Name: Chicken and Cashew Lettuce Wraps
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 lb. chicken breasts (and/or thighs, diced); 1 onion (diced); 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped); 2 ribs celery (thinly sliced); 1/2 cup chopped cashews; 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce; 1 tablespoon corn starch; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 1 teaspoon sriracha; 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger (from about a 1 inch piece); 8 large pieces of iceberg or butter lettuce (plus more if needed); 2 green onions (thinly sliced)

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5 from 1 vote

I am happy to announce a very exciting update in my and Zach’s life! No, no, not that… WE’RE ON SUMMER VACATION! Finally! Hallelujah! So we are celebrating with this recipe for Chicken and Cashew Lettuce Wraps. They are WAY better than P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps, in my humble opinion.

Open lettuce leaf on a white plate, with chicken and cashew mixture placed in the center.

Usually, our weekends consist of grocery shopping, errands, cooking things to last through the next week since we know we will be swamped, and maybe a nap or fun activity squeezed in there somewhere. THIS weekend, however, we have dubbed “taking our lives back weekend.” We’ve gone out for sushi at our all-time favorite sushi restaurant (Gen Sushi in Belmont- if you are in the Boston area, GO. Now! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!), we’ve seen a movie (22 Jump Street… meh, we thought the first one was better), Zach ran a 5k, and we’ve taken not one, but TWO naps! And now we are finishing up with amazingness on a plate- chicken cashew lettuce wraps, a protein-packed meal perfect for Zach’s recovery from his race.

Bird's eye view of chicken and cashew lettuce wrap o a white plate, with a cutting board, veggies, a folded blue and white cloth, and a bowl of chicken and cashew mixture surrounding it.

This was one of those meals where I had to use what I had on hand since we hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet. We had some chicken in the freezer, some cashews in our pantry, and all the condiments necessary to make a delicious stir fry sauce to accompany it. This is such a perfect summer dish… the chicken is super flavorful and just a little spicy, there is just the right amount of crunch from the celery and the cashews, and the cool crisp lettuce wrapped around it tempers the warmth of the chicken. It’s very refreshing. Best of all, it takes only about 20 minutes to make (the chicken cooks very quickly because it’s cut up before cooking).

Close up of a chicken and cashew lettuce wrap, being held by a light-skinned hand.

The sauce calls for fresh grated ginger. Here’s a fun trick. Buy some fresh ginger, peel it with the back of a spoon (it seriously works- try it), and put it in your freezer in a bag or container. When you need fresh grated ginger, take it out and use a microplane zester to grate it straight from the freezer. It’s easier than grating fresh AND you can keep it for a very long time, so you always have fresh ginger.

Bird's eye view of a bowl of chicken and cashew mixture next to a plate with an open leaf of lettuce with some of the mixture in the middle.

Alternatively, you can serve this chicken over rice. Or in a wrap with rice. Or with noodles. You can use water chestnuts instead of (or in addition to) the celery. The possibilities are endless!

Other Chinese Stir Fry Recipes

Hope you enjoy this Chicken and Cashew Lettuce Wraps recipe as much as I am enjoying summer vacation (which is quite a lot) :-)

Chicken and Cashew Lettuce Wraps

Chicken and Cashew Lettuce Wraps is the perfect summer recipe! The chicken is super flavorful and spicy, there is just the right amount of crunch from the celery and the cashews, and the cool crisp lettuce wrapped around it tempers the warmth of the chicken. It's very refreshing, and it's WAY better than PF Chang's lettuce wraps! Best of all, it takes only about 20 minutes to make.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Chicken

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 20

Servings: servings

Calories: 348kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. chicken breasts and/or thighs, diced
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 ribs celery thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped cashews
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger from about a 1 inch piece
8 large pieces of iceberg or butter lettuce plus more if needed
2 green onions thinly sliced

Instructions

Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet or wok and saute onions until tender. Add garlic; saute until fragrant (about 1 more minute)
Add chicken and saute until cooked completely.
Meanwhile, whisk soy sayce and cornstarch together in a small bowl (or in a mason jar). Add remaining sauce ingredients (hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, and ginger) and whisk or shake to combine.
Add celery, cashews, and sauce to skillet; saute for 1-2 minutes or until sauce thickens.
Transfer to bowl and allow to cool slightly. Serve wrapped in large lettuce pieces and garnished with green onions.

Notes

To make this recipe gluten-free, make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce or an alternative like liquid aminos.
The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.

Nutrition

Nutrition Information Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:

Very Well Fit Nutrition Information Calculator

My Fitness Pal Recipe Nutrition Calculator

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