Chicken salad lettuce wraps are lightened up with healthy avocado and NO mayonnaise at all! These wraps are going to quickly become a lunch favorite.
Your lunch game is about to get a major refresh! In the direction of lots of green.
These lettuce wraps have consistently been one of the top recipes on my website the past 6+ years and the verdict is officially in: avocado is better than mayonnaise.
Mashed avocado is what gives this incredible chicken salad its creamy texture and you may never go back to using mayonnaise again!
This chicken salad only has seven ingredients in it, but even in all its simplicity to throw together it is SO packed with flavor!
Pile it in a few crisp butter lettuce leaves and you’ve got serious lunch envy about to happen.
These Avocado Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps feature…
- Tender chicken chunks.
- A creamy avocado sauce spiced up with lime, cilantro, and red onion.
- 10 minutes to make and the perfect use for leftover chicken.
Making the Avocado Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
(scroll down to the bottom of post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Cooked chicken
- Avocado
- Sour cream
- Red onion
- Lime
- Cilantro
- Garlic powder
- Butter lettuce
Choosing Your Chicken
This recipe works great with a variety of cooked chicken! You can use shredded rotisserie, roasted, or poached chicken.
We typically use breasts since we love white meat in salads, but dark meat or a mix of both will work perfectly fine.
Tips for Perfect Lettuce Wraps
- Use a ripe avocado – ripe is essential here for getting a nice smooth mash.
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces – aim for 1/4-in cubes of chicken to make chicken salad easy to eat. You can also shred the chicken into small pieces.
- Use fresh lime and cilantro – these two ingredients make a BIG difference flavor-wise! The lime juice also helps the avocado stay a vibrant green.
- Assemble lettuce wraps just before serving – store the chicken salad separate from the lettuce and wait to assemble until you’re ready to serve to prevent the lettuce from getting soggy.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a little bit of a twist on this recipe!
- Serve chicken salad in a tortilla or on a sandwich.
- Add veggies (try chopped sweet pepper, cherry tomatoes, or cucumber)
- Try another fresh herb (minced fresh basil, chives, or parsley in place of the cilantro)
Storing Lettuce Wraps
For best results, store chicken salad separate from lettuce wraps in refrigerator up to 4 days. We’ve found the avocado in the salad starts to turn a bit brown if stored for more than this suggested time.
The avocado is really a game-changer for making this chicken salad SO rich and creamy. It’s easy to see why these wraps always get devoured.
Get ready for these lettuce wraps to become a permanent fixture on your lunch menu! Bonus that it’s extra healthy.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More lettuce wraps you will want to try next!
Avocado Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
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Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted and diced
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons minced red onion
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8-10 butter lettuce leaves
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mash avocado with sour cream and lime juice. Stir in cilantro, onion, garlic powder, and chicken cubes until combined. Season chicken salad with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill butter lettuce leaves with chicken salad and serve immediately. Enjoy!
For a step-by-step guide to making this recipe, check out the video!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new photos and notes on 6/24/22.
Jessie says
Just made this, yum! Thanks for the recipe. I added diced, fresh tomato on top. Delish!
Wayne @ Recipezazz says
I’ve just started trying recipes with avocado and must say I was pleasantly surprised with the good taste. Definitely this is one to try as well 🙂
Nadine says
Just tried it today….delicious idea!!! THX for that
Sherri says
I made these for the first time today and took them for a “food day” at work. Everyone loved them! I also made them this evening for my very picky husband and he loved them as well. I am a type 2 diabetic and get eat as much of this as I want and feel totally satisfied. This will definitely be a staple in my meal rotation!
sheryl says
is that a small avocado or one of those large types
Sarah says
A larger avocado would definitely be preferable!
Suchitra says
This looks out of this world. I love the green too…beautiful. Hope to try this for our Memorial Day BBQ.
Kaycee says
This looks amazing! I’m making them for dinner tonight. Do you have a recommendation of something I could swap out with the cilantro? I’m looking at my herb garden, but I’m not sure of what would be too overpowering of a flavor. Thanks!
Sarah says
Fresh parsley or basil would be a fine sub, Kaycee!
Jonathan Sepulveda says
This was the best thing ive ever put together!!! Thank you for the recipe!!!
Huyen says
Look so nice, I really like it .
Tricia says
Made this for a healthy eating work party and everyone loved it. I added more salt after it sat in fridge for 12 hours as it seemed it all disappeared. But man, I loved this and I have never had avocados before. Thanks
Sarah says
So happy to hear that, Tricia! Hope you enjoyed these lettuce wraps and thanks for letting me know!
Julia says
This is such a cool idea, I’d never think to do this! I’ll have to try this out 🙂
Julia // The Sunday Mode
Sarah says
Let me know if you do, Julie! 🙂
Linda @ OnlyEatClean.com says
Lovely recipe! Because I follow the principles of Clean Eating, I modify this recipe ever so slightly to “keep it clean” as follows – I eliminated the 2 tbl sour cream, and I used sea salt instead of standard table salt (HImalayan salt could also be used). I ended up with a recipe 100 percent clean and therefore extremely healthy, and very yummy!
Sarah says
I’m so happy to hear that you were able to make this recipe work with your eating style, Linda! Thanks for sharing your modifications!
SARAH MURRAY says
Hi! Would this work as meal-prep for a couple days worth of lunches? Or will it turn brown if not served immediately?
Sarah says
Hi Sarah! As long as you press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the chicken salad, it shouldn’t turn brown. I would also recommend filling the lettuce leaves only just before serving so they don’t get wilted. 🙂
SARAH MURRAY says
THANK YOU!
Joe Costello says
I made this tonight for supper, wife loved it and so did I. Going to share with neighbor
Joe Costello says
This is great, made it for supper tonight. My wife loved it, I enjoyed it also. Will share with the neighbor tomorrow
Sarah says
So glad you made and loved these lettuce wraps, Joe! Enjoy. 🙂
Lean says
I love this recipe, I am definitely going to try it??