Chopped chicken seasoned with fresh tarragon then tossed with cranberries, celery, and light mayo and wrapped in butter lettuce cups. These chicken tarragon lettuce wraps are so delicious and perfect for spring.
Have you ever had fresh tarragon? Or just tarragon in general? They say it has a light licorice flavor. I supposed that’s true. Which is totally strange because I’m not a fan of licorice. Like, not at all. But I love the fresh flavor of tarragon. There’s something about the flavor that just appeals to me.
Chicken seasoned with tarragon tastes soo amazing. The fresh herb paired with chicken brings out the best of both ingredients.
Can you believe I first encountered the combination at Starbucks? If you’ve had one of their refrigerated chicken sandwiches before, I think you know which one I’m talking about. For me, it was an unforgettable combination. And here we are, years later, talking about it. I decided to remake the chicken tarragon salad sandwich, but in lettuce wrap form, and share it with you.
This chicken tarragon lettuce wrap is soo simple to make with just 5 main ingredients. It involves very little cooking and not too much cleaning, which I’ll be the first to admit makes me super happy. Because I really hate having my kitchen look like this (and that’s considered relatively clean). Yup, this chicken tarragon lettuce wrap is definitely one of my favorite spring recipes.
First, cook the chicken. You can use rotisserie chicken, but it’s so simple to cook chicken breast you won’t mind doing it at all. Just use this trick from the Kitchn.
Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to your pan over low heat. Allow the olive oil to heat for a minute before adding the chicken breasts. If you like, you can sprinkle a teaspoon of chopped tarragon between the two chicken breasts for flavor as well as a pinch of salt.
Let the chicken breasts sit for about a minute or two until it turns brown on the side faced down. Flip the chicken over, cover the pan, and allow the chicken to cook under low heat for about 10 minutes. Don’t touch it. Just leave it alone. Once it’s been 10 minutes, turn off the heat, but allow the chicken to sit for another 10 minutes with the pan covered. The chicken will be cooked yet still tender and juicy. Exactly what you’re looking for in chicken breasts. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside for now.
Once the chicken has cooled enough to touch comfortably, either cut them into cubes or shred the chicken with your fingers or with two forks for a more rustic look. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do and ended up doing both. I know, I need to be more decisive.
Add chopped celery, dried cranberries, freshly chopped tarragon, and light mayo to the same bowl with the chicken. Toss all the ingredients together until they are well combined.
I tore up butter lettuce in smaller pieces so that I could wrap the chicken tarragon salad. If you like, you can pair the chicken tarragon salad with crackers or spread them between two slices of bread to make a sandwich worthy of a picnic.
I hope you’ll like this tarragon chicken lettuce wrap as much as I do!
Enjoy!
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded*
- 5 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup celery, chopped
- ⅓ cup light or regular mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- Several butter lettuce leaves, torn into small pieces
- Toss together the cubed or shredded cooked chicken, fresh tarragon, dried cranberries, chopped celery, mayo, and salt until they are well combined.
- Place a spoonful or two into the lettuce cups.
- Serve the lettuce wraps cold.
Baseball Mom Rules says
Looks delicious, I’m always looking for new chicken recipes. Can’t wait to make it!
fuzziepotato says
Thanks
fuzziepotato says
Oops accidentally hit enter before finishing- But thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s funny cuz as I also hate licorice but love the light aromatic flavor of tarragon, and I’ve also had many a Starbucks chicken salad sandwiches for lunch:) Now I can make it at home!
Andrea| Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hope you like it!
Mike says
Nice idea. I have a tarragon plant in our herb garden but the flavor always seems so bland. Maybe that’s because I have it planted next to the rosemary, thyme, oregano and mint. 🙂 I’ll have to try it with chicken!
Jayanthi Sindhiya says
Looks so yummy and colourful
roamulofied says
so yummy and healthy!
lehea1212 says
That Tarragon Chicken Salad sandwich from Starbucks is one of my faves! Love how your recipes are so simple, but contain tasty and healthy ingredients. I’ll definitely be trying this one out.
Andrea| Cooking with a Wallflower says
I like simple. lol. It makes life soo much easier =)
katelon says
Sounds great!
janeckland says
Looks amazing!
Jodi says
looks so yummy Andrea! cannot wait to try!
Diana says
Andrea! this looks so fabulous…I am always looking for a yum chicken salad recipe….will try this out this week. Have a good one.
Andrea| Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hope you liked it, Diana!