These healthy Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps are low-carb, gluten-free, and packed with nutritious and delicious ingredients such as saucy browned ground beef, crispy lettuce, and freshly prepared veggies.
Enjoy these protein-rich lettuce wraps as a main meal or an appetizer!
If you love beef recipes you should try these next and let me know what do you think! Cabbage Roll Soup, Ground Beef Salad, and Slow Cooker Pulled Beef.
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Why We Love This
- Ditching the traditional tortilla wrap makes these lettuce wraps the healthier option. It’s low-carb, gluten-free, and loaded with fresh and wholesome ingredients!
- This recipe can be served as a main meal with a side dish or enjoyed as a tasty appetizer. Perfect for a large crowd!
- Create various types of lettuce wraps based on your preferences of spices, choice of ground meat, and additional toppings!
Ingredients
Lettuce - I’ve used mini Romaine lettuce for these lettuce wraps as they seem to be the perfect size for a single portion serving. While I bought 3 packs of 3 mini Romaine lettuce heads (about 5 inches in length), I didn’t actually use them all!
Ground beef - I’ve used lean ground beef for this recipe which saves having to drain much excess fat or liquid but if you use regular ground beef or even a combination of pork and beef then be sure to drain the excess fat once browned.
Seasoning - Ground cumin, paprika (regular or smoked), garlic powder, and cayenne pepper have been added to the meaty filling for umami flavor.
Tomato sauce - A good quality plain tomato sauce works best for this recipe although you could use a tomato sauce with additional spices.
Onion - Yellow and finely diced. White onion could also work for these lettuce wraps.
Soy sauce - Choose a soy sauce that’s low in sodium. The filling will still have a delicious salty bite.
Oil - You can use vegetable oil for cooking the ground meat or something like grapeseed oil which tends to be my preference.
Toppings - Get creative with your choice of toppings! I’ve used grated carrot, shredded red cabbage, and thinly sliced scallions. You could also add some mashed avocado, a drizzle of sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down where you'll find the recipe card.
Instructions
In a medium pan, over medium heat, add vegetable oil, and once warm cook onion until translucent and soft.
Add ground beef, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the beef until browned and no longer pink. Drain if not using lean beef.
Follow with spices, tomato sauce, soy sauce. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. Cook for a few minutes stirring and remove from heat.
Prepare your station and start assembling the wraps. Divide the beef filling between 8 lettuce leaves, top with red cabbage and carrot.
These wraps also taste delicious with a drizzle of hot sauce!
Enjoy warm right away!
Tips
Feel free to use any sturdy type of lettuce that will hold up under the weight of the filling. Mini Romaine lettuce is my favorite but you could even use something like Iceberg lettuce although it’s much larger and has a slightly bitter taste.
If you are using regular ground beef or fatty meat such as pork, it’s best to drain the browned meat before adding any spices, seasoning, and sauce so that none of the flavors from these ingredients are lost through dilution.
Add more tomato sauce to the beef filling for an extra saucy filling.
This recipe makes 8 mini beef lettuce wraps. You could easily double this recipe if feeding a larger crowd.
Make sure that you wash the lettuce well to eliminate any possible grit remaining and pat very gently with a paper towel.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
Best served immediately as they come. The filling can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. Keep the lettuce separately.
If you want to freeze these, freeze the cooked filling for 2-3 months.
FAQ
Absolutely! Using crispy lettuce leaves instead of carb-rich wraps means that the carb count in this recipe has significantly reduced. In fact, you could easily enjoy these lettuce wraps as a keto-friendly meal!
These meaty lettuce wraps can be served as a main meal alongside some roasted vegetables or alone as a light lunch. You could even serve them as a starter course or a tasty party appetizer. The option is entirely yours!
Absolutely! This recipe will taste amazing with ground turkey, ground chicken, or even ground pork.
Thank you so much for reading about these Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
Easy Dinner Recipes
For more recipes, please take a look at my DINNER recipe index.
Our Favorite Ground Beef Recipes
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Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 Mini romaine lettuce I bought a pack of 3 mini romaine lettuce heads, 5 inches in length, however, I didn’t use all of them!
- 1 pound lean ground beef or combination of pork and beef mince
- 1 tablespoon tomato sauce plain
- ½ of medium yellow onion finely diced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika regular, but smoked could also work here
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce low sodium
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for cooking I use grapeseed oil
Toppings:
- 1 medium carrot grated
- ½ cup Red cabbage shredded
- Scallions sliced thin
Instructions
- In a medium pan, over medium heat, add vegetable oil, and once warm cook onion until translucent and soft.
- Add ground beef, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the beef until browned and no longer pink. Drain if not using lean beef.
- Followed by spices, tomato sauce, and soy sauce. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. Cook for a few minutes stirring and remove from heat.
- Prepare your station and start assembling the wraps. Divide the beef filling between 8 lettuce leaves, and top with red cabbage and carrot. These wraps also taste delicious with a drizzle of hot sauce!
- Enjoy warm right away!
- The filling is enough for 8 mini romaine lettuce wraps, without overloading them.
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