These Thai chicken lettuce wraps make a delicious appetizer or lighter main dish that you can make at home. They are full of flavor!
I love making my restaurant faves at home. These were inspired by the lettuce wraps at PF Chang, and they are absolutely delicious.
Side note: If you like Asian-restaurant-inspired recipes, you may also want to check out chicken fried rice and Thai coconut tofu soup. 😉👌🏻
And if you need a vegan/ vegetarian version of these lettuce wraps, check out my tofu lettuce wraps recipe.
Ingredients
For tastiest results, always use the highest quality ingredients you have access to.
To make this Thai chicken lettuce wraps recipe, you will need the following:
- sesame oil
- onion
- garlic
- ginger
- ground chicken
- Tamari (low sodium) or soy sauce, coconut aminos
- Thai sweet red chili sauce (we love Trader Joe’s)
- lime juice
- maple syrup or honey, agave
- cashews
- scallions/ green onion
- cilantro
- shredded carrots
- Sesame seeds (optional, for topping)
- butter lettuce
Butter lettuce is my favorite, and it is what I highly recommend and am using here. Feel free to substitute with your favorite large leaf lettuce.
You can use soy sauce, Tamari (gluten free), or coconut aminos. I prefer low sodium, but again, any type works. As well as the sweetener of your choice (honey, maple syrup or agave).
Making Thai chicken lettuce wraps
Here is how you can make Thai chicken lettuce wraps. It is super simple, y’all.
Make the garlic, ginger pan sauce. Heat up a pan to medium high heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the onions. Toss and let cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to brown and turn translucent. Then add in the garlic and ginger. Toss that all together and let it cook for 2 minutes.
Cook the chicken. Add the ground chicken to the pan, tossing it in the pan sauce while breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and let it cook until it starts to turn golden brown and there is no more pink, about 3-4 minutes.
Make the Thai chili sauce. Meanwhile, add the soy sauce, chili sauce, lime juice, and honey to a small bowl and mix to combine.
Add the sauce to the chicken. Sprinkle the chopped cashews over the chicken in the pan and pour in the sauce. Toss that all together, reduce the heat to low and let that all cook for 2 more minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, then stir in the carrots, chopped scallions and cilantro.
Assemble the Thai chicken lettuce wraps
To assemble the lettuce wraps, open one of the lettuce leaves and add a large spoonful of the chicken mixture into the wrap and top it with some of the pan sauce and sesame seeds.
Continue until you have made all of the lettuce wraps. Y’all enjoy, and let me know if you try it!
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Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
These Thai chicken lettuce wraps make a delicious appetizer or lighter main dish that you can make at home. They are full of flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup onion diced, I used yellow. White onion works too.
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger or ginger paste
- 10 oz ground chicken
- ¼ cup Tamari (low sodium) or soy sauce, coconut aminos
- 2 Tablespoon Thai sweet red chili sauce (we love Trader Joe's)
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey, agave
- ⅓ cup cashews chopped – raw or roasted/salted
- ¼ cup scallions chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro fresh, chopped
- ¼-½ cup carrots shredded
- Sesame seeds for topping
- 1 head butter lettuce – leaves removed rinsed and dried – see notes
Instructions
-
Make the garlic, ginger pan sauce. Heat up a pan to medium high heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the onions. Toss and let cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to brown and turn translucent. Then add in the garlic and ginger. Toss that all together and let it cook for 2 minutes.
-
Cook the chicken. Add the ground chicken to the pan, tossing it in the pan sauce while breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and let it cook until it starts to turn golden brown and there is no more pink, about 3-4 minutes.
-
Make the thai chili sauce. Meanwhile, add the soy sauce, chili sauce, lime juice, and honey to a small bowl and mix to combine.
-
Add the sauce to the chicken. Sprinkle the chopped cashews over the chicken in the pan and pour in the sauce. Toss that all together, reduce the heat to low and let that all cook for 2 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, then stir in the carrots, chopped scallions and cilantro.
-
Assemble the lettuce wraps. To assemble the lettuce wraps, open one of the lettuce leaves and add a large spoonful of the chicken mixture into the wrap and top it with some of the pan sauce and sesame seeds. Continue until you have made all of the lettuce wraps.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator. It will vary, based on how much filling you put in your wraps, but info is for approximately 2 wraps.
Notes
To prepare the lettuce, carefully tear each leaf away from the bulb and rinse each leaf carefully under light running water. Then place the clean leaves on a clean paper towel to dry before using them to assemble the wraps.
Tammy says
Absolutely delicious!! Will be making this regularly. I did add a little cornstarch to thicken but otherwise exactly followed the recipe. Yum!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad to hear it Tammy!!
Sjt079 says
I have tried so many lettuce wrap recipes that were just okay. This one is delicious! I made just a few modifications. I skipped the sesame oil, carrots,regular onion and cashews. I used green onions as the only onion in the recipe. I doubled the sauce and used coconut aminos instead of soy or tamari to make it less salty. It was outstanding. I can’t wait to make it again.
Dina says
Super yummie!! Family loved it. I doubled the recipe and I think it was a bit too salty but my family loved it! Definitely making it again!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it.❤️
Bethany says
I tripled it. It got worse. 🤣 The salt was a bit much. Next time I will not triple the lime or soy sauce.
Amy says
We really enjoyed this recipe. I did add a little cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it, but otherwise made as-is. That sweet thai sauce was such a nice surprise. Thx for sharing!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Amy!❤️
Pam says
Absolutely love these, will definitely make again. This is one of our favorites
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad to hear that Pam!🙌🏻
Sam says
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! One of my favorite meals ever. I was wondering if you have ever tried it in a crockpot before?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you enjoyed it Sam! No, I have never tried it in a crock pot before. To me, it just seems so easy enough making it as is.🤷🏼♀️ Plus, unless you have one of those multifunction crock pots (that also sautés), you would still have to brown the meat in a pan first.Regardless, if you end up trying that, let me know how it turns out.
Alissa says
I made this recipe with ground turkey. We loved it ! It is definitely going to be a regular at our house. It’s so good you want to share the recipe with friends !
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Alissa!❤️
Sonya says
I made this for my family last night and everyone loved it! I was anticipating a large amount of leftovers, as there are only 3 people in my family, but we ate all of it. I can’t wait to make this again. It is definitely a new family favorite. Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Sonya! ❤️
Linda says
This was amazing! I will make this often. I used ground turkey and it was delicious. Make it. You won’t be sorry!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Linda!❤️
Angela says
This recipe is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted, let alone cooked. Wow! Thank you so much and I am sharing this with my friends and family!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am thrilled to hear that Angela!!❤️
Faith M Bowe says
Just made these last night. So delish! I love them way better than PF Chang’s. Flavourful, light, rich ginger taste and crunchy nuts and veggies. Make this..you’ll love it!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Faith! This makes me so happy to hear.❤️
Kimberly says
Made this for the first time today!!!! Omgosh, these are better than the ones I’ve had at PF changs. I made more of the sauce to go on top afterwards and made it a little thicker so it wouldn’t be running all over everywhere. WOWzers!!! Perfect for my low carb dieting too! Thanks for sharing!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Kimberly!❤️