These super simple Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps come together so quickly and easily with pantry staples. They're the perfect weeknight meal that doesn't require a ton of cooking. Once your beef is cooked through, everyone can assemble their own lettuce wrap!
We love a good lettuce wrap in our household. It makes us feel like we are eating healthy since every bite of beef is wrapped up in a crispy piece of lettuce! That's how a balanced diet works right?? Lettuce wraps with ground beef 😉
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Why You'll Love This Lettuce Wrap
- The ground beef uses a lot of pantry staples. This keeps you from having to go to the store and buy one or two items that end up at the back of your fridge for weeks before you need to use it again!
- It's family friendly. Kids loves lettuce wraps as they can pick and choose their own toppings and lettuce up their lettuce cups. Change the toppings to suit what your family loves. It's also a pretty healthy ground beef wraps too so that's always a win when the family loves a healthy recipe!
- You can make the beef ahead of time so all you have to do for dinner is reheat it and serve it up with the wraps. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Mini romaine lettuce — you can also use butter lettuce, Boston Bibb, or any lettuce that is flexible.
- olive oil — or a netural oil of your choice.
- ground beef — you can also use a combination of ground pork and beef. I like using lean ground beef to avoid needing to drain the beef.
- tomato sauce or tomato paste
- onion — use yellow, white, or sweet onions.
- brown sugar — feel free to use light or regular brown sugar.
- seasoning: I use paprika, garlic powder, cayenne to season the ground beef.
- soy sauce — always pick the low sodium option.
- salt and pepper to taste
- topping: I use shredded cabbage and carrot as toppings but feel free to change it around.
How To Make This Beef Lettuce Wrap Recipe
- In a medium non-stick skillet, over medium heat, add oil, and once warm cook onion until translucent and soft. Around 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper. Cook the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces throughout, until browned and no longer pink.
- Add the brown sugar, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, tomato sauce, and soy sauce.
- Stir for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined and remove from heat.
- Assembling the lettuce wraps by dividing the beef filling between 8 lettuce leaves and then top with shredded red cabbage and carrots.
Recipes Variations
- Add some sriracha to the beef in the pan for an extra kick. Or drizzle sriracha on top of each lettuce wrap before enjoying.
- Add in hoisin sauce and honey in place of the tomato sauce for extra umami flavour.
- Use a combination of ground pork and beef instead of just beef.
- Swap for taco seasoning if you want to have a lettuce wrap twist on taco night.
Tips and Notes
- Other toppings that I like to use for my beef lettuce wraps are kimchi, perilla leaves, sesame seeds, green onions, and choppings nuts like cashews for texture.
- If you are not using lean ground beef, drain well and before adding the brown sugar.
- Make sure to give the lettuce a good wash so that any dirt or debris will wash off. Use a salad spinner to make drying easier!
I recommend storing the beef mixture separately from the toppings and lettuce in an airtight container. Then, when ready to eat, you can reheat the beef without the lettuce and toppings getting soggy.
You can freeze the beef mixture. Once cooled, transfer the cooked beef in any freezer-safe container or ziploc for 3 to 4 months. When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge for overnight before warming in the microwave or in a skillet on the stovetop. If the beef looks dry as you're reheating it, add a tiny drizzle of extra beef stock or small amount of water to the beef.
Recipe
Beef Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 to 10 leaves of mini romaine lettuce, or lettuce of choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, or tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium
Toppings
- ½ small red cabbage, shredded
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and shredded
Instructions
- In a medium non-stick skillet, over medium heat, add oil, and once warm cook onion until translucent and soft. Around 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper. Cook the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces throughout, until browned and no longer pink.
- Add the brown sugar, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, tomato sauce, and soy sauce.
- Stir for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined and remove from heat.
- Assembling the lettuce wraps by dividing the beef filling between 8 lettuce leaves and then top with shredded red cabbage and carrots.
Nutrition
More Recipes You May Like
- Chicken Sloppy Joes
- Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken
- Garlic Parmesan Pasta with Chicken
- Mozzarella Chicken
- Crispy Chicken Sandwich
More places to find me: @onepotonlyrecipes on Instagram and One Pot Only on Pinterest.
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