Chicken Caesar Lettuce Wraps
Tender butter lettuce leaves are filled with grilled chicken, finely chopped Romaine, Parm, croutons, and of course creamy Caesar dressing. These Chicken Caesar Lettuce Wraps are essentially a handheld Caesar salad, ready in about 30 minutes!
A Chicken Caesar Salad in Wrap Form? Yes, Please!
My family is obsessed with these crispy, crunchy, creamy chicken Caesar lettuce wraps. They taste just like a classic Caesar salad, but in handheld lettuce wrap form!
Here’s why you need make this recipe:
✔ Homemade or Store-Bought: You can prep every element of these wraps from scratch, from the chicken marinade to the croutons on top. Or you can buy everything from the store and do some DIY assembly at home. Either way, you’re in for a tasty lettuce wrap!
✔ Flexible Recipe: If you don’t want to marinate the chicken, replace it with shredded rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken, or poached chicken. You can also make these lettuce wraps with balsamic chicken, lemon grilled chicken, or even shrimp!
✔ Build-Your-Own Lettuce Wraps: If we’re entertaining, we love to set out a build-your-own Caesar wrap board with toppings in small bowls and let guests build their own wraps. This makes party prep so much easier!
If you love Caesar salads and can’t get enough of that creamy dressing, you’re going to want to make these lettuce wraps ASAP!
A Few Ingredient Notes and Acceptable Swaps
A full rundown of the ingredients and their measurements are provided in the recipe card below, but I first wanted to touch on a few of the key things you’ll need to stock up on.
- Caesar Marinated Chicken: I used my simple Caesar marinade to grill the chicken, but you can buy a rotisserie chicken at the store, roast your own chicken, or use poached chicken and shred it wraps to save time. (Heads up: I don’t like cooking the chicken in actual Caesar salad dressing, which is super thick and tends to burn no matter if I bake or grill the chicken.)
- Lettuce (2 Kinds!): Flexible butter lettuce leaves are perfect for making the lettuce wraps, while finely chopped Romaine is used for making the chicken Caesar salad filling. You could also use red leaf lettuce or green leaf lettuce for the wraps.
- Croutons: Make your own croutons or buy your favorite brand at the store.
- Parmesan: Big, flaky chunks of shaved Parm are my top choice for making Caesar salad-anything.
- Caesar dressing: If there’s one part of this lettuce wrap recipe that you make from scratch, please make it be the dressing! Homemade Caesar dressing blows the gloopy store-bought stuff out of the water and tastes so much more nuanced and delicious.
3 Steps to Making Chicken Caesar Salad Lettuce Wraps
- Marinate and cook the chicken. I almost always make grilled chicken Caesar lettuce wraps, but my Caesar marinade recipe also provides instructions on baking the chicken.
Katie’s Tip: Allow at least 2 hours for the chicken to marinate before grilling and slicing it, if making from scratch.
- Make the filling. Yep, we’re basically making an actual chicken Caesar salad that’s then going to get stuffed into the butter lettuce leaves! Chop the Romaine very finely and slice the chicken thinly so everything fits inside the wraps.
- Assemble the lettuce wraps. I like to add a spoonful or two of the chicken-lettuce mixture before topping with croutons, Parm, and a little more dressing.
Optional Add-Ins You Can Try
Mix and match the ingredients to make these wraps your own by adding flavor, color, and texture! Here are some favorite optional extras:
Protein
- Chopped hard-boiled eggs
- Crispy prosciutto or bacon crumbles
- Roasted chickpeas
Fresh Additions
- Avocado slices
- Sliced cherry tomatoes
- Pickled red onions
Other
- Capers or chopped olives
- Sun-dried tomatoes
Sides and Serving Suggestions
Serve these creamy Caesar lettuce wraps as a light main dish with grilled veggies or a side of fruit.
- Salads: Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad, Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous Salad, Zucchini Tomato Salad
- Grilled Veggies: Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Zucchini and Yellow Squash, Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges
- Sides: Roasted Broccolini, Macaroni Salad, Tropical Fruit Salad
More Lettuce Wrap Recipes You’ll Love
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Chicken Caesar Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Your favorite salad, transformed into crunchy lettuce wraps! Make these Caesar lettuce wraps for lunch this week. Each componenet can be preapred in advance and assembled day of!
Ingredients
Caesar Chicken
- 1.5 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional – omit if heat sensitive)
- ½ - ¾ teaspoons Kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Lettuce Wraps
- 1½–2 cups finely chopped romaine or little gem lettuce
- ½ cup shaved Parmesan cheese, or more to taste
- 1½–2 cups garlic croutons, roughly chopped
- ½ cup Caesar dressing, or to taste
- Butter lettuce leaves or large romaine leaves (about 12–16 leaves total)
- Freshly ground black pepper and lemon wedges, for garnish
Instructions
Marinate and Cook the Chicken
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the marinade ingredients until well blended. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
- Toss the chicken with the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 20–30 minutes before grilling to bring to room temperature.
- To cook, preheat grill to medium-high heat (about 400°F). Grill chicken for 5–7 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Prepare the Filling
- Slice grilled chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine protein with the chopped romaine or little gem lettuce.
- Toss lightly with Caesar dressing to coat, or drizzle when assembling (your choice for texture).
Assemble the Wraps
- Lay out your lettuce leaves on a platter.Add a spoonful of the chicken or shrimp mixture to each leaf.
- Top with shaved Parmesan, a few crushed garlic croutons, and a drizzle of more dressing if desired.
- Finish with freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon.
- If you have leftovers, store the lettuce, chicken, dressing, and toppings separately.
Notes
Time Saving Tip: Don't want to marinate and grill the chicken? Replace it with shredded rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken, or poached chicken.
Protein alternative: The marinade also work nicely with shrimp! Click over to my Caesar marinade recipe and scroll down to the recipe card for instructions on cooking the shrimp.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 790Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 217mgSodium: 1341mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 78g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Try Making These Lettuce Wraps!
The next time a Caesar craving hits, ditch the salad and make these chicken Caesar lettuce wraps instead!
Did You Try This Recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment and a review below—your feedback helps others and makes my day.
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