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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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.
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!
Hi Patrice, this would be nice with the Thai Crunch Salad, Szechuan Green Beans, or simple basmati rice. Hope you enjoy!
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!