Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps taste like they came straight out of a restaurant, yet are light, low carb, and gluten free.
Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps are the answer to the “I love take out but am trying to eat healthier!” dilemma we all face once in a while.
This take-out fake-out dish tastes like it came straight from a restaurant, yet is light, gluten free, and low carb too!
Chopped chicken and fresh vegetables are stir fried then simmered in a killer Kung Pao sauce which boasts that signature sweet heat. The mixture is piled onto fresh lettuce leaves, versus a big pile of rice, then sprinkled with chopped peanuts.
They’ve got the perfect amount of heat, the perfect amount of sweet, and the chopped peanuts gives the dish such a satisfying crunch.
On top of all that they’re really easy to make, as many stir fried dishes are. I can’t wait for you to try them!
Start by making the Kung Pao sauce which calls for a few of my favorite, far-east sauce ingredients I always keep in the house: mirin, a sweet cooking wine (if you can’t find it sub in Riesling wine,) chili garlic sauce, there should be several brands at the store to choose from, and rice vinegar, which is also a common grocery store find.
Combine the aforementioned ingredients with gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce if not GF), sesame oil, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, stir 1/4 cup water into 1 Tablespoon corn starch, then pour into the tamari mixture and stir to combine. Sauce = done!
Next chop up 1lb chicken. I chop mine finely to get the real restaurant experience, plus it’s easier to pile high onto lettuce leaves that way.
Add the chicken to a big bowl then stir in 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari and 1 Tablespoon corn starch and mix until every piece of chicken is coated.
Time to get cookin’!
Heat 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil in a large, nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add the chicken and stir fry until cooked through, and then remove to a plate.
Next, stir fry the veggie portion of the program which includes 1/2 an 8oz can sliced water chestnuts that have been chopped, 1 small chopped zucchini, and 2 chopped green onions.
Heat an additional Tablespoon vegetable oil in the wok then add all the veggies and stir fry until crisp tender. Add 1 clove minced garlic then stir fry for 30 more seconds.
Finally, add the chicken back into the wok with the sauce then let the whole thing bubble until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Let the Kung Pao chicken mixture cool for a few minutes then pile into lettuce leaves and top with chopped peanuts. I use butter lettuce cups for these wraps, but also love them with plain ol’ iceberg lettuce leaves. Whatever you decide, open wide!
I cannot stress to you how mouthwatering these wraps are – make them ASAP!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, chopped very small
- 3 Tablespoons gluten free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF, divided
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, divided
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons mirin
- 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce, or more or less
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 small zucchini, chopped
- 4 oz can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated, or bibb or iceberg lettuce
- 1/4 cup peanuts, minced
Directions
- Add chicken, 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari, and 1 Tablespoon cornstarch in a bowl then mix to combine.
- Add remaining 2 Tablespoons tamari, mirin, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a bowl then stir to combine. In a separate bowl, stir water into remaining Tablespoon cornstarch then stir into soy sauce mixture. Set sauce aside.
- Preheat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large, nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add chicken and stir fry until cooked through. Remove to a plate then set aside.
- Heat remaining Tablespoon oil in wok then add zucchini, water chestnuts, and green onions. Stir fry until zucchini is crisp-tender, then add garlic and stir fry for 30 more seconds. Add chicken back into wok then pour in sauce. Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced then let cool slightly before serving over lettuce and topping with minced peanuts.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
i love how fast these recipes are. just chop everything and throw it together and done. my favorite type of cooking!
Oh, these looks amazing! Thanks so much for all of your fantastic recipes! They’e so delicious and easy. I’m a new mom as well and appreciate all of your posts! You’re a life saver! And as I was reading your story, couldn’t help but remember my 3AM smoke detector story from a few years back. Same as you, went all around the house, grabbing the step ladder from outside, checking each of them, thinking I succeeding, only to get up out of bed again trying to search for the one. After about 45 minutes of that silly game, I was stomping back up the steps, only to see the carbon monoxide detector blinking at me like it was a little gremlin…..I yanked that thing out of the wall and cursed at it…then had a good laugh. :)
It’s like they know when we go to sleep!
These look amazing! I may even add some diced mushrooms! Thank you for sharing
I made it tonight and did add the mushrooms- excellent addition!!
I got a kick out of your smoke detector chase. We came home from 11PM church services Christmas Eve to a low battery signal and it took an hour to figure out which detector it was. Then we found we didn’t have any batteries – it was a l-o-n-g night.
And I can empathize with Ben re: no-carbs. I know it would be a good idea, but I can only go about 24 hours before I binge.
these look delicious, I love a good lettuce wrap!
Would they be too spicy for kids or are they pretty mild?
If you leave out the chili-garlic sauce they’ll be perfect for kids! I just did this and it worked perfectly :)
These look SO delicious. Perfect lunch or dinner!
This looks like a recipe I need to add to my list ASAP – yum!
Oh yum. That looks so good and perfect for summer. The Chinese restaurant in our town has amazing Kung Pao Chicken, but I never know how much oil and stuff is in it! Excited to make it at home :) Great recipe!
Well yes from the pictures they are mouthwatering so what will they be when I’m holding one in my hand? I will be printing this and handing it to my wife with a smile, “please honey.” She is the cook in the house.
I love lettuce wraps and since these are super easy, they’ll definitely make our menu soon! thanks, Kristin.
I love lettuce wraps! I like to chop my chicken small too – these look awesome! It helps if the chicken is a little frozen too when you have to cut it super small.
Loving this! What a delicious meal to make at home. Looks even better than PF Changs!