Keto Lettuce Wrap Salad with Ground Chicken

This spicy Asian ground chicken lettuce wrap salad cooks up quickly, is affordable, easy and most importantly, it’s a total flavor bomb. Plus, this keto lettuce wrap salad is PACKED with protein!

I’m a huge fan of Asian flavors. Garlic, sesame oil, scallions, and chili-garlic paste are some of my most favorite ingredients to cook with. My husband and I also love chicken lettuce wraps. We often order Asian ground chicken lettuce wraps as an appetizer when we go out to eat, and we’ve sampled lots of different styles.

We’ve tried lettuce wraps served with minced chicken in a spicy sauce, Thai-style chicken wraps with peanut sauce to drizzle over the meat, and even a spicy Korean beef version. My version of Chinese chicken lettuce wraps includes all the flavor and heat I love and cooks up quickly. Instead of rolling up in lettuce cups, I just dump the Asian ground chicken mixture on top of bagged romaine lettuce and eat it like a keto lettuce wrap SALAD.

This is a GREAT recipe for meal-prep! After the Asian ground chicken filling cools, I just pop the mixture into these cute glass containers. You can heat up the ground chicken, open up a bag of pre-washed lettuce, and your meal is served!

Keto Lettuce Wrap Salad Ingredients

• Ground Chicken – I get mine from Aldi!
• Sesame Oil – Please don’t try to substitute this as it’s SO flavorful
• Garlic – I prefer fresh garlic but you can also use garlic powder in a pinch.
• Celery – This adds a lovely texture to the Asian ground chicken filling.
• White Onion – A little goes a long way!
• Chili-Garlic Paste – I’ve found this in the Asian aisle at my local grocery store, or you can pick it up from your local Asian market, or even online.
• Hoisin – Again, it should be widely available at your local supermarket, Asian grocer, or online.
• Soy Sauce – We are partial to a fermented soy sauce, but anything will work.
• Scallions – Also known as green onions or spring onions, these add a great flavor and color to the your ground chicken filling.

How to Make Spicy Asian Ground Chicken Filling

I start with two pounds of ground chicken. I can find this at my local Aldi, and I’ve also seen it at Walmart and Target Marketplace.

First, you’ll want to heat up a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Break up chicken and cook until it’s mostly cooked through. A lot of water will be released. I prefer to drain off the water, return the cooked chicken to the pan and THEN add in sesame oil to help the meat caramelize.

I like to use a large colander to drain all this extra liquid. Once all the moisture is drained off, the chicken will caramelize beautifully in the sesame oil.

Add in your white onion, and garlic, and continue to cook the chicken until it starts to brown and caramelize.

Add in your diced celery and cook for 2 minutes. While celery is cooking, mix your chili-garlic paste, hoisin, soy sauce and about 1/4 cup water together.

Add sauce to pan and cook until it’s mostly absorbed into the chicken. At this point, I like to taste, and adjust. If you like it spicier, add in a bit more chili-garlic paste. I don’t add salt as I find the soy sauce gives me enough seasoning, but feel free to taste and adjust to your preferences.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in scallions.

Switching Up Your Spicy Keto Lettuce Wrap Filling

This is a great base recipe, and very easy to customize. You can try adding in some minced mushrooms, water chestnuts, fresh basil or spinach, sesame seeds, or even matchstick carrots!

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my thai beef basil as well!