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Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps are made in under 20 minutes.  If you like tacos, this will be right up your alley but a lighter, healthier version with the same flavor.  This makes a great light lunch, or an easy dinner for the family.

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Monday has rolled around again after a busy weekend.

On Saturday we went to a Ramp Fest in the Cuyahoga National Park near our house.

If you are a fan of ramps then this would be your type of festival.  

They had a wide variety of dishes that included ramps.  

Crispy fries with ramp alioli, salads with ramp dressing, sandwiches with ramp sauces including this Pork Sammy with Baby Kale and Ramp Alioli. The flavor in this sandwich was awesome.

We washed it down with a Great Lakes beer with a ramp as a garnish.  Ramps everywhere!

I also noticed that spring has definitely sprung around my neighborhood which I love.  Spring is such a beautiful time of year, even if it means a lot of rain.

Spring

After a busy weekend, Monday means a quick and easy dinner because I am trying to get back into the swing of things.  

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps make an appearance quite regularly on our menu.  Partly because they are easy but also because I have a slight obsession with Mexican food.

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, chips and salsa and guacamole, tostadas. You name it, I will devour it.  

The great thing about Mexican flavors is that you can easily add them into a quick and easy meal and it will have great flavor and be versatile.  

For example today’s Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps are easy to throw together and eat in a lettuce wrap but the turkey mixture can be used in a taco shell or as the stuffing of a burrito, or maybe some nachos.  

These are light enough to eat for lunch but still give you the protein to keep you going all day or as a filling dinner for the family.

I love the fact that I can feed my toddlers the turkey mixture and we can eat it in lettuce wraps {they aren’t fans of lettuce yet, I am working on that one}.  They gobble this turkey up!

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps

If you would prefer to use ground beef in this recipe that works great as well.  

You could also easily double or triple this recipe and freeze it for later. 

The ground turkey mixture is great to have on hand during the week for tacos, quesadillas, nachos or these lettuce wraps.

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Mexican Turkey Lettuce Wraps can be made in under 20 minutes. If you like tacos this will be right up your alley but a lighter, slightly healthier version with the same flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1 head of Boston lettuce {Bibb lettuce}
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound ground turkey, cooked
  • 1/4 sweet onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 red pepper {or pepper of your choice}, seeds removed, chopped
  • 1 - 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper {cayenne pepper} {more or less depending on spiciness desired}
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 3 green onions, chopped

Garnishes:

  • Additional cilantro
  • Salsa of your choice
  • Cheese
  • Sour cream or greek yogurt
  • Jalapeños, chopped

Instructions

  1. In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the ground turkey and cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes {make sure you crumble it as it cooks}. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper and sauté for 4-5 minutes until the onion is soft.
  2. Stir in the black beans, cumin, paprika, red pepper {cayenne pepper} and chili powder and continue to cook for 3-4 more minutes.
  3. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh chopped cilantro and chopped green onions and add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Place a couple of spoonfuls of the turkey mixture into the center of the lettuce leaf. Garnish with salsa, cheese and sour cream or any garnishes you like. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container.
  • This also freezes well to use later for things like tacos, nachos, quesadilla, salads or lettuce wraps.
  • You can swap the turkey for ground beef if you would like.

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Alyssa @ Simply Quinoa

Monday 11th of May 2015

I love lettuce wraps! And the flavor combo sounds amazing!!

Julia

Tuesday 12th of May 2015

I do too. Thanks!

Lauren @ Wicked Spatula

Monday 11th of May 2015

That ramp festival sounds like so much fun! We've been eating more and more ground turkey since it's so cheap, tacos are next on my to-do list!

Julia

Monday 11th of May 2015

It was fun!! I never knew they had ramp festivals until I moved to Cleveland! :)

Kirsten

Monday 11th of May 2015

Julia, I think I need to request that my farmers give bibb lettuce a try--I always have so much of so many other types of lettuce that I never want to buy bibb lettuce, but the other kinds just don't work as well for something like this. I think your photos are wonderful, and I want to dig right in. Thanks!

Julia

Monday 11th of May 2015

I love Bibb lettuce for wraps and even salads. I agree--I have tried other lettuce options and this is definitely the best for this type of recipe.

Monique @ Ambitious Kitchen

Monday 11th of May 2015

Looks healthy and delicious!!

Julia

Monday 11th of May 2015

Thanks! It is.

Sue Lau

Monday 11th of May 2015

These look so good! We love having tacos, and cutting back on carbs from the shells and tortillas ia always a plus. Very festive! ANd quick and easy to make. Thanks for sharing!

Julia

Monday 11th of May 2015

We do too! And yes, this is a great way to cut back on the carbs. Thanks for stopping by.

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