Chicken Lettuce Wraps 

One of my favorite appetizers to order at restaurants is lettuce wraps, so I decided to try and improvise them at home. These lettuce wraps are inspired by Asian cuisine, but could be made with different fillings for a different kind of appetizer! They’re super easy to make, and are a delicious way to test out new toppings. Also, the filling can be reused to make rice bowls, egg rolls, or can be incorporated into noodles for a different dish!

Note: I used ground chicken, but this recipe can be made with any form of protein (beef, tofu, ground turkey, etc.). All ingredients are optional, so if there’s any add-ins you don’t like, feel free to leave them out or substitute them for a different vegetable! 

Ingredients 

• 1 Lb of Ground Chicken
• 1 Bundle of Green Onions
• Teriyaki Sauce
• 1 Bag of Shredded Carrots (or you can shred them yourself!)
• 1 Head of Broccoli
• Garlic (I used jarred garlic for this recipe, but you can also use fresh garlic chopped up)
  • If using fresh garlic, chop about 4 cloves, depending on how much garlic you like.
• 1 Small Can of Water Chestnuts 
• 1 White Onion
• 1 Head of Lettuce

Other Potential Inclusions

• Mushrooms
• Sesame Seeds
• Zucchini
• Bell Peppers
• Cabbage

Prices & Where I Got the Ingredients:

• 1 Lb of Ground Chicken → ALDI for $3.39
• 1 Bundle of Green Onions → Walmart for $0.96
• 1 Bag of Shredded Carrots → Walmart for $1.96
• 1 Head of Broccoli → Walmart for 1.87 ($1.97/lb)
• 1 Small Can of Water Chestnuts → Walmart for $1.18

• 1 White Onion → Walmart for $1.27 ($1.68/lb)
• Teriyaki Sauce → ALDI for $2.45
• Jarred Garlic → Walmart for $2.16
• 1 Head of Lettuce → Walmart for $1.87

Total cost for all ingredients (or about 12-15 lettuce wraps ): $17.11

Total cost for one serving (or about 4 lettuce wraps): $4.28

Instructions:

1. First, gather all ingredients, a cutting board, and 2 pans.
   1. This recipe can also be made with only 1 pan, but I would recommend 2, so that you can multitask cooking the ground chicken and vegetables.

Preparing the Vegetables

2. Rinse off your broccoli, lettuce, green onions, and carrots and let them dry on a paper towel. 
3. Open and drain your can of water chestnuts and set aside. 
4. Chop your onion into small pieces.
5. Cut the water chestnuts into small pieces, around the same size as the onions. 
6. Slice your green onions into inch long pieces, cutting them horizontally to make small “O” shaped slices.
7. Cut your broccoli into small florets.

Cooking the Chicken

8. Set your stovetop to medium-high heat.
9. Add your ground chicken into a pan and break it up using a spatula, making sure there aren’t any pieces that are too big, as this will make it harder to cook them all the way through efficiently. 
10. Season the ground chicken with salt, pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder.
    1. You can always season to your taste more once the chicken is cooked, but I would avoid adding too many seasonings right away, as the teriyaki sauce adds a ton of flavor, and you can always add more later on.
11. Cook until all the pieces are browned and cooked through.
    1. You may need to break open the bigger pieces to make sure they’re cooked all the way through and there is no pink left inside.
12. Once all the chicken is browned, add teriyaki sauce until the pieces are all lightly coated and set aside on low heat. 

Cooking the Vegetables

13. Add some butter to a pan and set to medium-high heat. 
14. Add in your chopped regular white onion, broccoli, water chestnuts and carrots to saute.
15. Allow to cook until the onions are transparent.
16. Add teriyaki sauce, garlic, and green onions to the vegetable mixture.
17. Allow to saute for another 5 minutes.
    1. This will thicken up the mixture, as well as allow for the sauce and garlic to fully incorporate into the vegetables. 
18. Once your vegetables are done sauteing, mix in the cooked ground chicken and let sit on low heat while you prepare the lettuce boats.

Assembly 

19. While your vegetables and chicken are finishing up with sauteing, carefully peel individual lettuce leaves off of the lettuce head, making sure to not rip them when pulling them off.
    1. After I have all my lettuce boats apart from the head, I typically re-rinse them just to be extra sanitary. I then let them dry on a paper towel to get the extra moisture off.
20. Once your lettuce wraps are dry, take a scoop of the filling and add it in, making sure not to overfill the wrap, as they will rip and make it more difficult to eat.
21. Garnish with more chopped green onions, a drizzle of teriyaki sauce, sesame seeds, or all three!
22. Enjoy!