Beef cashew lettuce wraps are is a fun and healthy dinner recipe. It is perfect for a light dinner or leftovers for lunch!
When I think lettuce wraps, my mind automatically goes to one place. P.F. Chang’s.
Then I remember that means we have to pack up the baby, get dressed, shower, and spend money. Not many of those things ever happen on the same day. So, yea. Going out doesn’t happen much these days. Luckily, making your own lettuce wraps at home is incredibly easy.
The last time I made this, I’m fairly certain I ate the entire thing myself. Don’t worry; it was over the course of at least three meals…it was also after I modified the recipe from a meal I tried from Plated a while back. It was incredibly delicious, but I felt like it was a little complicated to make. It also used ingredients I don’t normally have on hand, and some that I feel are a bit healthier. And then I subbed quinoa for white rice, too, because I’ve been doing crazy things like that lately!
This might still require a few ingredients non-food bloggers don’t have—like Sriracha.
KIDDING. Way more people have Sriracha in their pantry than I can even begin to guess. But, coconut sugar? Guess that one isn’t too far out there either. Water chestnuts are definitely not a norm, but they should be. They are SO GOOD in casseroles and Asian-inspired dishes.
This recipe also uses fresh basil. Really, it’s optional. But it gives an incredible flavor to the recipe I’d not have thought of doing before. Gotta hand it to Plated for that one. It’s really delicious!
You can totally tailor this recipe to your nutrition needs. Need more carbs? Add more quinoa! Need more fats? Add some cashews! More protein? Well, more quinoa will do the trick there, too. I guess the possibilities are either endless, or they stop and start with quinoa. I’ll let you be the judge.
Food prep tip: Cut the end off of the romain before you peel the leaves apart. It helps prevent them from breaking!
Beef Cashew Lettuce Wraps
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 5 oz. water chestnuts, drained from a can
- ¼ cup cashews, chopped
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- 5–6 leaves fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- To start, you will want to have quinoa pre-cooked. (Need to know how to cook quinoa?) Also, chop the celery.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add extra virgin olive oil and minced garlic. Saute for about a minute.
- Add ground beef. Break up slightly with a spatula and cook for about 5 minutes. Add celery, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and ground ginger. Brown until completely cooked, breaking it up into small pieces and stirring the mixture together.
- While beef is cooking, drain water chestnuts from can and chop. Also chop the cashews and basil, separately.
- In a large bowl, mix together sriracha, coconut sugar and 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
- Once beef is cooked, transfer to the bowl with your sauce and stir to coat. Stir in water chestnuts, cashews and quinoa.
- Slice the end off the Romaine, and peel lettuce apart so they stay in boats. Scoop beef mixture into lettuce boats, top with basil and eat!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dinner
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ recipe
- Calories: 379
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 872 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 29 g
- Cholesterol: 71 mg
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