Quinoa Lettuce Wraps
Mar 29 2012 by
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Spring is most definitely in the air. Even though we don’t really have seasons here in Southern California we’ve had about 3 or 4 days this past month that were rainy and cool. Whenever the spring weather hits I start craving crunchy, crispy refreshing meals that are full of flavor. These lettuce wraps really hit the spot. There is a great crunch from the water chestnuts and the Asian inspired sauce is full of flavor. This recipe makes a large amount and I enjoyed this dish for lunch everyday this past week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
~Sarah
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, if canned, rinsed and drained
- 2 green onions, finely sliced
- 8 ounces sliced water chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 1 head of bibb lettuce
- 1/2 cup reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce (if you follow a gluten free diet make sure to use a gluten free sauce)
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil (regular sesame oil will work as well but you will lose some of the richness in the sauce)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp raw honey or coconut nectar
Preparation:
- In a large bowl mix together the first 5 ingredients and set aside.
- Add the last 6 ingredients to a small bowl and mix together until throughly combined. If using honey it helps to heat it up a little to make it easier to mix in.
- Pour the sauce over the quinoa mixture and stir to combine.
- Carefully remove the lettuce leaves from the bibb lettuce and fill each lettuce leaf with the quinoa mixture. You can fill them up as much as you wish.
Nutritional Info:
Makes approximately 20 lettuce wraps.
Serving size 4 lettuce wraps.
Nutrients per serving: Calories: 318.5, Cal. from Fat: 73, Total Fat: 8.5g, Sat. Fat: .5g, Carbs: 47g, Fiber: 8g, Sugars: 6.5g, Protein: 12.5g, Sodium: 1166.5mg, Chol: 0mg
Notes:
The leftover quinoa mixture will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. The quinoa will soak up the flavor of the sauce and make excellent leftovers. The recipe makes a large amount so you can enjoy these tasty wraps for lunch or dinner the entire week.
This was fabulous!!!! I didn’t have ginger or water chestnuts on hand, but it was still delish!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Heather. I’ve made a batch of this every week for the past few weeks. Can’t seem to get enough of it!
~Sarah
This recipe is AMAZING! So glad I saw this. It was a huge hit for dinner tonight & satisfied all of us. I toasted the quinoa before cooking it. This is a dish I will make again & again! Thank you!!!
Thanks great to hear Sherri! I’ve been obsessed with this recipe for awhile now and have actually used it as a base for one of the burger recipes in our upcoming Veggie Burger Cookbook.
~Sarah
We had this just the other night. Is the soy sauce amount right? Seems like a lot to me… but then I can always adjust. I think it would be good with some chopped cashews or sunflower seeds in it!
Hi Rise,
The soy sauce amount is correct but if you aren’t using a low sodium sauce then it will definitely be very salty. You can easily adjust it to your liking though.
~Sarah
I made this for my family tonight and we LOVED it! We drizzled the sauce on each wrap so we could choose how much of it we wanted. My husband asked for me to make it again soon and my daughters age 6 and 4 thought it was delicious! Thanks so much for making healthy recipes we can all enjoy!
So glad to hear you enjoyed them LeAnne. When I make this for my family we do the same thing with the dressing. My son likes a heavier dressing and my daughter and I prefer a bit less.
Thanks for writing in!
~Sarah
These are fabulous!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! Can you share where the cheapest place to quinoa at?
Hi Karen,
If you can find organic quinoa in the bulk section of your local health food store then that is usually the best price around. There are also a few online retailers that offer free shipping that would be worth looking into if you can’t find it in the bulk area.
Hope this helps.
~Sarah
this recipe is awesome! my family can’t get enough! thank you for sharing this to us.