These peanut sauce lettuce wraps are a healthy, flavorful, and easy meal perfect for lunch or dinner for the whole family. Made with stir-fried minced chicken, crisp lettuce, and a rich, creamy peanut sauce, these homemade wraps are both nutritious and satisfying. Whether you’re looking for easy lettuce wraps for a quick meal or gluten-free lettuce wraps for a light yet filling option, this recipe has you covered. Serve these Thai chicken lettuce wraps with peanut sauce as a low-carb appetizer or a balanced main course with added veggies (tips given in the post below).
Why you’ll love these peanut sauce lettuce wraps
- Healthy & nutritious: High in lean protein, low in carbs, and made with wholesome ingredients.
- Quick & easy: Ready in minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights.
- Flavor-packed: A perfect balance of savory, nutty, and slightly sweet flavors.
- Homemade peanut sauce: Creamy, rich, and free from artificial ingredients.
- Naturally gluten-free & dairy-free: A great option for dietary preferences.
- Customizable: Swap proteins, adjust spice levels, or add extra veggies.
- Perfect for meal prep: Make ahead and assemble fresh for a quick meal.
- Deliciously versatile: Great for lunch, dinner, or even appetizers.
Video
Let’s see how to make these lettuce wraps:
Ingredients list and substitutions
(You can find the exact measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this page.)
- Lettuce: I prefer Romaine, since it’s the most nutrient dense lettuce (source). If you need an alternative, use butterhead or iceberg.
- Chicken: Boneless skinless breasts or legs.
- Oil: Peanut oil is suitable for stir-frying since it has a high smoke point. If you don’t have it, you can use other cooking oils.
- Stir-fry sauce: Low sodium soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce and palm sugar (sub: brown or white sugar).
- Herbs: Thai basil (that gives the characteristic Thai flavors) and spring onions. You can also use coriander leaves if that’s what you have.
- Chilies: I’ve used bird’s eye chilies that are spicy. If they’re not available or you don’t want too much heat, you can use any fresh red chilies that you have. If you have only dried chilies, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes and then use as per the recipe.
Peanut sauce ingredients
- Peanut butter: I’ve used one with no added salt or sugar. If you’re using one with salt and sugar, reduce the quantity of honey and soy sauce. (Start with half, and then add as per taste.)
- Sriracha sauce: You can substitute with chili sauce, though you won’t get the exact same flavor.
- Soy sauce: Low sodium light soy sauce
- Sesame seeds: You can either buy toasted ones, or toast them yourself. I prefer to toast them since freshly toasted sesame seeds are more crunchy.
How to make chicken lettuce wraps with peanut sauce: Step by step
Step 1: Make chicken mince stir-fry
The instructions are mostly the same as my popular recipe for stir-fried chicken mince. The only difference is that I didn’t add water to the stir fry sauce.
We don’t want the filling for the lettuce wraps to be runny. Also, there’s an awesome peanut sauce to go with it 🙂
For the stir fry sauce, whisk together: dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and palm sugar.
Mince garlic and red chilies using a mortar and pestle or a sharp knife.
Heat oil in a wok or deep pan. When the oil is smoking hot, add minced garlic and chilies. Stir for a couple of minutes.
Mince the chicken. Click here to learn how to mince chicken at home.
Add minced chicken and stir, breaking up lumps of mince as you go. Stir-fry until the chicken is opaque.
Add finely chopped onion and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the prepared stir-fry sauce and stir on high heat.
Keep stirring on high heat until most of the liquid cooks off and the chicken is saucy.
Garnish with spring onions and/or Thai basil.
Step 2: Make peanut sauce
Whisk together in a bowl: peanut butter, sriracha sauce, lime juice, honey, light soy sauce and water.
Step 3: Toast sesame seeds
Toast sesame seeds in a small pan on low flame until crunchy.
Step 4: Assemble lettuce wraps
Arrange lettuce leaves on a large plate. Add scoops of chicken mince on each leaf and drizzle the peanut sauce on top.
Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and julienned Thai basil. Serve immediately.
What to serve with lettuce wraps
- Asian carrot cucumber salad
- High protein quinoa edamame salad
- Thai red fried rice
- Thai green curry fried rice
More chicken mince recipes
- Easy chicken mince kebabs
- Healthy chicken keema curry
- Chicken kofta curry
- Spicy deviled eggs with minced chicken.
Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken mince stir fry
- 500 grams (1.1 pounds) boneless chicken breast
- 1½ tablespoons peanut oil
- 5 Bird's eye chilies (Thai red chilies)
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1½ tablespoons light soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons palm sugar
- 3 stalks spring onions
Peanut sauce
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1½ tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce (low sodium)
- 2 tablespoons water
Lettuce wraps
- 2 small heads Romaine lettuce
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon julienned Thai basil
STEP BY STEP IMAGES
Scroll back to find detailed recipe photos!
Instructions
Make chicken mince stir-fry
- For the stir fry sauce, whisk together in a small bowl: 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce, 1½ tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons fish sauce and 2 teaspoons palm sugar.
- Mince 5 Bird's eye chilies and 5 cloves garlic using a mortar and pestle or a sharp knife. Finely chop 1 large onion.
- Mince 500 grams (1.1 pounds) boneless chicken breast using a food processor or a sharp knife. If you want to learn how to do it, click here.
- Heat 1½ tablespoons peanut oil in a wok or deep pan.
- When the oil is smoking hot, add minced garlic and chilies. Stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add minced chicken and stir on high flame, breaking up lumps of mince as you go. Stir-fry until the chicken is opaque.
- Add the chopped onion and stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add the prepared stir-fry sauce and stir on high heat. Keep stirring until most of the liquid cooks off and the chicken is saucy.
- Garnish with chopped spring onions.
Peanut sauce for lettuce wraps
- Whisk together in a bowl: ¼ cup peanut butter, 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce, 1½ tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon honey, 2 teaspoons light soy sauce and 2 tablespoons water.
Toast sesame seeds
- Toast 2 teaspoons sesame seeds in a small pan on low flame until crunchy.
Assemble lettuce wraps
- Arrange lettuce leaves on a large plate. Add scoops of chicken mince on each leaf and drizzle the peanut sauce on top.
- Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon julienned Thai basil. Serve immediately.
Notes
- High flame: Once you add the minced chicken, increase the heat to high. Maintain the flame at high until you finish with the sauce.
- Lettuce leaves: It is better to use 2 lettuce leaves per wrap to hold all of the saucy chicken and the peanut sauce.
- Make it a complete meal: You can add vegetables like carrots, bell peppers and cabbage to the chicken mince stir fry. Cut (or shred) them into thin strips and add before adding the onions. Stir until they become soft before adding the sauce. For this recipe, you can add 1 cup of vegetables. You’ll also have to add 1½ additional teaspoons of light soy sauce to the stir fry sauce.
- Make-ahead option: Chicken mince stir fry can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. When you’re ready to serve, heat the chicken in the microwave, whip up the peanut sauce and assemble on lettuce wraps.
- Freezing: Stir-fried chicken mince can also be frozen for 2 weeks, though the texture might slightly change. (The taste would still be awesome!) Thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating.
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