Harissa Chicken Lettuce Wraps with spicy cucumber salad
Lettuce wraps are one of those meals that when I remember to make them make me wonder why I’m not eating these things all the time. There is something inherently satisfying about protein wrapped in lettuce, satisfaction in the taste and texture department with a bit of I’m eating my veggies smirk mixed in. One of those deliciously easy summer meals that you can label gluten free and paleo and 30 minutes or less but that’s not why you’re eating them, those labels are just bonus. You’re eating them because they are good and because it’s summer and you’ve got better things to do than get sweaty in the kitchen.
I haven’t grown much in my garden this year. It stopped raining at the beginning of June and I sort of lost interest in planting new plants. I did manage to get a cucumber plant going before I quit and that vine is happy. Cucumbers seemingly appear over night as if crafted by industrious elves. While the tomatoes have teased me for weeks now the cucumber delivered. And so we feast.
Curious about cucumbers I discovered this from Science Friday.
Harissa Chicken Lettuce Wraps with spicy cucumber salad
ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber peeled and diced (about 1 ¼ cups)
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. paprika or cayenne pepper
- 1 TBS. fresh lime juice (I used half a lime)
- 1 ½ cups cooked chicken breast- shredded or diced
- 1 teaspoon harissa of choice
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- 8-10 lettuce leaves thoroughly washed and patted dry (butter lettuce is my favorite but really any leaf lettuce with leaves big enough to work as wrappers work just fine)
directions
- In a medium bowl toss together the cucumber, lime juice, salt and spices.
- In a separate medium bowl combine the chicken, yogurt, and harissa
- Make the wraps by adding about a heaping tablespoon of each filling to the center of the lettuce leaves (adjust accordingly for leaf size) and wrapping like you would a burrito. Fillings can be made ahead of time and refrigerated covered for several hours or up to a day. Assemble just before eating.

Harissa Chicken Lettuce Wraps with spicy cucumber salad
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber peeled and diced about 1 ¼ cups
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. paprika or cayenne pepper
- 1 TBS. fresh lime juice I used half a lime
- 1 ½ cups cooked chicken breast- shredded or diced
- 1 teaspoon harissa of choice
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- 8-10 lettuce leaves thoroughly washed and patted dry butter lettuce is my favorite but really any leaf lettuce with leaves big enough to work as wrappers work just fine
Instructions
- In a medium bowl toss together the cucumber, lime juice, salt and spices.
- In a separate medium bowl combine the chicken, yogurt, and harissa
- Make the wraps by adding about a heaping tablespoon of each filling to the center of the lettuce leaves (adjust accordingly for leaf size) and wrapping like you would a burrito. Fillings can be made ahead of time and refrigerated covered for several hours or up to a day. Assemble just before eating.
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