Ready for a quick and healthy lunch? These Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps with hoisin sauce, are loaded with flavor and ready in 15 minutes, start to finish! I promise, your tastebuds will thank you!
These little babies are Thai inspired, for no other reason than my love for Thai food! I went ahead with a little red curry paste along some some sweet hoisin sauce, which gives this dish a perfect balance of sweet and spicy – but not too spicy! I think one of the main reasons I love Thai food is because of all the fresh ingredients and bold flavors.
Every time I make these lettuce wraps I remind myself how incredibly delicious they are! The filling is full of vegetables, protein and a perfect sauce that will leave everyone at the table feeling satisfied. The best part, you can load your plate with seconds, and even thirds, because they’re really healthy and guilt free!
Looking For Something Healthy?
We all know the term “quick and easy”. Well, I give you “quick and healthy!”. I know a lot of us do our best to eat healthy when we can, and while the thought of preparation can be daunting and time consuming, these fast and simple feel good recipes do exist! Super tasty and low calories here we come!
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Ground chicken – You can use any ground meat you prefer – I recommend chicken or turkey as healthier options.
- Olive oil – Any brand you like to fry with.
- Red curry paste – I’m using red curry paste today, but if you prefer something with more heat you’re welcome to use a green curry paste instead, as they are typically more spicy!
- Ginger – minced, please!
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Bell pepper – Sliced thinly. I used a red pepper today, but you can use any color that you like!
- Cabbage – Feel free to chop your own head of cabbage, or to save time you can buy prepackaged coleslaw mix!
- Green onions – Chopped up finely.
- Hoisin sauce – If you can’t find this in your grocery store, you can make a variation with equal parts plum jam and teriyaki sauce or a BBQ sauce of your choice mixed with a little sugar.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
- Lettuce – You should have enough filling for 1/2 an iceberg. This recipe calls for iceberg lettuce, but you can use romaine, leaf, or butter lettuce if you prefer!
- Basil – 5 leaves chopped finely – cilantro would also work for this recipe!
How To Cut Lettuce
This is actually quite simple! Cut the bottom part of the head of lettuce off, and cut in the head in half. Then carefully peel away each layer and you should have “cup-like” pieces, which is where your chicken filing will fit nicely. Don’t forget to wash and dry your lettuce leaves before serving!
How To Make Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- In a skillet: Heat the olive oil until it is very hot! Add the ground chicken and cook for about 3 minutes or until it’s starting to brown and no longer pink. Use a wooden spoon to break it up and move around as necessary.
- Add the ingredients: Next up, add the red curry paste, garlic, ginger, bell pepper, coleslaw mix and stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Then stir in hoisin sauce and green onion and toss.
- Assemble: Remove skillet from heat and add the basil, give it a little toss and transfer to a large bowl.
- Serve: Using a spoon, place the chicken into your individual lettuce cups and fold over similar to a taco! Bon appetite!
Other Ingredients That Can Be Used
You can get wild with lettuce wraps, there are just so many variations out there. But for the sake of keeping it simple, let’s start with these options:
| Meat: | Vegetables and more: |
| Pork | Shredded carrots |
| Turkey | Zucchini |
| Beef | Cucumber |
| Shrimp | Mango |
| Bean Sprouts | |
| Radishes | |
| Peanuts | |
| Tomatoes | |
| Avoado |
I could go on forever. But see what I mean? So many variations to make lettuce wraps work and also keeping them a healthy option!
How To Serve
Lettuce wraps make for a great snack but are also very filling if you’d rather have them as a main dish. If preparing for small children, serving over a bed of rice or noodles may make life easier for you and them, as eating with a spoon may be easier than eating a lettuce wrap!
Make Ahead
While you’re not going to want to assemble your wraps ahead of time, you can certainly get your chicken and sauce prepared before hand. If planning to use within the next day or two, once cooked the chicken can be refrigerated up to 3 days, however putting it in the freezer will extend its shelf life up to to 3 months. Then whenever you’re ready for them, all you need is the lettuce!
Looking For More Thai Dishes?
- Pad Thai
- Thai Chicken Salad
- Thai Chicken Bites
- Easy Thai Steak Salad
- Crockpot Thai Chicken
- Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps
- Thai Red Curry Chicken
- Baked Thai Salmon
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Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thinly
- 4 green onions chopped
- 1 cup cabbage shredded or coleslaw mix
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 5 leaves basil chopped
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce cut into half
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat until oil is very hot. Add ground chicken and cook until no longer pink and starts to brown, break it up with a wooden spoon as necessary. Should take about 3 minutes.
- Add red curry paste, ginger, garlic, peppers, coleslaw mix, and stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add hoisin sauce and green onions, and toss. Remove from heat then add basil and toss.Transfer cooked chicken to a bowl.
- Serve by placing spoonfuls of chicken into pieces of lettuce, fold lettuce over like small tacos, and eat.
Recipe Notes
- While you’re not going to want to assemble your wraps ahead of time, you can certainly get your chicken and sauce prepared before hand. If planning to use within the next day or two, once cooked the chicken can be refrigerated up to 3 days, however putting it in the freezer will extend its shelf life up to to 3 months. Then whenever you’re ready for them, all you need is the lettuce!
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
I never get bored of this recipe, I’ve done many times!
So glad you like it!
My family loves this recipe!! I’ve tried it with ground pork and it’s just as delicious!! Thank you for sharing!
This recipe is very economical and tasty and healthy. I have sadly had too share with my guys this brilliant recipe 5 stars ⭐️ all round. I also tried with vegan Quorn very testy