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Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps are a twist on the famous PF Chang’s lettuce wraps. Use the filling in a lettuce wrap or a rice bowl — it’s great either way!

Two Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps on a black plate with lime wedges on the side.

Are chicken lettuce wraps too 2010? Please tell me no.

Steve and I ate lettuce wraps a local Thai restaurant recently and I fell in love with them all over again.

These particular lettuce wraps have a Thai twist using a sauce that’s similar to my Easy Paleo Pad Thai recipe. If you love that, then you’ll love these, too.

Side by side view of the lettuce wrap filling. The left photo shows the pan with a lot of liquid in the bottom. The right shows what it looks like when the liquid has cooked off.

Tips for making Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Cook off the liquid

One of the most important parts of this recipe is to make sure all of the liquid is cooked out of the filling.

The meat and the vegetables both release liquid. And then there’s quite a bit after adding the sauce, too.

Allowing the liquid to cook off helps the vegetables to cook all the way through and lettuce wraps are easier to eat if they aren’t dripping all over the place.

Chicken Lettuce Wrap filling with the fresh herbs added -- green onions, basil, and cilantro.

Don’t skimp on the herbs

After the filling is finished, I add a bunch of sliced green onions, basil, and cilantro. Please do this if you can. It adds such a nice, fresh flavor to the filling.

If you don’t like cilantro, leave it out or swap it with some fresh parsley.

Finished Thai Chicken Lettuce Wrap filling on a table with iceberg lettuce wedges, a bowl of sambal oelek, and shredded carrots & mung bean sprouts ready to assemble.

Use iceberg lettuce

I never thought I’d ever say that. Iceberg lettuce makes incredibly sad chopped salads, but it’s the best lettuce to use in lettuce wraps, in my opinion.

It’s cool and crisp and holds its shape better. I tried to make these with green leave and it was a hot mess. Butter lettuce works well, too.

Alternative uses for the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wrap filling

Not into lettuce wraps? Here are a few suggestions for using the filling:

  • Serve it over rice! My kids ate it over rice (Because lettuce wraps are weird and gross, apparently. *eyeroll*) It reminded me of Egg Roll in a Bowl.
  • Add some cooked rice noodles for a noodle bowl. I love the plain rice ramen noodles by Lotus Foods and find them at Costco.
  • Toss in a few eggs and make it a scramble! This works well if you’re looking to boost your protein even more.
Close up of Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

More lettuce wrap recipes on Perry’s Plate

If you like these Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps, you’ll love these other lettuce wrap recipes on my site. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce are another Thai-inspired one, but have chunks of chicken breast and are topped with a peanut sauce that is TO DIE FOR.

Bacon Cobb Lettuce Wraps are what happens when a BLT and a cobb salad have a baby. They’re as good as they sound.


If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Yield: Serves 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

These Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps are a twist on the famous PF Chang's lettuce wraps. They're also paleo-friendly and the filling makes amazing rice bowls if lettuce wraps aren't your thing.

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken, turkey, or pork
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 medium zucchini, diced
  • 1 cup whole cashews
  • 1 8oz can diced water chestnuts, drained
  • 2 Tablespoons grated or minced ginger (about a 2" knob)
  • 4 thinly sliced green onions (green & white parts)
  • 12-15 fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly
  • 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro

For the sauce:

  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 4 Tablespoons coconut sugar or honey
  • 4 Tablespoons coconut aminos (see note)
  • 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1-3 teaspoons Asian style chili sauce (like sambal oelek or sriracha)
  • 1/4 cup chicken/vegetable broth, or water

For assembly:

  • 1 head of iceberg lettuce, core removed
  • Shredded carrots
  • Mung bean sprouts
  • More chili sauce

Instructions

  1. In a large skillet, heat the avocado oil over high heat and cook the chicken until all of the liquid has cooked off and the meat has started to brown in spouts, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the celery and zucchini. Cook for about 5 minutes until the zucchini begins to soften.
  3. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the sauce into a bowl or a glass measuring cup.
  4. Add the cashews, water chestnuts, and all of the sauce.
  5. Cook on medium-high for 8-10 minutes until there is no more standing liquid in the skillet and the filing is moist, but not drippy. Set aside.
  6. Cut the iceberg lettuce head into quarters. Peel off the larger pieces to build lettuce wraps.
  7. Serve immediately by putting a couple spoonfuls of filling into each lettuce leaf and top with shredded, carrots, bean sprouts, and additional chili sauce, if desired.

Notes

  1. If you don't have or can't find coconut aminos you can use soy sauce or tamari. Use only 2 Tablespoons because those are more concentrated than coconut aminos.
  2. If lettuce wraps aren't your thing, the filling make excellent rice bowls!
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 527Total Fat 28gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 119mgSodium 1324mgCarbohydrates 39gFiber 4gSugar 21gProtein 35g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Sarah

Wednesday 7th of June 2023

Our plans fell through for dinner out and I needed something that: a.) was quick b.) I had all the ingredients for c.) used ground turkey d.) would be eaten (or at least tried!) by everyone in my family (veggie hater and meat hater both, plus one who got her braces tightened recently and it hurts to chew) This one was a HUGE winner for all of the above! Man this was delicious! And I think I counted like 13 different plants that were involved in the dish, which is even more of a win, especially for the veggie hater! Thanks for a delicious, easy weeknight dinner!

Natalie Perry

Friday 9th of June 2023

That makes me so happy that this recipe checked all those boxes! Thanks Sarah!

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