These tofu lettuce wraps are crazy delicious and make a great appetizer or lighter meal that will become one of your favorites.
These are better than anything you can get in a restaurant! Plus, they happen to be vegan/ plant-based. If you’d rather have meat in your lettuce wraps, you might want to check out Thai chicken lettuce wraps here.
How to make tofu lettuce wraps
First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
For tastiest results, always use the best quality ingredients you have access to.
To make these tofu lettuce wraps, you will need the following:
- sesame oil
- onion
- garlic
- ginger (fresh minced, or ginger paste)
- 14 ounce block extra firm tofu
- Tamari, low sodium or soy sauce OR coconut aminos
- Thai sweet red chili sauce (we love Trader Joe’s)
- juice of 1 lime
- maple syrup or agave
- cashews – raw or roasted/salted
- green onion/ scallions
- fresh cilantro
- carrots, shredded
- Sesame seeds
- 1 head butter lettuce
Cooking the filling
To make tofu lettuce wraps, first make the filling. Heat up a pan to medium high heat and add the oil.
Once the oil is hot, add in the onions. Toss and let cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to brown and turn translucent. Then add in the garlic and ginger. Toss that all together and let it cook for 2 minutes.
Cook the tofu. Use your hands to crumble the tofu into the pan, tossing it in the pan sauce while breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Season the tofu with a little salt and pepper and let it cook until it starts to turn golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.
Make the Thai chili sauce. This sauce really ties everything together for theses tofu lettuce wraps. Add the soy sauce, chili sauce, lime juice, and honey to a small bowl and mix to combine.
Add the sauce to the tofu mixture. Sprinkle the chopped cashews over the tofu in the pan and pour in the sauce. Toss that all together, reduce the heat to low and let that all cook for 2 more minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, then stir in the carrots, chopped scallions and cilantro.
Assembling tofu lettuce wraps
To assemble the tofu lettuce wraps, open one of the butter lettuce leaves and add a large spoonful of the filling mixture into the wrap and top it with some of the pan sauce and sesame seeds.
Continue until you have made all of the tofu lettuce wraps. Serve and enjoy!
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Tofu Lettuce Wraps
These tofu lettuce wraps are crazy delicious and make a great appetizer or lighter meal that will become one of your favorites.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup onion diced I used yellow. White onion works too.
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger fresh minced, or ginger paste
- 14 ounce block extra firm tofu – with water pressed out
- ¼ cup Tamari low sodium or soy sauce, coconut aminos
- 2 Tablespoon Thai sweet red chili sauce we love Trader Joe’s
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave
- ⅓ cup cashews chopped – raw or roasted/salted
- ¼ cup scallions chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro fresh, chopped
- ¼-½ cup carrots shredded
- Sesame seeds for topping
- 1 head butter lettuce – leaves removed rinsed and dried – see notes
Instructions
-
Heat up a pan to medium high heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add in the onions. Toss and let cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to brown and turn translucent. Then add in the garlic and ginger. Toss that all together and let it cook for 2 minutes.
-
Cook the tofu. Use your hands to crumble the tofu into the pan, tossing it in the pan sauce while breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Season the tofu with a little salt and pepper and let it cook until it starts to turn golden brown, about 4-5 minutes..
-
Make the thai chili sauce. Meanwhile, add the soy sauce, chili sauce, lime juice, and honey to a small bowl and mix to combine.
-
Add the sauce to the tofu. Sprinkle the chopped cashews over the tofu in the pan and pour in the sauce. Toss that all together, reduce the heat to low and let that all cook for 2 more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, then stir in the carrots, chopped scallions and cilantro.
-
Assemble the lettuce wraps. To assemble the lettuce wraps, open one of the lettuce leaves and add a large spoonful of the tofu mixture into the wrap and top it with some of the pan sauce and sesame seeds. Continue until you have made all of the lettuce wraps.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
Myranda Baker says
Great recipe. Comes together rather quickly. The flavors are delicious.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Myranda! I am glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Elizabeth says
Thank you for this delicious recipe! My husband and I loved it! 😋😋
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Elizabeth!💕
Cathy Rademacher says
Just ate so much of this! So incredibly delicious!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Cathy!! Glad to hear it.❤️
CJ says
I made this recipe last night, and I have to say it was absolutely delicious. The flavors were so so good. This is going into my regular rotation. Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay CJ!🙌🏻
Lynnie Dee says
Delicious! I added in 3 large chopped crimini mushrooms with the tofu; kept the sauce separate. Also kept all the veggies separate as garnishes. Added bean sprouts and thinly sliced cucumbers for garnishes as well. Put everything out on my counter for make-your-own lettuce wraps. Didn’t have the chili sauce on hand (and my local Albertson’s was completely out of all Asian chili sauces), so improvised and took a Tablespoon of Sriacha, 2 Tablespoons of honey and 1+ Tablespoons of Soy Vey Teriyaki sauce (which already has sesame seeds in it) and added those items to the sauce in lieu. Yummy! Definitely a keeper as we are trying not to eat meat. Our new healthier Taco Tuesday. Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay!❤️
Barbara says
These lettuce wraps are perfect. I made this on Sunday to eat for lunch during the week. It was wonderful! Thank you!
Ashley says
I am trying to watch my sugars is there a substitute for the sweet chili sauce ? Thank you
Nicole Johnson says
The G Hughes brand makes a Sugar Free Sweet Chili Sauce that’s available on Amazon! I haven’t tried that specific one, but most of their products are pretty good!
Sarah says
These were the best lettuce wraps I’ve ever had! I loved chicken lettuce wraps before I became vegetarian several years ago and have never been able to find a good veg version until now. I followed the recipe exactly but added an extra side of sauce and it was amazing! I was doubtful as I was making it because the lime I had was very large and very juicy and kept thinking “this seems like a lot of lime” but I’m glad I trusted the recipe. The flavors were perfect l and I will definitely be making this again.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Sarah! So happy that you are enjoying it.
Katy says
I never comment on recipes, but this one was one of the best meals I have ever made. I made it for my in laws and they also loved it!
The only difference I did was made half a serving more of the sauce because the flavor was so good I wanted more!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Oh, this comment makes me so happy Katy! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback.🙏🏻 And I am so glad y’all enjoyed it.💖
Jennifer Patrick says
I took this to a ladies’ gathering which was not a plant based gathering. And yet, the ladies LOVED this dish and were raving over it. It was one of the first dishes to be cleaned up and totally eaten! Thanks so much for the recipe! My only changes were to add half a diced cucumber for more crunch and one seeded, diced jalapeno for a little more spice. Delicious. I’ll be making your recipe again!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That is such great feedback, Jennifer! I am glad y’all enjoyed it.❤️
Sheila says
This was amazing! Will definitely be making it again soon!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Sheila! So glad you enjoyed it.❤️