Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

If you’re looking for a quick and easy yet cool and refreshing dinner, look no further than these Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with diced chicken and sweet bell pepper! Made without hoisin sauce.

Pittsburgh had a giant heat wave last week where the temperatures are in the 90s but the heat wave makes it feel like 105F.

I was supposed to go to an outdoor board game night, but it was cancelled because who really wants to play games in the hot sun when you’re dripping with sweat everywhere?!

I pretty much spent all of the week indoors chilling with the cat (who will claim I never turned the a/c on as he’s melting on the couch, but that’s because he also insists of me opening the window for his bird watching).

The last thing I wanted to do was turn on the oven or eat anything super heavy for dinner. I’m sure you feel the same way too.

I need something that’s light and refreshing. I don’t mind a little bit of heat from the stovetop, but definitely no roasting or baking.

That’s why when summer rolls around, I eat a lot of Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

They’re cool and crispy lettuce wraps filled with diced chicken and bell pepper in a sweet chili sauce then topped with crunchy almonds and fresh cilantro.

These chicken lettuce wraps are similar to my shrimp lettuce wraps but instead of using salsa, I used common Asian ingredients.

Most Asian chicken wrap recipes call for hoisin sauce, but that’s not something I have in my pantry. What I do have, however, is sweet chili sauce as I use it for sweet chili wings and general tso shrimp.

Now I’ll let you in on a little secret – I hate (most) lettuce.

I don’t like iceberg. I can somewhat tolerate romaine with my chicken fajita salad, but really I prefer an arugula salad.

But I really really like butterhead lettuce for wraps. Probably because the leaves have a mild buttery flavor (hence the name) and are the perfect shape for holding Asian chicken inside.

I tell you this secret because I know most of you are reading going “grumble grumble but I don’t like lettuce.”

Me neither but then I ate all four lettuce wraps. Then I ate another four retesting the recipe. And yet another four when I photographed the recipe.

Even the cat enjoyed this Asian chicken lettuce wrap recipe while I wasn’t looking (don’t worry – I stopped the little thief).

Why You’ll Love This Asian Chicken Lettuce Wrap Recipe

• Very versatile! – Instead of diced chicken, you can easily use ground chicken, ground beef, shrimp, or even tofu. You can also serve the filling over rice or make a traditional salad with it.
• Light and refreshing! – When it’s a heat wave outside, this recipe will cool you down for dinner.
• Makes 4 wraps! – It’s a summer dinner idea for two.

Ingredients For Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Here’s what you need to make your Asian chicken lettuce wrap recipe:

• Vegetable oil: Used to cook the chicken
• Chicken: I prefer boneless skinless chicken thighs as dark meat is moister, but you also use chicken breast if you prefer white meat
• Bell pepper: Adds some crunch. I prefer sweet pepper like red, yellow, or orange but you can also use green pepper
• Onion and garlic: Aromatics to add flavor to your filling
• Sweet chili sauce: It’s a sweet and spicy condiment used in Asian cooking. The spice level varies on the brand you use. You can often find it in the Asian aisle of your standard grocery store.
• Soy sauce: A fermented liquid made from soybeans and is often salty. I use regular sodium soy sauce in my recipes. If you do use low-sodium, you may need to taste and adjust for salt.
• Rice vinegar: Another Asian ingredient. However, I understand this one may not be common in most pantries, so you can also use apple cider vinegar.
• Brown sugar: A touch of sweetness to balance the sauce
• Cilantro: Adds freshness to the dish
• Almonds: Add much needed crunch to the filling. You can also use peanuts.
• Butterhead lettuce: Sometimes also labeled Boston or Bibb, depending on which variety you’re working with. It’s all from the same butter lettuce family.

Which lettuce to use for chicken wraps?

Butterhead lettuce is best for lettuce wraps because it has naturally cupped leaves perfect for filling and rolling.

Butterhead is the general name for the lettuce family. You may also see varieties such as Boston or Bibb. They’re essentially all the same, just different sizes.

I did try to use romaine lettuce, but unfortunately rolling them up didn’t work too well. If you can’t find butter lettuce, you can turn this recipe into a traditional salad or serve the filling over rice.

How To Make Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Here’s how to make your Asian chicken wraps:

• Cook chicken on both sides or until the internal temperature is 165F. Remove from the skillet.
• Saute bell pepper, onion, and garlic until just slightly softened. The bell pepper will still have some crunch to it but won’t be raw.
• Stir in sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, cilantro, cooked chicken, and any juices from cooked chicken.
• Spoon filling into lettuce leaves and top with almonds.

Refrigerate leftover chicken filling for up to 4 days.

More Lettuce Wrap Recipes

Enjoyed this recipe for Asian chicken lettuce wraps? Here are more recipes to use as a filling for your wraps:

• Creamy Chicken Salad
• Buffalo Chicken Salad
• General Tso Chicken
• Pineapple Shrimp Teriyaki
• Spicy Beer Shrimp
• Sriracha Shrimp Tacos