These thai turkey lettuce wraps are fresh, healthy and delicious. They're easy to make and perfect for a weeknight meal.
We go through an obscene amount of ground turkey in our household. It's our meat of choice really. It's cheaper than beef, easier to work with than chicken breasts, and it tastes good.
After finally growing sick of ground turkey I knew I needed to change it up a bit and healthy lettuce wraps seemed the perfect choice.
I top these Thai lettuce wraps with a quick peanut sauce and a pineapple salsa. I love to add fresh pineapple and bell pepper to dishes. The pineapple adds natural sweetness and acidity while the pepper gives the most delightful crunch.
I have a new obsession with Thai Kitchen's Roasted Red Chili Paste. It's gluten free and adds Asian flavor to any dish in a snap.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. In other words, if you click a link and purchase something I will receive a commission at no cost to you. I only recommend products I use and enjoy myself.
What you need for these Thai turkey lettuce wraps
- Ground Turkey
- Red Bell Pepper
- Pineapple
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Soy Sauce
- Roasted Red Chili Paste
- Honey
- Ginger Root
- Olive Oil
- Peanut Butter
- Honey
What is the best lettuce for these wraps?
In short, crunchy lettuce is the best! I prefer it with bibb lettuce but iceberg, butter or romaine works too.
I've used a head of butter lettuce for this picture and while still delicious it did not provide as much crunch. Bibb is actually a type of crunchy butter lettuce but it's harder to hold the filling in.
In short all of these types of lettuce will work just fine but iceberg and butter will wrap around the filling the best.
Tips for this recipe:
- These easy lettuce wraps have three elements - the peanut sauce, the salsa and the meat. If you have time to make the pineapple salsa and the peanut sauce ahead of time the wraps come together in a snap!
- I bought precut pineapple chunks instead of a whole pineapple because it cuts down on prep time. If you need a tutorial to cut up a whole pineapple this one is a good one.
- If you're wondering what to serve with lettuce wraps I like to serve white rice on the side. I usually make it from scratch but sometimes I just don't want to make any more dishes. For an easy cheat I just pop a bag of steam-able rice in the microwave.
- If you want healthy chicken lettuce wraps instead just sub out the the ground turkey with ground chicken. I wouldn't recommend using ground chicken breast as it's very lean and will come out a bit dry.
Is this recipe gluten free?
Yes! Just be sure to buy Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce and Thai Kitchen's Roasted Red Chili Paste.
Regular soy sauce contains wheat and is not gluten free.
Other delicious and easy dinner recipes:
- Shakshuka with Feta - This recipe is an easy and one pot meal of baked eggs in stewed tomatoes topped with feta and avocado.
- Easy Sautéed Butternut Squash - This is an easy side dish that's good with almost any dinner.
- Spinach Frittata with Cherry Tomato Jam - An easy and delicious frittata topped with the most delicious, sticky cherry tomato jam.
Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
- 10 inch Saute Pan
Ingredients
For the peanut sauce:
- 2 tbsp Peanut Butter
- 1 ½ t. Lime juice, fresh squeezed
- 1 ½ t. Tamari Soy Sauce Regular soy sauce works too if you can eat gluten
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1 t. Honey
For the pineapple salsa:
- 1 Red bell pepper, small diced
- 1 cup Small Diced Pineapple, fresh
- 2 t. Minced Cilantro
- ½ Lime, juiced
For the wraps:
- ½ Lime
- 3 tbsp Tamari Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Roasted red chili paste
- 1 t. Honey
- 1 t. Ginger root, grated
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp + 1 t. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- pinch Kosher Salt
- 1 pound Ground Turkey
- Bibb, butter or iceberg lettuce for wraps
Instructions
For the peanut sauce:
- Combine peanut butter, lime, soy sauce, and honey and stir together slowly. Stir in water to thin. Set aside.
For the pineapple salsa:
- In a bowl add the diced pineapple, red bell pepper, cilantro and lime then stir together really well.
For the wraps:
- Heat the 10-inch sauté pan to medium high heat and add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
- Combine the lime juice, soy sauce, chili paste, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and one teaspoon of the olive oil in a small bowl and stir together.
- Add the ground turkey to the hot pan and cook until browned and mostly cooked through but not finished. Add the chili paste/soy mixture to the pan and stir well. Finish cooking the meat then take the pan off the heat.
- Assemble the wraps. First place the lettuce on the plates then add meat, peanut sauce and a generous helping of salsa! Enjoy immediately.
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