Sriracha Beef Lettuce Wraps
Sriracha beef lettuce wraps are a PF Chang’s copycat recipe that’s easy to whip up at home. A savory Asian-flavored beef base is spooned into crisp green lettuce leaves for a deliciously low carb alternative to sandwiches.
I’m always on the look out for something new to do with meat.
I try my best, but really can’t spend month after month recycling the same tried and true recipes.
I’ll get bored. The family will get bored.
Everyone will be grumpy, and dinner time will just break down from there.
I have to constantly change things up, occasionally surprising everyone with an old family favorite that we haven’t had in a while.
It makes everyone more appreciative, and more adventurous in light of their ever expanding palate.
The sons took one look at these sriracha beef lettuce wraps and dubbed them lettuce ‘tacos’.
Not totally inaccurate.
The jury was still out though.
They took one bite and they all couldn’t get enough.
I was super happy because this made a delicious low carb lunch or dinner option we could all agree on.
Ingredients Needed
For such a flavorful option, this recipe really does have a relatively simple ingredient list.
- peanut oil – this isn’t absolutely necessary, especially if you’re trying to cut out fat and calories, but it does add a beautiful note to the ground beef as it cooks
- ground beef – as usual, the leaner the ground beef the better
- sauces – a blend of hoisin and sriracha sauces make up the savory sauce
- lemon – juice from a freshly squeezed lemon makes the mixture ‘pop’ with flavor
- green onion
- cilantro – the leaves add a tangy aftertaste that perfectly compliments the beef
- lettuce – since this savory Asian meat mixture is meant to be served as lettuce wraps, use either crisp romaine, green leaf lettuce, or butter lettuce leaves
How To Make
Add the peanut oil to a large skillet, and heat it over medium high heat.
Add the ground beef to the skillet and let it sauté, breaking it up as it cooks.
While the beef is cooking, prepare the sauce.
In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce, sriracha, and a bit of water until the mixture’s fully incorporated.
Once the beef’s cooked throughout, strain off the excess grease.
Return the skillet to heat, and stir in the sauce mixture.
Let it cook until the liquid has cooked off (evaporated), stirring occasionally so that the flavor is incorporated into the meat.
Remove the skillet from heat and stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, thinly sliced green onion, and chopped cilantro leaves until it’s all evenly incorporated.
Scoop the mixture into sturdy lettuce leaves to serve.
How To Serve
Obviously, the sriracha beef mixture gets spooned into lettuce leaves.
It’s good just the way it is, but it can also be made better with a couple additions.
Sprinkle on some crisp chow mein noodles for a nice added ‘crunch’ factor.
If you like things on the saucier side, we’ve got you covered on that end as well.
Sriracha Cream Sauce
We love these sriracha beef lettuce wraps as is, but when I’m in the mood for a little something extra- a simple sriracha cream sauce is just the thing.
To make the sauce, mix 1/2 cup of mayonnaise & two tablespoons of sriracha together in a small bowl until evenly combined.
You can spoon the mixture over the prepared wraps, which is what we normally do.
However, if you want a neater presentation add the mixture to a ziplocking bag, snip the end off, and lightly squeeze it to drizzle the sauce over top.
If you like added texture, chow mein noodles provide a great crunch!
What To Serve These Asian Wraps With
I served them with some fried rice and a steamed Asian vegetable blend.
Other ideas include:
Storing
Lettuce wraps taste great when served fresh, but leftovers won’t be nearly as tasty.
That’s because the lettuce will get soggy and wilt.
Our recommendation is to only make as many as you think you will eat/need.
It’s easy to make a couple more on demand, they’re pretty simple afterall.
Store leftover beef in an air tight tupper ware dish. The same goes for any extra sauce, if you decided to make that.
Then you can pull them out, and heat the meat when you’re ready to enjoy and assemble fresh sriracha beef lettuce wraps on demand.
Nothing beats the crisp from a fresh lettuce wrap when you’re going for a low carb wrap, even if it’s the next day!
Other Wrap Ideas To Try
Who has the time for an expensive family feast at P.F. Changes? I certainly don’t.
Now, thanks to these savory sriracha beef lettuce wraps there’s no need.
Tangy beef with a perfect hint of spice wrapped in refreshing lettuce leaves make this a quick and easy Asian flavored recipe you can enjoy for lunch or a light dinner.
Looking for other wrap style recipes to try?
Check these out:
- Asian Chicken Wraps
- Lettuce Wrap Sandwich
- Thai Chicken Lettuce Wrap Salad
- Chipotle Cheddar Turkey Wraps
If you’ve tried these SRIRACHA BEEF LETTUCE WRAPS, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Sriracha Beef Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 2 tsp peanut oil
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 1-2 tbsp Sriracha Sauce depending on how much heat you want
- 1 tbsp water
- zest from one lemon
- juice from one lemon about 1 1/2 tbsp juice
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion or double that amount if you’re not using the cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1-2 heads artisan romaine or iceberg lettuce
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan, then saute the beef until it’s cooked through and starting to brown, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks.
- While beef cooks, mix together the Hoisin sauce, Sriracha Sauce, and water in a small bowl. Zest the skin of the lemon and squeeze the juice. Thinly slice the green onions and chop the cilantro. (Most iceberg lettuce doesn’t need washing, but if yours does break the heads apart gently and wash and dry the lettuce.)
- When the beef is done, add the Sriracha Sauce mixture and let it sizzle until the water has evaporated, stirring a few times to get the flavor mixed through the meat. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro.
- Serve meat mixture with iceberg, or artisan romaine, lettuce leaves to fill with meat and wrap around it, to be eaten with your hands.
- This was definitely still good when the meat mixture was kept in the fridge and reheated for a very short time in the microwave, but I still liked it best freshly made.
pictures & post updated April 26, 2021
recipe adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen
