Insanely delicious and easy pork lettuce wraps will become your favorite easy, healthy dinner. The sweet and spicy (not too spicy!) sauce covers ground pork and veggies inside crisp lettuce cups for a flavorful, low carb dinner!
Watch the video below to see how to make quick and easy pork lettuce wraps!
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We're always on the hunt for dinners done in 30 minutes. Some of our favorites are fiesta lime shrimp bowls, blackened salmon, air fryer stuffed peppers and now these ground pork lettuce wraps!
Why we love this recipe:
- Pantry staples: this recipe is made up of only pantry staples. There aren't any fussy ingredients that you'll use once and forget about in the back of the pantry. Coconut aminos (gf version of soy sauce), nut butter, rice vinegar and honey are the only pantry ingredients you need!
- Low carb: if you're balancing blood sugar or being mindful of the carbs you're eating, this recipe is a great option. It has 15 net carbs in a serving, but if you want to lower that you can omit the honey so it's 12 net carbs. All the flavor from the sauce and veggies will keep you satisfied and full.
- Eat more veggies: These pork lettuce wraps are 5 different kinds of veggies. We love to eat the rainbow and this recipe makes eating veggies so fun! You don't even know your plate is packed with vitamins and nutrients.
- Great for kiddos: we gave this recipe to our daughter and she smashed it! She was getting protein and veggies in without knowing it.
Ingredient Notes and Brands We Used
For the sauce:
- Fresh ginger and garlic: this is an essential part of these lettuce wraps and adds a ton of asian flavor.
- Honey: you can omit this if you're eating whole30.
- Coconut aminos: this is the gluten free version of soy sauce. If you aren't gluten free and have soy sauce on hand you can use that.
- Nut butter: we used peanut butter, but cashew butter works great for paleo or whole30 options.
- Rice wine vinegar: this adds acid to balance out the sauce.
- Sriracha: this is where the spicy comes into play and can be customized to your taste! If you like spicy food you can add more or omit it if you don't like spice.
For the wraps:
- Ground pork: it has minimal fat so it doesn't need drained after cooking. Love that for an easy, one-pot meal! You could also use ground chicken, but it won't have as much fat/flavor.
- Water chestnuts: these come in a can in the international aisle in the grocery store.
- Veggies: red pepper, carrots, yellow onion
- Butter lettuce: this is the best lettuce for wraps in my opinion!
- To top: scallions, cilantro and crushed peanuts
How to Make Pork Lettuce Wraps
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl, whisk well then set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok then cook the ground pork until no pink remains.
- Add the veggies and cook until soft then stir in the sauce, turn the heat to low and simmer for 5-8 minutes to thicken the sauce and develop the flavor.
- Spoon the pork mixture into lettuce wraps, then garnish with scallions, cilantro and crushed peanuts.
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Best Kind of Lettuce for Lettuce Wraps
Our very favorite lettuce to use is butter lettuce. It's crisp and has the perfect circular shape to hold all the filling. I like to double up the lettuce to make sure it doesn't break when you're eating it.
How to get it off the core: remove any out layers of lettuce that are browning or old then cut the piece of lettuce at the stem.
We also like to use romaine lettuce if we have that on hand!
Must-Read Recipe Tips
- Make the pork extra crispy: when you're browning the ground pork, don't continually stir it. Let it sit in the sizzling hot oil for a bit to get brown and crispy then stir and do the same thing.
- Serve with sauce: while the pork filling is simmering, whisk together some honey, coconut aminos, nut butter and sriracha for a quick sauce to drizzle on top.
- Only pull off the lettuce you need: to keep the lettuce fresh, only use the lettuce leaves you need while you're making the cups.
- Perfect for meal prep: If you're making these as meal prep, you can store the lettuce separately until you're ready to assemble and eat.
If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More Asian-inspired recipes
- 30 minute chicken pad Thai
- Sweet and sticky orange cauliflower
- Sheet pan honey garlic shrimp
- Korean shredded beef tacos
Recipe
Sweet and Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps
Insanely delicious and easy pork lettuce wraps will become your favorite easy, healthy dinner. The sweet and spicy (not too spicy!) sauce covers ground pork and veggies inside crisp lettuce cups for a flavorful, low carb dinner!
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Servings: 4 (2 lettuce wraps each)
Calories: 409kcal
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="iJZSWee5" upload-date="2021-05-25T11:00:00.000Z" name="Sweet + Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps" description="Insanely delicious and easy pork lettuce wraps will become your favorite easy, healthy dinner. The sweet and spicy (not too spicy!) sauce covers ground pork and veggies inside crisp lettuce cups for a flavorful, low carb dinner!" player-type="collapse" override-embed="false"]
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon honey omit for whole30 option
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons nut butter peanut butter or cashew butter is best
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sriracha more or less to adjust spice level
For the lettuce wraps
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts drained and diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- Butter lettuce leaves for serving
- Topping: green onions, cilantro and crushed peanuts
Sauce for serving (optional):
- 3 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon nut butter
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
Instructions
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk well. Set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once it's hot, add the ground pork and cook until no pink remains. To make it crispy, stir occasionally to allow the pork to sit in the hot oil before stirring. This crisps the outsides to a golden brown color.
- When the pork is done, add the water chestnuts, red pepper, carrots and onion and cook until soft, 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in the sauce until it's completely combined then turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes to thicken and develop the flavor.
- Remove the pan from the heat then serve inside the lettuce cups. You may need to double up the lettuce cups for a sturdier wrap. Top with chopped scallions, cilantro and peanuts if desired.
- If you're making the sauce, whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl while the pork filling simmers. Top the lettuce wraps with sauce before serving.
Notes
Meal prep: store the filling and the lettuce separately so you can heat up the pork filling and the lettuce won't get soggy.
Adjust the heat: If you don't like spice, you can omit the sriracha in this rice or reduce it. Alternatively, if you really like spice, you can add more.
Nutrition
Serving: 2lettuce wraps | Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 300mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @What_MollyMade or tag #whatmollymade!
Kelsey says
SO GOOD! Super flavorful & such a good way to pack a meal with veggies.
Molly Thompson says
Thank you Kelsey!! So glad you loved it. Appreciate you!
Aleks says
A favorite in our house for dinner!! So tasty.
Molly Thompson says
Thanks, Aleks!
Sara says
Made these for dinner tonight! Accidentally got beef instead of pork but they were still delicious. And super easy to make, too!
Molly Thompson says
We love this one too! Thanks for sharing!
Ashley says
Amazing!! Not a fan of lettuce wraps but this one was so good! It will be on repeat in our house!
Molly Thompson says
Best compliment!! I always miss the carbs in lettuce wraps LOL. But this one has so much flavor I don't notice! Thanks for adding it to the rotation:)
Amy says
Such great flavor & texture. I was slightly intimidated by the ingredient list, but I was able to whip this up pretty quickly! Will make again.
Stacy says
Oh this is so good!!!! Came together really quickly. Love it!
Molly Thompson says
This is one of our favorites too, Stacy!! Thanks!
Gwyn Goertzen says
Could I use peanuts instead of water chestnuts? My husband is not a fan of the water chestnuts.
Molly Thompson says
Hey Gwyn! Definitely! That would be a great option to add crunch instead of water chestnuts. Just add them to the end!
Alicia says
Great flavors! I used pork chops and cut them up into small pieces. The sauce for serving was just ok, I will omit it next Tim. But I will go ahead and double the cooking sauce otherwise without the topping sauce it might be a bit dry when serving. I toped mine with chili garlic sauce as my serving sauce. Definitely one of my favorite recipes!
Molly Thompson says
Ohh sounds delicious! You could also make extra cooking sauce and save a little for the top!
Alicia says
posted a comment earlier, forgot to give it a 5 star rating!
Joyce says
👍👍👍👍 in our house. I ended up making with ground turkey & no sriracha, but a huge hit with everyone. One request was to make with a little pineapple next time.
Joyce says
👍👍👍👍 in our house. I ended up making with ground turkey & no sriracha, but a huge hit with everyone. One request was to make with a little pineapple next time..
Molly Thompson says
Ohhh pineapple would be so good!! Great ideea!
Savanna says
One of the best Asian dishes I've made at home! My husband said we have to make this one again!! Loved it! 🙂
Molly Thompson says
Love that! This is one of my favorite dinners ever!
Soraly says
this was fantastic! definitely going to be a repeat in our house
Molly Thompson says
Love to hear that!! One of our favorites too!
Alaina says
I’ve made this twice now! One of my new favorites. Super easy too!
Molly Thompson says
It's one of our favorites too, Alaina!
Karman Foods says
This Sweet and Spicy Pork Lettuce wrap is absolutely healthy and delicious. The taste was not compromised as well. I used Coconut Secret The Original Organic Aminos Soy-Free Seasoning Sauce for a quality taste of flavor. Yummy! It's my new fave food any time of the day. Best paired with Vita Sugar Cane Flavor Vita Juice.
Penny says
Tasted amazing! Like a 5 star restaurant. A great way to use all the fresh lettuce from the garden. We added some “rice stick” vermicelli noodles to the lettuce wrap. Thanks!