These Lettuce Wraps With Peanut Sauce are gluten-free, blood-sugar friendly, and ideal for meal prep. Just one pan is all you need to cook up the delicious filling!
Make these tasty lettuce wraps in less than 30 minutes, and be sure to check out Jen's Dietitian-Approved Section on why this recipe is blood sugar-friendly and great for insulin resistance!
Why We Love These Lettuce Wraps
- Gluten-Free and Grain-Free: If you use tamari sauce (affiliate link) instead of soy sauce, you'll keep these gluten-free. Be sure to check the label, as some tamari sauces do contain gluten.
- Light, Crisp and Fresh: the bright, gingery turkey filling (you can also use ground chicken) and fresh lettuce leaves make for a light lunch or dinner. But don't be fooled - the hearty peanut sauce makes these plenty satisfying.
- Perfect for Meal Prep: The turkey filling and peanut sauce can be prepared ahead of time and portioned, while the lettuce leaves and any desired toppings can be prepped, allowing the wraps to be quickly assembled for lunch or dinner.
- Adaptable: Serve these as an appetizer, lunch, or dinner, and vary your garnishes depending on what's in your fridge.
- Fun and Family Friendly: When I had young kids at home, lettuce wraps were a favorite meal. I could enlist the kids in prepping the garnishes, and they loved getting to make their own wraps.
Ingredients for Lettuce Wraps With Peanut Sauce
Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
- Peanut Butter - Choose a natural peanut butter (affiliate link), preferably roasted, for the best flavor, and without added sugar or salt.
- Lime Juice for brightness and acidity.
- Chili Garlic Sauce (affiliate link) or Sriracha for a bit of spice (you can skip it if you don't like spicy food).
- Fresh Ginger Root - readily available in most grocery stores, ginger root provides a slightly spicy and earthy flavor. If powdered ginger is your only option, start with ¼ teaspoon and adjust according to your palate.
- Garlic - fresh, whole cloves provide the best flavor.
- Tamari Sauce (affiliate link) - A Japanese soy sauce made mostly from soy beans, making it wheat-free (check the label to verify). Regular soy sauce is a good alternative if you don't have gluten sensitivity.
- Allulose (affiliate link) - Most peanut sauce contains sugar, but not this one. We're using allulose, a low-calorie sugar that's naturally occurring in figs, raisins, and other fruit. Since allulose has a glycemic index of 0, it doesn't raise blood sugar. Better yet, no weird aftertaste.
- Water - to thin out the texture to the desired consistency.
Lettuce Wrap Ingredients:
- Ground Turkey or ground chicken, preferably 93% lean.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms for added flavor and moisture. You can substitute shitake or white button mushrooms if baby bellas aren't available.
- Canned Water Chestnuts for crunch and texture.
- Scallions for sharpness. You can also use shallots or a regular onion.
- Garlic - fresh offers the best flavor.
- Ginger Root for slightly spicy, earthy flavor. Find fresh ginger in your produce section.
- Tamari Sauce (affiliate link) - A Japanese soy sauce made mostly from soy beans, making it gluten-free (check the label because sometimes they add wheat). Regular soy sauce is a good alternative if you don't have gluten sensitivity.
- Toasted Sesame Oil provides a distinctly nutty, aromatic flavor that adds depth and richness. A little bit goes a long way, and because of its low smoke point, it's typically used as a finishing oil.
- Avocado Oil is our favorite neutral oil. Olive oil is also an option, but it's not considered to have a neutral taste (your choice).
- Chili Garlic Sauce or sriracha for a bit of heat and acidity. You can also use chili flakes. (optional)
- Kosher Salt - I craft all our recipes using Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, which I find easier to adjust since the crystals dissolve easily. Because it's less salty, subtle tweaks are easier to make.
How to Make Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce
Make the Peanut Sauce
- Place all ingredients for the peanut sauce in a blender and pulse until thoroughly blended.
- Add water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until the desired consistency is achieved.
Prepare the Lettuce Wrap Filling
- Prep Filling Ingredients and Garnishes - Separate and clean the lettuce leaves. Prepare optional garnishes of your choice. Chop the mushrooms, dice the water chestnuts, slice the scallions, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger.
- Heat the avocado oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet and cook the turkey until it is no longer pink.
- Add the aromatics - mushrooms, garlic, and ginger - to the skillet.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for two minutes.
- Spoon the cooked turkey mixture into the prepped lettuce leaves.
- Top with optional garnishes and enjoy!
- Drizzle lime juice into each lettuce cup (optional).
Common Questions
Clean lettuce leaves can be wrapped in paper towels and stored in a zip-lock bag in the refrigerator for optimal freshness.
Store the optional garnishes in a separate container in the refrigerator.
The cooked beef should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or up to two months in the freezer.
Reheat in a skillet over medium heat, adding a little water to keep it from drying out. Alternatively, you can reheat the filling in the microwave, using one-minute bursts until heated through.
Yes! You can use ground chicken, beef, pork, or a combination of ground meats.
Ways to Eat With Lettuce Wraps With Peanut Sauce
- Eat three Lettuce Wraps With Peanut Sauce and veggie garnishes on their own for a complete meal.
- Serve them as an appetizer to a balanced meal such as our Beef and Green Beans Skillet.
- Make a Lettuce Wrap bowl by serving the high-protein turkey filling over riced cauliflower. Then top with veggies such as avocado, shredded lettuce, diced red bell peppers, shredded carrots, sliced scallions, and a drizzle of peanut sauce.
Recipe
Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Peanut Sauce
- ¼ cup peanut butter preferably roasted, crunchy and natural with no added salt or sugar
- 4 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
- 2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- 2 teaspoon ginger fresh, about 1 inch piece peeeled
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon tamari sauce or soy sauce if not gluten-free
- ½ tablespoon allulose
- 2 tablespoon water or until desired consistency is reached
Lettuce Wrap Filling
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms cleaned and finely chopped
- 1 8 oz can of water chestnuts rinsed, drained, diced
- 4 scallions thinly sliced (reserve some green tops for garnish)
- 3 garlic cloves minced or crushed
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely grated (adjust up or down depending on your preference)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or EVOO
- 1 lb ground turkey 93% lean works best
- 3 tablespoon tamari can substitute with soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil toasted
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce can use sriracha, red pepper flakes instead depending on heat tolerate
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or lime juice
- salt as needed
- 1 head butter or iceberg lettuce whole leaves washed and dried
Instructions
Instructions for Peanut Sauce
- Place all ingredients for the peanut sauce in a blender and pulse until thoroughly blended.¼ cup peanut butter, 4 tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp chili garlic sauce, 2 tsp ginger, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp tamari sauce, ½ tbsp allulose
- Add water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until the desired consistency is achieved.2 tbsp water
Instructions for Lettuce Wrap Filling
- Chop the mushrooms, dice the water chestnuts, slice the scallions, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. (about 10-12 minutes)8 oz baby bella mushrooms, 1 8 oz can of water chestnuts, 4 scallions, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp fresh ginger
- Heat avocado oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes.1 tbsp avocado oil, 1 lb ground turkey
- Stir in chopped mushrooms, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until the mushrooms release their moisture and everything becomes fragrant.
- Add diced water chestnuts, most of the scallions (save some for garnish), tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar (or lime juice), and chili garlic sauce (or sriracha or red pepper flakes). Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes so the flavors meld.3 tbsp tamari, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp chili garlic sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, salt
- Spoon the turkey mixture into crisp lettuce leaves. Garnish with reserved scallion greens and spoon on the peanut sauce, and any garnishes.1 head butter or iceberg lettuce
Nutrition
Dietitian-Approved Recipe for Insulin Resistance: Blood Sugar-Friendly
Here at Buena Wellness, we design our recipes to be tasty and to have a balanced protein-to-carb ratio. A good protein-to-carb ratio helps keep blood sugar and insulin levels balanced. This promotes better energy, lower blood sugar levels, and even weight loss if desired.
The ground turkey in this recipe provides most of the protein (46 grams per serving). And, the peanut sauce doesn't have added sugar, which is a big plus!
Adding sugar to any recipe increases the carbs and will spike glucose levels. So, instead, Jackelin uses allulose to add some sweetness to the peanut sauce.
The Lettuce Wraps also provide a good amount of non-starchy veggies and fiber in each serving. The mushrooms, water chestnuts, and scallions all contribute to the 5 grams of fiber per serving. Fiber helps balance blood sugar and promotes healthy digestion.
The recipe is dietitian-approved for insulin resistance and is blood sugar-friendly. I hope you like it as much as I do!
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