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Thai-Style Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups

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Based on the popular Thai dish Larb Gai, this is a quick, easy, and flavorful weeknight dinner.

Plate of Thai-style minced chicken lettuce cups.

This recipe is based on Larb Gai, the popular Thai dish made from minced chicken, fish sauce, lime juice, chilies, and fresh herbs. You can have it on the table in 30 minutes, and it can be served in lettuce cups or over rice.

What you’ll need to make Thai Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups

thai minced chicken lettuce cups ingredientsAs you can see from the photo, the recipe is inexpensive to make with ingredients found at your local supermarket. One of the key ingredients is fish sauce. Contrary to what you might expect, it doesn’t add a “fishy” taste, but rather a salty, savory, umami flavor. If you’ve never cooked with it, I’ll warn you that it smells pretty bad (my kids RUN out of the kitchen when I use it), but please don’t let that deter you — it absolutely makes the dish! If possible, buy a brand imported from Thailand or Vietnam, and don’t worry about buying a large bottle; it keeps forever.

Step-by-Step Instructions

onions and ginger in pan

For the chicken, begin by cooking the onions and ginger in oil until soft.

softened onions and ginger

Add the minced garlic and cook one minute more.

adding the garlic

Add the ground chicken and use a wooden spoon to break the meat apart.

adding the ground chicken

Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar and red pepper flakes, and cook until the chicken is done.

adding the lime zest and sauce ingredients

Off the heat, add the fresh cilantro, mint, scallions, and nuts.

adding the herbs, scallions, and nuts

Stir to combine.

thai minced chicken

Spoon into lettuce cups and serve with finely sliced carrots, herbs and Sriracha sauce.

Plate of Thai-style minced chicken lettuce cups.

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Thai-Style Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups

Based on the popular Thai dish Larb Gai, this is a quick, easy, and flavorful weeknight dinner.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large head iceberg or butter lettuce
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large red onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (you'll need a thick 2-inch piece) (see note)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pounds ground chicken (not all breast meat)
  • 1½ tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons lime zest, from 2 limes
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, from 1½ limes
  • ½ teaspoon 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

  1. 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.)
  2. Heat the oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
  3. 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, 5-6 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.
  4. Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
  5. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The meat mixture can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months and reheated in the microwave om on the stovetop until hot.

Pair with

Nutrition Information

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  • Per serving (4 servings)
  • Calories: 580
  • Fat: 33g
  • Saturated fat: 7g
  • Carbohydrates: 30g
  • Sugar: 20g
  • Fiber: 4g
  • Protein: 45g
  • Sodium: 1565mg
  • Cholesterol: 195g

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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Comments

  • Lettuce wraps are something I always order out, but never made until now…because you made it look so easy!! They are delicious!! Will definitely become a regular meal rotation for us!!

  • I make this on a regular basis as my husband and kids gobble it up. We like to add coconut rice inside the wrap (I use the recipe from Our Best Bites). I make a few other recipes on a regular basis from this site too. I love them because I never feel like I need to make adjustments, the instructions are super clear, and the pictures are incredibly helpful when making for the first time. Thanks for all you do!

  • Love the chicken dish as a weekend lunch or fun first course. It’s so easy and I usually have all the ingredients on hand..

  • Yum, yum, yum! Outstanding! I had no trouble finding the fish sauce at an Oriental market. I also bought a Sweet Chili Sauce ( Mae Ploy brand)that I serve with this dish.
    After making this several times I have made some minor changes.
    1. Use a small red onion as large is to much onion.
    2. I weigh a chunk of ginger about 1 ½ ounces, then mince. This increases the amount of ginger to 3 tablespoons.
    3. Omit the peanuts
    4. Toss the shredded carrots into the chicken just before serving.
    My entire family lives this recipe including our 2 & 4 year old grandsons!

  • I made this recipe to the letter it was awesome! Came out perfect and my picky husband was even very impressed. Very good recipe that I will repeat.

  • Great recipe – I did have a little liquid after browning my chicken, but simply drained and moved on. The secret, of course, is to make sure you have everything prepped ahead of time and standing by in order to be added. Makes this a breeze. Did drizzle with a peanut sauce and served with cold rice salad.

    • — Northern Belle
    • Reply
    • Hi would you mind sharing which rice salad recipe you used? Love this recipe and a rice salad would be great with it. Thank you! Gwyneviere

  • Love this . Extra tasty wth a peanut /hoisin sauce, I used the PB FIT powder (1/4 cup) less fat calories.
    4 TBSP HOISIN sauce , juice of 1 lime.
    Mix together in a space pan , heat to encorporate flavors & pour over lettuce cups

  • This is a great weeknight recipe. The tip for pulling apart the leaves of lettuce in a bowl of water is super helpful. I made the filling exactly following the recipe, and then chopped up some lettuce to turn leftovers into a ‘salad’ to change it up a little.

  • Absolutely delicious!

  • My husband LOVED this dish and unfortunately, I just didn’t love it. I think I was expecting more of that famous Chinese chicken lettuce wrap taste – not realizing it was Thai rather than Chinese.

  • First; I appreciate your food blog and find the recipes are consistently very good and result in tasty dishes. I made this last night and it was quick, easy, and very satisfying. I didn’t feel it took long to prep–30 minutes was about right. I did add some finely diced carrot for crunch and Thai chilis for heat, but that’s just a personal preference. I plan to serve leftovers tonight over rice.

  • My Thai mother-in-law would approve. All the elements of Thai food: sweet, sour, spicy and salty. Quick, easy and delicious.

    • — Andrea Carlson
    • Reply
  • I’ve made this a dozen times. It does take time to prep everything-but it’s an awesome dish. I use 2 tablespoons fish sauce rather than 3. Everyone raves about this and asks for it again. I use all dark meat chicken. Worth the effort when you have time. Excellent!!

  • What else would you serve with these as a side dish to round out the meal? Thanks!

  • Great dish. Not ready in 30 minutes though with the chopping and prepping, but no worries. Easy to make and great flavors. I did find that for whatever reason there was a lot of liquid once the chicken was cooked. I just added a bit of water and corn starch and it tightened right up and also gave it a nice silky glaze. This dish was immediately voted by my family to be put “in the rotation.”

  • This recipe was fantastic! The only thing was, it was soupy. I saw another person wrote the same. I used fresh ground chicken. I just used a slotted spoon so it’s not too runny. Served this with your Thai crunch salad and that was incredible!! My husband couldn’t stop eating it. Thanks!!

  • I omitted the fish sauce and nuts (because I couldn’t find fish sauce in my supermarket and I simply forgot the nuts). These were fantastic with a little Siracha sauce. One thing I would suggest with the blog is some more details. First I am relatively experienced in the kitchen although my knife skills aren’t the best. But this recipe took me about an hour. What wasn’t clear was do I zest the line before juicing or after. Which is easier? Do I need de-stem the cilantro and mint or can I chop the whole bit. Maybe these are no-brainers for most folks but if you’re going to offer a step by step picture guide so into some of the nuances of prep. Maybe then I could make this in 1/2 hour. Otherwise. Fantastic recipe.

    • Hi Katrine, Glad you liked these! I’m sorry if you felt the recipe lacked some detail– in response to your questions– I recommend zesting any citrus fruit before you juice it (once you juice it, the shape is different and it’s much more challenging to zest). Regarding removing the stems before chopping herbs, generally, I will run a chef’s knife down the stem of herbs to scrape them off quickly. (I don’t bother to pick them off.) It’s okay if you get some of the stem(s) in there as long as they’re not too hard or fibrous.

      • Thanks Jenn. I appreciate the tips and will use them tonight when I make this again. I ate the leftovers for a couple of days after I made this the first time. This is really delicious recipe and reheats well.

    • Always zest first then cut and squeeze-

  • I tried this recipe this evening for my family. We live in a small town in Spain and fish sauce is impossible to find. Other than that, I managed to find everything in our market and my chicken lady ground some chicken for me this morning. I have an abundance of celery and carrots in my garden right now, so I added both and it was crunchy and tasty. I followed the rest of the recipe as written and it was so delicious. My kids (ages 6 and 3) LOVED it and there were zero leftovers. This recipe is quick and simple and incredibly delicious. Will be adding this to our favorites for sure!

  • Great recipe. Made more or less as suggested. The flavours were great. Will definetly make again. Thank you for sharing.

  • Absolutely Fabulous! Added another ½ Tablespoon of minced ginger because I had chopped too much ?. I only added 1 medium red onion which measured 1 cup fine minced onion. I could only find ground chicken breast so I mixed 1 pound of ground chicken breast with a pound of ground turkey. Everything else as written. I found the Tiparos brand fish sauce…..excellent flavor. The tip on how to make the lettuce leaves is awesome…so easy this way! This was a huge hit with everyone!

  • Loved the taste, however there was so much liquid once the chicken was cooked that it was almost like a soupy mixture. Your finished product doesn’t look soupy at all, did you drain it or cook it until most of the liquid evaporated? Draining it loses all the wonderful flavor and I thought cooking it until it evaporated would make the chicken too dry

    • Hi Maryke, Sorry you had too much liquid in the chicken — was the meat by chance frozen?

    • Probably soupy if you use white meat chicken-use dark-much better

  • I have never posted a review after testing out a new recipe, but this one has inspired me to post one!

    Absolutely delicious recipe, simple and easy to make and full of flavour!

  • We substituted the chicken for ground beef and added some crunchy chopped bell peppers and it was still very delicious!!! My kids devoured it. I have tried many of your recipes and it has never disappointed me. Thank you.

  • This is next level delicious! We did it with half the chicken mince, and it worked out perfectly. Easy, quick, so flavoursome and tasty! Thank you for our new favourite recipe – from New Zealand.

  • I used to have a favorite Thai restaurant called Sawaddi. Well, Sawaddi closed and reopened under new management with a new name and new recipes. My favorite dish there was you guessed it Thai chicken lettuce wraps! I have searched high and low to find a recipe that came even close to theirs and I have found it finally! Bless you you amazing woman! You complete me! lol Thank you for sharing!

  • Hi Jenn,

    Thanks for sharing your recipes. Does this recipe have a vegetarian version?

    Best,
    Mariana

    • Mariana, although I’ve not tried it this way, perhaps you could substitute the chicken with tofu, or vegetarian ground “meat.”

  • The Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups were absolutely outstanding. I followed the recipe exactly, and I wouldn’t change a thing. The blend of flavors in the chicken kind of made my mouth dance every time I took a bite. : ) YUM!! My whole family — even my 8-year-old — loved this meal. Next time, I’m going to triple the recipe and freeze in batches for future meals. Thanks for another awesome recipe, Jenn!

  • Wow these little cups are so delicious. A real hit with kids and the adults. I live in Dublin, Ireland so no problem buying the fish sauce in the supermarket (Irish people love Thai and also Chinese food). I also add some bean sprouts to this dish to bulk it out slightly. Delicious recipe thank you

  • Would this recipe be a good wedding appetizer? I am in charge of appetizers at my sons wedding and he loves lettuce cups. Thanks, lynn.

    • Yes, I think these would make a nice appetizer but they may be a little bit messy to eat, so just take that into consideration in your planning.

  • This recipe is delicious! It also tastes great left over.

    • This was amazing, so good and easy to prepare. Sure going to make it many times over. Thank you
      Iberia

  • My boyfriend and I made this last night for dinner. We both love Thai food so we tried this. But here’s the catch: we do not know how to cook! Thankfully I live in SE Asia and have all the ingredients ready. Oh my gosh when we tasted it we felt like professionals! It was so goooood! Definitely going to cook this again!

  • I eat low carb so these are just perfect for me! Thanks so much!

  • This recipe is yummy! We’ve tried the mixture in lettuce cups. We’ve had it over both rice and rice noodles. I’ve added stock, amped up the spices and turned it into a Thai inspired soup. We have used it over spinach &/or greens for a knockout salad. And we have even wrapped it in tortillas with some extra veggies. I’ve used ground chicken, turkey, and pork, depending on what I have on hand. It tastes great every time! It has that wonderful balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Home run!

  • This wasn’t my favourite of the recipes that I’ve gotten from Jenn, but still good. My boyfriend loved them. I think it was the mint that didn’t sell me, however I read someone substituted basil so I may try that next time. We may also try a different vessel as the iceberg lettuce made quite a mess while we were eating.

  • Can I skip the brown sugar in this recipe? I just had gastric bypass and sugar is a big no-no. I don’t like the after taste of imitation sweetners. But this looks great!!

    • Hi Cameo, That’s a tough one because you really need the sweetness to balance out the saltiness. Sorry!

    • Maybe honey?

      • — Bobbi Jo LaForce
      • Reply
  • Another great hit. I made it for my friends and they really liked it and so did I. The best thing is this is kid friendly too. All the kids loved it.

  • Hi Jenn,
    Could you substitute shrimp for chicken in this recipe?

    • Hi Cristina, Yes, I think shrimp would be delicious.

  • I am making your recipe for a Vietnamese supper tonight with 24 people. Can you serve the chicken cold or is it best to serve the chicken warm in the lettuce cups? Thank you.

    • Hi Carole, I wouldn’t serve it cold but room temperature is fine. Hope everyone enjoys it 🙂

  • These are absolutely delicious! And easy to make. Full of flavor. Highly recommend.

  • Made this for dinner a couple of nights ago – very good! Son and husband loved it too. Better than a restaurant!!!! Thanks for another great recipe!

  • I tried these and they were wonderful. I had tried a different recipe before, but found that the flavor was not as robust as yours. I also like to serve these with a prepared lettuce wrap sauce ( I used Lee Kum Kee). Chicken is a big part of our diet, so these are a nice change from a whole piece of meat.

  • Hey Jenn! I absolutely loved this recipe. I made it last week for myself and my husband. It’s been hot as heck here on Maui and I wanted to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. I prepped everything in the morning, used romaine lettuce instead of iceberg, cooked the meat up just before serving. It was fantastic! Definitely a keeper. Thanks for your creativity.

  • These were fantastic! I do not know about the technique of peeling the lettuce leaves in water; that tip was extremely helpful! I could not find fish sauce at the grocery store so I subbed 1 tbsp of anchovy paste and 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. These came out light and refreshing.

  • This recipe was delicious. Very flavorful and healthy and easy. Love all the food I’ve been making from this website.

  • My daughter made this recipe on Tuesday and we’re having it again two nights later. It is my husband’s birthday and he chose to have this again! Last time we halved the recipe because I thought one pound of chicken would be enough….big mistake. Tonight we’ll be making extra for leftovers.

  • All I can say is, “Wow!” I made this dish the other night using ground turkey. As usual, Jenn’s dish was a hit for the entire family! It was the right amount of savory and spice, and the lettuce cooled it down in the mouth beautifully! I love that so much of it can be prepared in advance! Although I would say that for my family, this dish was more appropriate as an hearty appetizer. My kids and hubby chowed it down in 5 minutes flat and I had nothing more to feed them!

    • LOL 🙂

  • These were fun to make and really good! Kids and adults scarfed these down and declared them delicious. They have a sweet-spicy flavor that is really unusual. I will be making these again soon! Thank you for another winner. I love your recipes and pictures. :o)

  • I make this dish once a week. My children take any leftovers in their lunches to school. My family eats it without the lettuce or sriracha sauce. This is one of my favorite recipes.

  • Dear Jenn, I love all your recipes because they are all exquisite! I have tried and have great success with many of them. Today I made the Thai chicken lettuce cups, but it seems there is a little mistake with the pictures b/c the photo with the popcorn and another with carrots appear there and also the last photo is the minced chicken. Always it’s perfect but today there is a mismatch, so I’d rather advise you.
    Have a great week and thanks again for sharing your wonderful and well described recipes!

    • Thank you, Ingrid. That is very strange! I will look into it 🙂

  • I made this over the weekend for my husband to try. Happy, happy, joy, joy! We practically finished it off, just the two of us!

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