Asian Lettuce Wraps

These Asian Lettuce Wraps are made with savory, seasoned ground turkey or ground chicken and crunchy veggies wrapped up in fresh lettuce leaves to make for a satisfying bite that your family will love! They are super flavorful, healthy, and the perfect appetizer, lighter, or lunch.

Looking for more easy appetizer recipes? Be sure to try our Crispy Loaded Potato Skins, Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers, and Homemade Egg Rolls next!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Once a quarter, I join forces with some of my blogging friends to do a good old-fashioned blog hop hosted by the marvelous Michaela from An Affair From the Heart. We call it Freaky Friday, and are each secretly assigned another blogger with the mission of recreating one of their recipes to share on our own blogs.

This time around I was assigned the blog The Foodie Affair. Sandra, who created The Foodie Affair, has so many amazing, healthy recipes on her site! I was torn on what to share because there are so many fantastic recipes to choose from! If you follow a Keto or low carb diet, Sandra has a large collection of recipes that will be right up your alley. Her crab stuffed portabello mushrooms sound wonderful, and I'm adding planning to try her slow cooked meatballs in chipotle sauce soon.

But I couldn't resist making Sandra's Asian lettuce wraps once I saw them!

Whenever we go out to eat and see lettuce wraps on the menu, we always order them. If you haven't had them before, they are sort of like a taco with a whole piece (or two) of lettuce for the shell. Lettuce wraps are filled with all sorts of crisp veggies and savory meat, and they were quick and easy to make at home.

Although Sandra used ground turkey in her original recipe, I chose to make Asian chicken lettuce wraps with some ground chicken that I had on hand. I actually have a feeling that you could change up this recipe by marinating a chicken breast or two in the sauce ingredients and grilling it, then slicing it and drizzling extra sauce (that wasn't used as a marinade) over the sliced chicken for a different texture.

How to make Asian lettuce wraps

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. After that, brown the ground chicken or ground turkey, crumbling it with a wooden spoon, until done. Drain any extra liquid from the pan and then transfer the meat to a plate.
2. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet and then cook the onion until soft and translucent. Add in the garlic, cooking and stirring for 1 minute. Add the meat back into the pan with the onions.
3. Add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fresh ginger, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, green onions, and water chestnuts. Mix well, cooking for 1 minute longer, before removing from heat. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
4. Fill your lettuce with the chicken mixture and serve with matchstick carrots, mint leaves, and bean sprouts for assembly.

Really, you could use almost any ground meat in this asian lettuce wraps recipe, not just chicken or turkey. Ground beef, ground pork, or even ground lamb will work with the same seasonings and method, depending on what you have on hand and what you prefer for flavor.

You could also use different vegetables like very thinly sliced red bell peppers, shaved cabbage, green onions, or other veggies, so long as they are sliced or chopped small.

What is the best lettuce for lettuce wraps

The most commonly used lettuce leaf for Asian wraps is Iceberg lettuce because its extra crisp and holds its shape nicely. It's what is served at restaurants like P.F. Chang's or The Cheesecake Factory with their lettuce wraps.

But softer lettuces like butter lettuce (also known as Bibb or Boston lettuce) are fantastic too and have wonderful flavor. Plus, they provide more nutrients than Iceberg lettuce.

How do you store lettuce wraps?

If you plan on eating your lettuce wraps cold, chill your filling before adding to the lettuce bowls and keep them in a covered container or on a plastic wrap covered plate in the fridge. If you want your filling to be enjoyed warm, keep the lettuce and filling separate so the lettuce doesn’t wilt. You can serve the lettuce wraps family style with a big plate for the lettuce leaves, bowls for the veggie add-ins, and another plate or bowl with the meat filling, so everyone can assemble their own lettuce wraps.

Store prepared lettuce in a large plastic baggy with a paper towel to absorb moisture and keep your prepared filling in a plastic bag or airtight storage container and reheat before using. Keep both stored in the fridge, then warm the meat and assemble the lettuce wraps before eating.

What to serve with Asian wraps

Asian Lettuce Wraps can be served with just about anything with a similar or complementing flavor. Teriyaki glazed chicken, sesame chicken, rice or yakisoba noodles would all be great options!

More Asian-inspired recipes you'll enjoy

• Slow Cooker Asian Pulled Pork Sliders
• Oven Baked Korean BBQ Chicken Wings
• Grilled Thai Pork Tenderloin with Coconut Lime Peanut Sauce
• Better Than Take Out Chinese Sweet and Sour Pork
• Easy Honey Walnut Shrimp
• Asian Slaw with Ginger Peanut Dressing
• Garlic Rice with Fried Egg
• Quick & Healthy Egg Roll in a Bowl

Print Pin Rate

Asian Lettuce Wraps

4.91 from 22 votes

Amy Nash

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Asian

Servings 4 -6 Servings

These Asian Lettuce Wraps are made with savory, seasoned ground turkey or ground chicken and crunchy veggies wrapped up in fresh lettuce leaves to make for a satisfying bite that your family will love! They are super flavorful, healthy, and the perfect appetizer, lighter, or lunch.

Ingredients

  

123

• ▢ 12-16 bibb or butter lettuce leaves washed and dried
• ▢ 1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons olive oil divided
• ▢ 1 large onion chopped
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• ▢ 2 green onions chopped
• ▢ 8 ounces water chestnuts drained and chopped
• ▢ Carrot matchsticks
• ▢ Fresh mint leaves
• ▢ Roasted peanuts
• ▢ Bean sprouts

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then brown the ground chicken, crumbling with a wooden spoon until done. Drain any extra liquid and transfer to a plate.
• Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet and cook the onion in it until soft and translucent. Add garlic, cooking and stirring for 1 minute, then add the meat back into the pan with the onions.
• Add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, green onions, and water chestnuts. Mix well, cooking for 1 minute longer, then remove from the heat. Adjust seasoning as needed.
• Serve the filling with the lettuce leaves, matchstick carrots, mint leaves, and bean sprouts for assembly.

Notes

• You can use ground beef, ground chicken, ground pork, or ground lamb in place of the ground turkey.
• You could probably double the sauce ingredients and use ½ of it to marinate chicken breasts, then grill and slice thinly if you don't have ground chicken or ground turkey to use. Use the rest of the sauce to drizzle over the sliced chicken in the lettuce wraps.

Recipe adapted only slightly from The Foodie Affair.

Nutrition

Calories: 339kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 489mg | Potassium: 881mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1552IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!

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