Main Dish Recipes

Vegan Lettuce Wraps are the perfect light meal for hot or busy days. These whole food plant-based lettuce wraps are easy to customize with your favorite ingredients and sauces.

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I’ll often prep all the veggies ahead of time and assemble these quickly on my lunch break.

Years ago, I’m talking like almost 20 years ago, I used to order chicken lettuce wraps at Chili’s. They stopped serving them but the memory always stayed with me.

After going plant-based I realized how easy these would be to make using whole foods. These Asian inspired Vegan Lettuce Wraps are perfect for quick meals and easy snacks.

I prefer to eat them with raw veggies. They are so light and refreshing. If you have trouble eating a lot of raw veggies, you could steam or stir fry the veggies first, then assemble the wraps.

Best Lettuce for Lettuce Wraps

I’ve tried a lot of different types of lettuce for lettuce wraps but my favorites are:

• Butter Lettuce
• Red Leaf or Green Leaf Lettuce
• Romaine Lettuce

I recommend using what you like or using what you have. If all else fails, chop it all up and make a salad! Yes, I do that too.

Tofu Filling for Lettuce Wraps

I’m happy to eat my lettuce wraps with just the raw veggies and sauce but I prefer to add tofu. Using baked tofu, sauteed tofu or air fried tofu helps make the lettuce wraps more filling. Leftover tofu is perfect for this. If you aren’t a fan of tofu, or can’t eat soy, I recommend chickpeas.

I won’t always go through the effort to cook tofu but if I have it, I’ll add it. If you are new to tofu, check out my Tofu Starter Guide.

Sauce for Lettuce Wraps

The thing that really makes these plant-based lettuce wraps my favorite is the sauce! Oh, how I love the sauce! It’s mostly natural peanut butter and tamari but I also add a little maple syrup, rice wine vinegar, lime juice and water. Sometimes I’ll add ginger, garlic or turmeric. You can also add crushed red pepper or Sriracha.

The natural peanut butter is way easier than regular peanut butter to mix into a smooth sauce. If you can’t use peanuts, sunflower seed butter works perfectly too. I think tahini would be a good substitute but you may need to change up the proportions.

I use tamari because it’s gluten-free and delicious. If you eat soy, you can use soy sauce. If you need to avoid soy, use coconut aminos.

Plant-Based Lettuce Wraps

These quick and easy Vegan Lettuce Wraps are a great way to use up a lot of veggies and eat the rainbow. Lay out all the ingredients so everyone can build their own.

Lettuce Wrap Ingredients

• Large Leaf Lettuce
• Shredded Red Cabbage
• Bell Pepper, julienne cut (I like red or yellow)
• Carrots, matchstick or shredded
• Red onion, sliced
• Cucumbers, sliced into long sticks or diced

Tofu Ingredients

• Tofu, drained, pressed and cubed
• Spices are optional but you can use tamari, onion powder and/or garlic.

Sauce Ingredients

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons Tamari
• 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
• water (to get pour able consistency)

Directions

For Tofu (optional)

1. Drain and press your tofu to remove extra moisture. I use my EZ Tofu Press.
2. Season if desired.
3. Put tofu on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then flip tofu and bake for 15 more minutes.
4. Allow to cool.

For Lettuce Wraps

1. Wash and chop all veggies as mentioned in the ingredient list.
2. Place a lettuce leaf on a plate and stack the veggies on top of each other. Don’t overload the wraps or they will be too difficult to pick up and all your ingredients will spill.
3. Set aside

For Sauce

1. In a medium bowl, add your peanut butter and tamari and stir well.
2. Then add the maple syrup, rice wine vinegar and lime juice. Stir again until everything is mixed together. If you are using any other flavors like ginger or turmeric, add them now.
3. Add water a few tablespoons at a time until you reach the desired consistency. I like mine easy to spoon our or pour. You want it about as thick as cold maple syrup, that will help it stay put.

Assembling the Lettuce Wraps

Take your lettuce wraps filled with veggies, add tofu if you are using, and spoon or pour your sauce on the inside of the lettuce wraps. If your lettuce wraps close, great, if not, tilt your head and eat them like a taco.

If you like these flavors, you will love my Quick and Easy Veggie Pad Thai! It comes together just as quickly.