These Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps combine crispy chicken, sweet mangoes, crunchy chow mein noodles, and nutty sesame seeds all in a lettuce wrap. Drizzle on the sweet (5-ingredient) Asian-inspired dressing and be prepared for a taste-bud explosion!
Craving more crunch? Pair these lettuce wraps with this cool Asian cucumber salad or this easy Roasted Broccoli.
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
These lettuce wraps have been a huge summer favorite at my house. They’re super quick to make, light, refreshing, full of texture & flavor, and there’s no need to turn on the oven to make them. Which is definitely a must-have in 100-degree weather! We whip out the air fryer to get ultra-crispy chicken in about 11-12 minutes, and by the time they’re done, just about everything else is ready to go!
How is this so? We take advantage of a whole bunch of store-bought shortcuts to have these wraps on the table in a hurry; we’ll discuss these shortcuts below.
Shortcuts
Asian Lettuce Wraps Chicken Short-Cuts
These lettuce wraps are intended to be on the table in 30 minutes or less. A few kitchen shortcuts get us there, but don’t worry– we aren’t sacrificing flavor — these wraps are loaded with plenty of it!
- Matchstick carrots. Instead of cutting your own carrots into matchsticks, grab pre-shredded carrots in the produce section of the grocery store. They’re usually right by baby and/or full-sized carrots.
- Crispy chow mein noodles. No — you don’t need to deep fry your own noodles for this irresistible topping; you can buy these at the store! These are deep-fried crunchy golden egg noodles and are typically found in the international aisle with Asian products or in the dry pasta aisle of the grocery store.
- Already peeled & cut mangoes. A lot of grocery stores offer peeled and cut mangoes in the produce section. Although they cost a little more, these do save a lot of prep time. Instead of peeling and cutting the mangoes, you just need to dice the already-cut spears.
- Crispy chicken tenders. The biggest shortcut of them all — you don’t need to make the chicken for these wraps (can I get a woo-hoo!). More on this short-cut for chicken tenders below.
Crispy Chicken Tenders
Taste of Home® shares the best chicken to use for this recipe. I personally use Tyson’s® crispy chicken strips for these lettuce wraps (not sponsored). I recommend baking or air frying the chicken tenders, not microwaving them, for these Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps. (If you do have an air fryer, that is our favorite method — it’s super quick, you don’t need to wait for the oven to preheat, and it yields the best texture!) Let chicken tenders cool to a warm temperature and then thinly slice and add to the salad.
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps Dressing Ingredients
- Mayonnaise. We love and recommend Hellman’s/Best Foods® mayo; it has a robust flavor without being too sweet.
- Dijon mustard. We love Grey Poupon® Dijon best. Make sure to use Dijon, not yellow mustard. There’s a big flavor difference!
- Sesame oil. Even though there is a very small amount in this dressing, it really delivers a great authentic flavor and is the “secret” ingredient in this dressing. This oil is typically found in the Asian ingredients area, rather than with the other oils in the grocery store. We love the flavor of toasted sesame oil best!
- Rice vinegar: This balances the sauce and adds a subtle tang. If you see a label saying rice wine vinegar, it’s the same thing.
- Honey. We prefer this dressing on the sweet side, but if you don’t, add the honey slowly and to taste.
Quick Tip
This dressing mixes best by being thoroughly whisked with a small whisk instead of being stirred with a spoon or fork.
How To Make Asian Chicken Lettuce Wrap
- Chicken: Cook frozen breaded chicken tenders as per package (prefer air fryer for crispiness), then dice. Avoid overcooking to maintain juiciness.
- Lettuce: Use large Boston or butter lettuce leaves, wash and dry thoroughly. Dry leaves prevent soggy wraps.
- Dressing: Mix mayonnaise, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and Dijon mustard. Season to taste. Adjust dressing to balance flavors.
- Assembly: On each lettuce leaf, layer chicken, mango, carrots, and chow mein noodles; drizzle with dressing. Add sesame seeds and green onions if desired. Assemble just before serving for freshness.
Variations
One of the fun things about lettuce wraps is just how easy they are to customize. Below are a few ideas to add more veggies or change up the ingredients in these wraps:
- Add sliced toasted almonds– These would be a good replacement for chow mein noodles to add crunch.
- Replace the mango with clementine oranges or diced pineapple — This way there is still a tropical fruity element!
- Add red cabbage — Thinly sliced along with the carrots to bulk up the amount of veggies.
Quick Tip
Lettuce Options
- Our favorite lettuce for these Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps is butter lettuce (also known as Boston or Bibb). It has a nice flavor, the perfect amount of crispness, and rolls up nicely.
- Green leaf and iceberg also work nicely in a lettuce wrap. Asian-style wraps are especially nice with crispier lettuce like iceberg. That said, iceberg lettuce tends to be harder to wrap as it breaks easily.
- In a pinch, romaine lettuce is also a workable option.
More lettuce wrap recipes
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps with ground chicken
- Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps with a tasty peanut sauce dressing
- Beef Lettuce Wraps with quick-pickled shallots
- Taco Lettuce Wraps with taco-seasoned beef
- Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps with sweet potatoes
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 13 ounces frozen crispy chicken strips see note 1
- 12 large lettuce leaves Boston or butter lettuce works best
- 1-1/4 cups diced ripe mango see note 2
- 1-1/4 cups matchstick carrots
- 12 tablespoons crispy chow mein noodles
- Toasted sesame seeds optional
- Thinly sliced green onions optional
Dressing
- 1/3 cup mayo I love Hellman's or Best Foods
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Prepare chicken strips according to package directions (I like air frying them best). Let cool to warm, then dice into small pieces.
- Wash and completely dry 12 lettuce leaves.
- While chicken is cooking, whisk all dressing ingredients in a bowl, then season with salt and pepper.
- Fill lettuce leaves with diced chicken, mango, carrots, and 1 tablespoon chow mein noodles each. Optionally, sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Drizzle sauce generously over wraps and serve immediately. (Dunk the wraps in any leftover sauce—yum!)
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was really good and I will be making it again. The only thing I think I will do differently is make it into a salad instead of a lettuce wrap. I used romaine lettuce and it was kinda hard to get everything on it. It was a hit at my house!
So glad you enjoyed these! And yes, romaine can be tricky sometimes, a salad is a great idea 🙂