A Whole30 Favorite: Lettuce-Wrap Chicken Fajitas

in Chicken & Turkey, Cinco de Mayo, Lighter & Healthier, Mexican & TexMex, On the grill, The Great Detox of 2015, Whole30

Lettuce-Wrap Chicken Fajitas

We’re in the Whole30 home stretch! When we started this thing 4 weeks ago, I imagined Day 31 to be a monstrous carb fest: a deep-fried french fry sandwich in a tortilla.

(Possibly battered and deep fried again.)

But here we are, 29 days later and I’m all like “Eh.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be really nice to have a tortilla on fajita night. But what I really want:

Goat cheese. (I’ve already pulled it out of the freezer!)

In place of tortillas, we’ve been having “lettuce wrap” fajita nights. Or just grabbing a knife & fork and forgoing the wrapping vehicle entirely.

We’ve relied pretty heavily on our go-to TexMex chicken marinade/wet-rub these last 28 days. Because when your mind already knows something is missing (like tortillas), it’s really easy to start picking things apart, looking for other “flaws.” But the wet rub is super flavorful and requires zero resting time – and almost impossible to find something to complain about.

Lettuce Wrap Chicken Fajitas

A lighter twist on chicken fajitas that doesn't skimp on flavor.

Ingredients

  • For the wet rub:
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ancho chili powder (optional)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • For the fajitas:
  • 1 lb chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
  • Olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced in 1/4-inch rounds (rings left in tact)
  • 2 bell peppers, sliced in 1/4-inch rings
  • Whole romaine or butter lettuce leaves

Instructions

  1. Heat grill to high.
  2. Place a piece of foil over half the grill and drizzle with olive oil.
  3. Add the onions and peppers and cook for ~8-10 minutes before flipping/stirring. Remove when the veggies are nicely charred.
  4. Whisk the wet rub ingredients together in a bowl. Add the chicken, turning to coat on each side.
  5. Place the chicken on the grill and cook ~6-8 minutes per side, or until juices run clear.
  6. Let chicken sit 5 minutes before slicing.
  7. Serve chicken with whole lettuce leaves, topped with grilled vegetables.

Notes

Yields: 2-3 servings

Wet rub slightly adapted from My Husband Cooks

Estimated time: 30 minutes

14 comments… add one
  • These look so tasty!

  • Look at you, and your fancy whole pepper rings. I like to grub on some taco meat wrapped in a lettuce leaf on taco night. So I’m sure elevated to a meal level like this, it’s gotta be fabulous!

  • Congrats on almost being finished! Great accomplishment! And I’m glad you’ll get to celebrate with some goat cheese 🙂

  • Brilliant! These look delish!

  • I would probably miss goat cheese too…I don’t know what I’m going to do without it when I’m pregnant!

  • Congratulations!!! And isn’t it strange not wanting a carb feast? When I finished my Whole 30 I made the mistake of devouring some pizza. Um, bad idea. Turns out if your body hasn’t had wheat for awhile it is difficult to process. Learn from my sad day of pain and introduce all those amazing grains little by little 🙂 Can’t wait to try these fajitas. And that pile of glorious guacamole? Good grief, I want to clean that right off your plate!

  • I love how creative you’ve gotten with this diet. These lettuce wraps look awesome, and so perfect for us folks watching our carbs! Goat cheese will be waiting for you!

  • Nice job getting through the 30 days… well, you have one day left, I guess. I keep thinking about doing Whole30 too, but I don’t know about my willpower. I think the first thing I would want would be a cookie, for sure. Although when I gave up meat for Lent… the meals I made after Easter were vegetarian… I guess you just get used to it!

  • Goat Cheese. Perfect.

  • Holly H.

    Just wanted to say that I made these last night and they were awesome! Great wet rub/marinade. So good! I may have added a mushroom or two, perhaps a flour tortilla, and I may have ate the veggies right off the foil. Simple, yet delicious!

  • Yum! These look super tasty. I’m not doing the Whole 30 thing, but I would eat this meal any day of the week!

  • Shawnda, I’m on day 9! Didn’t even realize you were doing this (I’ve been slacking with my blog reading…oops) but am anxious to read the rest of your posts about it. Would love to pick your brain about any advice/tips you have.

Leave a Comment

Cancel