Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
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Thai chicken lettuce wraps work as an appetizer, a weeknight dinner, or anything in between—fast, fresh, and packed with flavor.
This Thai chicken lettuce wraps recipe is based on Larb Gai, a Thai dish made from minced chicken, fish sauce, lime juice, chilies, and fresh herbs. Lettuce leaves act as crisp, cool little cups that are perfect for scooping up the savory, herby chicken mixture, and the whole thing comes together in about 30 minutes. It works equally well as an appetizer or a main dish—if you’re in the mood for something more substantial, you can always serve it over rice.
If you’re a fan of Thai flavors, you’ll also love my Thai grilled chicken skewers—they’re quick, fresh, and packed with flavor.
“This is one of my favorite recipes. The perfect weekday meal and best leftover snack.”
What you’ll need to make Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Iceberg or butter lettuce – Crisp cups for serving.
- Vegetable oil – For sautéing.
- Red onion, ginger & garlic – Aromatic base that builds flavor.
- Ground chicken – The hearty filling. Look for a blend of light and dark meat. All breast meat tends to be dry.
- Soy sauce & fish sauce – Savory, umami depth.
- Brown sugar, lime zest & juice – A touch of sweetness and brightness.
- Crushed red pepper flakes – A little heat.
- Scallions, cilantro & mint – Fresh, herby finish.
- Cashews or peanuts – Crunch and richness.
- Optional ingredients for serving: Sriracha, finely sliced carrots, and lime wedges.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the aromatics. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and ginger and cook until soft, then stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Be careful not to brown the garlic, as that will turn the flavor bitter.
Step 2: Add the chicken. Add the ground chicken and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
Step 3: Add the sauce ingredients and finish cooking. Stir in the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes, and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and everything is well combined.
Pro Tip: Taste and adjust at the end—depending on your lime and fish sauce, you may want an extra squeeze of lime or a pinch of sugar to get that perfect sweet-salty-tangy balance.
Step 4: Stir in the fresh herbs and nuts. Off the heat, add the cilantro, mint, scallions, and nuts and toss to combine.
Step 5: Serve. Transfer the filling to a serving bowl and set it out with the lettuce, finely sliced carrots, herbs, and sriracha. I like to let everyone assemble their own wraps—it keeps the lettuce crisp (the hot filling won’t wilt it) and lets everyone add whatever toppings they like.
More Easy Thai Recipes You’ll Love
Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 large head iceberg or butter lettuce
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger, from a 2-in (5-cm) piece (see note)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lb ground chicken (not all breast meat)
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup (packed) light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons lime zest, from 2 limes
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, from 1½ limes
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 large scallions, white and green parts, finely sliced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
- ¼ cup chopped cashews or peanuts
Optional For Serving
- Sriracha
- Finely sliced carrots
- Lime wedges
- Cilantro and/or mint sprigs
Instructions
- If using iceberg lettuce: fill a large bowl with cold water. Place the head of lettuce on a cutting board; cut off the stem, then cut around the inner core of the lettuce and remove (do not cut all the way through the lettuce; just deep enough to remove the core). Discard the flimsy, ragged outer leaves and then place the head of lettuce in the bowl of water. Gently pull apart the leaves, then place them on a paper towel to dry. Cut any large leaves in half. Chill the lettuce cups in refrigerator until ready to serve. (If using butter lettuce, you won't have any issues pulling apart the leaves so this step is not necessary.)
- Heat the oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Add the ground chicken and turn the heat up to high. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until partially cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and red pepper flakes and continue cooking, stirring frequently to break up the meat, until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes more. Off the heat, stir in the scallions, cilantro, mint, and nuts. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Spoon into lettuce cups and serve with optional garnishes.
Notes
- Check out some easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger.
- Freezing Instructions: The meat mixture can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months and reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Just the best Jenn, I was eating this in Canada at my favorite restaurant RIZ. Now I have tried this recipe and it’s super good.
Cheers from Holland
It’s a 5 star sorry 🙂
Great recipe and a family favorite- very versatile too- I add corn, red peppers, snap peas depending on what I have and my kids and hubby love it!! Always on rotation by popular demand:)) thank you Jenn for another great recipe
Followed the recipe to a tee and they turned out so yummy and fresh! I used Boston Bibb lettuce and served with rice and grated carrots.
Loved it! As you mentioned the smell is strong, but the taste is spot on. I didn’t have any scallions so I just added a little fresh chopped red pepper, and I put 1 T less sugar than it called for. It is amazing.
This is easy to make and so delicious and flavorful. Thanks for another winner!
Love this recipe so so much! And makes great leftovers too. You’re a household name in our family Jen- thanks again!
This is a fantastic recipe; such a nice balance between sweet and salty flavors! I used ground turkey and unfortunately, I ran out of fresh limes so I didn’t have lime zest but I used organic lime juice and look forward to making it again with the lime zest (we are crazy about lime). I reduced the brown sugar by half since we are cutting down on sugar (my dad has cancer so limiting it as much as we can is best for him). I added chopped fresh basil to the fresh herbs and found Wegman’s organic red sriracha to use for extra heat. We are limiting carbs (again, due to my dad’s cancer status) so we didn’t serve it with rice but if I had done that, I would have used Jasmine, not Basmati.
This was so good! Good combination of flavors and not one flavor stood out more than others. I added half can of water chestnuts (chopped) just for a crunch.
Yum, just made this tonight. I picked up some ground chicken this weekend because I was in the mood to make some larb gai. I usually make it at a friend’s and realized I had no recipe here, so looked for one and yours seemed the best for what I was looking for. While I did tweak it a bit, I am worried I’m eating so much of it for tonight’s dinner that I won’t have enough for tomorrow’s lunch!
My tweaks were the following: I don’t always measure. I used a peppered-lime infused olive oil (sorry I’m Italian I don’t actually have Wesson oils in the house lol). I use Gourmet Garden paste spices for some things I tend to use infrequently so I cheated and used that for the Ginger and I added their Lemongrass too. I used a little less than half of the brown sugar, using Splenda brown sugar blend. Also a portion of a McCormick Thai Flavor Cube Seasoning and instead of red pepper flakes, I used Thai Kitchen “thai bird eye chilies.”
Many recipes make it soo difficult to tweak or substitute; I don’t know if it is the Larb gai itself that lends itself to the variations or your specific recipe, but I’m inclined to think it’s the way you’ve laid it out so simply and the recipe itself. I appreciated finding it and would be inclined to look at others in your cadre of recipes too! Thanks again! Yum Yum Yum!!! I’m ready for lunch tomorrow…and I didn’t even notice I had no lettuce.
My mom is 💯 and lettuce wraps are her favorite. I used ground turkey and halved the recipe except for the garlic and ginger. We and her caregiver loved it. I used two lettuce leaves for serving. This is a definite do over!
Wow — 100!! So glad you all enjoyed it. 🙂
As advertised, easy, fast and delicious! I had about a dozen left over portabellas that I minced and added to the onion before adding the meat. I lightly salted them a they cooked. That proved to be my only mistake, as it was a tad salty after the tamarin went in. Nonetheless, lesson learned and we look forward to seeing these regularly on the menu.