Beef Lettuce Wraps are easy to make and so yummy! Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps are the perfect healthy, low carb dinner everyone will love!
These Beef Lettuce Wraps are without a doubt my new fav meal for Spring/Summer… and let’s be real, probably every season moving forward because they’re just so simple, and light.
Everything I love about traditional sandwiches is in these wraps but without all the extra carbs!
These can be ready in under 30 minutes and are incredibly flavorful!
Why we love these Lettuce Wraps with Ground Beef
- Quick and easy – Less than 30 minutes for the most delicious lunch or low carb dinner!
- Lower in calories – There are less than 400 calories per serving in this ground beef lettuce wrap recipe.
- Full of flavor – All the seasonings in this recipe give the most amazing flavor to this dish!
Ingredients
For the meat:
- olive oil
- ground beef – we like to use 85/15 ground beef, it has the best fat to protein ratio!
- veggies: onion, garlic, carrots, broccoli
- water chestnuts- water chestnuts are just an additional veggie in this recipe. You can skip them if you don’t have them!
For the sauce:
- soy sauce or coconut aminos – either will work. we prefer coconut aminos because they’re gluten free!
- rice wine vinegar
- sesame oil – this adds a rich flavor to the dish
- pepper
- ground ginger
- red pepper flakes – we like extra red pepper, but add to taste
You’ll also need: Boston lettuce or Butter lettuce, sesame seed and green onions for serving.
substitutions and additions
Ground Beef: We like 85/15 ground beef. Feel free to use leaner ground beef depending on what you like. To make vegetarian you can use cooked lentils or ground beef substitute. You’ll need to adjust your cooking time. I haven’t tried making this with ground turkey or ground chicken but I think it would work. We love the Butcher Box Price for great ground beef!
Dipping Sauce: The dipping sauce is delicious. If you love garlic, try pressing a small clove of garlic into the dipping sauce, or add ¼ teaspoon garlic powder.
Boston lettuce: Boston lettuce will hold up a bit better than butter lettuce, use Boston if you can find it. You can also use mini romaine heart leaves, leafy romaine, or iceberg.
Chopped Water Chestnuts: If you can’t find chopped water chestnuts, throw a can of sliced water chestnuts in the food processor with the chicken and let the food processor do the work. You can also skip them.
Broccoli: If you need to hide the broccoli, try adding it right into the food processor with the chicken. You can also omit it.
Other veggies: You can add heartier veggies like mushrooms, chopped zucchini, or finely diced red bell pepper at the beginning when adding the chicken. Add slivered snow peas, green peas, fresh corn, or bean sprouts at the end of cooking the chicken.
Green Onions: Green onions are optional. You can also try finely chopped cilantro as a garnish if you have it on hand.
What is the best lettuce for lettuce wraps?
Boston lettuce (also known as Bibb lettuce) is best for lettuce wraps.
Boston lettuce will hold up a bit better than butter lettuce, use Boston if you can find it. You can also use mini romaine heart leaves, leafy romaine, or iceberg.
How to make Lettuce Wraps with Ground Beef
- Brown ground beef in a skillet in olive oil and cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in onions, garlic, and carrot, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Add broccoli and chopped water chestnuts. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Mix together your sauce ingredients. Stir to coat the meat/veggies in the sauce and cook for an additional minute.
- Place about ¼ cup of the cooked ground beef mixture on the lettuce leaves, and top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some green onions. Enjoy!
How to serve this Beef Lettuce Wraps Recipe
These are great with a light and refreshing Healthy Strawberry Mojito or a Lighter Watermelon Mojitos. You can also serve them with:
What to put in Lettuce Wraps
- As many veggies as you want!
Sauce for Lettuce Wraps
- Our sauce is light and flavorful with hints of ginger and sesame. You could also try the dipping sauce from our Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
How to store Beef Lettuce Wraps
Refrigerating: You can store leftover cooked ground beef filling in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Don’t assemble the lettuce wraps until you’re ready to eat! If you’ve washed the lettuce, put it in a paper towel lined container to prevent it from getting wilted.
Freezing: We haven’t tried freezing the filling for these beef lettuce wraps. I think it might freeze well. The vegetables may get soggy.
Reheating: You can reheat the ground filling in a covered sauté pan on medium low heat with a splash of water, until warmed through. Or microwave in a bowl with a splash of water, covered loosely with a damp paper towel, for about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Lettuce Wraps Beef FAQs
Yes, they are packed with protein, loaded with veggies, and low in carbs.
Parchment paper is a great way of keeping your lettuce from getting soggy. If you prep the wraps too early, the filling can make the wraps soggy.
Rinse your lettuce in cool water to clean it.
Other healthy low-carb lettuce wrap recipes:
Looking for other easy light, low carb wraps? Check out these easy lettuce wrap recipes!
Beef Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ cup white onion diced
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 1 cup broccoli crowns cut into thumbnail size florets
- 8 ounce can chopped water chestnuts drained and rinsed
For the sauce:
- 2.5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2.5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
For Serving:
- 1 head Boston lettuce or Butter lettuce
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Preheat a 12” heavy skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add olive oil and heat for one minute.
- Add ground beef to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the meat starts to brown.
- Add onions, garlic and carrot to the skillet with the ground beef. Stir together and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
- Once the onion/garlic/carrots have softened, add broccoli and chopped water chestnuts. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until broccoli starts to soften.
- While the meat cooks, mix together your sauce of coconut aminos, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, pepper, ginger and red pepper flakes. Stir to coat the meat/veggies in the sauce and cook for an additional minute.
- Place about ¼ cup of the cooked ground beef mixture on the leaves of the lettuce, top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some green onions. Enjoy!
Natalie Kerr says
This dish is always a hit at my home! I like to add my own flavors, such as chickpeas, zucchini, carrots, and onions. I use spices like soy sauce, garlic powder, pepper, and a sprinkle of salt. I serve this on the side with Kimchi (Korean food) in lettuce wraps.
I lived in South Korea for 8 years and loved eating BBQ with lettuce leaves.
It is so much healthier and your body will thank you for it later!
Rachel Roberts says
Another great recipe- sauce is delicious!
Super simple to make, comes together quick!
A must try😋
Rachel Roberts says
This is a must try recipe! So easy and full of flavor.
Eric Bradshaw says
Delicious. The flavor is out of this world.
Jessica Barsocchi says
This recipe was so good!! Easy to make! A must try!!
Kat says
Wow-this is a great recipe that I will make again and again! I had ground pork in the freezer so that’s what I used. I did all the prep ahead of time including the sauce (it was 114 degrees here yesterday and because my husband was outside in it all afternoon I knew he would be hungry when he got home!).
I added some stir-fry veggies and rice on the side, and it was outstanding! The sauce really enhanced the dish. Thank you!!