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Turkey Lettuce Wraps are filled with tender ground turkey and crisp veggies, drizzled with sweet teriyaki sauce for a fresh and light appetizer or dinner option.
Ready in less than 30 minutes, these asian lettuce wraps are a healthier alternative to sandwiches or tacos for lunch or dinner. Serve them with Grilled Pineapple, Mango Salsa or Fried Rice on the side.
Table of Contents
Why We Love Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps
I am obsessed with lettuce wraps. You can stuff just about anything in them, and it gives you a little fiber and vitamin boost too.
While I try not to make claims that anything I make is specifically “healthy” or “low cal” I do know that lettuce is a lot better for you than a flour tortilla or steamed rice!
- Homemade Teriyaki Sauce – I love a homemade sauce and this one is so easy to make. Everyone loves it on my Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl and it’s perfect for these lettuce wraps.
- Fresh and Healthy – With fresh, healthy ingredients like lettuce, broccoli, carrots and ground turkey, these asian lettuce wraps are not only delicious but pretty healthy, too!
- Great for Meal Prep – You can prepare the turkey in the teriyaki sauce and place it into individual containers to reheat when needed. It will stay fresh for at least 4 days. The lettuce cups can be placed into individual bags (I recommend placing a paper towel in the bag with them to help keep moisture out).
Ingredients
- Soy Sauce – Opt for low sodium variety.
- Red Wine Vinegar – To give the sauce a tangy kick.
- Sugar – A mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Garlic and Ginger – For added flavor.
- Cornstarch – To thicken the sauce.
- Ground Turkey – Ground turkey is a healthier alternative to beef, although just how much better depends on the lean meat to fat ratio.
- Veggies – Shredded carrots, finely chopped broccoli and finely chopped onion.
- Lettuce – Romain lettuce, iceberg and butter lettuce are the best lettuce to use for lettuce cups.
How to Make Asian Lettuce Wraps
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Prep the lettuce – Gently pull the lettuce leaves away and separatey
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved.
- In another bowl whisk together cornstarch and water.
- Heat sauce in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the cornstarch and simmer until thickened. Remove from the heat until ready the meat is cooked.
- Cook the ground turkey and onions in a large skillet. Add grated carrots and chopped broccoli and cook until softened and the meat is no longer pink.
- Stir in the teriyaki sauce and simmer for 5 minutes to combine the flavors.
- Fill your lettuce cups, add desired garnishes and serve immediately.
FAQs
You can absolutely cut a step and add your choice of store bough sauce. Everyone always asks how much sauce to add, but that’s really a personal preference. Since you don’t have to follow a recipe, you can use as much or as little as your heart desires. The homemade sauce recipe makes roughly a cup of sauce.
Sometimes I will add chopped mushrooms or water chestnuts to the meat. You can really add any veggies you like. Zucchini or bell peppers would both be great.
Garnish with things like toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onions or dried rice noodles. Grilled Pineapple or diced pineapple would make a fun topping as well.
Teriyaki Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/2 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons warm water
Teriyaki Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound Ground Turkey
- 1 cup finely chopped broccoli
- 2 large carrots peeled and grated
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 8 Large Lettuce Leaves Romaine, Iceberg or Butter Lettuce work best
Instructions
Teriyaki Sauce
- Mix soy sauce, ¼ cup water, red wine vinegar, sugars, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a whisk until sugar is dissolved.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons warm water and cornstarch until cornstarch is completely dissolved.
- Heat sauce over medium high heat. Slowly whisk in cornstarch mixture and simmer until thickened.
Teriyaki Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and cook until soft.
- Crumble ground turkey and garlic into the pan and cook until turkey is no longer pink. Add grated carrots and chopped broccoli about halfway through, when the turkey is still somewhat pink.
- Pour teriyaki sauce over cooked turkey and vegetable mixture. and stir. Simmer for about five minutes to combine the flavors.
- Spoon meat mixture into individual lettuce leaves. Serve immediately.
Delicious!! Due to my mom watching what she eats, I substituted the sugar for coconut sugar. I was a little worried about if it would change the flavor much. But, it was delicious!
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Great tip, Renee!
I used this as a guideline after eating these before and swapping out one of the sugars in pineapple juice and honey works extremely well. Regular soy sauce worked in place of light, just adjust it to taste. Great recipe<3
Thank you Richard!
Kristin:
I can’t wait to make this.?
Another recipe of your is once again a hit with the whole family! The teriyaki sauce recipe alone is with its weight in gold! I have never made any Asian dish but I saw this on Instagram and gave it a go because I love everything I have tried on your site. Thank you so much for sharing, you are truly an asset to my kitchen!
That’s so awesome Cassandra! So happy that you and your family loved this recipes!
Wow, I love your recipes. Easy and great tips.. Thank you
Hi – these are amazing! Do you know the calorie count?
Sorry, I’m not able to provide nutritional information. There are great tools online though, and I recommend myfitnesspal.com.
Hi I was wondering what the nutrition facts for this are.
Thanks!
I made this tonight and my husband loved it… He wants me to add it to my receipes..
Thanks for giving it to me.
I am wanting to get this recipe but can’t do all the sugar would not adding the 1/4 cup of white sugar change the texture drastically or will it turn out ok ?
Thank you
Hi Leeanne,
Yes you could leave out the sugar, but the recipe wouldn’t be quite the same. Teriyaki sauce is traditionally sweet and the sugar cuts through the saltiness. If you try it, let me know how it is.
I know this message was left back in April but maybe using honey for a substitute for the sugar would help.
These are so good. I added some toasted sesame seeds and cashews, and they were awesome, gave them some crunch! Will definitely be making these again, I only made them last night, and have already shared the recipes with friends! Thanks for such a simple tasty meal!
Ohh, that sounds like a great addition!
These were simply amazing…. the teriyaki Sauce is soooo good. I made it again to put on some grilled salmon and it was perfect. Mine were a bit runny, so I think I’ll be adding rice to the mix next time, but wow. – what a wonderful recipe!
So glad you enjoyed them!