Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
Creamy lemon-dill chicken salad with crunchy celery and toasted pecans, spooned into crisp butter lettuce cups.
Nutrition per serving
3 lettuce wraps- Net carbs
- 2.2g
- Calories
- 470kcal
- Protein
- 40g
- Fat
- 32g
- Total carbs
- 4.7 g
- Fiber
- 2.6 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Avocado (egg-free): Mashed avocado and a little olive oil replace the mayonnaise for a creamy, egg-free chicken salad. Best eaten the day you make it.
- Mash the avocado with the olive oil, Dijon, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper until smooth, then fold in the chicken and vegetables. Press plastic wrap onto the surface if you are not eating it right away, to slow browning.
Curry chicken salad: Warm curry powder, cilantro and toasted almonds give the creamy salad a coronation-chicken twist, without the usual raisins or chutney.
- Toast the almonds instead of the pecans. Whisk the curry powder into the mayonnaise dressing and let it sit 5 minutes to bloom before folding in the chicken and cilantro.
Buffalo (nut-free): Tangy hot sauce and blue cheese crumbles make a buffalo chicken salad. Celery is already in there, so it tastes like wings in a lettuce cup.
- Whisk the hot sauce into the mayonnaise dressing, leave out the dill and pecans, and fold in most of the blue cheese with the chicken. Sprinkle the rest over the wraps.
- Chicken salad
- To serve
- Chicken salad
- To serve
- Also add
- Chicken salad
- To serve
- Also add
- Chicken salad
-
⅓ cup pecansleave out -
2 tbsp fresh dillleave out - To serve
- Also add
Estimated cost $10.48 for 4 servings ($2.62 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
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Put the chicken in a saucepan, cover by 1 inch (2.5 cm) with cold water and add ½ tsp salt. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low, cover and poach 12–15 minutes until the thickest part reads 165°F (74°C).
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Let the chicken cool in the liquid for 10 minutes so it stays juicy, then dice or shred it and chill until cool.
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Toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium-low heat 3–4 minutes until fragrant, then let them cool.
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In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, Dijon, lemon juice, dill, remaining salt and the pepper.
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Fold in the chicken, celery, green onions and most of the pecans until evenly coated. Taste and adjust the lemon and salt. If you have time, chill 20 minutes so the flavors meld.
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Spoon into the lettuce leaves, sprinkle with the remaining pecans and serve.
Tips for success
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Use homemade mayo or an avocado-oil mayonnaise. Some “light” mayos add sugar and starch. - Leftover roast chicken is perfect here. You need about 3½ cups chopped meat.
- Grapes and dried cranberries add sugar fast. For extra crunch, try crumbled bacon or diced cucumber instead.
Nice to have, not needed
- An instant-read thermometer lets you pull the poached chicken right at 165°F (74°C), before it turns dry.
- Toasting the pecans takes 3 minutes and doubles their flavor — untoasted ones still add crunch.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Serve cold.
Prep tip: Pack the chicken salad and the lettuce leaves separately and fill the wraps right before eating so they stay crisp.
Refrigerate the chicken salad up to 4 days. Keep the lettuce separate and assemble just before eating.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosAvocado (egg-free)
DietMashed avocado and a little olive oil replace the mayonnaise for a creamy, egg-free chicken salad. Best eaten the day you make it.
- mayonnaise → ripe avocado
- + 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2.7 g net · 373 kcal · 41 g protein · 20 g fat · ≈$2.79 per serving (+0.5 g net carbs vs the original)
Curry chicken salad
FlavorWarm curry powder, cilantro and toasted almonds give the creamy salad a coronation-chicken twist, without the usual raisins or chutney.
- pecans → slivered almonds
- fresh dill → cilantro
- + 1 tbsp mild curry powder
2.6 g net · 465 kcal · 42 g protein · 30 g fat · ≈$2.50 per serving (+0.4 g net carbs vs the original)
Buffalo (nut-free)
FlavorTangy hot sauce and blue cheese crumbles make a buffalo chicken salad. Celery is already in there, so it tastes like wings in a lettuce cup.
- + 3 tbsp Louisiana-style hot sauce
- + ½ cup blue cheese
- no pecans
- no fresh dill
2.1 g net · 458 kcal · 43 g protein · 29 g fat · ≈$2.84 per serving (−0.1 g net carbs vs the original)
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