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When you need something tasty, filling, but not too heavy, these Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps really hit the spot! They’re a great way to mix up your weeknight dinners.
When you are cooking healthy meals at home, finding ways to keep yourself satisfied is essential for reducing cravings and staying on track with your diet.
For me, meals that are loaded with great flavor and texture do the trick and keep me out of a food rut. And these healthy chicken lettuce wraps will REALLY hit the spot if I am getting tired of the same-old, same-old dinners.
The inspiration for this dish came from my Fried Cauliflower Rice & Shrimp recipe. This time, I decided to add some lean chicken breasts to the mix and made them into low-carb lettuce wraps that can easily pass for a scrumptious taco!
How to make healthy chicken lettuce wraps
Don’t let the longer instructions fool you into thinking this recipe is difficult. In fact, it’s quite easy!
It’s simply about chopping the ingredients, adding them to your pan in the right order, and allowing each one to cook before adding more. It’s all very straight-forward, and the result is WELL worth the effort.
Step 1: Chop the cauliflower by hand into half-inch to 1-inch chunks. Dice the bell pepper into small pieces. Place the bell pepper and cauliflower in a bowl, cover with 2 tsp. of olive oil, and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
Step 2: Mince the garlic, ginger, and shallots and set aside.
Step 3: Remove the lettuce leaves from the head of lettuce and wash them. You will need two pieces of lettuce per taco for more stability (so you get eight tacos total).
Step 4: Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
Step 5: Chop the chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Coat the chicken breasts in 2 tsp. olive oil and sauté for about 5-7 minutes, or until they are cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Step 6: Remove the chicken and set aside in a clean bowl.
Step 7: Sauté the cauliflower and bell pepper mixture for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 8: Add the shallot and sauté for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, then cover with a lid for about 1-2 minutes or until the veggies are softened but still have a bit of texture.
Step 9: Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for no more than 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Step 10: Add the soy sauce, chicken broth, and cooked chicken breasts. Stir constantly until the sauce is mostly absorbed into the vegetables, about two minutes.
Step 11: Top with a squeeze of lime, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.
Step 12: If adding an egg, wipe out the sauté pan and add a touch of oil. Spread it with a pastry brush or paper towel to keep the eggs from sticking, then fry up to four eggs at a time over medium heat, depending on how big your pan is. Cover and cook the eggs sunny-side up.
Step 13: Add about ¾ cup of the stir fry mixture to each lettuce wrap along with some shredded carrots, sesame seeds, and cilantro leaves, then top each one with an egg. Drizzle with hot sauce if you like it spicy and enjoy!
See, that wasn’t so complicated, was it? Chop, cook, repeat, and eat!
Tips for cooking the perfect lettuce wraps
You may be wondering if you can just throw the cauliflower in the food processor rather than chopping by hand. I personally prefer my cauliflower chopped into ½-inch to 1-inch pieces for this recipe because I like the added texture.
Chopping by hand will help you get that perfectly sized dice. Using a grater or a food processor will result in tiny chunks and your stir-fry will be a little bit softer in texture.
This recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and most of it will go into the pan when you re-add the cooked chicken. However, if the veggies start to dry out while you’re cooking them in the pan, you can pour a little bit of that 1/2 cup of chicken broth in once or twice to rehydrate them. Whatever you don’t use for the veggies, you’ll add when the recipe calls for the chicken broth.
When it comes time to cook your eggs, you can decide if you want them to be runny or more firm and jammy. Cover the pan and cook the eggs sunny side up for about 3-4 minutes for a runny egg, or 5-7 minutes for a well-done egg.
Storage
One of the best things about this dish is that it tastes SO GOOD (maybe even better) the next day! Just be sure to pack the lettuce and the stir fry separately so the lettuce doesn’t get soggy.
The stir fry can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Making a large batch of this dish is a great way to meal prep for the week, or you can simply make it for dinner and set aside a portion for lunch the next day. It’s delicious served hot or cold!
More healthy and tasty chicken recipes
Simple but delicious chicken recipes are a staple of healthy living! Here are a few that I am sure you will enjoy:
You can also take a look at this roundup of my favorite healthy diabetic chicken recipes. I always keep it updated with new recipes, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often!
When you’ve tried this dish, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe!
Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts,, (boneless and skinless)
- 1 red yellow, or orange bell pepper
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot
- 2-inch piece of fresh ginger
- 4 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce, gluten free tamari or Aminos.
- ½ cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 lime
- 16 leaves Boston lettuce or iceberg lettuce
- Small handful shredded carrots for garnish
- Cilantro for garnish, (optional)
- 2 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish
- Drizzle of hot sauce, (optional)
- 2-3 pinches of salt, (unless you are salt-sensitive)
- Pepper
- 8 eggs
Instructions
- Chop the cauliflower by hand into half-inch to 1-inch chunks. Dice the bell pepper into small pieces. Place the bell pepper and cauliflower in a bowl, cover with 2 tsp. of olive oil, and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
- Mince the garlic, ginger, and shallots and set aside.
- Remove the lettuce leaves from the head of lettuce and wash them. You will need two pieces of lettuce per taco for more stability (so you get eight tacos total).
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Chop the chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Coat the chicken breasts in 2 tsp. olive oil and sauté for about 5-7 minutes, or until they are cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the chicken and set aside in a clean bowl.
- Sauté the cauliflower and bell pepper mixture for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the shallot and sauté for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, then cover with a lid for about 1-2 minutes or until the veggies are softened but still have a bit of texture.
- Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for no more than 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the soy sauce, chicken broth, and cooked chicken breasts. Stir constantly until the sauce is mostly absorbed into the vegetables, about two minutes.
- Top with a squeeze of lime, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.
- If adding an egg, wipe out the sauté pan and add a touch of oil. Spread it with a pastry brush or paper towel to keep the eggs from sticking, then fry up to four eggs at a time over medium heat, depending on how big your pan is. Cover and cook the eggs sunny-side up.
- Add about ¾ cup of the stir fry mixture to each lettuce wrap along with some shredded carrots, sesame seeds, and cilantro leaves, then top each one with an egg. Drizzle with hot sauce if you like it spicy and enjoy!
