Grilled Chicken Wraps with Chipotle Mayo
Servings: 4 wraps
Calories: 505kcal
This grilled chicken wrap recipe delivers juicy, smoky chicken tucked into a warm flour tortilla with crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, melty cheddar, and a creamy homemade chipotle mayo that brings just the right heat. It comes together in about 30 minutes, holds up well for meal prep, and is easy enough for a weeknight dinner yet good enough to keep the whole family asking for it on repeat. These wraps are also perfect for game day, whether you are tailgating or watching the big game at home.
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Equipment
- Outdoor grill, or indoor grill pan
Ingredients
CHIPOTLE MAYO
- ½ cup mayonnaise, I like and use Duke's
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely minced (from a 7-ounce can)
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, from the same can
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or heaping ⅛ teaspoon table salt
CHICKEN
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or heaping ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
WRAPS
- 4 large flour tortillas burrito size, 10 to 12 inches, warmed
- 4 to 8 large iceberg lettuce leaves
- 1 large tomato, diced, drained and blotted dry
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, block cheese, shredded at home
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
- Make the chipotle mayo first. In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, minced chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, lime juice, and salt until well combined. Taste and adjust as needed. Add an extra minced pepper for more heat, or a small drizzle of honey if the sauce is too spicy. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble.
- Place the chicken breasts in a zip-top bag and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the thickest end to about ½ inch thick, matching the thin end. This is the single most important step for juicy grilled chicken because even thickness ensures the whole breast finishes cooking at the same time, with no dry edges waiting for the thick center to catch up. Slice each pounded breast in half lengthwise to make four thinner pieces.
- In a medium bowl, combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat all sides evenly.
- Dice the tomato and blot it dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until fully preheated. A properly hot surface gives you grill marks and a good sear without the chicken sticking. Lightly oil the grates or pan, then place the chicken pieces down and leave them alone. Do not move them once they hit the grill. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook another 3 to 4 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Resting allows the juices to redistribute through the meat, so they do not run out when you cut into it. While the chicken rests, heat the tortillas. A cold tortilla will split at the seam and is much harder to work with. After resting, slice the chicken against the grain into strips.
- Heating tortillas:* Grill - Place each tortilla directly on the grill grates over medium heat for 10 to 15 seconds per side, just until the tortilla puffs slightly and feels soft and pliable. Work quickly, as tortillas go from perfectly warm to stiff and brittle in seconds.* Grill pan or skillet - Heat each tortilla in a dry grill pan or dry skillet over medium heat for about 20 seconds per side.* Microwave - Wrap the stack in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds. A warm tortilla is pliable and rolls tightly without cracking or tearing.For all methods, stack warmed tortillas on a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft while you slice the chicken and get ready to assemble.
- Assemble the wraps. Lay one warm tortilla flat on a clean surface. Spread 2 tablespoons of chipotle mayo in the center third of the tortilla, leaving a 2-inch border on all sides. The mayo coating helps slow moisture absorption and keeps the wrap from getting soggy. Add the sliced chicken on top of the mayo, then the cheese, then lay 1 to 2 iceberg lettuce leaves flat over everything. Add the blotted tomato and sliced red onion on top of the lettuce. Drizzle a little extra chipotle mayo over the top if desired.
- To fold the wrap, fold both sides snugly toward the center. Then fold the bottom edge of the tortilla up and over the filling. Roll the wrap firmly away from you, maintaining even pressure throughout and using your fingers to keep the filling tight against the roll. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Slice each wrap in half on a diagonal and serve immediately.
Notes
Grilled chicken wraps with chipotle mayo are best assembled right before eating. If you are meal prepping, store the sliced chicken, chipotle mayo, toppings, and tortillas separately in airtight containers, and build each wrap when you are ready to eat. If you do need to assemble ahead, spreading the chipotle mayo directly on the tortilla slows moisture absorption because the fat in the mayo creates a light coating on the tortilla's surface. Dicing the tomatoes and blotting them with a paper towel before adding them reduces the biggest source of excess liquid in the wrap.
Pounding the chicken to an even thickness before grilling is what keeps grilled chicken breast juicy rather than dry and rubbery. Uneven chicken breasts cook unevenly, so the thin end is overcooked by the time the thick center reaches 165°F. A quick minute with a mallet or rolling pin fixes that completely and makes a noticeable difference in the final texture.
The best way to fold a grilled chicken wrap so it doesn't fall apart is to start with a warm tortilla, keep all your fillings in the center third, and tuck both sides in firmly before folding the bottom up. Overfilling is the most common reason wraps come apart at the seam, so when in doubt, use a little less filling and a little more sauce.
Whole iceberg lettuce leaves work better in this recipe than shredded lettuce. A large, intact leaf lies flat across the filling, acting as a natural cradle that holds everything in place as you roll. Shredded lettuce tends to shift and fall out when you slice the wrap, and the extra cut edges release more moisture over time.
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are sold in small cans in the international aisle of most grocery stores. Each can typically contains more peppers than you need for one batch of this recipe. Transfer the leftovers to a small zip-top bag or an airtight container, then freeze flat. They keep for up to 3 months and break off easily into pieces whenever you need them.
To dial back the heat in the chipotle mayo, use just 1 pepper and skip the extra adobo sauce. For more heat, add a third pepper or a pinch of cayenne. Using adobo sauce alone, without any whole peppers, gives a mild smoky flavor with little heat, making this grilled chicken wrap recipe easy to adapt for kids or anyone sensitive to heat.
Freshly cracked black pepper makes a real difference in this recipe. Pre-ground pepper loses its volatile oils quickly after grinding, so it smells like pepper but delivers little flavor. A few turns of a pepper mill just before cooking bloom those oils on the hot grill and add noticeable depth to the seasoning.
Shredding cheddar at home melts better and tastes sharper than pre-shredded cheese from a bag. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking agents that prevent clumping in the bag but also interfere with smooth melting. A rotary grater and a block of cheddar take about a minute and make a difference you can actually taste.
Nutrition
Calories: 505kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1829mg | Potassium: 1157mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 3604IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 359mg | Iron: 4mg
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