## Lettuce wraps: low-carb, keto, gluten-free and delicious.
Lettuce wraps (or lettuce cups) have a lot going for them: Fresh, filling and easy to prepare, they’re a great party food and a perfect fit for many specialized diets. With some attention to the ingredients you put in, they are keto, low-carb, and gluten-free. For a weeknight meal, this dinner recipe is hard to beat. Leave out the hummus and they’re even paleo.
## A variation on Asian lettuce wraps
These aren’t the asian chicken lettuce wraps, with ground chicken, sesame oil, hoisin sauce and soy sauce (though, those are delicious). Instead, this recipe offers a creamy, crunchy variation on a BLT sandwich. This BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado) in easy chicken lettuce-wrap form is perfect for an easy dinner or a summer party appetizer, since it is served at room temperature. The mayo-hummus spread adds creamy texture, as well as holding everything together.
## Let’s talk about butter lettuce
Butter lettuce works perfectly for this because butter lettuce leaves are thick and luscious (one might even call them buttery), as well as being the perfect size for a hand-held treat. However, if butter lettuce (or bibb lettuce or Boston lettuce, which are nearly indistinguishable from butter lettuce) isn’t available, a romaine or iceberg lettuce leaf is a good substitute. For a nutrition boost, this could even be served on tender cabbage leaves from the inner layers of a head of cabbage.
## Variations on BLTA chicken lettuce wraps
This is a very adaptable recipe – ground chicken, ground turkey or ground beef, any of which you can brown in olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat, works well to replace the diced chicken. For an easy variation on the filling, you can add diced bell peppers, red pepper flakes or chopped cucumbers.
## But wait, I want to eat lettuce wraps!
Fair enough – try this
## Baking bacon
This recipe includes a couple adaptable cooking hacks: The first is baking bacon. Eliminate splatter and the need to stand over a hot stove by cooking strips of bacon in the oven on 375º F for 20 minutes. Set a timer and forget it until your bacon’s ready. Bake the bacon on a wire rack for extra-crispy strips
## Hummus/mayo spread
The other kitchen hack found in this recipe is the hummus-mayo mix: It’s a great way to add lots of creamy texture to a lettuce wrap (or a lavash wrap, tortilla wrap, or sandwich!) in a healthy, lower-fat way. The extra fiber and protein in the hummus are just a bonus, this spread is delicious.
## How to serve lettuce wraps, and what to serve them with
These wraps are great for a party – wash and dry the lettuce leaves as much as two days in advance and make the filling in bulk (it’s easy to double or triple the amounts). Before serving, lay the lettuce leaves out on your serving tray and assemble them in place. If you’re serving these as a main dish for dinner, you can put the filling and the creamy hummus out in small bowls on the table with a pile of lettuce leaves, and let people assemble their own. Anything that you’d serve with a BLT sandwich is a great side dish to serve with these: potato salad, coleslaw (which allows you to keep it low-carb), fruit salad, sweet potato fries or, yes, bread.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for BLTA Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
1. Info for BLTA Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 40 min
- Servings: 8
- Calories: 145 kcal
2. Ingredients for BLTA Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
- 3 strips bacon
- 1 avocado
- 1 tomato
- 1/4 cup + 2tbsp hummus
- 2 tbsp light mayo
- 1 head butter lettuce
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375F, and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Lay the bacon strips on the parchment paper, and cook for 20 minutes or until crispy.
- While the bacon is cooking, wash and remove the leaves from the butter lettuce. Pat dry.
- Dice the chicken, tomatoes, and avocado, and add all three ingredients to a medium mixing bowl. Toss gently to combine.
- In a small bowl, mix together the light mayo, and hummus.
- Place a spoonful of the mayo-hummus mixture on each lettuce, followed by a spoonful of the chicken, tomato and avocado mixture.
- Blot the bacon with paper towel to remove excess grease. Chop the bacon into small pieces, and sprinkle over the lettuce cups. Serve immediately.