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Teryaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps might be a favorite restaurant appetizer, but it is simple and healthy to make them at home. It starts with an easy chicken teriyaki recipe made in either your Instant Pot or slow cooker. Then pile the sweet, savory, and saucy mixture into crisp, cool lettuce cups. It’s a lunch, dinner, or party snack that everyone will enjoy! And they can easily be gluten free.
When it comes to cooking for my family, I have two beliefs. Or strategies. Or approaches. Heck, even superpowers, if you will.
The first is that I cook one meal for the family. And they eat it. For the most part. #keepingitreal
We have a couple of allergies and intolerances (mostly mine) to deal with. And while I’m not one to cater to random whims and pickiness that changes from week to week, I do respect my kids’ strong and real dislikes. My husband and I have some of our own, so it’s only fair.
That doesn’t mean I cook four different dinners. But I will sometimes offer a couple of different ways to eat it.
My pasta-loving crew wants their Vodka Sauce with penne, while I’m more likely to have it with spaghetti squash. And Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes can be served on rolls, in sweet potatoes, or on top of a salad with Blue Cheese Dressing.
And the second is that there is always a way to use up leftovers.
That’s how this recipe was born. I had to make several batches of Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken when I was developing and filming that recipe so that I could show all the different ways to serve it for dinner or package it up for meal prep lunches. So I ended up with a lot of teriyaki chicken. We’d had it with rice, cauli rice, zoodles, ramen noodles.
I needed a new idea. Because remember – NO LEFTOVERS LEFT BEHIND!
Soooo, Asian Lettuce Wraps were born.
Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
You only need a few simple ingredients to pack a huge punch of Asian-inspired flavor. And you have the option to make the chicken in your slow cooker or pressure cooker.
Just stir together the sauce ingredients, pour it over the chicken in the Crockpot or Instant Pot, and let it cook until the chicken shreds easily. Thicken the sauce, stir it together with the chicken and pineapple, and spoon it into your lettuce cups.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts
- Canned pineapple tidbits – ensure these are packed in juice, not syrup. The juice is used for the sauce and the pineapple will be added at the end.
- Soy sauce or tamari – gluten free, if needed
- Sriracha sauce – feel free to omit this if you are sensitive to spice.
- Rice vinegar
- Garlic
- Ginger – fresh is preferred, but you can use ginger in a tube, like the one from Spice World or Gourmet Gardens, or dried ginger. This will be a slightly different, but still tasty flavor.
- Corn starch – can also use tapioca starch
- Water
Tools and Equipment:
- Bowls – medium one to mix sauce and a small one to make the cornstarch slurry
- Whisk
- Tongs
- Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
How do you make teriyaki chicken?
Directions
Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki:
- Drain the can of pineapple saving the juice for the sauce. Set aside the pineapple for later.
- Stir the sauce ingredients together.
- Place chicken breasts in your pressure cooker.
- Pour sauce mixture over the chicken.
- Close your pressure cooker and set it to Manual for 12 minutes. When the cooking time is complete let the pressure naturally release for 5-10 minutes, then do a Quick Release to release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken to a plate.
Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki:
- Drain the can of pineapple saving the juice for the sauce. Set aside the pineapple for later.
- Stir the sauce ingredients together.
- Place chicken breasts in your pressure cooker.
- Pour sauce mixture over the chicken.
- Place the lid on your slow cooker. Cook on Low for 3-4 hours or on high for 6-8 hours, or until the chicken shreds easily.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and transfer the sauce mixture to a saucepan.
How to Make the Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Whisk together the cornstarch and water and add to the sauce mixture in your Instant Pot or in a saucepan on the stove.
- Bring to a boil and cook until thickened,
- Shred the chicken with a fork.
- Return the chicken to the sauce in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
- Add pineapple.
- Stir everything together and heat through.
- Spoon into lettuce cups.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, julienned carrots, and scallions if desired.
What is the best lettuce for lettuce wraps?
You’ll want to choose a variety of lettuce that has leaves that form a cup shape and are flexible enough to wrap around the filling. Boston, Bibb, butter, and green leaf lettuce are the most popular because of their shape, size, and texture.
Iceberg lettuce is also a popular choice because it has a nice, crisp texture that balances the filling. However, it is stiffer and can break when you try to wrap it around the teriyaki chicken.
And in-between option is Artisan Romaine Heads, which I find at Costco. They are smaller than typical Romaine leaves, slightly more flexible than iceberg, but with a bit more crunch than the varieties of leaf lettuce I mentioned earlier.
How do you serve Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps?
These lettuce wraps are certainly one of my favorite easy dinner ideas. You can either toss everything in the slow cooker before you leave in the morning or put it all together in the Instant Pot when you get home from work. Then serve them with some fried rice or sesame zoodles.
Since the teriyaki chicken reheats well, you can make a batch on the weekend and then bring it to work for lunch along with your lettuce leaves. Just microwave the chicken and spoon it into the lettuce. You can even put some sesame seeds or finely cut carrots in a little container.
Or make them as a fun party food. Put the chicken in a big bowl or keep it warm in the slow cooker. Then set out a platter of lettuce and garnishes and let everyone DIY their own Asian lettuce wraps. You can even put out a selection of sauces.
Love lettuce wraps? Try these…
- Chef Salad Lettuce Wraps
- Beef and Broccoli Lettuce Wraps
- Buffalo Shrimp Lettuce Wraps from Skinnytaste
More Asian-inspired recipes you might like…
- General Tso’s Chicken Meatballs
- Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls
- Crockpot Sesame Orange Chicken
- Pineapple Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
- Easy Beef Egg Roll in a Bowl
Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Shredded chicken is slathered with a sweet and savory sauce with bits of juicy pineapple. And when that warm, saucy mixture is spooned into fresh and cool lettuce cups, you have a fabulous finger food that’ll make everyone’s mouth water. Chicken Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps are a great meal prep lunch, easy dinner, or fun party appetizer.
Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps (for Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ to 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits in juice
- 1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 teaspoons sriracha or other chili sauce
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic , minced or crushed
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon dried ginger
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 2 Tablespoons cold water
- Boston, Bibb, or other leaf lettuce for making wraps
- Sesame seeds, julienned carrots, and scallions for garnish, optional
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Place chicken breasts in your pressure cooker.
- Drain the can of pineapple saving the juice for the sauce (you'll have about 3/4 cup). Set aside the pineapple for later.
- Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce or tamari, sriracha, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl or measuring cup and stir together. Pour over the chicken.
- Close your pressure cooker and set to Manual for 12 minutes. Allow it to reach pressure and cook.
- When the cooking time is complete let the pressure naturally release for 5-10 minutes, then do a Quick Release to release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and shred with a fork. Set aside while you thicken the sauce.
- Set the pressure cooker to Saute. Whisk together the starch and water, then whisk into the sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes until thickened.
- Return the chicken to the pressure cooker and toss to coat. Stir in the reserved pineapple. Start with about half of the can, then decide if you'd like to add more.
- Spoon chicken mixture into lettuce cups (about 1/4 cup in each, depending on the size of the lettuce leaves), and garnish with sesame seeds, julienned carrots, and scallions if desired.
Slow Cooker:
- Place chicken breasts in your pressure cooker.
- Drain the can of pineapple saving the juice for the sauce (you'll have about 3/4 cup). Set aside the pineapple for later.
- Combine the pineapple juice, soy sauce or tamari, sriracha, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl or measuring cup and stir together. Pour over the chicken.
- Place the lid on your slow cooker. Cook on High for 3-4 hours or on Low for 6-8 hours, or until the chicken shreds easily.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and shred with a fork. Set aside while you thicken the sauce.
- Transfer the sauce to a small saucepan. Whisk together the starch and water in a small bowl, then whisk into the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for a couple of minutes to thicken. Return the chicken and sauce to the slow cooker and set on Low or Keep Warm to heat it back up. Alternatively, you can add the starch slurry to the shredded chicken and sauce in the slow cooker and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes. It will thicken, but not quite as much.
- Stir in the reserved pineapple. Start with about half of the can, then decide if you'd like to add more.
- Spoon chicken mixture into lettuce cups (about 1/4 cup in each, depending on the size of the lettuce leaves), and garnish with sesame seeds, julienned carrots, and scallions if desired.
Did you make this?
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Enjoy!
I can’t wait to try this recipe, thank you.
FYI- your slow cooker, cook times, are reversed I believe.
Oh my gosh, oops! Thanks!