Chipotle Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

Forget every boring chicken salad you’ve ever eaten because this Chipotle Chicken Salad sets the flavor bar, bringing bold flavors thanks to Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo. 

This Chipotle Chicken Salad recipe is dedicated to those of you who have ever begrudgingly eaten a bland AF chicken salad sandwich or wrap. Especially a lettuce wrap. Because here you are trying to be healthy and cut down on your carb intake and you’re munching on bland chicken salad wrapped in edible water. The fillings of a lettuce wrap MUST be flavorful. Or a few hours after eating I’m abandoning my desire to keep wanting to eat healthier by eating five too many brownies. 

This Chipotle Chicken Salad recipe is what you need to jazz up that lettuce wrap. To start, you need mayo that doesn’t suck. That means taking your run-of-the-mill storebought mayo and helping it become delicious - enter Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo.

This recipe was inspired (ripped off) my recipe for Chipotle Tuna Salad Sandwiches, and pairs well tortilla chips and Cucumber Pico de Gallo.

Jump to:

• How do you make Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo?
• How do you make Chipotle Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps?
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions & Variations
• Storage
• Chipotle Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

How do you make Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo?

Probably the only chipotle mayo recipe you’ll ever need. 

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 cup mayo (I used Kraft's Olive Oil Mayo)
• 1 head roasted garlic
• 2 tablespoons sauce from chipotle in adobo peppers
• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Step 1, roast some garlic.
• Step 2, squeeze a lemon.
• Step 3, open a can of chipotle in adobo peppers.
• Step 4, add all ingredients to a food processor, and process until combined.
• Step 5, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

*Makes about 1 ¼ cups Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo. Store leftovers in a lidded container in the refrigerator and use within 7-10 days.

How do you make Chipotle Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps?

You’ve got the Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo made and ready to go. You’re just a hop, shredded rotisserie chicken, and some finely diced vegetables away from a fantastic lettuce wrap. To make this bangin’ Chipotle Chicken Salad recipe you will need:

Ingredients

• Shredded rotisserie chicken
• Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo 
• Finely diced red onion
• Finely diced bell pepper
• Finely minced jalapeno
• Large diced black olives
• Fresh-squeezed lime juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Head of Iceberg lettuce

See recipe card (below) for quantities.

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a bowl (except for the lettuce, of course) and stir until combined.

Remove the core from the Iceberg lettuce by cutting around it with a paring knife. Carefully peel off the outer layers of lettuce, leaving them as intact as possible. It’s okay if you get a few rips here and there as I recommend at least 2 lettuce layers for a stable lettuce wrap you can pick up and eat. 

Optional: Take your paring knife and remove a little more from each lettuce leaf where the core was - this is a personal preference for me to remove this slightly tougher section.

Take two lettuce leaves and stack them strategically so that they can be wrapped around the filling.

Add two generous spoonfuls of Chipotle Chicken salad, spreading evenly across the lettuce leaves. 

Wrap the lettuce around the filling and prepare yourself to take a big bite. 

Consider your chicken salad game upped.

Hint: When cutting out the core of the lettuce, cut in a larger circle than necessary; this makes the leaves easier to peel off intact.

Substitutions & Variations

For me the Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo is what makes these Chipotle Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps. So much so that I’m not even going to suggest an alternative. This mayo is life-changing. It changed this self-professed mayo hater into someone who tolerates mayo (at least when it’s enhanced with bold flavors).

You don't have to use rotisserie chicken here of course; feel free to use whatever leftover chicken you might have on hand. For best results, keep it neutrally flavored to let the Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Mayo shine.

Where you can freely play is with the vegetables. Not a fan of onion? Leave it out! Think this would be killer with jicama? Add it in! Maybe black olives are a no-go, so you want to tag in green olives instead. Go nuts!

Speaking of nuts, some pepitas or crushed walnuts would add a nice crunch here. 

You might also consider sneaking in some fresh herbs - like parsley, cilantro, or thyme. If you anticipate leftovers, just add the fresh herbs to what you plan on eating. 

I like Iceberg lettuce for wraps because I like the coverage and the watery crunch. One outer leaf is similar in size and shape to a medium-sized tortilla. Romaine leaves are another good option. They are sturdier than Iceberg leaves but the shape makes for more of an open-face situation than a true wrap. And butter lettuce is divine, but delicate, a solid option for a lettuce cup. 

Storage

Store leftover Chipotle Chicken Salad in a lidded container in the refrigerator. Best used within 3 days.

Store leftover mayo in a lidded container in the refrigerator and use within 7-10 days.

Store Iceberg lettuce leaves in a sealed Ziploc bag. Add a slightly damp paper towel in the bag as well to keep things crisp and moist. Keeps for up to 7 days when stored in a crisper drawer.

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