Quick and Easy Turkey Lettuce Wraps (Low Carb)

Packed with amazing flavor, these Turkey Lettuce Wraps are perfect for a lighter meal to eat during the week. These healthy lettuce wraps are loaded with protein from the turkey meat, so they are sure to be filling as well. Much tastier (and healthier) than P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps!

Using lettuce provides a low carb and healthy dish. Boston or Butter lettuce are our favorites because of the size (perfect for kids) and softness of the leaves. We use a beef base along with pantry staples such as soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar and a few others, that gives it a great Asian inspired taste. Incredibly easy to make, this entire Turkey Lettuce Wrap can be prepared in under 40 minutes and is the perfect summer meal!

Why This Recipe Works?

• A Great Light and Healthy Meal.
• Crispy and Tasty, a perfect midweek meal.
• Extremely easy to make.
• Kids friendly.
• Easily available Ingredients.
• Even better than P.F. Changs Lettuce Wraps.
• A great way to add another healthy meal to your kids diet.
• The Best Turkey Lettuce Wraps ever!!

Ingredients

This recipe uses super easy ingredients that can be purchased from a local store if they are not already in your pantry. Read the Recipe Card for the measurements.

• Ground Turkey – We prefer to use lean ground turkey (93%) because it is a healthier option than beef and readily available. You can substitute beef if you prefer the taste, but you would need to adjust your seasonings.
• Carrots – Shredded carrots work the best recipe. They add a nice crunch and some color to the dish.
• Peppers – We are always attempting to add more vegetables to the meal. Mini Sweet Peppers taste great and also add a color splash.
• Yellow Onions, Ginger and Garlic – These aromatics add a nice mild and sweet flavor to the mix.
• Scallions – Otherwise known as green onions, the scallions add a nice crunchy texture.
• Lettuce – We used Boston Lettuce in this recipe because of its soft texture and shape, it is perfect to hold the ground turkey meat mixture. You can also use Butter Lettuce, Iceberg, or Romaine.
• Worcestershire Sauce – This sauce adds a powerful unami flavor – a combination of Sweet, Sour, and Spicy.
• Gochujangi – A thick sweet and spicy fermented red chili paste. This Korean staple adds a little heat and builds on the complexity to the flavor. Good substitutes for Gochujangi would be sriracha or red chili flakes.
• Hoisin Sauce – Commonly used in many asian dishes, this adds a strong salty and sweet flavor.
• Soy Sauce – We sometimes use low sodium soy sauce to keep the dish a bit healthier.
• Beef Base – We typically use the Better Than Bouillon brand that you can get at your local supermarket, but feel free to use any other brand as well. We add this to the turkey meat to further enhance the flavor of these lettuce wraps.
• Rice Vinegar – We use rice vinegar which is also common in asian dishes to balance out the mild sweetness.

How to Make Turkey Lettuce Wraps:

Step 1: Prep The Veggies and Aromatics

Dice the onions, chop the scallions, garlic and cilantro, cut the peppers into thin strips and grate the ginger and carrots. Once all these have been diced, chopped, and cut – set them aside.

Step 2: Brown It

After the veggies have been prepped, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Then, add the ground turkey and cook until all of the excess liquid has evaporated and the meat starts to brown (about 15 minutes – see the picture below).

Next, add the aromatics: onion, ginger and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until the onion starts to turn translucent.

Step 3: Deglaze It

The next step is to add better than bouillon beef and 1 cup water to deglaze the pan. Be sure to scrape all of those brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated (5-10 minutes).

Step 4: Sauce Mix

While the liquid is reducing, whisk together the sauce ingredients; sesame seed oil, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar and chili paste. Mix until well combined; set aside.

Step 5: Sauce It

Once most of the liquid has been reduced, add the sauce mixture to the ground turkey in the skillet and simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Then, add the shredded carrots and peppers and cook for 1 additional minute, leaving the veggies with a little crunch while retaining most of their vitamins.

Once completed, remove from stove top, add scallions and cilantro; stir to combine. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Edamame, sliced cucumber, kimchi or Gochujangi make great accompaniments. Serve on lettuce leaves or over jasmine rice.