Healthier than traditional tacos with a delicious Asian spin, Asian Lettuce Wraps are quick, tasty, and just a teensy bit messy. So grab some napkins and get ready for a delicious meal or appetizer that doesn’t even take much effort to throw together.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

For families obsessed with tacos, this is a winner of an alternative to your weekly meal plan.

A fun Asian spin on the Mexican food classic, these wraps can be customized to fit everyone’s taste and can be served as a main dish or an appetizer.

Asian foods can seem a little intimidating to cook. The sauces and spices are sometimes ones we don’t use very often and are hard to decide to purchase, especially if you only make the meal once!

A wonderful part of these Turkey Lettuce Wraps is that you don’t have to buy tons of extra ingredients that aren’t already in your pantry.

Plus, you and your family will likely be wondering how soon is too soon to make it again! 

Your family will probably also enjoy the challenge of trying to eat these ground turkey wraps without much mess.

It will take some practice, going from hearty tortilla shells to flimsy lettuce leaves, but rest assured practice makes perfect. Or at least practice makes a smidge less messy.

This is a great weeknight meal, too, especially after sports practices or outdoor activities, since they don’t take long to prepare and they are light and healthy!

The only cooking required is of the meat, onion, and garlic. Which you could make ahead and reheat when you’re ready for it.

Everything else is tossed in to season and round it out.

Here’s What You Need:

• Lettuce: Bibb or Butter leaves work well. You need fairly large leaves in order to wrap the contents, but not too big that you feel like it’s a good idea to overstuff a lettuce leaf.
• Ground Turkey: The lean protein for this healthy dish!
• Onion & Fresh Garlic: Can you ever have too much onion and garlic? Such savory flavors almost always round out a delicious meal.
• Fresh Ginger: Fresh spices always add more flavor than dried or jarred. Ginger is a traditional Asian spice that gives that extra flair we all know and love. Plus, the health benefits of ginger are numerous.
• Water Chestnuts: These tuber vegetables add a distinct texture to the wraps, plus they are full of fiber and potassium.
• Sauces: With Rice Wine Vinegar, Hoisin Sauce, and Sesame Oil, the flavors will be delectable.

Extras: Carrot Matchsticks, Fresh Mint, Peanuts, and Bean Sprouts will add crunch, flavor, and variety to the wraps. Be sure to remember the mint! It adds a very distinct and memorable taste.

How to Make Lettuce Wraps

First, brown the ground turkey in the olive oil and break the turkey into crumbles. Once it’s cooked through, drain the excess water or oil and set the meat aside.

Add diced onion to the skillet and cook then add garlic. Return the meat to the pan then add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil and mix together.

Toss in water chestnuts and green onion and cook a little longer. Serve in a bowl alongside a platter of the rinsed lettuce leaves, bean sprouts, carrot matchsticks, peanuts, and mint leaves.

Let everyone customize their own to perfect the flavor and texture of their choice. This Chicken lettuce wraps recipe is worth making. 

How to Add Variety to the Asian Lettuce Wraps 

If ground turkey isn’t your favorite, you can try out a few ground meat alternatives. Both ground chicken and ground pork work perfectly with this recipe and may add a little different flavor for variety.

Depending on the season, a few side dishes might help round out the meal. Sticky rice is always a welcome companion for Asian dishes.

White or brown rice are nice and bland to help the flavors of the wrap stand out, but if you’re feeling more adventurous, soy sauce fried rice or sesame noodles might add some heft to the meal.

If you’re eating the turkey lettuce wraps in cooler weather, some Miso Soup or Egg Drop Soup might be a nice addition to warm your belly.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com, Asian Lettuce Wraps, submitted by RACHEL411, 2007.

This recipe was first published September, 2013. Photos and new content has been updated June, 2020.

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