30-Minute Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wrap Recipe for Weeknights

A great lettuce wrap is one where the filling is so good you want to eat it with a fork. That’s exactly how I felt with these—so tasty I kept sneaking bites while photographing them. My husband Boone tried to steal some too and actually succeeded a few times.

These cashew chicken lettuce wraps have a few things going for them. First, they include brown rice, which stretches the filling without sacrificing flavor. I borrowed this trick from my brother and his wife, who used to order extra rice with P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps and mix it in to make the appetizer go further. It works great here, too.

Second, cashews add both flavor and crunch, blending the best of cashew chicken with the classic lettuce wrap filling. And the best part: they come together in about 30 minutes—a quick, flavorful weeknight meal.

To start, bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil and add a few pinches of salt. I use a quick-cooking brown rice—like a boil-in-bag variety that cooks in 10 minutes—but any quick-cooking brown rice that yields about 1 cup cooked will work (roughly 1/4 cup uncooked).

While the water heats, grate 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger. A tip: keep fresh ginger in the freezer so you can grate only what you need; it lasts much longer that way. Finely mince three cloves of garlic and thinly slice four green onions. Reserve a couple of inches of the green tops to slice for garnish.

Ginger, garlic, and green onions form a classic flavor base in Asian cooking—think of it like the celery-carrot-onion trio in American cuisine. Combined, they instantly give the dish a savory, aromatic backbone.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat with a splash of vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and sauté for a few minutes, stirring constantly to release their aromas. Add 1 pound of ground chicken, season lightly with salt and pepper, and increase the heat to medium-high. Break up the chicken with a wooden spoon and let it sit a minute or two between stirring so it has a chance to brown—repeat until the chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken cooks, chop an 8 oz can of water chestnuts and roughly chop 1/4 cup cashews. In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce, and a small squirt of Sriracha for a touch of heat.

When the chicken is done, stir in the cooked brown rice, water chestnuts, and cashews until everything is combined. Add the sauce and mix until the filling is evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Now for the lettuce: choose the type you prefer. Butter lettuce is often used for delicate cups but can be flimsy depending on quality. Iceberg gives the classic cup shape and a crisp bite, but depending on the head you may get fewer usable cups. Romaine won in my kitchen for texture and ease—its longer leaves hold the filling well and remain crisp, even if they’re not the traditional cup shape you see at restaurants. Use whichever lettuce you can get into good, sturdy leaves.

To serve, spoon the warm filling into lettuce leaves and garnish with the sliced green onion tops. The lettuce adds a bright, fresh crunch that complements the savory filling, but the real star is the filling itself—savory chicken, nutty cashews, and hearty brown rice.

That single perfect iceberg cup I managed to salvage made for a great photo—and an even better bite.

Delicious and satisfying.

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