These healthy chicken lettuce wraps include meat cooked in garlic and ginger, finished with honey soy sauce and topped with crunchy cashews.
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👩🏻🍳 Why You'll Love These Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Three words to sum up these cashew chicken lettuce wraps: tasty, easy, healthy! That just about checks all of my boxes when it comes to a meal, so I'm a big fan of these cashew lettuce chicken wraps. They're full of flavor and nutrition, so you can easily make a guilt-free meal that you and your loved ones are sure to enjoy!
This filling and low-carb meal can be on your dinner table in under 30 minutes!
For another chicken recipe, try this delicious Chicken Macaroni Salad!
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- soy sauce - regular or low sodium both work.
- white wine vinegar- gives the sauce a nice bite.
- honey - helps balance the acidity of the vinegar.
- chicken - it's easiest to buy boneless and skinless, and breasts or thighs work best.
- pepper - for some extra spice.
- minced garlic - I used jarred and minced garlic, but you can also use fresh garlic and mince it yourself!
- ginger - dry ground ginger works fine, but if you want a stronger ginger taste I would recommend using fresh ginger.
- scallions - pair well with the sauce for a fresh, green taste.
- celery - provides some extra flavor and texture.
- cashews - gives your wraps a crunchy, nutty flavor.
- lettuce - I used iceberg, but Boston or Bibb lettuce would also be great for these cashew chicken lettuce wraps!
🔪 Instructions
- Combine soy sauce, vinegar, and honey in a small bowl, then set to the side.
- Cook the chicken over medium-high heat, adding the pepper and cooking for about 3 minutes.
- Turn heat down to medium and add the garlic, ginger, and scallions, then cook for another minute or so.
- Add the sauce you made in step one as well as the celery, then cook until the chicken is done (about 4 or 5 minutes).
- Remove from heat and add the cashews.
- Distribute the chicken over lettuce leaves and serve!
👪 FAQs
Iceberg lettuce is my first choice because it's easy to come by and provides a sturdy base for your wraps, as well as a nice crunch! Bibb/Butter, Romaine, or Boston lettuce are also good options.
Absolutely! Cashews are high in fiber and plant protein, a good source of fats that support heart health, and are also low in sugar and rich in various nutrients.
First and foremost, wash the lettuce. Even if it's prewashed, it's safest to give it another rinse yourself. For a full head of lettuce, place in a plastic bag wrapped in a damp paper towel and store in the fridge. Check every so often to see if the paper towel feels too wet, and replace it if it does to prevent slimy lettuce.
For individual lettuce leaves, be sure to dry them and store them in a container, preferably in the lettuce crisper in your fridge.
🧊 Storage
If you have leftovers of your chicken mixture, it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or so. Then you can reheat it and eat it as is or make more lettuce wraps.
The quickest way to reheat your chicken is in the microwave. Start with a minute or so, give it a stir, and if it's still not heated through continue to microwave in 30-second intervals. You could also heat a pan over medium heat and throw your chicken in with a tiny bit of oil or chicken stock, then cook just until everything is up to temperature again.
To make this chicken last longer, you can also store it in the freezer for around 3 months as long as it's sealed well in a container.
Reheating from frozen is just the same as from the fridge; just be sure to let the chicken thaw in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight if you can) and then follow the same directions.
💭 Helpful Tips
- You can sprinkle some scallions over top of the wraps after they're prepared for extra scallion freshness.
- Want your sauce to be thicker? Dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in about 2 tablespoons of water, and during step four add this slurry to your skillet and heat until your sauce starts to thicken up.
These quick and easy cashew chicken lettuce wraps will become an instant family favorite. They're tasty and nutritious, so this is a dish you can feel good about serving to yourself and your family as a simple meal or a delicious snack!
📖 Variations
- For an even more Asian-inspired flavor profile, cook your chicken in a little bit of sesame oil.
- If you like some spice, sprinkle your wraps with red pepper flake or drizzle with some Sriracha sauce!
- You could also serve this chicken over rice or noodles, or stir in some onions, broccoli, pepper, and other vegetables to make a delicious stir fry!
- Another great sauce you could use would be a homemade teriyaki, like this one from Taste and Tell.
🥗 Suggested Side Dishes
These healthy chicken lettuce wraps are so versatile and can be served as a snack or a side, but if you want to make them a full-out meal, try one of these side dishes!
🍗 More Chicken Recipes
If you like these cashew chicken lettuce wraps, take a look at some of these other chicken recipes!
Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Love this recipe? Awesome! Please give it a 5 star ⭐ rating below! And if you make this, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram. You can find me at DizzyBusyandHungry or #dizzybusyandhungry!
📋 Recipe Card
Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Cashews
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium is fine)
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 ¾ pounds boneless skinless chicken (cut into bite-sized pieces - use either breasts or thighs)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons dry ground ginger
- 1 cup chopped scallions
- 1 cup chopped celery
- ½ cup cashews (dry roasted, unsalted)
- 1 head lettuce (leaves separated)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, and honey. Set aside.1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the chicken and black pepper and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.1 ¾ pounds boneless skinless chicken, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Reduce heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger, and scallions, and cook for another minute.3 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 ½ teaspoons dry ground ginger, 1 cup chopped scallions
- Stir in the celery and the soy sauce mixture. Cook another 4-5 minutes, until the chicken is done. (Taste and add the optional salt, if you desire)1 cup chopped celery, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Remove from heat and sprinkle in the cashews.½ cup cashews
- Divide the chicken among 4 the lettuce leaves and serve.1 head lettuce
Notes
- For a thicker sauce, dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in about 2 tablespoons of water, then slowly add to the skillet in step 4 and stir while heating until the sauce thickens.
- Add extra scallions to the wraps after they're cooked and prepared for an even fresher taste.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
Update Notes: This post was originally published in July 2014, but was republished with tips, step by step photos, and a recipe change in February 2021.
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Happy cooking!
Alexandra
Such a delicious recipe for an easy dinner - the whole family enjoys this! And we love the use of lettuce wraps!
Elaine
Perfect recipe to keep handy for when my friends come over. Easy to customize it, too!
Anjali
Yum! This was a healthier version of one of my favorite takeout recipes!! Tasted great and everyone loved it!
Amanda Dixon
We loved these lettuce wraps! The cashew added such a nice texture and flavor, and it was so easy to put together. Will definitely make this again!
Beth
These look so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! My hubby is going to love this recipe!
Lisa L.
Another great recipe pinned. Thanks for posting this one.
Stephanie Pass
These look amazing! We love lettuce wraps. It's usually a special appetizer treat but I'd love to try making them at home, too!
jan
Yummm ... I tried to use butter lettuce once and it gets to wimpy ... iceburg is the best for these, as much as I dislike iceburg lettuce 😉
Kristin King
The iceberg definitely worked well. It was funny because with the sauce everything was a little slippy-slidey and the kids got a good laugh trying to keep everything inside the lettuce wrap while eating them. But either way, they were delicious! 🙂 Thanks, Jan!
Joanna
What a great recipe! I'll be featuring it tomorrow at the bewitch-titi-link-party 🙂
Kristin King
Thanks, Joanna! 🙂
Kristin King
Thanks, Joanna! And thanks so much for the feature!