Asian lettuce wraps with succulent garlic shrimp, creamy peanut butter sauce, and crunchy salad ingredients, are low-carb, gluten-free, and mouth-watering!
These healthy lettuce wraps make easy meals that the whole family will love.
Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
We have a great collection of tasty sandwiches, low carb wraps, quesadillas and many more. You can find these here.
Healthy wraps are our go-to for busy weeknight dinners and lunches.
From our Chicken Taquitos, Buffalo Chicken Wraps to Crispy Chicken Wraps, these lettuce wraps are sure to become a hit.
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Ingredients
- Shrimp - You’ll need 1 pound of large or extra large shrimp (deveined) for this recipe, fresh or frozen and thawed. I’ve kept the tails on while cooking the shrimp and only remove them just before assembling the shrimp lettuce wraps. If you don't enjoy seafood, use ground beef, ground pork, ground turkey, or ground chicken for Asian chicken lettuce wraps.
- Shrimp marinade - This marinade is a mixture of minced garlic, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Other ingredient options for this marinade could include cajun, smoked paprika, cumin, and melted butter. You can also try something different by making pan seared Cajun Shrimp.
- Peanut sauce - The creamy shrimp peanut sauce is a mixture of creamy peanut butter, honey, and hot sauce such as sriracha, lime juice, cold water, and oil. It’s important to get the right mixture of water and oil for this sauce. Too much water or oil can cause the sauce to separate, although this can be remedied by adding more peanut butter. Add an extra kick of heat to the sauce by including some red pepper flakes or chili garlic sauce.
- Lettuce - Choose a sturdy type of lettuce such as Butter lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, Boston lettuce, Bibb lettuce, or Romaine lettuce for the lettuce cups.
- Salad ingredients - A combination of carrot, diced red onion, cabbage slaw, and red bell pepper, have been combined for a crunchy addition to the wrap filling. Other fresh ingredients could include bean sprouts and shiitake mushrooms.
- For serving - Top your Asian shrimp lettuce wraps with sesame seeds and chopped roasted peanuts. And if you have time to make, my Easy Pickled Daikon Radish Recipe. Serve with freshly cut lime wedges. You could also top these wraps with water chestnuts and green onions.
Check the step-by-step photos below the recipe card.
Tips
- My homemade Thai Peanut Sauce.
- Feel free to use any sturdy kind of lettuce that will hold up under the weight of the filling. Mini Romaine lettuce is great for smaller wraps, but you could even use something like Butter lettuce, Boston Bib, or Iceberg lettuce for slightly larger lettuce leaves.
- Tossing the cooked shrimp in additional hot sauce after it has pan-fried is a great way to add extra flavor and more sauce to these lettuce wraps. You can use any brand of hot sauce in the sauce mixture. Something like Frank’s or Valentina is a good option.
- This recipe makes 10 shrimp lettuce wraps. You could easily double this recipe if feeding a larger crowd.
- Make sure that you wash the lettuce well to eliminate any possible grit remaining, and pat very gently with a paper towel. You can prepare your lettuce leaves just before assembling the wraps, so they are as fresh and crispy as possible.
- While you can make the creamy peanut butter sauce just before assembling these lettuce wraps, I prefer allowing the sauce to sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes which helps the flavors to blend and intensify.
- Fresh or frozen raw shrimp can be used in this recipe. If you use frozen, make sure to first thaw the shrimp for about 20 minutes in cold water before cooking. This will help prevent any undercooked shrimp.
- 30 minutes of marinating is enough to create great flavor. Extended marinating time can cause the shrimp meat to break down and become mushy due to the acidity of the marinade, so I don't recommend marinating for more than a couple of hours.
Julia's Tip
Shrimp cooks very fast, so be careful not to overcook them. When they turn pink, then they are ready to be taken off the heat.
🦐 Related Recipe: Shrimp Salsa
What to serve with Asian lettuce wraps for dinner?
I serve these shrimp lettuce wraps with boiled or fried veggies, white or brown rice, wonton or miso soup, spring rolls, egg rolls, Asian Napa Cabbage Salad, or Oriental Cabbage Slaw and more same-themed appetizers.
As these wraps contain some protein and veggies, ideally for a wholesome meal you’d need to add grains and possibly another side of steamed or stir-fried veggies.
Think rice, rice noodles, quinoa, seeds, nuts. These can all go into the same wrap for an incredibly juicy bite.
Storing Instructions
- Lettuce wraps that have been assembled should be consumed right away. These will not keep and hold their shape after a while, at room temperature, or in the fridge for a long time. The sauce will moisten the lettuce and it will easily break.
- However, if you keep the shrimp and the rest ingredients separately in the fridge, they should last for 2-3 days. Of course, it's best to cook the shrimp fresh!
Asian Dinner Recipes
More delicious and incredibly easy Asian-style dinners we love making during lazy weekends.
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Recipe Card
Shrimp Lettuce Wraps (With Peanut Sauce!)
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INGREDIENTS
For Shrimp
- 1 pound large or extra large shrimp, I used 31/40, frozen and thawed
- 1 heaping tablespoon garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
For Serving
- 1 large head of butter lettuce, boston bib or large romaine lettuce
- 1-2 cups cabbage slaw
- 1-2 cups carrot matchsticks
- 1 bell pepper red, cut into thin slices
- ½ cup red onion, diced fine
- lime wedges for serving
- sesame seeds (optional), or chopped roasted peanuts
- Thai Peanut sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
- Rinse and pat dry the shrimp. I used tails on and removed them after cooking.
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Toss the shrimp until coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Make my homemade Thai Peanut Sauce. For a thinner sauce, add more water. For better flavor, place the peanut sauce in the fridge for 15-30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Or make it ahead of time (will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days).
- Heat a large pan or large skillet over medium-high heat with regular oil or sesame oil. Cook shrimp for 1-2 min per side until it turns opaque. For very large shrimp, 2-3 min per side.
- Assemble the lettuce wraps with cabbage or coleslaw, bell peppers, carrots, onions, cilantro, 3-4 shrimp per lettuce leaf wrap, and drizzle peanut sauce on top.
NOTES
- My homemade Thai Peanut Sauce.
- Lettuce wraps that have been assembled should be consumed right away. These will not keep and hold their shape after a while, at room temperature, or in the fridge for a long time. The sauce will moisten the lettuce and it will easily break.
-
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
How To Make Shrimp Lettuce Wraps Step By Step Photos
Rinse and pat dry the shrimp. I used tails on and removed them after cooking.
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Toss the shrimp until coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Make my homemade Thai Peanut Sauce. For a thinner sauce, add more water.
For better flavor, place the peanut sauce in the fridge for 15-30 minutes for the flavors to blend.
Or make it ahead of time (will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days).
Heat a large pan or large skillet over medium-high heat with regular oil or sesame oil.
Cook shrimp for 1-2 min per side until it turns opaque. For very large shrimp, 2-3 min per side.
Assemble the lettuce wraps with cabbage or coleslaw (try this Mexican Slaw), bell peppers, carrots, onions, cilantro, 3-4 shrimp per lettuce leaf wrap, and drizzle peanut sauce on top.
Enjoy Asian lettuce wraps with shrimp as fresh as they come!
FAQ
These easy lettuce wraps consist of pan-fried shrimp in a garlic marinade, salad-filling ingredients with a creamy peanut sauce. The ingredients are carefully assembled on cripsy fresh lettuce leaves and topped with roasted peanuts and sesame seeds with a side of lime wedges.
The best type of lettuce for lettuce wraps is the sturdy variety that has deep enough leaves to comfortably hold a good amount of filling without wilting from warm ingredients.
Rather skip any lettuce varieties that are floppy, thin, or wilt easily.
These Asian shrimp lettuce wraps can be enjoyed with a side of garlic bread or low-carb stir-fried vegetables if you want a low-carb meal.
Julie
These lettuce wraps are delicious- the only change I made was to grill the shrimp. The peanut sauce really made the wraps! We’ll definitely have these again-
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you, grilled shrimps are the best!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Delicious shrimp wraps with homemade peanut sauce.