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Plot twist: you don’t have to go to P.F. Chang’s to indulge in delicious, crave-worthy lettuce wraps. These ground chicken lettuce wraps offer a lot in one bite—sweet, salty, saucy, and refreshingly crisp. And they’re on your table in 20 minutes!
Lettuce wraps can be hit or miss, but hear me out: ground chicken, cooked in a sauce that’s equal parts sweet and savory, spooned into a cold, crisp lettuce leaf? It works. It really works. I love adding a quick cucumber and carrot salad on top. It’s tossed in rice vinegar, and adding something sharp and crunchy to these lettuce wraps really makes them sing. Don’t skip it!
If you’re looking for more crunchy side salads, this smashed cucumber salad is incredibly addictive. I also love this Greek cucumber tomato salad as a side during the warmer months.
Table of Contents
★★★★★
“Love how healthy and flavorful this recipe is!! I turned this into a meal prep lunch, and it was easy, filling, and satisfying!”
—ANJALI
Why You’ll Love These Lettuce Wraps
- High protein and filling despite being light
- Ready in about 20 minutes
- Works well for meal prep
- Easy to customize with different veggies
Ingredient Overview
A quick look at the essentials before we dive into the recipe card:
- Hoisin sauce: It has a rich, complex, and umami-forward flavor that balances sweet, salty, and tangy. You can find it at most supermarkets in the “International” aisle.
- Ketchup: This seems like an odd addition to Asian-inspired cuisine, but ketchup is a common and 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. Note: If you make homemade ketchup, this is a great use for it.
- Chili sauce: Sambal oelek or sriracha both work.
- Lettuce: Boston bibb or butter lettuce works the best. They’re perfectly shaped to act as cups for the chicken filling.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Ground Chicken Lettuce Cups
Step 1: Get That Chicken Cooked
Heat the sesame oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the ground chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through, stirring often. Break it into crumbles with your spatula as you go.
Step 2: Stir In the Flavors
When the chicken is cooked, add the garlic, ginger, Hoisin, ketchup, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha. Stir everything until well combined and all the chicken is coated in the sauce. Let the mixture simmer on low, stirring periodically, for 3-5 minutes, or until it thickens. Stir in the scallions and simmer for another minute or so to let them soften a little bit.
Step 3: Finishing Touches
Garnish with sesame seeds and serve with lettuce cups.
Recipe 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.
Substitutions & Variations
- Protein: Ground turkey can easily replace the ground chicken called for in this recipe. You could also use ground beef or ground pork.
- More Veggies: Add chopped water chestnuts, mushrooms, bell peppers, or shredded cabbage.
- Crunchy toppings: Chopped peanuts, crispy rice noodles, or fried wonton strips will add a lovely crunch and texture.
- Rotisserie Chicken Shortcut: Shred the chicken, head onto step two in the recipe, toss the chicken into the sauce at the end, and scoop it into lettuce cups—done in 10 minutes.
- Flavor Variations: You can lean heavily into Thai influence with ginger, coriander, lime, fish sauce, and mint leaves, like in Thai Chicken Larb.
Meal Prep Tips
- Store components separately for maximum texture.
- Chicken keeps 3–4 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat chicken, transfer to lettuce wraps, then add toppings.
- For work lunches, pack crunchy toppings/veggies separately so they don’t get soggy.
Storage & Reheating
- Reheat: Heat the ground chicken in the microwave in 25-second increments until warmed through.
- Fridge: Store the ground meat separately from the veggies in airtight containers for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze the meat in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. Transfer it to the fridge the night before you plan to use it.
What to Serve With It
Frequently Asked Questions
Ground chicken as your filling, which can be bulked up with veggies like mushrooms, water chestnuts, and bell peppers. For flavor, garlic, ginger, soy, hoisin, and sesame oil. All of these components are what make ground chicken lettuce wraps the delicious thing they are.
Fried rice noodles are the most common crunchy topping for chicken lettuce wraps.
Ground 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 or butter lettuce
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the ground chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through, stirring often. Break it into crumbles with your spatula as you go.
- Add the garlic, ginger, Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and Sriracha. Stir it up well to ensure the chicken is coated in the sauce.
- Let it simmer on low for 3-5 minutes, or until it thickens, stirring it every once in a while.
- 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 toppings like crispy rice noodles, fried wontons, or chopped peanuts.
My new favorite lunch! Quick, simple, healthy, and delicious!