The base of this recipe came from Practical Paleo, by Diane Sanfilippo. It was her buffalo chicken lettuce wraps recipe. In and of itself it’s a great recipe, but I felt the need to pump it up a little. I researched various BBQ sauces and honey BBQ sauces and put with her spices and garnishes. The results were fantastic! This is also a QUICK one to whip up. Perfect for a warm day when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen. I like the suggestion of using chicken thighs, but feel free to sub in chicken breasts, turkey or whatever protein you have on hand. You can also use something like Tabasco or Frank’s Hot Sauce for this, but I didn’t have any on hand. š
Buffalo Chicken lettuce wraps
(This is double her recipe – I had 2 lbs of chicken on hand. So everything here is doubled up)
– 2 lbs chicken thighs
– 4 tsp Chipolte pepper
– 1 Tbsp garlic powder (original calls for 1tsp – not nearly enough for this house)
– 1 tsp onion powder
– salt and pepper, to taste
(My adaptations)
– 2-3 Tbsp honey (more or less. Free poured this)
– 2 Tbsp cider vinegar (free pour so this is a guess)
– 1 Tbsp maple syrup
– 1 tsp smoked paprika
– 2 Tbsp olive oil + 2 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil, divided
Garnishes
– Romaine lettuce or Boston Lettuce (really any lettuce that can hold stuff)
– grape tomatoes
– avocado, diced
– green onions diced
– (non paleo folks break out the blue cheese dressing)
Slice the chicken into 1/4 inch strips. Toss into a bowl or a ziplock bag. Add the spices, and if using, the honey, vinegar, syrup paprika and olive oil (this oil is purely to help the spices spread and stick).
Heat up remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat. Put the chicken into the skillet. Cook for roughly 5-10 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until chicken is cooked through.
While chicken is cooking, prep your garnish and lettuce leaves. Serve the chicken in the lettuce cups, garnish as desired.
