Crumbled tempeh, crunchy cashews, and sweet champagne mangoes make a perfect filling for these easy vegetarian lettuce wraps. And best of all - they come together in just 20 minutes!
Photos by Emily Caruso
One of the strangest cravings I had during my pregnancy is lettuce. Normally, lettuce is something that I tolerate as an important part of salads or pick off my veggie burgers when I'm at a restaurant (there is nothing delicious about warm iceberg lettuce!). It's not something I'd ever feel enthused about. But I was suddenly all about lettuce. It's fresh! It's crisp! It's green!
Other than salads and sandwiches, I've realized there aren't a lot of ways to eat lettuce, but lettuce wraps are one option that often gets overlooked.
I mean, you might order lettuce wraps at restaurants, but they're one of those things you probably don't make very often at home. Well, it's time to change that.
Lettuce wraps are super easy and super versatile—you can fill them with so many different things!
We've got a P.F. Chang's style lettuce wrap recipe and another for grilled tofu lettuce wraps on the blog if you're looking for other ideas! And don't miss this vegan lettuce wrap stuffed with black beans either!
Making the Wraps
This particular recipe was inspired by a recipe I stumbled upon on the Williams-Sonoma website - it had pork and mango as the filling.
I wasn't interested in the pork, but mango? YES. It's champagne mango season, my favorite time of the year, and I thought lettuce wraps would be a great way to put them to use.
(Not that I even need an excuse to eat champagne mangoes - usually I just eat them cubed with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Best. Snack. Ever.)
For the pork, I substituted crumbled tempeh, and quickly cooked it with a little hoisin sauce and lime juice. Nothing fancy!
Cucumber and chopped cashews add a little crunch and mint leaves add a fresh, herbal flavor to these vegetarian wraps.
Serving Sauces
You'll want to finish them with a drizzle of sauce - if you live near a Trader Joe's, their Sambal Matah is a perfect mix of sweet and spicy flavors and it goes really well with these wraps. (Just remember, a little goes a long way!)
Otherwise, if you want to add a spicy kick to your wraps, opt for sriracha; to play up the sweetness of the mango, use a sweet chili sauce, either store-bought or homemade.
More Recipes to Try
If you love these vegetarian wraps, be sure to check out these other delicious recipes.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon peanut or grapeseed oil
- 8 oz tempeh crumbled
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¾ cup diced mango about 1 champagne mango
- ½ cup seeded and diced cucumber
- ¼ cup chopped roasted cashews
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
- 8 butter or bibb lettuce leaves
- Sweet chili sauce or sriracha or Sambal Matah, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tempeh and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in the hoisin sauce and lime juice; remove from heat.
- Divide the tempeh, mango, cucumber, cashews and mint leaves into 8 lettuce leaves. Drizzle with sweet chili sauce and serve.
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says
The mango alone looks heavenly!
Hayley Appleford says
These look delicious !
With love from London, Hayley ♥
http://thelifestylemenu.co.uk/
Ana @ The Awesome Green says
Looks so refreshing and delicious! Beautiful photos 🙂
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
I love lettuce wraps too. It is so funny the things we crave when we're pregnant isn't it? Beautiful photos from Emily too.
Joanne says
I have to admit, lettuce doesn't usually do it for me either...but this mango tempeh filling does! Enough to get me excited about these wraps, that's for sure!
Amy says
Excellent recipe. We substituted baked tofu and peanuts and it had great flavor and was also quick to prepare.
Sarah says
So amazingly delicious! Easy to make and so fresh! Happy to find another good tempeh recipe! So happy to have stumbled onto your blog! 🙂