These Quick Asian Lettuce Wraps are delicious and a great healthy meal. They are made with ground turkey, fresh shredded cabbage, and a delicious light sauce that soaks into the filling for a lot of great flavors. 

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Quick Asian Lettuce Wraps Are Low Carb and Delicious!

I am such a fan of lettuce wraps, especially in the summertime because they are so quick and easy. I love that I can put a healthy dinner on the table in just 30 minutes.

This recipe is low in carbs and also very moderate when it comes to calories and fat. So it is a well-rounded healthy dinner the whole family can enjoy. 

Lettuce wraps are so versatile and you can fill them with just about anything, so this Asian-inspired turkey and cabbage filling are perfect and super simple.

All of the ingredients in this recipe can be found in most grocery stores today and they are pretty affordable.

With just the two main ingredients of ground lean turkey, shredded cabbage, and a few flavorings added,  you find that this basic recipe is extremely simple but full of flavor and so filling. 

Add the ground turkey, crushed garlic, and shredded cabbage to a large skillet and cook until done. 

Whisk together fish sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil and pour it over the turkey and cabbage mixture.

Add water chestnuts along with that fermented chili sauce to the full mixture and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes until warmed through.

Serve in lettuce leaves. You can also add some additional toppings that we’ll talk about in a later section of this post.

What Is The Best Lettuce For Lettuce Wraps?

The most wildly used in restaurants and my personal favorite is Butter Lettuce. This tender lettuce is a great option for making wraps.  lea

It has the best texture and the shape of the leaves can hold the filling perfectly. I truly love this lettuce because the flavor is so mild and the texture compliments all fillings without taking away from the flavors.

However, if you don’t have any Butter Lettuce, or prefer another type, you can certainly use your favorites for these Quick Asian Lettuce Wraps. 

When choosing lettuce for wraps it is important to keep a few things in mind when you choose which lettuce you want to use.

The best tips for picking the correct lettuce are to make sure the leaves are the correct shape so they will hold the filling, the leaves need to be easy to separate from the head to avoid tearing them, and most of all you want the leaves to be nice and strong so it will hold up to the wraps. 

This is why I always choose Butter Lettuce, it fits all these criteria to be the perfect lettuce for wraps. In my opinion of course, lol. 

Here are some other varieties of lettuce that would work for this recipe also: romaine hearts, Boston Lettuce, iceberg, or even a cabbage leaf would work if you want more of a crunch.

How To Shop For The Perfect Lettuce

When you head out to do your shopping for this recipe you’ll want to make sure the lettuce is perfectly fresh and the best it can be for this recipe. 

I suggest grabbing the whole heads of lettuce from the produce section and washing it well at home. Although there is some convenience in buying the prewashed and separated leaves, there is just something more appealing to me than the freshness of the leaves still attached to the core.

You’ll usually see these heads of Butter Lettuce in their own little plastic container near the other lettuce varieties. But remember to check each head for quality before you take it home.

I even open up the container and check it for wilting and browning before I put it into my cart!

Pay attention to the color. While butter lettuce comes in a variety of shades, the leaves shouldn’t be yellow or brown. 

You also want to make sure the big outer leaves are not torn or have holes in them. Remember this lettuce needs to be in its prime because it is a major part of this recipe. 

I suggest shopping for this lettuce just a day or two before you make this recipe at the most because you don’t want it to lose any of its crispness or fresh taste before you use it. This delicious filling needs a great costar!

Can I use Pork or Chicken Instead of Ground Turkey?

Of course, you can swap out the protein in this lettuce wrap filling. We love keeping these lettuce wraps on the lighter side most of the time so we usually do the lean ground turkey.

When I don’t have ground turkey, I’ve also been known to use some ground chicken breast, because we tend to like the chewy texture of the ground turkey or chicken in these wraps.

But if chicken or turkey aren’t your things, you can even use ground pork or even ground beef if that is all you have on hand.

The great thing about lettuce wraps is they can be so flexible and filled with anything really and still be yummy.

What Toppings Go Well With These Quick Asian Lettuce Wraps?

These lettuce wraps are perfect without any additional toppings but if you want to take the over the top you can pack on even more flavor by adding some of your favorite toppings.

Of course, you know what you like, so I’ll let you decide what you will or won’t top your wraps with. But before I ended this recipe post I wanted to leave you with a few suggestions for extra toppings we use and love.

Top with green onions, peanuts, and peanut sauce as desired, pickled veggies, fresh ginger,  wasabi, sliced green or red chili peppers for spice, a drizzle of sesame oil, and you can always drizzle more fermented chili sauce or chili oil if you want that extra flavor and kick.

Here’s a link to a chili oil that our family loves when we are needing that zip on our lettuce wraps.

Chili Oil is not for the faint of heart so start with a very small amount and work your way up to your level of spicy tolerance!

Yield: 6 - (5 oz servings)

Quick Asian Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

These quick and simple Asian Lettuce Wraps are filled with flavorful ground turkey, cabbage, water chestnuts, and a wide array of spices. It is the perfect light meal for any night of the week.

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Ingredients

Meat Filling

• 2 pounds of ground turkey breast, lean
• 10 ounces of Angel Hair Cole Slaw Mix
• 1/3 cup of chopped water chestnuts
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon seasame oil

Sauce for the Filling

• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce or liquid aminos
• 2 tablespoons of Fermented Chili Sauce (optional for heat)
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric

Lettuce Cups

• 4 to 5 leaves of Butter Lettuce per person

Optional Toppings

• chopped peanuts
• chopped green onions
• sliced green chili peppers
• more water chestnuts

Instructions

1. 1. Place a large skillet onto a burner over medium heat and add one tablespoon of the sesame oil.
2. Add the ground turkey breast, cabbage, water chestnuts, and garlic to the skillet and cook until the turkey is cooked through and the cabbage is tender. I like to use this Mix and Chop as it is cooking to break the turkey up into smaller pieces.
3. When the turkey and cabbage are cooked, drain any water or fat from the pan and return the mixture to the heat.
4. In a small bowl mix, all the sauce ingredients, except the chili sauce, together and then pour it into the skillet mixtures and combine.
5. Let the mixture cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that all the turkey and cabbage can absorb the sauce.
6. After 3 minutes stir in the fermented chili sauce, turmeric, and ground ginger and mix well.
7. Once the filling is cooked serve it hot in lettuce cups.
8. You can add any additional topping like chopped peanuts, cilantro, chopped green onions, and fresh chili peppers if you would like.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

5 ounce portion with lettuce cups
Amount Per ServingCalories 239Total Fat 6.6gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 73.9mgSodium 851mgCarbohydrates 6.9gNet Carbohydrates 5.9gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 36.8g

I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.

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Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!