Asian Lettuce Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey (Video)

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Asian Lettuce Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey are a delicious low-carb and gluten-free dinner idea that’s also fun to eat! And everyone who likes turkey lettuce wraps with Asian flavors will enjoy this recipe!

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I vividly remember when I first had lettuce wraps, at a Chinese restaurant in Salt Lake where a friend named Mike was hip enough to order them even though they weren’t on the menu. This was years ago; now lettuce wraps like these Asian Lettuce Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey are somewhat mainstream.

And when the Asian lettuce wraps are made with lean ground turkey like this, they make a wonderful low-carb, gluten-free, and dairy-free dinner option. And you can easily adapt them to use ground beef for Keto if you prefer or use gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos for gluten-free or Paleo.

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Are these Lettuce Wraps or Lettuce Cups?

This type of Asian dish with spicy meat eaten inside pieces of lettuce can be called lettuce wraps or lettuce cups, but I like to pile up the lettuce cup with lots of filling rather than wrapping it, so I’m calling them lettuce cups.

What is Fish Sauce?

Just like the name says, Fish Sauce is an Asian condiment made from fermented fish. If you’re not familiar with this, don’t be put off by the smell because it adds amazing umami flavor to Asian dishes. I’m a big fan of Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) which is gluten-free and doesn’t have added ingredients.

What lettuce should you use for the Asian Lettuce Cups?

I like to use Boston Lettuce or Butter lettuce for this recipe, but you can also use Iceberg Lettuce or Green Leaf lettuce if you can’t find the other kinds of lettuce or don’t want to spend quite so much on the lettuce.

Steps for making Asian Lettuce Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Chop red onion. Measure out minced garlic and minced ginger.
Whisk together soy sauce, Chile Garlic Sauce, and fish sauce.
Heat oil in a large non-stick pan; add onion and cook about 2 minutes.
Then add garlic and ginger root and cook about one minute more.
Add ground turkey to frying pan and break apart with turner. Add the sauce mixture to the ground turkey.
Cook until turkey is brown and crumbly, and the sauce is absorbed into the meat, about 5 minutes.
While turkey cooks, wash and chop cilantro. Chop peanuts and put in small bowl.
When turkey is done, add chopped cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes more.
Remove the core end from lettuce, separate leaves, and wash in salad spinner and spin dry.
Serve filling and lettuce leaves in separate bowls, with chopped peanuts in another small bowl.
Each person takes a lettuce leaf, fills with turkey mixture, adds chopped peanuts, and then eats the mixture from the lettuce cup.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

You could make a meal out of these Asian Lettuce Cups, but if you want a heartier dinner, Chinese Cucumber Salad, Asian Green Salad, or Sugar Snap Pea Salad would be a good side dish for a low-carb meal.

More Tasty Lettuce Wraps:

Weekend Food Prep:

Asian Lettuce Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey have been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Ingredients

1 T peanut oil or vegetable oil
3 T minced red onion or shallots
2 T minced garlic (I used minced garlic from a jar but fresh garlic would be great)
2 T grated ginger root or minced ginger from a jar
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
4 T soy sauce (see notes)
1 T Chile Garlic Sauce (or slightly more if you like spicy foods)
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (see notes)
1/3 cup chopped peanuts (optional, but good)
1 large head or 2 small heads lettuce (see notes)

Instructions

Chop red onion. Measure out minced garlic and minced ginger. (You can also make this with fresh minced garlic and minced ginger root if you prefer.)
Whisk together soy sauce or Gluten-Free Soy Sauce, Chile Garlic Sauce (affiliate link), and fish sauce.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add onion and cook about 2 minutes.
Then add garlic and ginger root and cook about one minute more.
Add ground turkey to frying pan (with a bit more oil if needed) and break apart and spread out with turner. Add the sauce mixture to the ground turkey.
Cook until the turkey is brown and crumbling apart, and the sauce is absorbed into the meat, about 5 minutes.
While turkey cooks, wash and chop fresh cilantro to make 1 cup. Chop peanuts and put in small bowl to serve at the table.
When turkey is done, add chopped cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes more.
Remove the core end from lettuce, separate leaves, and wash in salad spinner and spin dry (or wash under running water and dry with paper towels.)
Serve filling and lettuce leaves in separate bowls, with chopped peanuts in another small bowl.
Each person takes a lettuce leaf, fills with desired amount of turkey mixture, adds chopped peanuts, and then eats the mixture from the lettuce cup.
I like to fold the lettuce cup over when I eat it, so it’s kind of taco-shaped, but some people like to wrap the lettuce clear around the filling.

Notes

Use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link) if needed. If you’re not a cilantro fan, I’d use thinly sliced green onion. I like Boston Lettuce or Butter lettuce for this recipe, but you can also substitute Iceberg Lettuce if you prefer that.

Recipe adapted from California Sol Food.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 337Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4.4gUnsaturated Fat: 13.3gCholesterol: 118mgSodium: 850mgCarbohydrates: 6.7gFiber: 1.6gSugar: 2gProtein: 34g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
With lean ground turkey and other low-carb ingredients, these Asian Lettuce Cups are a perfect dinner option for low-carb eating plans or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. If you use gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce this can easily be suitable for gluten-free or Paleo/Whole 30 eaters. For Keto, you might want to use higher-fat ground beef, which will still be delicious.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Lettuce Wraps to see more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for Asian turkey lettuce wraps was first posted in 2009, and it became an instant hit on the blog. It was updated with better photos in 2021 and was last updated with more information in 2024.

Pinterest image of Asian Lettuce Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey

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