When you're starving and need a quick and easy lunch to throw together, or if you want a super simple veggie-packed lunch that can be prepared ahead of time, wrapped in parchment paper and tucked into a glass container for workweek lunches, this chicken bacon ranch wrap is it. Full of a vibrant rainbow of colors and dressed simply with Whole30 Approved, Keto Certified, and paleo-friendly Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing, you could easily switch up the vegetables used in this recipe and even the protein for variety. Substitute roast turkey, roast beef, or ham for the chicken; use cabbage, kale, or lettuce instead of collard greens for the wrap; swap in pea shoots or micro greens instead of the alfalfa sprouts; and use red cabbage instead of shredded carrots. Hold this chicken wrap in one hand while you're multi-tasking with the other; the parchment paper on the outside of the bread-, tortilla-, and flatbread-free wrap helps hold everything together. Simply peel back the parchment paper as you eat.
4 large collard green leaves
3 ounces chicken, diced*
2 slices sugar-free bacon, cooked
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
2 tablespoons alfalfa sprouts
2 tablespoons carrots, shredded
2 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing , for dipping
*Meal prep tip: If you meal prep on a weekend day, cook chicken breasts or thighs and bacon ahead of time and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator so you can have chicken and bacon slices ready to use in quick lunches like this during the work/school week. You can also use store-bought rotisserie chicken.
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. Fill a large bowl about 3/4 way full with cold water and ice and place on the counter next to the stove.
Remove the tough stems from the collard green leaves. Wash them.
Place the collard green leaves in the pot with boiling water, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the leaves using tongs, and plunge immediately into the ice water for 20 seconds.
Use the tongs to remove the collard green leaves from the ice water, and place on clean kitchen towels. Blot the water off of the leaves with an additional dry kitchen towel.
Cut a square of parchment paper and place it on a flat surface in a diamond shape so that the point of the paper is facing towards you. Arrange two large (or three smaller) pieces of collard greens next to one another vertically, and then the other two large (or three smaller) pieces of collards next to one another horizontally across the first layer of leaves.
In the center of the collard green leaves, place chicken, bacon, and vegetables.
Carefully pull up the piece of parchment towards you and begin rolling up the collard chicken bacon wrap, tucking the sides in as you go. When you finish wrapping, carefully slice the wrap in half with a sharp knife.
Gently pull back the parchment as you begin to eat the wrap. Serve the wrap with Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing for dipping.
How to Prepare the Collard Greens to Use as a Grain- and Gluten-Free Wrap
Follow these steps to use your collard greens as a wrap:
Place a large pot of water on the stove on medium high. Add a few pinches of salt to the water. Bring water to a boil.
Set up a large bowl filled with ice water on the counter.
Release the leaves from the twist tie and wash them thoroughly.
Remove the thick stems that run down the center of each leaf (this will make it easier to fold the greens into a wrap).
Drop collard leaves into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove the leaves and plunge them in the bowl with ice water for 20 seconds. Remove the leaves from the ice water and dry them with clean kitchen towels.
Note: You can do this step ahead of time with the entire bunch of collard greens, and store the blanched, dried collard green leaves in a large resealable bag or glass container in the refrigerator until you're ready to use them. It's a great make-ahead step for weekly meal preparation.
How to Make a Collard Wrap That Doesn't Fall Apart
Cut a square of parchment paper and place it on a flat surface in a diamond shape so that the point of the paper is facing towards you. Arrange two large (or three smaller) pieces of collard greens next to one another vertically, and then the other two large (or three smaller) pieces of collards next to one another horizontally across the first layer of leaves.
Place the toppings of your wrap in the middle of the overlapping collard green leaves. Carefully pull up the piece of parchment towards you and begin rolling up the collard chicken bacon wrap, tucking the sides in as you go. When you finish wrapping, carefully slice the wrap in half with a sharp knife. Gently pull back the parchment as you begin to eat the wrap.
