Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps

These Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps are hearty and satisfying, made with fresh and nutritious veggies, Asian-style ground beef, and loaded into crisp lettuce leaves. Top with chopped nuts, cilantro, and green onion for a mouth-watering and healthy snack, party appetizer, or main meal. 

If you’re craving the flavors of a meaty wrap, but prefer something a little lighter, these low-carb ground beef lettuce wraps are the answer! The saucy ground beef contrasts beautifully with the soft yet crisp bell peppers, water chestnuts, and carrots. The crisp lettuce leaves are sturdy enough to hold the filling, offering a delicious alternative to flour or corn tortillas. 

Make a little extra sauce for serving alongside these lettuce wraps – you won’t regret it! And we love this for Taco Tuesday – but it’s also great for any weeknight dinner!

What are ground beef lettuce wraps? 

Ground beef lettuce wraps consist of Asian-style ground beef mixture, nutritious veggies, and an irresistible sesame ginger garlic sauce. The savory filling gets loaded into crisp butter lettuce leaves, then topped with a choice of fresh garnishes, such as chopped cashews, cilantro, and green onion. Plate the individual components on a platter for your friends and family to assemble themselves with a drizzle of extra sauce and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Why you’ll love ground beef lettuce wraps

• You can have these fresh, flavorful wraps on the table in just 20-25 minutes. Faster and tastier than takeout!
• Serve these beefy lettuce wraps as a light lunch, a crowd-pleasing appetizer, or a satisfying main dish. 
• The type of dish you can enjoy any time of the year. 

Ingredients needed to make ground beef lettuce wraps

• Lettuce leaves: Butter lettuce leaves are perfect for holding savory fillings, offering a delicious low-carb alternative to flour and corn tortillas. 
• Ground beef: Feel free to use regular or lean ground beef. This recipe also works with ground turkey or ground chicken. 
• Sesame seed oil: A must when cooking with Asian-inspired ingredients. 
• Garlic: Freshly minced garlic provides the best depth of aromatic flavor. 
• Onion: Sauteed in the sesame oil. Yellow or white onions work well.  
• Water chestnuts: Introduces a signature, juicy crunch and mild sweetness that contrasts with the tender beef.
• Bell pepper: I love to use red bell pepper. It adds vibrant color, sweet flavor, and a crisp-tender texture. 
• Carrots: Provides a touch of natural sweetness and a tender texture while contributing moisture to the filling.
• Coconut aminos: Delivers a salty, savory umami backbone with a subtle sweetness that binds the sauce. You can also use soy sauce or tamari. 

• Rice vinegar: Adds a necessary bright, tangy acidity that balances the richness of the beef and sweetness of the other ingredients.
• Sugar: Use coconut sugar or brown sugar for a caramel-like sweetness that mellows the savory and salty elements to this dish. 
• Crushed red peppers: For a mild, spicy kick. 
• Ground ginger: Provides a warm, earthy, and slightly peppery note that adds aromatic depth. 
• Garnish: I like to garnish these lettuce wraps with chopped cashews (or peanuts), chopped cilantro, and sliced green onion. Serve with quartered or wedges of lime that you can squeeze over the assembled wraps for added brightness. 
• Optional extra sauce: To make additional sauce for the platter, mix together 1/4 cup coconut aminos, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon brown sugar or coconut sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger.

How do you make these ground beef lettuce wraps? 

Make the savory beef filling:

1. Heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet and saute the onion for 3-4 minutes. 
2. Add the garlic and ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula into small pieces as it cooks and browns for about 7 minutes. 
3. Remove the cooked ground beef and drain to remove excess grease. Transfer the beef  mixture to a bowl and set to the side. 
4. Add the red bell pepper, water chestnuts, and carrots to the same hot skillet and cook for 3 minutes until soft and tender, yet still crisp. 
5. Stir in the beef mixture and add the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and ground ginger. 
6. Combine with a spoon and cook for about another 2 minutes. 

Assemble the platter:

1. Arrange the rinsed and dried lettuce leaves on a large platter of your choosing. 
2. Set the beef mixture in a bowl on the platter.
3. In small bowls, add the optional garnishes (chopped cashews, cilantro, and green onions). Feel free to also add a small bowl of extra pan sauce to the platter, if desired. 
4. Place lime wedges on the platter as a finishing touch that you can use to squeeze over the assembled wraps. 

To make the wraps:

1. To make a lettuce wrap, add a heaping spoonful of the beef mixture into each butter lettuce cup. 
2. Garnish each lettuce cup with chopped cashews, cilantro, and green onions. 
3. To eat, fold in the edges and eat it like a taco.

Serving

Enjoy these ground beef lettuce wraps with a side of Asian Cucumber Salad, Thai Cucumber-Carrot Salad, or Miso Soup. 

Leftover ground beef mixture can be used to make these Healthy Korean Beef Bowls!

Sandy’s tips and substitutions:

• Storage: Keep the beef filling, lettuce leaves, chopped garnishes, and sauce in separate containers in the fridge. Assemble only when ready to eat. The lettuce will last 2-3 days if stored in a paper towel-lined container. The beef mixture will last for up to 1 week in the fridge. 
• Freezing: The beef mixture freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat. Do not freeze the lettuce or fresh garnishes.
• Make-ahead: The beef mixture can be made completely up to 3 days in advance. Reheat gently on the stovetop or microwave. The flavors often meld and improve overnight.
• Drain the cooked beef: Ground beef releases a lot of fat and water. After browning, drain it well before setting aside. Excess grease will make the final sauce overly oily. 
• Use a sturdy lettuce: Butter lettuce leaves hold savory fillings well. If you don’t have butter lettuce, be sure to use another sturdy type of lettuce with large enough leaves to act as a “cup”. 
• Double the sauce: You can double the umami sauce in this recipe and use it to drizzle a little over the beef mixture right before serving for added moisture, then serve the rest on the side.
• To prevent sogginess: Do not fill the lettuce wraps until just before eating. The moisture from the warm filling will wilt the lettuce within 5-10 minutes.

Variations:

• Type of lettuce: While butter lettuce is classic, Boston lettuce or iceberg lettuce cups also work well. Look for leaves that are large, pliable, and have a deep “cup” shape.
• Increase the heat: The crushed red peppers provide subtle heat without overpowering the rest of the ingredients. You can easily adjust the level of heat in the savory filling by increasing or decreasing the crushed red peppers. 
• Ground beef stuffed veggies: Instead of loading the savory beef mixture into lettuce leaves, load it into hollowed out bell peppers, into baked potatoes, or to make ground beef zucchini boats. 
• Vegetarian lettuce wraps: Use tofu or saute extra veggies for the filling, such as mushrooms, more bell peppers, and even zucchini.
• Healthy bowls: Use the meat mixture to make grain, noodle, or rice bowls.

If you love these ground beef lettuce wraps, don’t forget to try these equally delicious Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps or Meatball Chicken Lettuce Wraps! 

More Asian-inspired meals you may want to try:

• Bang Bang Salmon Bites
• Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad
• Healthy Chicken Pad Thai
• Thai Sloppy Joes
• Asian Crunch Salad

No ratings yet

Leave a Review

Get the Recipe:

Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps

Sandy Coughlin

Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps are hearty and nutritious, ready in just 25 minutes! Load each crisp lettuce leaf with Asian-style ground beef, fresh toppings, and an extra drizzle of sesame ginger garlic sauce.

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Yield: 8

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

Beef Mixture:

• 2 heads butter lettuce, about 18 leaves
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion finely diced
• 8 oz. can water chestnuts roughly chopped, drained
• 1 red bell pepper, remove core and seeds, chop
• 2 carrots grated
• ¼ cup coconut aminos, or soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
• ½ tsp crushed red peppers, optional
• ¼ tsp ground ginger

Garnish:

• ½ cup cashews, chopped (optional to use peanuts)
• ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
• ⅓ cup sliced green onion
• 2 limes, quartered (or cut into small wedges)

Instructions

 

• Carefully rinse each butter lettuce leaf and pat dry.
• In a large skillet, heat sesame seed oil over medium high heat and add in finely diced onion; saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic along with the ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula into small pieces as it cooks.
• Allow to cook until the beef becomes crumbly and browned. Around 7 minutes.
• Once cooked, remove and drain and discard the grease. Transfer the beef mixture to a bowl and set to the side.
• To the hot skillet, add the chopped red bell pepper, finely diced water chestnuts, and grated carrots. Cook for 3 minutes until the red peppers become soft and tender, but still crisp.
• Transfer the beef back to the pan and combine together with the peppers and water chestnuts.
• To the beef mixture, add the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and ground ginger. Combine all ingredients with a spoon and allow to cook together, another 2 minutes or so.
• ON THE PLATTER: Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter. Set the beef mixture in a bowl on the platter. In small bowls, add chopped cashews, cilantro, and green onions. Optional to add a small bowl of extra sauce. Garnish the platter with lime wedges.
• MAKE THE WRAPS: To make a lettuce wrap, add a heaping spoonful of the beef mixture into each butter lettuce cup. Garnish each lettuce cup with chopped cashews, cilantro, and green onions. To eat, fold in the edges and eat it like a taco.
• Make extra sauce for the platter: Mix together 1/4 cup coconut aminos, 1 tbsp of rice vinegar, 1 tsp brown sugar or coconut sugar, and 1/8 tsp of ground ginger.

Notes

Sandy’s tips:

• Storage: Keep the beef filling, lettuce leaves, chopped garnishes, and sauce in separate containers in the fridge. Assemble only when ready to eat. The lettuce will last 2-3 days if stored in a paper towel-lined container. The beef mixture will last for up to 1 week in the fridge. 
• Freezing: The beef mixture freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat. Do not freeze the lettuce or fresh garnishes.
• Make-ahead: The beef mixture can be made completely up to 3 days in advance. Reheat gently on the stovetop or microwave. The flavors often meld and improve overnight.
• Use a sturdy lettuce: Butter lettuce leaves hold savory fillings well. If you don’t have butter lettuce, be sure to use another sturdy type of lettuce with large enough leaves to act as a “cup”. 
• To prevent sogginess: Do not fill the lettuce wraps until just before eating. The moisture from the warm filling will wilt the lettuce within 5-10 minutes.

Cuisine: American, asian

Course: Main Course

Calories: 410kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 81mg, Sodium: 270mg, Potassium: 613mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 4416IU, Vitamin C: 27mg, Calcium: 53mg, Iron: 4mg

Did you make this recipe?Tag @reluctantentertainer on Instagram and hashtag it #reluctantentertainer!