Beef Lettuce Wraps
Looking for an easy dinner routine? These beef lettuce wraps are light, full of flavor and so quick to make, so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying you evening!
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Beef Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Our day to day lives are pretty routine. We like to have dinner on the table around 6pm, simply so we have plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the evening and get kiddos off to bed. But some days, dinner time seriously seems like it will be impossible to make!
That's when I always gravitate to recipes that can made in 15 minutes or less. These easy beef lettuce wraps are the best, quick dinner solution! Healthy meals can come together faster than you think. (And you don't have to heat up tortillas or taco shells like you do for regular ground beef tacos!)
I love eating meals that fill me up but don't weigh me down. The crunchy lettuce filled with a flavorful ground beef mixture is filling, but not heavy. I also love these tofu lettuce wraps! But ground beef is something we love to keep on hand because it cooks quickly, has tons of flavor and there are just about a million things you can make with it.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
There are so many reasons this is one of my favorite recipes, and I know you're going to love it too! Simple ground beef recipes, like this one, will make dinnertime stress-free and super tasty:
- Make ground beef lettuce wraps in just 20 minutes. Easy dinners like this are great for evenings when life just seems a little hectic!
- Beef lettuce wraps are great for meal prep. Just store the cooked beef separately from the lettuce and you can build the wraps whenever you're ready to eat!
- This is a great low-carb meal if you need to watch your carb intake. Replacing the typical tortilla with lettuce is always a great way to reduce carbs!
Ingredients
Before you run to the grocery store, make sure you add each of these ingredients to your shopping list:
- ground beef
- canned or frozen cron
- diced tomatoes
- black beans
- taco seasoning
- Iceberg lettuce pieces
- shredded cheese
Avocado Sauce
- ripe avocado
- sour cream
- lemon juice
- water
- minced garlic
- Worcestershire Sauce
- sea salt
- black pepper
Substitutions and Variations
You can use ground turkey or ground chicken in place of ground beef if you'd like!
I love to use homemade taco seasoning for the best flavor, but store-bought taco seasoning works great as well.
Shredded cheese is totally optional, but if you use it, Mexican blend and cheddar are my go-to's for this recipe.
Feel free to use romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, or bibb lettuce in place of iceburg.
Don't have Worcestershire sauce? Coconut aminos is a good swap and is also low carb.
Add some other crunchy vegetable to increase that crunchy texture from the cool lettuce. Red bell peppers, bean sprouts, and fresh onion are all great additions. Or add some extra flavor with fresh cilantro or lime juice. Or add some kick with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes in the beef mixture!
How to Make Beef Lettuce Wraps
You'll need to make the ground beef filling, and whip up the creamy avocado sauce. Here's a step by step guide on how to make delicious beef lettuce wraps:
In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium-high heat until there is no pink left.
While the beef is cooking, use a food processor or immersion blender (affiliate) to combine the ingredients for the avocado sauce. Mix until smooth.
By this point, the ground beef should be fully cooked. If you are not using lean ground beef, you may need to drain it when it is done cooking.
Once the beef is cooked and excess grease is drained, add in the corn. If you're using frozen corn, do not thaw it first. Add the tomato, black beans, and taco seasoning to the pan as well, then cook on low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes just for ingredients to warm up or corn to thaw.
Remove the beef mixture from the stove. Place a scoop or two of the beef mixture into a piece of iceberg lettuce that is about 3-4 inches wide.
Top with a dollop of the avocado sauce and cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Beef Lettuce Wraps
For best results, store the beef mixture and lettuce separately. I do like to prep the lettuce so that I don't even have to worry about that when I'm ready to eat. You can store the lettuce pieces in an airtight container with paper towels to keep the lettuce crisp! Store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Allow the beef to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 4-5 day or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Beef Taco Lettuce Wraps
Serve these lettuce wraps with tasty side dishes like Mexican rice and refried black beans. You can also keep it low-carb by serving some Mexican cauliflower rice! My fresh guacamole is always yummy with these wraps too.
During summertime, a Mexican fruit salad and virgin margarita is extra refreshing and keeps this meal light. Don't forget the chips and salsa!
Tips for Success
For the best beef lettuce wraps, check out these few simple tips:
- Always use lean meat when making beef lettuce wraps! Greasy beef just really isn't appetizing wrapped up in crunchy lettuce.
- Don't overfill your lettuce wraps. It's not like tortillas that will stretch around the filling. An overfilled lettuce wrap will just tear and fall apart!
- Keep your lettuce really cold while prepping the beef. It will help the wraps to be extra crunchy.
FAQ
Iceburg lettuce is great for this recipe, but bibb lettuce, romaine lettuce and butter lettuce are also perfect for lettuce wraps.
Lettuce wraps are a great way to get more veggies into your diet and reduce carbs in a meal! Depending on what you fill your wrap with, a lettuce wrap can be a really healthy meal.
More Healthy Dinner Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
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Beef Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ cup of corn canned or frozen
- ½ tomato diced
- ½ cup of black beans
- 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning
- Iceberg lettuce pieces
- Optional: shredded cheese
Avocado Sauce
- 1 ripe avocado
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon water
- ½ large clove garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium frying pan, cook ground beef until there is no pink (about 6-7 minutes).
- While the beef is cooking, use a food processor or immersion blender (affiliate) to combine the ingredients for the avocado sauce. Mix until smooth.
- If your meat isn't extra lean, you may need to drain it when it is done cooking.
- Once the beef is cooked, add in corn (if frozen, do not thaw first), tomato, black beans, and taco seasoning to the pan and cook on low to medium heat for 2-3 minutes just for ingredients to warm up or corn to thaw.
- Remove the beef mixture from the stove.
- Place a scoop or two of the beef mixture into a piece of iceberg lettuce that is about 3-4 inches wide.
- Top with a dollop of the avocado sauce and cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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This looks so easy but SO DANG GOOD! <3 <3 <3
Thank you for sharing!
I've recently been using lettuce as my carrier/holder for everything! And, I have an Easy Lettuce Wrap recipe on my blog!