Healthy Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps with crunchy veggies and homemade sauce ready in 30 minutes. Perfect for meal prep, low carb appetizers, or main dish!
This recipe is about 10 years old from my old ebook. It’s my friend’s favorite and once she lost it once again, I decided it’s time post it on iFoodReal.
I love using lettuce leaves as a wrap for a variety of dishes ranging from these healthier Asian turkey lettuce wraps without hoisin sauce to healthy chicken lettuce wraps. But I also love to make a good turkey egg roll in a bowl with shredded cabbage.
Shredded leaves transform the meal into a low carb, low calorie option while adding an extra serving of veggies. And so versatile! Perfect for dinner, as an appetizer, or a side dish.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Low carb: We use lettuce cups instead of tortillas or bread for the naturally low carb filling.
- Quick: This 30 minute meal is quicker than takeout with equal parts prep and cook time.
- Great for leftovers: It’s just as tasty the next day so you can cook once and enjoy it twice!
- Bold flavors: Each bite is packed with savory, sweet, and spicy Asian flavors.
Ingredients for Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
This turkey lettuce wraps recipe breaks down into sauce, filling, and serving ingredients, all of which are simple and healthy.
- Ground turkey: For a healthier option in all of my ground turkey recipes I like to use extra lean ground turkey. If you have ground beef or ground chicken on hand, those work just as well.
- Sauce: Combine low sodium soy sauce, peanut butter, toasted sesame oil, honey or maple syrup, rice vinegar, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes.
- Brown mushrooms: We saute chopped mushrooms with ground turkey for a delicious mix of savory flavors.
- Aromatics: Freshly minced garlic cloves and green onion sprigs.
- Oil: Use olive oil or avocado oil for frying.
- Lettuce leaves: I used crispy iceberg lettuce. You can also use butter lettuce or romaine lettuce.
- Toppings: There’s a variety to choose from, I recommend bean sprouts, carrot matchsticks, chopped peanuts, and extra green onion.
How to Make Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Here’s a quick overview of how to make ground turkey lettuce wraps in a few simple steps and only 15 minutes of prep. There is also a full recipe card below.
- Make the sauce: Mix soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- Saute turkey and mushrooms: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add oil to coat, then toss in ground turkey and mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes until fully cooked, using a spatula to break the meat into small pieces and stirring occasionally.
- Add the sauce: Add the garlic and green onion, and pour in the sauce. Let it saute for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, turn off the heat.
- Assemble the wraps: Spoon 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the warm filling into each lettuce shell, then sprinkle with bean sprouts, carrots, peanuts, and green onions.
Tips for Best Results
Here are my top tips to whip up Asian turkey lettuce wraps that will have your family and guests raving!
- Assemble before enjoying: These taste best fresh, so wait to scoop until everyone is ready to eat.
- Use any ground meat: Switch up the turkey with ground chicken, beef, pork, or sausage to keep this recipe exciting and new.
- Peanut butter substitute: If you’re allergic to peanut butter use tahini or sunflower seed butter instead. If not, swap for almond butter.
- Use any veggies: In addition to bean sprouts and carrots or instead, add water chestnuts to the filling for a delicious crunch.
- Other toppings to add: Add shredded cabbage, thinly sliced bell peppers or cucumber, broccoli slaw, chopped cilantro, or a drizzle of sriracha.
What Is the Best Lettuce to Use?
I stick to 3 types, here are some tips to help you choose.
- Iceberg lettuce: PF Chang’s serves their lettuce wraps in iceberg lettuce. Their leaves are crispy but harder to roll, and the flavor tends to be more watery and bland. But I personally like its crunch!
- Butter lettuce: Also known as bibb lettuce with large, sturdy leaves and a mild buttery flavor.
- Romaine lettuce: Their longer leaves can be tricky to wrap but work in a pinch. Also nice and crunchy.
How to Store
Store: Don’t store assembled lettuce wraps, they become soggy and you want to serve when filling is warm. Transfer the filling to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to eat, reheat and assemble the wraps.
Freeze: Let the turkey mixture cool, then store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating, then assemble when ready. Don’t freeze the lettuce.
Serving Ideas
- Solo as a low carb dinner.
- Over a bed of Instant Pot brown rice, cauliflower rice, or Instant pot coconut rice.
- Alongside cabbage stir fry or roasted veggies such as roasted asparagus or roasted brussels sprouts.
- Spring rolls or egg rolls.
- Next to a simple lettuce salad or Asian chopped salad.
- With a bowl of hot and sour soup.
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Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil toasted
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1/2 inch piece ginger root, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
For the Filling:
- 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
- 8 ounces brown mushrooms chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 green onion sprigs chopped
- 2 teaspoons oil for frying
For Serving the Wraps:
- 1 head iceberg lettuce leaves separated
- 2-3 cups bean sprouts
- 2 cups carrot matchsticks or shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup peanuts chopped
- 2 green onion sprigs finely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar, ginger and red pepper flakes. Whisk well and set aside.
- Preheat large skillet on medium-high heat, swirl oil to coat and add ground turkey and mushrooms. Saute until cooked through for about 10 minutes, constantly breaking into small pieces with spatula and stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic, green onion and previously whisked sauce. Saute for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat.
- Scoop 1/4 – 1/3 cup warm Filling into each lettuce shell, top with bean sprouts, carrots, peanuts and green onions and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate filling in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a microwave or on a skillet before assembling the lettuce wraps.Â
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Then, allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
This is a perfect weeknight recipe. I prepped it and put some on lettuce leaves and packed it to take to the softball field. Was perfect while watching the game!
Love this! As a hockey mom, I totally get it. And good for you for eating healthy while being busy!