Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Rotisserie or Leftover Chicken

These Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps use rotisserie chicken, or any kind of leftover chicken, to create a quick, intensely satisfying meal that will be on the table in about 15 minutes.

Simply stir pre-cooked chicken into a quick and easy Asian sauce flavored with ginger, soy, chili, garlic, and honey, and serve with crisp lettuce leaves, chili garlic sauce, and roasted peanuts. 

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps made with Rotisserie or Leftover Chicken

Chicken Lettuce Wraps have been a staple meal in our house for years, and, years, and years. I think could eat them every day for a month and still not be tired of them. There's just SO much about these lettuce wraps to love:

• They are super quick. If you have the ingredients on hand, you could be eating chicken lettuce wraps in about 15 minutes. Speaking of having the ingredients on hand...
• I almost always do. Have {most of} the ingredients on hand. Aside from the chicken and lettuce, the ingredients are pantry staples for any of us who make dishes with Asian flavors every now and then. And, as for the lettuce and chicken...
• Both can be picked up at most grocery stores as the mood strikes. Often, you can find little packages of "lettuce boats" in the produce section that are simply large Romain lettuce leaves washed and ready to fill. I love these because they are, as I just mentioned, washed and ready to fill. But, a head or two of Romain, iceberg, or butter lettuce works just as well. 

What Kind of Chicken Should You Use to Make Lettuce Wraps?

When I first started making Chicken Lettuce Wraps, I used ground chicken. This is still a great option, except... my local market doesn't always have ground chicken in stock. And, speaking of first world problems (which I know we weren't, but now we are), staring at the section of the meat case that should contain ground chicken but doesn't when all I want is chicken lettuce wraps RIGHT NOW is annoying.

Anyhoo... it doesn't even matter anymore because making chicken lettuce wraps with rotisserie chicken (or any kind of leftover chicken) is MUCH tastier, economical, faster, and easier.

Use Rotisserie Chicken, Roast Chicken, Grilled, Baked, or Sautéed Chicken

If you have any kind of cooked chicken, you're well on your way to eating a plate full of chicken lettuce wraps. Often this is as simple as picking up a rotisserie chicken at your local market. Pull the chicken from the bones and dice it into very small pieces. Whisk together the sauce, toss it in, and you're done.

But these lettuce wraps are a fantastic way to use up any kind of leftover chicken. Here are just a few kinds of leftover chicken that have happily found themselves remade into chicken lettuce wraps in my kitchen:

• Simple Roast Chicken
• Cajun Chicken
• Lemon Rosemary Grilled Chicken
• Paprika Chicken
• Honey Chicken
• Indian Butter Chicken

What should you serve with Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps?

Top your lettuce wraps with a handful of roasted, salted peanuts, a few chopped scallions and fresh cilantro, and a dollop of Chili Garlic Sauce.

The salty crunch of peanuts and the spicy heat of chili garlic sauce are brilliant over the tangy chicken and cool, crispy lettuce leaves. Just two suggestions:

• The peanuts should be both salted and roasted.
• Select a brand of chili garlic sauce that's spicy without trying to kill you. You want to be able to add enough to taste the chili without burning your face off. This is the brand I like, having tasted many others over the years that were delicious, but requiring a fire hose to cool off your tongue if you dared add more than a drop.

Even using the not super crazy spicy chili garlic sauce, I nearly always make these too spicy. My poor family... 🥵😂

Chili garlic sauce is just so good. I'm obsessed with the stuff, and despite my best intentions, I can hardly help myself from adding too much. If you have a low tolerance for spicy foods, go easy on the chili garlic sauce, and consider using regular sesame oil instead of chili sesame oil for the Asian sauce.

Serve the wraps with extra chili garlic sauce on the side for people like me who can't get enough of the stuff and are willing to put up with a burning mouth in order to pile on as much as they can stand.

How about a cocktail with those lettuce wraps?

Chicken Lettuce Wraps are absolutely delicious with a Pomegranate Ginger Spritzer. Just in case you needed an excuse for a cocktail tonight. 🍸😉

The drink is a refreshing blend of gin, orange liquor, fresh pomegranate seeds, ginger and lime. It's a cocktail that balance and compliment the spicy Asian flavors in these lettuce wraps.

Weekly Meal Plans that include Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

• Weekly Spring Meal Plan #3: If you're making this as a part of Spring Meal Plan #3, you should have leftover Cajun Chicken in your refrigerator just for these Lettuce Wraps. 

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to rate this recipe and leave a comment for me, or take a picture and tag it @alittleandalot on Instagram.

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