Orange Tofu or Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These vibrant Lettuce Wraps, are an easy and delicious meal, perfect for lunch or dinner! You can easily make these gluten-free by substituting the soy sauce for gluten free tamari.

For me, it was love at first bite when I tasted my first lettuce wrap: in fact, it was the FIRST thing that I ever posted on the blog! Let’s face it, anything that is fun to eat AND delicious is exciting as a mom! These little wraps are packed with such great fresh flavour and they tasted great with chicken or tofu – so there is NO wrong choice here. You could also BBQ these if you wish!

How To Make Lettuce Wraps a Meal

Lettuce wraps are typically on a restaurants menu in the appetizer section, but when done with enough substance these TOTALLY work as main meal! We like to add some warm cooked sticky rice to the table, which can be added right into each wrap or even used to make it all into a big chopped salad or bowl version if you wish. Adding rice helps make this meal a little heartier for your family. This would also taste amazing with farkay noodles too!

Other Lettuce Wrap Ideas

Lettuce wraps are a great option if you are gluten-free, or looking to cut down on carbs! By simply substituting your flour wrap for lettuce you can have a healthier, lower carb version of your favourite meal. Plus, the filling options are basically endless! It is a great sub to your next burger, or used a “wrap” for something you would normally use in a tortilla. Plus, I LOVE the crunch the lettuce wrap brings! I tend to use iceberg or butter lettuce mainly for lettuce wrap anything (and everything).

For healthy bowl ideas, check out these Kale Tofu Glory Bowls or this Crispy Tofu Bowl – two of my favs!  For my fellow dill fans, this Ukrainian-inspired Baba Bowl reminds me of my sweet granny and is filled with those childhood food flavours that I grew up with.

Orange Tofu or Chicken Lettuce Wraps

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Orange Tofu or Chicken Lettuce Wraps (gluten-free)

Vibrant Orange Tofu or Chicken Lettuce Wraps, are a simple and delicious meal, perfect for lunch or dinner! You can easily make these gluten-free by substituting the soy sauce for tamari.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Keyword Chicken, Gluten Free, orange, Tofu

Servings 4

Ingredients

For The Marinade:

• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more depending on desired spice level)

For The Wraps:

• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs OR 2 packages Extra Firm Tofu (350g) cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 head butter lettuce
• 2 diced green onions
• ½ cup toasted sliced almonds
• ½ long English cucumber sliced
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• sliced oranges (for garnish)
• 2 cups cooked white rice (optional)
• sesame seeds (garnish)

Instructions

1. Add all of the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

2. Add chicken or tofu to a plastic bag or shallow dish (with lid) and pour 1 cup of marinade on top. Let sit and marinade for at least 1 hour - If you can try 4 hours or overnight! Place the remaining marinade in a resealable container and refrigerate.

3. Remove the chicken or tofu from the fridge and let come to room temperature 1 hour before planning to cook.

4. Add the remaining marinade mixture to a sauce pan on medium heat, allowing to cook until it has reduced by half and has slightly thickened.

5. Heat a frying pan on medium heat, with 1 tablespoon of oil. When hot, fry the tofu and chicken until brown and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 F.

6. Brush both sides of chicken or tofu with some of the reduced marinade. Then remove from the pan and cut into bit sized pieces. Assemble by topping each lettuce leaf with tofu or chicken, green onions, almonds, cucumbers, cilantro, orange slices and sesame seeds (optional). Use extra reduced marinade as a drizzle and enjoy!!