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.
just made these and they are amazzzzing. hubs and kids loved them. another homerun for you- thanks for sharing this recipe!
I made these tonight and they were simply DIVINE! A friend and I split the meal for dinner and didn’t even feel bad because they were LETTUCE wraps! So awesome!
Okay. I’m guilty of never commenting on anything… Ever. I just can’t hold back any longer. You really have the best recipes!!!!!!!! I’m so happy I stumbled upon your blog a few years back via Pinterest. I probably make two of your recipes a week, and they’re always a huge hit. I hope you get a kick out of this: my husband and I were going to a friend’s house for some casual appetizers and drinks, and I was drawing a blank on what to make. My husband is now so familiar with your cooking, via me, and such a fan, that he took it upon himself to go on my Pinterest (what!?) find your blog (what?!) and then found this lettuce wrap recipe (what???!) He’s never cared one ounce about Pinterest before. It was hilarious. So, I just wanted to thank you for yet again another bomb diggity recipe. Everyone at the shindig raved about them. I’ve made this twice this weekend. I’m sorry for never commenting, but I hope you know that my husband and I agree that both you and your recipes are very awesome. :)
I love your food/family blog! I have been following since before you were diagnosed with celiac disease and loved it then but I love it even more now since my boyfriend and I follow a wheat free diet for our own health reasons. I made this recipe a few weeks ago and he has been bugging me to make it again for him! Thank you for all these delicious modified healthy recipes. Sometimes I can get into a rut of grilled chicken, steamed veggie etc. and you definitely help me shake it up!
I have made a LOT of your recipes and this is my absolute favorite. I cannot get enough of it!
I made these tonight! Wow! So good!!!! A 10 :)
I love lettuce wraps! These look amazing!
OMG!!! I just made this (yes it’s 4:30 AM but I was hungry!) and it tastes so yummy. I have to admit that I subbed green peppers and sweet vadalia onion for the zucchini and green onions and I used brown rice instead of lettuce leaves (it is so hard to find a store that sells lettuce in the middle of the night) but I was instantly transported back in time and space to nights spent in DC and Chicago where they have good Kung Pao Chicken! Thank you so much for this. I never would have believed that an asian recipe could be so simple to make :)
I made this for dinner tonight. So delicious. I did use chopped green pepper (didn’t have any zukes) and added chopped mushrooms. Oh, so good. Thank you for the inspiration, Kristin.
Can’t wait to try this one out!
I’m curious about the ban on sushi for celiacs? I’m gluten intolerant (not celiac) and I still enjoy sushi frequently. I know about the soy sauce issues (but I read a study saying that the dose of gluten is too low to trigger reactions, so I haven’t given it up completely), I was wondering if there’s something else I’ve missed? I’m pretty new to this thing and still trying to find my way :)
Good question! It’s easy to avoid soy sauce and imitation crab meat at sushi restaurants (both are off limits for people with CD,) but I’m more concerned about cross contamination. The chefs use the same mat to roll all the rolls and the same cutting board to cut them, including rolls that are fried and not gluten free. In addition they use rags to wipe off the cutting boards in between cutting rolls which, once contaminated, is just smearing gluten over the board over and over. That’s why I’ve been avoiding sushi restaurants, anyway!
Okay, that makes a lot of sense! Thanks for explaining to me, I really appreciate that you took the time to answer my question :) I’m heading out to our local chinatown today to hunt down tamari sauce for this recipe as well as rice paper, I’ve been trying to make Vietnamese spring rolls (but my rolling technique needs lots of work still). Have a great weekend!
Delicious! I added some mushrooms instead of the water chestnuts (just for personal preference). The wraps tasted great and came together so quickly. I will definitely make them again!
I actually took the recipe, tripled it, added a few pepper flakes, and served it over rice for my family. It was loved by all!
Wowza! This was soooo good! Made it tonight for my family, DH, me, and 3 teenage sons. I nearly doubled it, and every last bit is gone. I have made another chicken lettuce wrap recipe for about 15 years, and 4 of the 5 of us like this recipe better! Looking forward to the next time!