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These savory and slightly sweet Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps are a fun and flavorful weeknight meal, clocking in at under 20 minutes! They’re light, refreshing, and great for hot summer days or when you need something a little lighter.
Table of Contents
Lettuce wraps might sound underwhelming, but it’s all about what you stuff them with—and these hoisin chicken lettuce wraps are legitimately crave-worthy! Ground chicken is cooked in a lip-smacking sauce that offers up sweet and savory Asian-inspired flavors. For extra crunch and freshness, we like topping them with this quick and easy cucumber and carrot salad. It’s SO GOOD with its rice vinegar tang!
If you’re looking for more crunchy side salads, this smashed cucumber salad is incredibly addictive. We also love this Greek cucumber tomato salad as a side during the warmer months.
★★★★★
“Love how healthy and flavorful this recipe is!! I turned this into a meal prep lunch and it was easy, filling and satisfying!”
—ANJALI
Ingredients You’ll Need
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Hoisin sauce—If you haven’t had it before, hoisin sauce has a rich, complex, and umami-forward flavor that balances sweet, salty, and tangy. You can find it at most supermarkets.
- Ketchup—It may seem like an odd addition to Asian-inspired cuisine, but ketchup is a handy shortcut for achieving the classic sweet-and-sour flavor profile found in many Chinese and Southeast Asian dishes. I use it in my sweet and sour chicken recipe!
- Chili sauce—Sambal oelek or sriracha both work.
- Lettuce—Boston bibb or butter lettuce works the best. They’re shaped perfectly for acting as a cup for the chicken filling.
Recipe Modifications
- Protein—Ground turkey can easily replace the ground chicken called for in this recipe. You could also use ground beef.
- Add-ins—You could add chopped mushrooms or, for some crunch, water chestnuts, shredded cabbage, diced sweet bell peppers, or dry Ramen noodles.
How to Make Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Step 1. Heat the sesame oil over medium heat in a large skillet or braiser. Add the ground chicken and cook it for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, stirring often. Break it into crumbles with your spatula as you go.
Step 2. When the chicken is cooked, add the garlic, ginger, hoisin, ketchup, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic chili sauce, and sriracha. Stir everything until it’s well combined and all of the chicken is coated in the sauce. Let the mixture simmer on low, stirring periodically, for 3-5 minutes or until it thickens up.
Step 3. Stir in the scallions and simmer for another minute or so to let them soften a little bit.
Step 4. Garnish with sesame seeds, and serve with lettuce cups and my cucumber and carrot salad! (Optional, but highly recommended.)
Here’s a Tip!
Because ground chicken is so lean, it may stick to the pan when cooking, even with the oil. At the first hint of it sticking, add a bit of water, as needed.
How to Serve Chicken Lettuce Wraps
I like topping these lettuce cups with this cool and crunchy cucumber and carrot salad. You could also opt for this smashed cucumber salad as a side. More yummy veg side options would be sautéed broccolini, seared baby bok choy, or honey miso roasted sweet potatoes. And if you’re not shying away from carbs, you could always toss in some of this coconut ginger Instant Pot rice!
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To freeze the hoisin chicken, let the mixture cool and transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, like these silicone bags, and pop in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, transfer the meat mixture to a microwave-safe plate and heat it in increments of 15 seconds until it’s warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
My go-to lettuce for wraps is Boston bibb or butter lettuce. The leaves are shaped perfectly for forming cups to wrap around a filling. In a pinch, romaine lettuce can work.
Although some lettuce wrap recipes come with a sauce for dipping or drizzling, this recipe does not. The hoisin chicken meat mixture is super saucy and flavorful, so no extra sauces are needed!
More Healthy Lettuce Wraps to Try…
If you try this Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 TBSP sesame oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 TBSP grated ginger
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup hoisin
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
- 1 TBSP rice wine vinegar
- 1 TBSP garlic chili sauce (Sriracha, Sambal Oelek, etc.), Go ahead and add more for extra heat!
- 2 scallions, sliced
- Bibb lettuce
Instructions
- Heat the sesame oil over medium heat in a large skillet or braiser. Transfer the ground chicken to it, cooking it for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Break it into crumbles with your spatula as you go.
- When the chicken is cooked, add the garlic, ginger, hoisin, ketchup, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic chili sauce, and sriracha. Stir everything until it's well combined and all of the chicken is coated in the sauce. Let the mixture simmer on low, stirring periodically, for 3-5 minutes or until it thickens up.
- Stir in the scallions and simmer for another minute or so to let them soften a little bit.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, and serve with lettuce cups and my cucumber and carrot salad! (Optional, but highly recommended.)
My new favorite lunch! Quick, simple, healthy, and delicious!