliciously light and low carb option. Lettuce leaves make handy little cups to stuff, and this Asian chicken is our favourite thing to stuff them with, and then of course load them with sesame seeds, cashews and chillies for extra texture and flavour.
These Asian chicken lettuce wraps are low in carbs and just 175 calories per wrap, so a nice light lunch option with a lot of flavour. It's also easy to adapt and a great way to use up leftover chicken too.
If you are looking for more chicken recipes, then why not try our easy Air Fryer Chicken Breast, crispy Chicken Goujons, delicious Air Fryer Stuffed Chicken Breast or our spicy Moroccan Chicken Flatbreads?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Lettuce leaves - This is what holds the chicken lettuce wraps all together. Instead of using a bread based wrap, using lettuce makes them a great lower carb alternative. We used the inner leaves of a round lettuce, however you could use romaine or iceberg which would have more crunch.
- Chicken - We ground up chicken breast to keep this nice and lean. You could do the same with boneless and skinless chicken thighs for a juicier dish.
- Shallots - You could swap these for brown onion, however shallots are a little sweeter.
- Garlic - Crush it fresh or save yourself some time and use a jar of lazy garlic.
- Ginger - This adds so much flavour to the dish. You could use a jar of lazy ginger too. Did you know that you can freeze ginger, and then just grate it from frozen.
- Carrots - A great way to add some colour and nutrients to this meal. You could swap it for courgette (zucchini) instead, or use a mixture of the two.
- Noodles - This makes the asian lettuce wraps recipe more filling. We used thin wholewheat noodles, however you could use chunkier noodles like udon.
- Hoisin sauce - This is a little time-saving ingredient, as store bought hoisin sauce adds so much flavour.
- Sesame oil - You could use olive oil, however sesame oil has much more flavour and adds to the Asian flavours.
- Soy sauce - Keep the salt levels lower by using reduced salt soy sauce.
- Lime juice - This adds so much zesty freshness to the dish and really lightens it up.
- Sriracha - We would happily put this stuff on everything! It adds a kick of heat to the sauce, however you could leave it out or swap it for your favourite chilli sauce.
Variations
Chicken - These Asian chicken wraps use ground chicken breast. If you can find this in your supermarket and want to save yourself some time, then buy it ready ground (chicken mince). However, we just put a chicken breast into a food processor and blend it until it was all ground up. You could also do the same with boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
Alternative protein - If you didn't want to use chicken for this lettuce wraps recipe, then you could swap it for lots of crunchy stir fried vegetables, or even king prawns (shrimp) or tofu.
You could also swap ground chicken for ground beef, turkey or pork.
Vegetables - You can finely dice some vegetables and add them to the chicken when it is cooking. We like bell peppers, aubergine and courgette. It's an easy way to hide extra veggies. We also like adding mushrooms and shittake or oyster mushrooms add such a great texture.
Sauce - We love the flavour that hoisin sauce adds to this dish, but you could swap it for our Healthy Teriyaki Sauce instead if you prefer. If you wanted more a satay flavour, then add a tablespoon of peanut butter to the sauce. For a spicy twist, you can use Gochujang.
How to Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps - Step by Step
- Step 1: Put the chicken into a food processor and blend until mince.
- Step 2: Put the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice and sriracha in a bowl and mix well.
- Step 3: Put some oil in a large frying pan and add the shallot, garlic and ginger and gently cook for 2 minutes.
- Step 4: Add the chicken mince, break it down into small pieces and gently cook for 5 minutes.
- Step 5: Add the noodles to a pan of boiling water and simmer for 4 minutes (or according to packet instructions).
- Step 6: Add the hoisin sauce mix to the chicken and stir well and gently cook for 3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Step 7: Drain the noodles and add to the lettuce leaves (a). Top with carrot (b).
- Step 8: Add the cooked chicken mixture (a). Top with red chilli, crushed cashews, fresh coriander, spring onions and sesame seeds and serve (b).
Serving Suggestions
What we love about this recipe for lettuce wraps, is that it really does have it all. It's got carbs, protein, vegetables all in it already, but it's still nice and light. However, if you are serving this at a dinner party or want some sides to go with this, then we have got you covered:
- Crunchy Asian Slaw
- Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Air Fryer Corn on the Cob
- Salt and Pepper Chips
- Air Fryer Kale
- Microwave Broccoli
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Broccoli Slaw
Extra Tips
- You could use chicken thighs instead of breast.
- We used round lettuce, but you could use little gem, cos or romaine.
- Swap the chicken for stir fry veggies, prawns or tofu.
- You could use sweet chilli sauce instead of sriracha.
- Leftover cooked chicken mixture will store in the fridge for 2 days in an air tight container.
- If you want the sauce a little thicker, than add a cornflour slurry.
- To add a bit of crunch, you could add some crushed peanuts or cashews to the top of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
We try to make these fresh as much as possible, however if you end up making too much of the chicken mixture, then that will store in an air tight container in the fridge for a couple of days.
Some times we purposely make too much of it and then store to add to stir fries and noodle dishes for the next 2 days. It's great in a wrap too.
Healthy is such a subjective word, however we think this is a nutritious meal option. Using lettuce for the wraps makes these a lower carb option. We have also used wholewheat noodles to increase the fibre. You could bulk them out with more vegetables by mixing courgette with the carrots. Keep the salt levels down by using reduced salt soy sauce.
We just pick them up like a taco and eat them. It can get pretty messy (not the best first date food), so you can use a knife and fork if you prefer.
More Chinese recipes
If you’ve tried this recipe for lettuce wraps, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Asian Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 6 Lettuce leaves
- 1 Chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 4 Shallots - diced
- 3 Garlic clove - crushed
- 30 g (1 oz) Fresh ginger - grated
- 0.5 Carrot - grated
- 1 nest Dried wholewheat noodles
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 0.5 Lime - juice only
- 2 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
- Red chilli, crushed cashews, fresh coriander, spring onions and sesame seeds - for serving
Instructions
- Put 1 Chicken breast into a food processor and blend until mince.
- Put 100 ml Hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoon Soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Sesame oil, juice of 0.5 Lime and 2 tablespoon Sriracha sauce into a bowl and mix well.
- Put 1 tablespoon Olive oil in a large frying pan and add 4 Shallots, 3 Garlic clove and 30 g Fresh ginger and gently cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken mince, break it down into small pieces and gently cook for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 nest Dried wholewheat noodles to a pan of boiling water and simmer for 4 minutes (or according to packet instructions).
- Add the hoisin sauce mix to the chicken and stir well and gently cook for 3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Drain the noodles and add to 6 Lettuce leaves.
- Top with 0.5 Carrot (grated).
- Add the cooked chicken mixture.
- Top with Red chilli, crushed cashews, fresh coriander, spring onions and sesame seeds and serve.
Recipe Tips
- You could use chicken thighs instead of breast.
- We used round lettuce, but you could use little gem, cos or romaine.
- Swap the chicken for stir fry veggies, prawns or tofu.
- You could use sweet chilli sauce instead of sriracha.
- Leftover cooked chicken mixture will store in the fridge for 2 days in an air tight container.
- If you want the sauce a little thicker, than add a cornflour slurry.
- To add a bit of crunch, you could add some crushed peanuts or cashews to the top of it.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Qashang says
Wow! These lettuce wraps look amazing. Such tempting pictures too.
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter says
I love Asian recipes, so this one is a real winner for me! I replaced chicken with tofu and it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe x
Cynthia says
Hello Dannii; The possibilities for filling lettuce cups are endless. I like all the suggestions from other followers which I will put to good use. Great website and you are so inspiring. I have to lose the same amount of weight as you have and along with your helpful tips and recipes this is the encouragement I need. Thank you.
nazima says
I'm a huge fan of lettuce wraps too. I love vietnamese style dressings with carrot, cucumber and cashew nuts as part of the filling
Tiffany says
To they fall apart easily?
Dannii says
They can crack if you fold them too much, but I eat them like a taco and they hold together well.
Simone says
I love how colourful all your food is. It just looks so much more appetising than my grey food lol.
Alison says
I have never had courgette raw before. I suppose it is just like eating cucumber. Thanks for the idea.
Ella says
I can almost taste this through the screen. Is it really only 350 calories? That is really good.
Lorraine says
I love the chilli idea. I love chilli in flatbread, but it isn't good for my waistline.
Yasmine says
This dressing for the chicken sounds yummy. Do you think that would make a good dressing for a large salad if it was watered down a bit?
Rachel says
I am so happy you have posted another lunch recipe. I really struggle with this meal and I don't know why.
Dannii says
I have lots more lunch recipes planned too, so keep checking back.
Sophie says
I am a veggie, what would you add to beans to make them less boring?
Angela says
Do you think these would travel well in a packed lunch? My daughter does not react well to flour and I am struggling with things to send her to school with.
Dannii says
I would pack everything separately. Put the filling in a pot and then the wraps separately, so she can make them at school.
Wendy says
The chicken one sounds lovely. Thank you.
Caroline says
What an amazing idea. I have never thought about doing this.