Crisp butter lettuce leaves filled with tender chicken and topped with a salty-sweet peanut sauce is the perfect dinner for those days where you’re looking for something quick, easy, and better than your favorite takeout. And the best part is, it comes together in just 20 minutes! My Low-Carb Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps are a simple and delicious dinner that the whole family will enjoy.
Friends, welcome back to my “Dinner in Twenty” series! If you’ve been following along on Instagram, then you may know that every week, I’ve been sharing a brand new dinner recipe that comes together in just 20 minutes. What could be better than that? After a busy day, making a complicated dinner can feel like a chore. But this series is designed to make your dinnertime simple, seamless, and easy, with recipes that come together in a breeze.
If you haven’t checked out my 20 minute, better-than-takeout versions of Cashew Chicken or Beef and Broccoli, then you definitely need to add them to your dinner rotation asap! But, if you’re looking for a lower-carb option for your dinner, then you’re going to love this recipe. These Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps are made from tender chicken, cooked with sliced green onions, crunchy peanuts, and a delicious, salty-sweet peanut sauce. The chicken is good enough to eat on its own, right out of the pan! But, when you wrap the chicken in a crisp butter lettuce leaf? It’s delicious, refreshing, and comforting.
You might recognize *similar* wraps as one of the most famous appetizers / meals at Chinese food chain, P.F. Changs. Back in the day, I used to love going to P.F. Changs and having a whole plate of these wraps as my meal! This better-for-you take on these wraps is the perfect way to make this dish at home (but elevated, because the flavors here are a million times better than P.F. Changs), and have leftovers for the week ahead!
What You Need to Make These Better-Than-Takeout Lettuce Wraps
- Avocado Oil: To cook the chicken, I like to choose a better-for-you oil such as avocado oil.
- Ground Chicken: While ground chicken is the classic way to make this recipe, you can also use ground turkey or ground beef, if you prefer!
- Garlic: I always recommend using fresh garlic, whenever possible. The flavor is truly unbeatable!
- Salted Peanuts: Of course, this wouldn’t be a recipe for peanut chicken lettuce wraps without the peanuts! I love the crunchiness and saltiness that the peanuts add to this chicken.
- Green Onions: Fresh green onions add a delicious flavor to this recipe. Since we’ll be cooking them down, you can use both the greens and the whites of the green onions.
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos: If you want to keep this recipe gluten-free, opt for the coconut aminos. If not, low-sodium soy sauce also works well!
- Creamy Peanut Butter: To really amp up the delicious, salty peanut flavor, we’ll be adding peanut butter to the sauce. The key is to use a really creamy, liquid-y peanut butter!
- Lime: A squeeze of lime juice adds the perfect finishing touch to the chicken. Don’t skip this!
- Chili Garlic Paste: Chili garlic paste adds the perfect kick to these lettuce wraps. If you like them extra spicy (like I do), you can always add more in- just taste the sauce and adjust to your liking.
- Coconut Sugar: The coconut sugar adds the right amount of sweetness to the sauce.
- Ground Ginger: To keep this recipe simple and easy, ground ginger works great!
- Water: A little water can help thin the sauce, if necessary.
- Butter Lettuce: Butter lettuce leaves are perfect for lettuce cups, because they’re large and thick, which means that they can hold lots of chicken!
- Cilantro: This is optional, but I love to garnish these lettuce cups with a little bit of chopped cilantro.
How to Make This Simple & Easy 20-Minute Dinner
To make these lettuce wraps, start by preparing the sauce. Add the soy sauce, creamy peanut butter, lime juice, chili garlic paste, coconut sugar, and ground ginger to a bowl and whisk until fully combined. The sauce should be thick but still liquidy- if it’s too thick, add in water, one tablespoon at a time, and thin the sauce, as needed.
Next, prepare the chicken. Heat a pan, on the stove, over medium heat, and add in the oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the chicken and cook it for about 4 minutes, until it’s almost cooked through – a little pink is okay!
Then, add the sliced green onions, crushed peanuts, and mashed garlic to the pot with the chicken and cook them together for another 3-4 minutes. Pour approximately 3/4 of the sauce mixture into the pan and mix until everything is coated in the sauce. Allow the chicken to cook for a few more minutes, then remove from the heat.
Add in the lime juice and mix until everything is coated well. Finally, assemble the lettuce cups by filling each lettuce leaf with a scoop of the chicken mixture and drizzling a spoonful of the remaining sauce on top of each one. Then, serve and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a review and rating below! To see more recipes and behind the scenes, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube! I’m also now on Pinterest, so stop by and take a look at what’s new.
** Photography by Gayle McLeod
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
- 1 ½ Pounds Ground Chicken, I prefer to use ground thigh meat, but breast meat works as well
- 4 Cloves Garlic, mashed
- ½ Cup Salted Peanuts, crushed
- 3 Green Onions, sliced
For the Sauce:
- ¼ Cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
- ½ Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 Lime, juiced
- 2 Teaspoons Chili Garlic Paste, or more to taste, if desired
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
- ¼ Cup Water, to thin the sauce, as needed
For Serving:
- 2 Heads Butter Lettuce
- 1 Lime, juiced
- Cilantro, chopped – optional
Instructions
- To make these lettuce wraps, start by preparing the sauce. Add the soy sauce, creamy peanut butter, lime juice, chili garlic paste, coconut sugar, and ground ginger to a bowl and whisk until fully combined. The sauce should be thick but still liquidy- if it's too thick, add in water, one tablespoon at a time, and thin the sauce, as needed.
- Next, prepare the chicken. Heat a pan, on the stove, over medium heat, and add in the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add in the chicken and cook it for about 4 minutes, until it's almost cooked through – a little pink is okay!
- Then, add the sliced green onions, crushed peanuts, and mashed garlic to the pot with the chicken and cook them together for another 3-4 minutes.
- Pour approximately 3/4 of the sauce mixture into the pan and mix until everything is coated in the sauce.
- Allow the chicken to cook for a few more minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Add in the lime juice and mix until everything is coated well.
- Finally, assemble the lettuce cups by filling each lettuce leaf with a scoop of the chicken mixture and drizzling a spoonful of the remaining sauce on top of each one. Then, serve and enjoy!
Rate & review
SELECT A RATING and tell me what you think!
What others are saying
Def needed the chili garlic paste and green onions, next time I will probably cut the peanut butter in half – the sauce was a little too peanut buttery IMO! Still a great easy recipe.
I highly recommend trying it with the chili garlic paste and green onions next time, as it will help offset the strong peanut butter flavor ☻
Are the measurements for fresh or dry ginger?
Hi Sarah, it’s for ground ginger!
Loved this! It’s a new go to recipe! Used the peanut sauce and made a Thai Cole slaw with it, shredded cabbage and carrots and added some peanuts and raisins!
I am so happy you enjoyed it, Lynnette! Thank you so much for your review!
I do not chili garlic paste. What can I substitute? Thank you
You can omit it if you want, Madeleine!