I’ve loved lettuce wraps ever since I had my first one at PF Changs years ago. Then along came the South Beach low carb craze and I was eating all my burgers and sandwiches wrapped in lettuce. So it was only a matter of time before I would make a Mexican inspired version, like these Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps with black beans, corn and tomatoes.
I was having some friends over last week and wanted to make a little something for us to snack on while they were here. Once again, I had a couple chicken breasts in the refrigerator that I needed to use before I went out of town as well as a couple heads of lettuce from one of those big packs of romaine hearts from Costco. I don’t know why I buy those, it’s just the two of us (actually usually just me cuz hubby is out of town every week) and we can never eat it up before it starts to go bad. I also had 5 very ripe avocados that begged to be mushed up into guacamole so these mexican inspired chicken lettuce wraps came into being.
These Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps were so simple to make and you could add just about anything to them. Just poke around your cupboards and see what you come up with. I had a can of black beans, a can of corn, and a can of fire roasted tomatoes so I went with that. You like black olives and have an extra can in the pantry? Go ahead and add them if you want (sliced or chopped of course). In my freezer I have chipotle chiles so I used that for the spice. But you could use whatever Mexican spice seasonings your family prefers. Heck, you could probably even add a packet of taco seasoning if you like that. These were a big hit. Give them a try!
- 2 chicken breasts, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ red or green bell pepper, diced (or use one roasted red bell pepper from a jar)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbls. (or more) chipotle chile puree*
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can corn, drained (an ear of fresh corn would be delicious here)
- handful of chopped cilantro
- 1 lime, juiced
- salt & pepper to taste
- Lettuce leaves
- Suggested garnishes: guacamole, shredded cheese or crumbled cotija cheese, sour cream
- Cook chicken, onions, bell pepper, garlic, chipotle puree, cumin, salt & pepper in a little bit of oil until chicken is browned and vegetables start to get tender. Add tomatoes, beans and corn. Simmer to combine flavors and finish cooking the chicken. At end, stir in cilantro, and squeeze in the lime juice.
- Serve with lettuce leaves and add toppings of your choice. You can serve this warm or cold, it's all good.
