Crunchy romaine leaves are stuffed with pan-fried tempeh cubes in a savory sesame ginger sauce to make these healthy Asian-inspired vegan lettuce wraps. The perfect light meal for a warm summer day!
The idea of lettuce wraps perplexed me for a while. My brother waited tables at P.F. Chang’s when he was in college. I never made it in there for dinner, but he suggested that if I did stop in I should try the tofu lettuce wraps. My response back was to ask why on earth would one use lettuce when the world is filled with perfectly good tortillas, rice paper and spring roll wrappers.
Anyhow, I didn’t give lettuce wraps much thought between then and the time I started food blogging and thinking about summer food and the big lettuce leaves springing up from my garden.
Lettuce wraps now make perfect, delicious sense. Putting all the “carbs are bad for me” nonsense (or sense?) aside, a big crispy leaf of lettuce is an incredibly appetizing dinner vehicle during those famous Pennsylvania summer 90% humidity days. And I’m not going to lie: I thought I’d still be hungry after eating a lettuce wrap. I was not. These were incredibly satisfying.
Lettuce might just be the new tortilla. Well, sometimes.
My trick for making tempeh delicious is to cook it up with super flavorful sauces and seasonings. In this case I whipped up an Asian-inspired sauce that packs a nice amount of ginger and a touch of sesame oil.
You have the option of marinating the tempeh in the sauce for a bit, but if you don’t have the time, just quickly toss everything together to coat the tempeh with sauce.
Next you’ll add the tempeh to the skillet and pan-fry it until you start to get some nice browning. Turn up the heat, add the carrots and stir-fry for a minute.
Stuff into lettuce leaves and top with scallions and sesame seeds.
Tips for Making Awesome Vegan Lettuce Wraps
- If you’re put off by the taste of tempeh, try steaming it before cooking. You can do this in a steaming basket on the stove for 10 minutes, or use my hack and just microwave it in a wet paper towel for 4 minutes.
- And if you still find tempeh to be a little funky for your taste, try subbing tofu. If you do this I recommend pressing your tofu first (don’t marinate it) and adding the sauce when it’s almost finished cooking.
- I used carrots because I love the sweetness and crunch they add to these wraps. But feel free to sub your favorite veggies.
- If the idea of a lettuce wrap really just doesn’t do it for you, try wrapping the filling in a tortilla or serving it alongside some rice instead.
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Ginger Sesame Tempeh Vegan Lettuce Wraps
Crunchy romaine leaves are stuffed with pan-fried tempeh cubes in a savory sesame ginger sauce to make these healthy Asian-inspired vegan lettuce wraps. The perfect light meal for a warm summer day!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
- 2 teaspoons sambal oelek
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (8 ounce) package tempeh, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 3 large lettuce leaves, such as bibb or romaine
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
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In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, maple syrup or, sambal oelek, ginger and garlic. Add the cubed tempeh and toss to coat.
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If you've got some time, let the tempeh marinade for a half hour or so, tossing it every so often to recoat. Otherwise, you can skip this step.
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Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with oil and place it over medium heat. Add the tempeh along with any excess marinade. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once or twice until the liquid has cooked off and the tempeh is browned on multiple sides.
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Add the carrots, raise the heat to high, and stir-fry for about a minute, until the carrots are tender-crisp.
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Divide the mixture onto lettuce leaves and top with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve.
This looks SO GOOD! I’ve always loved lettuce wraps and making a veggie version at home has been on my to-do list approximately forever, but it’s one of those things I just never get around to. I even have (really hard to find where I live) tempeh in my freezer right now. Total win! Thanks for the recipe :)
Yay! So glad I could help you out there :) They really were delicious – I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!
Making them tonight. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! Enjoy :)
Making these tonight though using an extra firm sprouted tofu that’s pressing as I write this. Tempeh seems to be a tough find where I am sadly, because I love it. I’m sure it will be just fine though. Very excited to have these tonight. Thanks so much for the delicious looking recipe!
Awesome! I’ve heard from a few people that subbed tofu in this recipe and enjoyed it. I hope you do too! Thanks Stacey!
This is what was for dinner. It was easy, and easy is a must with my two … … spirited toddlers/pre-schoolers. And speaking of the children, even the one who exists on nothing much but bananas and air liked this. Thanks!
Awesome! So glad you liked it! Thanks Laura!!
This was absolutely delicious! One of our new staples, for sure. The only thing I did differently was crumble the tempeh instead of cubing. It turned out great! Thanks.
Yay! Glad you liked it!
I would like to give tempeh another try because of this recipe; do you have a favorite brand to recommend? Thanks!
I usually use Light Life or Soy Boy. Just look for a block that doesn’t have too many dark spots. I hope you enjoy!!
I made this tonight. It is SO GOOD it is ridiculous. Thank you very much!!
Yay!! I’m glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Sylvia!
Made this tonight to go with mushroom asparagus stir fry. It was outrageously good! Thanks for sharing :)
Sounds like a delicious meal! Glad you enjoyed it!
Can I omit our drastically reduce the sweetener?
Sure! You might just want to cut back on the lemon juice as well to make sure the flavors are balanced.
Ready to try this but wondering why in the nutrition label (THANKS for including these!!!!) the sugar isn’t listed as a percentage of daily “Limit”. Am I just ignorant of the fact that there is no such thing?
I’m not sure there is a limit, at least in the U.S. and as far as nutrition labels are concerned – I just double checked and it doesn’t look like it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition_facts_label
As a random note, another good way of “masking” either the taste or the texture of tempeh if you’re not a huge fan is to crumble it up. When it’s crumbled up, it has a texture similar to ground beef (or beefless grounds) and the taste is basically nil because any sauce you would put on it has a much greater surface area to cover. When I was just getting into tempeh, that was how I ate it, and it made me like it a whole lot more.
I’m pretty excited to try this recipe, I want to work more high-ish protein meals into my rotation, and I hope that this one will be just what I’m looking for.
Yes! My husband is still warming up to tempeh, so I tend to make chilis and sauces with crumbled tempeh for him, and he always loves them. Thanks for mentioning that! I hope you enjoy the wraps!