All The Ways To Lettuce Wrap
Lettuce wraps. They're a quick and easy meal to toss together on a weeknight that's healthy, full of flavor, and low on carbs. They can be customized to use any ingredients you have kicking around the kitchen, and can be transformed into your favorite flavor profile.
So let us help make dinner easier! Check out some of our favorite lettuce wrap recipes that will inspire you to make something healthy and delicious tonight.
Photo Courtesy of Co+op
Lettuce Wraps with Watercress Aioli
These lettuce wraps are made with chicken breast, but you could easily make this dish vegetarian by utilizing tofu or lentils instead.
And if you want to stuff your wraps even fuller, feel free to add black beans or corn.
Ingredients
16 ounces boneless chicken breast
1 cup tomato, diced
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 avocado, diced
16 Bibb or butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup watercress, lightly packed, minced
1/2 cup parsley, lightly packed, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
Directions
In a small bowl, mix together the watercress, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Use half of this mixture to marinate the chicken breasts for 30 minutes, in a covered container or a tightly-closed plastic bag, in the refrigerator. Mix the remaining sauce with the yogurt and mayonnaise to make the aioli sauce and set it aside.
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken breasts for 8-10 minutes on each side, making sure the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove the chicken from the grill, let it rest for a few minutes, then slice it into bite-sized pieces.
While the chicken is cooking, dice the tomato, red onion and avocado, and wash and dry the lettuce leaves.
To serve, double up the lettuce leaves on individual plates and fill each lettuce cup with tomatoes, onions, avocado and cooked chicken. Drizzle with the watercress aioli sauce and serve with a lemon wedge.
Photo Courtesy of Half Baked Harvest
Greek Goddess Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Full of flavor and bright colors, these Greek Goddess Chicken Lettuce Wraps are technically wrapped in pita bread, but you can certainly omit those and stick to lettuce.
Featuring fresh cucumbers, pickled red onions, and kalamata olives, this lettuce wrap definitely has a Greek flair to it.
The recipe also includes directions to make your own dressing from scratch, but if you want to speed up the process, any pre-made green goddess dressing would do the trick.
Photo Courtesy of EatingWell
Taco Lettuce Wraps
In this simple recipe from EatingWell, ground beef, chicken, or turkey, is seasoned with taco seasoning before being browned up, spooned into lettuce cups, and topped with avocado, red onion, and sliced jicama.
Consider these wraps to be like a taco salad you can hold!
Or a shell-less taco, however you want to see it!
Either way, these wraps are full of lots of zesty flavor and are a healthy substitute for your next Taco Tuesday.
Photo Courtesy of Feasting at Home
Teriyaki Mushroom Wraps
Shiitake and cremini mushrooms are sauteed, stir-fried with other veggies, served on a bed of brown rice, and wrapped up with lettuce to create these vegan-friendly lettuce wraps.
If you have a family of meat-eaters and vegans in your house, you could definitely make a version that incorporates chicken for a little extra protein for those that do eat meat.
But vegan or not, these wraps are packed full of flavor and would pair well with a sweet citrusy salad to balance out the salty teriyaki.
Photo Courtesy of EatingWell
Turkey & Cheddar Lettuce Wraps
It's like your favorite childhood sammy but with a healthy, no-gluten twist.
This lettuce wrap is quick and easy to toss together for lunch and can be customized to include your favorite lunch meat, whether that's turkey, roast beef, or ham.
If you need a little extra support to keep everything in place as you're eating, feel free to poke in a toothpick or two.
Photo Courtesy of Feasting at Home
Vietnamese Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
Given that there easy to cook up and small enough to toss in a wrap, shrimp are perfect for an easy lettuce wrap dinner!
Vietnamese-inspired and full of fresh veggies, these wraps work best with butter lettuce, and are the perfect apppetizer for a larger meal.
Char up the shrimp on the grill for a more summery flavor.
Photo Courtesy of Fine Cooking
Ginger-Sesame-Chicken Lettuce Wraps
These wraps are definitely reminiscent of an appetizer you might find at your favorite Asian restaurant.
Ground chicken is combined with grated ginger, chopped garlic, and sesame oil to create the filling for these wraps. Cool cilantro and lettuce work to balance out the zesty flavor of the filling.
If you don't have ground chicken, turkey or pork would work well as a substitute.
Photo Courtesy of EatingWell
Five-Spice Turkey & Lettuce Wraps
Typically sold as a blend, five-spice is made up of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, stair anise, and szechuan peppercorns.
Here, five-spice is combined with ground turkey and crunchy water chestnuts to create a filling for delicate pieces of butter lettuce.
Brown rice is added to make the dish extra hardy, but feel free to sub it out if you want a low-carb version.
Find the full recipe at EatingWell
More Lettuce Wrap Recipes
Lemongrass Sausage Lettuce Wraps from Food & Wine
Curried Tofu Wraps from Bon Appetit
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Skinnytaste
Beef Lettuce Wraps from Chelsea’s Messy Apron