These vegan lettuce wraps are perfect for last-minute dinners. They take just 20 minutes to make and can be customized based on the ingredients in your refrigerator.
The basic recipe features a combo of tempeh, mushrooms, and carrots sautéed in soy sauce and rice vinegar. Once cooked, the filling is served atop crispy lettuce for a delicious plant-based meal.
These wraps make for an excellent make-ahead meal, too. Whip up a batch of the tempeh filling, then enjoy it on lettuce (or kale) throughout the week. For an extra crunch, top off the wraps with Coconut Bacon or sesame seeds.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- Lettuce. You can use romaine, butterhead, or iceberg lettuce, depending on your preference.
- Tempeh. The filling features tempeh, which offers a meaty texture and plant-based protein.
- Mushrooms. Sliced mushrooms also add flavor and texture to the dish. Shiitake, baby bella, and white button mushrooms all work great.
How to Make Vegan Lettuce Wraps
1. In a food processor, combine the tempeh, mushrooms, carrots, garlic, and parsley. Pulse until mostly crumbly.
2. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of avocado oil. Toss the tempeh mixture with soy sauce and rice vinegar.
Cook until the tempeh becomes brown and somewhat crispy, about 8 minutes, adding more avocado oil as necessary. Once fully cooked, add sesame oil and toss.
3. If you haven’t already, chop off the base of the lettuce head. Separate the leaves, wash under cool running water, and pat dry.
4. Spoon the tempeh mixture onto the lettuce leaves. The exact amount will depend on the size of your lettuce, but you’ll need about 1/4 cup per leaf. Top with chopped scallions, sesame seeds, sea salt, and a drizzle of sriracha sauce and enjoy immediate.
Recipe Tips, Variations, and Substitutions
- Add liquid smoke. For a smoky twist, add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke to the tempeh mixture.
- Mix in hot sauce. If you’re craving more heat, toss sriracha or your favorite hot sauce into the tempeh filling.
- Use walnuts. Try replacing the mushrooms with walnuts for a different type of meaty texture.
- Serve it in kale leaves. If you’re not a fan of lettuce, try this recipe with kale leaves instead.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover tempeh mixture and lettuce leaves separately in the refrigerator. To store the tempeh filling, place it in a sealed air-tight container and enjoy it within 3 to 4 days. Store leftover lettuce leaves in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. When stored properly the lettuce should last about 5 to 7 days, but the exact timeframe will depend on the type of lettuce.
Serving Suggestions
- Vegan Fish Sauce — Add a splash of vegan fish sauce to the tempeh mixture.
- Bok Choy Tofu Stir Fry — Serve with a side of hearty stir fry.
- Peanut Sauce — The peanut sauce from this recipe would be perfect with lettuce wraps.
Vegan Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 heart romaine lettuce washed and dried
- 8 ounces tempeh roughly chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 1 carrot medium, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- Sriracha sauce for topping
- Sesame seeds for topping
- Chopped scallions for topping
- Flaky sea salt for topping
- Avocado oil
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the tempeh, mushrooms, carrots, garlic, and parsley. Pulse until mostly crumbly.
- In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of avocado oil. Toss the tempeh mixture with soy sauce and rice vinegar.
- Cook until the tempeh becomes brown and somewhat crispy, about 8 minutes, adding more avocado oil as necessary. Once fully cooked, add sesame oil and toss.
- If you haven’t already, chop off the base of the lettuce head. Separate the leaves, wash under cool running water, and pat dry.
- Spoon the tempeh mixture onto the lettuce leaves. The exact amount will depend on the size of your lettuce.
- Top with chopped scallions, sesame seeds, sea salt, and a drizzle of sriracha sauce and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- For a smoky twist, add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke to the tempeh mixture.
- If you’re craving more heat, toss sriracha or your favorite hot sauce into the tempeh filling.
- Try replacing the mushrooms with walnuts for a different type of meaty texture.
- For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free tempeh and tamari in place of soy sauce.
- The number of servings will depend on the size of your lettuce leaves.
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