Quick, effortless, and flavorful, this spicy ground orange chicken lettuce wraps recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner on a busy night! It’s also very easy to customize, so you can make this veggie-packed recipe with what you have on hand!
This ground chicken lettuce wraps recipe is one of my go-to dinners when I’m not in the mood to cook. It’s simple to make, easy to customize, and it’s loaded with vegetables! It cooks up in 20 minutes, making for a quick weeknight meal!
I also love how the ground chicken is freezer-friendly (so is rice!), so I can make extra and freeze a batch for another day. All I need to buy for dinner are the lettuce cups, and I’m good to go!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here is a breakdown of the ingredients you’ll need to make my spicy ground orange chicken lettuce wraps. Most of what you need are pantry staples! You can find the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card down below!
sauce — for the sauce that the ground chicken is cooked in, you’ll need cornstarch, buffalo sauce, orange juice, honey, soy sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder. You can make add as much buffalo sauce as you’d like to make this spicier!
oil — I cook the dish in olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil such as avocado oil.
aromatics — I dice up a yellow onion and garlic. For a speedier prep, I always have minced garlic in my freezer so I can just pull out a tablespoon as needed. There’s also pre-diced onions sold in the frozen section (or DIY it!) to decrease the prep time.
salt — I use kosher salt.
ground chicken — I’m using lean ground chicken, but feel free to use what you have on hand! You can also swap the ground chicken for ground turkey.
julienned carrots — sometimes when I want to cut down on prep time, I’ll buy pre-cut carrots. You can also use a box grater to quickly shred your carrots.
romaine hearts or lettuce of choice — choose your favorite lettuce for the cups!
rice — I like to add some cooked jasmine rice to my lettuce wraps to make them a little more hearty. Feel free to skip the rice if you want this to be lower in carbs.
garnishes — garnishes are always optional, but I like to top off my lettuce wraps with toasted sesame seeds and green onions.
How to Make Orange Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice and cornstarch. Mixing the cornstarch with the liquid first will help it blend in better.
- Add the buffalo sauce, honey, soy sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder to the bowl. Mix the sauce until well combined and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and minced garlic and saute for another minute.
- Add the ground chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to break up the pieces with your spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add the julienned carrots to the skillet and give it a mix.
- Add the buffalo sauce mixture to the skillet.
- Stir until everything is combined and lower the heat from medium to medium low. Let the ground chicken simmer for 4 to 5.
- Meanwhile, prepare your lettuce wraps by setting them up and spooning rice into the lettuce leaves.
- Top each wrap with your ground chicken mixture and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Ground chicken cooks up pretty quickly, so make sure not to cook it through entirely before adding in the sauce, or it’ll dry out.
- Frozen corn, broccoli, peas, snap peas, green beans, edamame, and bell peppers are great additions or alternatives to the carrots. You can also add these in addition to the carrots for extra veggies!
- I usually serve this with jasmine rice (see this post on how I make jasmine rice), but it’s great with purple rice as well. For even more veg, try my Japanese corn rice!
- Make sure to wash and dry the lettuce leaves thoroughly before using.
- For a crunchy texture, you can add some roasted peanuts, cashews, or almonds on top.
- Want to make this even faster? Use pre-cooked chicken! Shred a roasted chicken or Costco rotisserie chicken.
- For a juicier bite, you can add some tangerines or oranges to the wraps.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store the ground chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Leave the lettuce on the side so you can reheat it easily. You can store them meal prep style with the chicken and rice together and the lettuce separately or everything separately!
- Freezer: allow the ground chicken to cool before transferring into an airtight container and storing in the freezer. Store for up to 3 months.
Spicy Orange Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce, or more
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice and cornstarch. Add the buffalo sauce, honey, soy sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder to the bowl. Mix the sauce until well combined and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and minced garlic and saute for another minute.
- Add the ground chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to break up the pieces with your spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add the julienned carrots to the skillet and stir and then add the buffalo sauce mixture.
- Stir until everything is combined and lower the heat from medium to medium low. Let the ground chicken simmer for 4 to 5.
- Meanwhile, prepare your lettuce wraps by setting them up and spooning rice into the lettuce leaves. Then top each wrap with your ground chicken mixture and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
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