dinner recipes

Scrumptious Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

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This chicken lettuce wraps recipe quickly became a family favorite! It’s packed with flavor, colorful vegetables and a savory peanut sauce that you’ll want to drizzle on just about everything. Not only is it easy to make and ready in 30 minutes, but it’s a nutritious and balanced meal and is served family style so that it can work for the whole family.

If you like this chicken lettuce wraps with peanut sauce, be sure to try my ground pork stir fry with a similar peanut sauce, chicken teriyaki stir fry, or ground turkey stir fry next time.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

What You’ll Love About Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

  • Bright and fresh flavors
  • Delicious savory peanut sauce
  • Nutritious and healthy meal
  • Colorful variety of vegetables
  • Just 15 minutes prep time
  • Just 10 minutes cook time
  • Made with simple ingredients and a lot of pantry staples!

Ingredients

  • Peanut butter – Use a creamy peanut butter for best results. Crunchy peanut butter will work but you may not end up with a super smooth sauce.
  • Soy sauce – Use your favorite soy sauce, you can use low-sodium soy sauce if you prefer and if you want a gluten-free alternative try tamari or coconut aminos.
  • Sesame oil – Look for toasted sesame oil for best flavor.
  • Rice wine vinegar – Use a high quality vinegar for best flavors. If you use a mirin, which is sweetened, you can adjust amount of honey you use.
  • Honey – This adds a subtle sweetness to the dish, but adjust according to your personal taste. You can also use maple syrup if you prefer.
  • Garlic – Use fresh garlic for best flavor or frozen garlic for a shortcut.
  • Chicken thighs – Use boneless and skinless chicken thighs. You can also use chicken breasts if you prefer, just adjust cooking time. If you wanted to cook it inside, you could even use ground chicken.
  • Raw veggies – Carrot, cucumber, bell peppers, green onion
  • Lettuce – I recommend using bibb lettuce (aka butter lettuce or butterhead) but you could also use iceberg or romaine.
  • Toppings – peanuts, cilantro, sriracha or red pepper flakes
Ingredients to make chicken lettuce wraps.

How to Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This is an overview on how to make lettuce chicken wraps, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.

Make peanut sauce. Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, honey, and garlic into a blender or mini food processor. Blend until smooth and set aside in a small bowl. TIP: If the peanut sauce is thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time, until it reaches a drippy consistency.
Peanut sauce for chicken lettuce wraps recipe in a blender.
Grill chicken. Heat the grill and prep chicken with a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Grill chicken thighs until they reach an internal temperature of 175 degrees F. Set aside to rest and thinly slice.
Hand sprinkling salt on chicken thighs before grilling.
Prep ingredients. Prep veggies and arrange with lettuce leaves on a platter for serving.
Knife cutting vegetables for chicken wraps with peanut sauce.
Assemble lettuce wraps. Build your own wrap by layering sliced chicken into lettuce wrap, a drizzle of peanut sauce, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, green onion, chopped peanuts and cilantro. PRO TIP: Use two leaves per wrap so it can hold up to all of the toppings and peanut sauce!
Chicken lettuce wraps on a plate with peanut sauce.

FAQs

Are chicken lettuce wraps healthy?

If you think veggies, chicken and peanut sauce are healthy, then YES! (Yes, that is a tad sarcastic), but even though I have a degree in Nutrition, this question is rarely helpful. But it has colorful vegetables, protein, healthy fats, and flavor – which are all things I look for in a balanced and nutritious meal.

What kind of lettuce is good for lettuce wraps?

I recommend using bibb or boston lettuce, but you can also use iceberg lettuce, or romaine lettuce though the wraps will be slightly different. I recommend using two layer of lettuce to help contain ingredients and peanut sauce!

How do you cut lettuce for chicken wraps?

If you use bibb or boston lettuce, you don’t need to cut the lettuce you will just need to gently remove the leaves of lettuce.

What to pair with lettuce wraps?

I’m sharing some peanut chicken lettuce wrap side ideas below, but you can make up some dumplings, cauliflower fried rice, or frozen Asian appetizers like spring rolls or egg rolls. You could also cook up some rice noodles to serve right in the wraps.

Do you have to grill the chicken?

No, while the recipe is written with grilled chicken, you have many options for cooking the chicken. You can use pan-fried chicken, rotisserie chicken, or sous vide shredded chicken.

Why is my peanut sauce thick?

The consistency of your peanut sauce will vary greatly depending on the type and brand of peanut butter that you use. You do want the peanut sauce to be drippy and drizzle-able so if it is too thick, you can add water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches a drippy consistency.

Storage Instructions

Store components in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

How to reheat

Reheat chicken gently in a microwave or hot skillet until heated through.

Platter of lettuce wraps with grilled chicken and peanut sauce.

What to Serve with Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I shared some sides for lettuce wraps above, but beyond frozen Asian appetizers like egg rolls or spring rolls, a quick side of rice (use a rice maker for easiest and most perfect rice!) or you could add another veggie side:

How to Feed Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce to the Whole Family

I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in.

I would recommend serving the grilled chicken lettuce wraps family style and let everyone make their own. Serve the meal with a few items you know your kids will eat, like fruit, milk, rice, and/or bread and butter.

Wraps can be tricky for kids to eat (and messy!), so if it’s easier you could also turn it into salads that can be eaten with a fork.

Want More?

Follow Emily on Instagram or TikTok for family dinner recipe videos and tips for feeding kids.

Chicken lettuce wrap with peanut sauce and raw veggies.

More Easy Chicken Dinners

If you like this easy chicken lettuce wraps recipe, you might also like some of these other easy chicken dinner recipes:

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These chicken lettuce wraps quickly became a family favorite! It's packed with flavor, colorful vegetables and an incredible peanut sauce.

Fresh Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

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Description

These chicken lettuce wraps quickly became a family favorite! It’s packed with flavor, colorful vegetables and an incredible peanut sauce.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Peanut Sauce:

  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. honey
  • 1 clove garlic

Lettuce Wraps: 

  • 1 lb. chicken thighs (skinless, boneless)
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 2 cups carrot ribbons (or matchsticks)
  • 1 cups sliced cucumber (or matchsticks)
  • 1 cup thinly sliced bell peppers (or matchsticks)* red yellow or orange
  • 1/2 cup sliced green onion
  • 1 head bibb lettuce
  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

  1. In a blender, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey and garlic and blend until smooth. Set aside.
  2. Heat grill over medium-high heat. Drizzle chicken thighs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill over direct heat for about 5 minutes per side, then transfer to indirect heat (so it’s not over flames) and continue to cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 175 degrees F. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then thinly slice.
  3. Meanwhile prep lettuce wrap ingredients and arrange on plates or a large platter.
  4. Assemble lettuce wraps. Top lettuce with chicken and veggies and drizzle with peanut sauce. Top with garnishes if desired. 

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