Perfect for hungry game-day guests or a busy weeknight family dinner, ground turkey lettuce wraps are a winner. Make the filling a day or two ahead and warm it up to serve when needed meaning less time in the kitchen. If you love PF Changs lettuce wraps, try these at home. Chicken lettuce wraps are good too, if you prefer chicken to turkey. Just try them!
This is fun, healthy and satisfying food, all at the same time. Popularized by the restaurant chain, there are many versions of these lettuce wraps or lettuce cups. Lettuce leaves make a wrap or vessel to spoon savory filling into. Spoon on a little dipping sauce and chow down.
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Recipe Ingredients
For your grocery and pantry list:
- Vegetables: Use now peas and carrots for color and crunch
- Coconut oil: A healthy cooking fat that blends well with the Asian flavor profile of this recipe, or use a healthy neutral oil.
- Ginger – Use fresh or pureed in a jar or tube. I keep a jar of organic, pureed ginger in the refrigerator at all times. I love the flavor of ginger and cook with it often, plus it is anti-inflammatory and great for digestion. It is a fine puree (the jar says minced) and melts into a dish quickly. To grate fresh, peeled ginger fine, use a microplane zester.
- Aromatics: Onion and garlic, the classic flavor partners. Green onion is nice for garnish too.
- Meat: Ground turkey or ground chicken will work. Don't buy the super low fat packages. They will be dry and tasteless. Use 10%-15% fat.
- Soy Sauce: I use tamari, which is wheat-free, gluten-free soy sauce, and be sure to buy the lowest sodium bottle you can (and organic).
- Pepper: Red pepper flakes and ground black pepper.
- Lettuce: Heads of Romaine lettuce, iceberg or butter lettuce all work.
- Sesame seeds: Optional for garnish. (optional)
Ground Turkey and Vegetables
What makes this recipe a standout is using vegetables along with ground turkey for crunch, color, and more nutrition. Some recipes use water chestnuts but they are pretty tasteless and colorless. Snow peas and carrots add more punch.
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If choosing ground turkey, buy 10% and 15% fat for more flavor and less chance of ending up with a dry dish. Ground chicken works too for Asian lettuce wraps.
How do You Make Lettuce Wraps?
Prepping the ingredients ahead of time makes lettuce wraps go together quickly. Chop snow peas and onion, grate a large carrot (or use pre-grated carrot), saute the veggies, add ginger and garlic, add the meat and cook until no longer pink, about 10 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. The dipping sauce is easy too, just shake in a jar.
Lettuce Wraps Tips
The famed PF Chang's recipe uses whole iceberg lettuce leaves. I prefer to use romaine leaves or butter lettuce leaves. Choose what you like and what's best at the store. If using Romaine, 1 bag usually contains 3 heads. Trim leaves to 6″-7″. For iceberg or butter lettuce, cut off the root end and carefully separate leaves.
📖 Recipe
Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Dipping Sauce
- ⅓ cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce sub coconut aminos
- 2 teaspoons ginger puree from a jar, or fresh finely grated
- 2 tablespoons Mirin Japanese cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ tablespoon mild honey
- pinch of red pepper flakes optional
Turkey Filling
- 4 ounces snow peas 1 huge handful
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup grated or chopped carrot
- 1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons organic ginger puree or fresh finely grated
- 3-4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 ¼ pounds ground turkey 10%-15% fat
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari wheat-free soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1-2 pinches crushed red pepper
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- 3 hearts of Romaine or butter lettuce, iceberg head
- 1 tablespoon Black and white sesame seeds for garnish optional
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Instructions
- Place sauce ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Reserve for serving. Thinly slice snow peas crosswise, chop your onion and grate carrot
- Heat coconut oil in a large fry or sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion, snow peas and carrots to the pan and cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft. Add the ginger and garlic and cook 1 minute. Add ground turkey to the pan and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up with a wooden spatula or spoon, about 10 minutes.
- Add tamari, black and red pepper, and green onion. Stir together and serve in trimmed lettuce leaves. Drizzle with a little of the sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional). You can also serve them family style by placing the meat in a bowl along side of a plat4e of stacked lettuce leaves.
Bev Severinghaus says
What is Mirin?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Bev. Great question! It is a sweet Japanese cooking wine made from rice. It's used often in Asian recipes. Find it at most grocery stores in the Asian aisle. BE SURE to buy a brand that does not have added sugar, glucose or corn syrup. I Buy Eden. Nothing added. Hope that helps.
Linda says
I made these for dinner and my daughter loved them. She loves food that she can build herself and has fun experimenting with flavors herself. I like the less carb aspect of it. I have a tip on using fresh ginger that my Mom taught me long ago to share. I freeze fresh ginger in a ziplock bag and when I remove it to use it is hard and easy to peel and grate with a microplane grater. I only peel and grate what I need for that recipe and the remainder goes back in the freezer. Thanks for the fun recipe.
Sally says
Good tip on the ginger Linda. Love microplanes! So glad your daughter enjoyed them.Thanks for commenting back. It makes my day to hear back from readers!
Margaret says
I am new to your blog....found it by searching for almond milk recipe. I made these lettuce wraps last night.....not quite sure how they would go over with my kids (7 yr old and 5 yr old twins). They were a big hit! Everyone loved the taste and we had so much fun eating them. The kids made a mess but it was well worth it. Thanks for a great recipe.
Sally says
I love to hear that Margaret! So happy your family, especially your kids, enjoyed them. Thanks for reporting back!