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Sweet Sesame Turkey Lettuce Wraps

For a healthy and flavorful meal, these Sweet Sesame Turkey Lettuce Wraps are a favorite in our house! Ready in just about 20 minutes these ground turkey Asian inspired lettuce wraps require no utensils and are the perfect quick, fuss-free lunch or dinner!

cooked ground turkey in a lettuce wrap.

Are you looking for more super easy Summer dinner recipes that are fast, flavorful, and healthy? I got you. These Sweet Sesame Turkey Lettuce Wraps have been a favorite in our house for a while. My 6-year-old planted lettuce in her garden just for these wraps, that’s how much she loves them! The turkey has just the right amount of sweet sesame and umami flavor, they’re fun to eat, and they’re ready fast! Bonus, it’s super low-carb and can easily be made gluten-free.

Ingredients Needed

ground turkey, lettuce, mirin, cornstarch slurry, onion, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and small bowls of oyster sauce, soy, stock, sesame oil, and chili garlic sauce.
  • Ground Turkey – This is our favorite protein for these lettuce wraps, but this is also delicious with a nice lean ground beef.
  • Lettuce – For the best wraps, we find that butter lettuce has the best leaf shape to make them cup-like, but romaine works great too!
  • Onion – White onion is our favorite for this, but a sweet yellow would be great, too.
  • Garlic and Ginger – Great aromatics and flavor.
  • Cornstarch Slurry – This will help thicken the sauce so that it coats that turkey without being too “saucy.”
  • Chicken Stock, Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce, and Mirin – All of the components to the delicious flavorful sauce!
  • Sesame Oil and Sesame Seeds – Just the right amount of sesame flavor that’s not too overpowering.

Easy to Make

two pictures, one with onions and garlic and ginger, then with cooked turkey

Saute

The first step, saute the onions, ginger, and garlic, and then add the turkey, break it up, and let it cook, too.

Ground turkey takes at least 14-15 minutes to ensure that it’s fully cooked. If you’re ever unsure of whether your meat is fully cooked or not, then we recommend an instant-read thermometer so you can be sure.

two pictures one with a cornstarch slurry and ingredients, and one with it all mixed together.

Create the Sauce

While the turkey is cooking, you can create the sauce. First, create the slurry then add all of the other ingredients.

We love to use a spouted pyrex measuring cup to mix it all to make adding it to your turkey easier.

 2 pictures one with cooked turkey, sauce being poured in, and then all cooked together.

Add Sauce and Finish Cooking

Just before your turkey is finished cooking, add the sauce to finish cooking and let the alcohol in the mirin cook-off.

Then you’re done! Sweet Sesame Turkey Lettuce Wraps, ready in just about 20 minutes!

cooked ground turkey in a lettuce wrap.

Add some sesame seeds to finish and then add that super flavorful turkey to a piece of lettuce and you have ground turkey lettuce wraps that are healthy, delicious, low-carb lunch or dinner!

Customizable

We also love these Sweet Sesame Turkey Lettuce Wraps because you can easily build on them or customize them!

Add more veggies!

Take the nutrition up a notch by adding even more veggies. Great additions include some thinly sliced cabbage, chopped spinach, or zucchini.

Use your favorite meat

While turkey is our favorite, you can also use ground chicken or beef.

Make it in advance

You can make the ground turkey for these lettuce wraps 3 days in advance and store it in the fridge. Or you can prepare the meat in advance and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Is this gluten-free?

While it’s mostly gluten-free, most oyster sauces are not gluten-free because they are made with wheat flour. However, you can find gluten-free oyster sauce, too.

Reuse Leftovers

One of our favorite way to reuse these leftovers is to add the turkey to our 15 Minute Garlic Fried Noodles!

a hand holding a lettuce wrap with ground turkey.

Sweet Sesame Turkey Lettuce Wraps, a healthy incredibly easy dinner that’s perfect for those busy summer nights.

If you’re a lettuce wrap fan, then give our Shrimp Ceviche Lettuce Wraps a try, too!

Other 20 Minutes or Less Favorites

Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!

If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!

cooked ground turkey in a lettuce wrap.

Sweet Sesame Turkey Lettuce Wraps

5 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Kid Friendly, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Diet: Diabetic, Low Fat
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Tracy

Equipment

  • 1 medium skillet

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons ginger minced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 large white onion diced
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 head butter lettuce rinsed

Instructions

  • Heat a medium to large-sized skillet and add sesame oil. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until onions are transluscent.
  • Add ground turkey and use a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks
  • Meanwhile, in a small bowl of spouted pyrex measuring cup, add cornstarch and water and whisk until smooth slurry is formed. Add stock, soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, and garlic chili sauce and whisk.
  • After 10 minutes, add sauce to turkey and let it simmer to coat turkey while it cooks. Continue to cook until turkey is mostly cooked, another 5 minutes.
  • Top with sesame seeds and add about 1/4 cup to each piece of lettuce.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Storage
Fridge – Prepare the turkey in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.  
Freezer – Prepare turkey and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. 
Substitutions 
Turkey – Use ground chicken or beef.  
Onion – Use a sweet yellow.
Oyster Sauce – Use a gluten-free brand to make this a gluten-free meal, or vegetarian.  
Mirin – Use seasoned rice wine vinegar + tablespoon sugar or sweet marsala wine.
Ginger – Use 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger. 
Garlic – Use 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon powdered. 

Nutrition

Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 824mg | Potassium: 511mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1379IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg
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3 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This was a wonderful and quick lunch! I will definitely make again for a simple lunch. Thanks for the share!

5 from 10 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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