Here’s a fun recipe that checks all the boxes: tasty, easy, healthy, and affordable. The limes, honey, and parsley give them a great fresh flavor. Try these easy lettuce wraps tonight!
Serving suggestions and variations:
I think these are a full meal on their own, but it would be great to slice a baguette and fresh fruit to serve alongside.
Change up the vegetables if you like. Broccoli, yellow squash, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and carrots would work well. Feel free to try your favorites.
It’s easy to make this recipe vegetarian; simply remove the meat and replace with chickpeas. I would use one can, drained and rinsed.
If you don’t want to eat them as wraps, serve on a bed of lettuce and eat it as a salad. Alternatively, try in a tortilla or over rice, noodles, or a baked potato.
Jump to RecipeInstructions for easy lettuce wraps
Prepare veggies.
Peel and mince the garlic. Wash, remove seeds, and finely chop the Fresno pepper. Clean and chop the bell pepper, zucchini, and celery. Control the amount of heat–you could always include the Fresno pepper seeds, use a hotter pepper, serve with additional fresh chopped peppers, or substitute red pepper flakes.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the garlic and veggies in extra virgin olive oil.
I like to give the veggies a bit of a head start, so I just cook and stir them together for a few minutes before adding the meat.
Add the meat and freshly ground black pepper.
Cook and stir, breaking the meat up into small pieces. Continue until the chicken is cooked through, about ten minutes. If needed, drain excess liquid.
Prepare the sauce.
Zest and juice the limes into a small bowl. Add the honey and soy sauce and whisk until well combined. If you need to avoid gluten, then swap out the soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos.
Add the sauce and cashews to the skillet.
Cook and stir a few minutes, just to make sure everything is heated through and well mixed.
Parsley is next.
Wash and pat the parsley dry. Discard the bottom 2-3 inches of the stems and coarsely chop the rest. Stir it into the skillet. If you’re not a parsley fan, try a bunch of fresh cilantro instead.
Final steps
Arrange the lettuce on plates and scoop the filling onto each leaf. Enjoy!
easy lettuce wraps
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 Fresno pepper
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 small zucchini
- 4 stalks celery
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground chicken
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 limes
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3/4 cup cashews
- 1 bunch curly parsley
- 12 leaves Romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Clean and mince garlic. Clean, remove seeds, and finely chop Fresno pepper. Clean and chop bell pepper, zucchini, and celery.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and stir garlic, Fresno pepper, bell pepper, zucchini, and celery in olive oil, about 3 minutes.
- Add chicken and black pepper, cooking and stirring to break up the meat into small pieces. Continue until chicken is done, about 10 minutes. Drain liquid if necessary.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the zest and juice of three limes, soy sauce, and honey. Add to the skillet with the cashews. Cook and stir, about 2 minutes.
- Clean and chop the parsley, discarding the bottom 2-3 inches of the stems. Stir into skillet.
- Arrange lettuce leaves on plates and fill each with the mixture from the skillet. Enjoy!
Notes
- If Fresno peppers aren’t available, use your favorite or substitute 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Adjust the heat level to your preference.
- Change out the vegetables if you’d like. Broccoli, yellow squash, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and carrots would work well.
- Use a different ground meat if you prefer, such as turkey or beef. If you’d like a vegetarian lettuce wrap, then replace the ground meat with canned chickpeas.
- Soy sauce is generally not gluten-free, so look for a gluten-free version if needed. Alternatively, try tamari or coconut aminos.
- Try cilantro instead of parsley if you like.
- Butter lettuce would also work well. Use your favorite.
- If you prefer not to eat as a wrap, serve on a bed of lettuce and eat as a salad. Alternatively, serve over rice, noodles, or a baked potato.
I hope you enjoy these easy lettuce wraps!
You might be interested in these other posts:
- easy salad ideas
- easy chicken salad–with a twist
- chocolate cake: an old family recipe
- easy citrus scones
- Visiting Mammoth Cave National Park
Fondly,
Crysti
These look fabulous! Thanks for sharing the recipe ideas for easy lettuce wraps. What a great idea!
Thank you! Have a wonderful day!