It’s been a minute, but we are so excited to share these Asian Lettuce Cups with you all! When I made them the first time, I think my daughter ate 5 of them! HA – that’s saying a lot. She couldn’t get enough, so I knew I had to share them!
Like all (well, most!) of the recipes I make, these are gluten free and dairy free. They are also low carb if you’re into that sort of thing. Most importantly, they are delicious! The reason I came up with a recipe for these is that I miss Chinese or Asian food so much. I’ve been gluten free for about 6 years and my daughters are also recently dairy free. It’s hard to find options that I can eat because restaurants usually use flour to thicken their sauces. So, I always just have to come up with my own recipe to make it work!
Let’s chat modifications quickly! I use certain ingredients like coconut aminos and arrowroot, which I know aren’t common items in most people’s kitchens. So, if you’re wondering why I use them or what you have in your kitchen that you could sub, let me tell you! First of all, I use coconut aminos because it’s gluten free. Most soy sauce has gluten in it. They do make a gluten free tamari, but I just like the flavor or coconut aminos. You can find it in most grocery stores now, but any soy sauce will do! The arrowroot (also gluten free) is a great thickener that I use all the time. Like I mention in the recipe itself, corn starch or flour also work great to thicken. I buy this arrowroot in a huge bag from Amazon. The Bobs Red Mill brand is also great!
For other substitutions, you can use ground chicken OR turkey. Honestly, whatever you like better or is easiest for you to find. And then for the vegetables, any sweet pepper works. Zucchini would be good too. It’s a great recipe to use up whatever veggies you have on hand! You can also switch out the cabbage and use water chestnuts. Gives it a great crunch! I also love to add more red pepper and green onion to the top!
Ok, I think that’s it! We hope you’ll give these Asian Lettuce Cups a try. It makes the perfect weeknight (or any night, really) meal because it’s just so quick and easy! Let us know what you think if you try it. We have a ton of great dinner recipes here if you’re looking for other options!
Asian Lettuce Cups
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey/chicken
- 1 cup chopped cabbage (could use water chesnuts)
- 1 chopped red pepper
- 1 chopped shallot
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2-3 Tbsp oil
- 1 head of butter lettuce
Sauce
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 1 in freshly grated ginger (about 1 Tbsp.)
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp arrowroot or corn starch
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Start by sauteeing the oil and garlic over a medium high heat in a large pan.
- After a minute or two, add in the red pepper, shallot, and cabbage. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until soft.
- Add in the ground turkey and cook fully!
- While the meat is cooking, whisk all the ingredients together to make the sauce.
- Once the meat is done, add in the sauce and turn to high heat. This will help the arrowroot thicken the sauce.
- Once bubbling, turn heat down and stir to combine.
- Serve in lettuce cups and enjoy!
