Easy Lettuce Wraps

This amazingly simple vegan lettuce wrap recipe is shared by Ann & Jane Esselstyn from their book, The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. In just minutes, you can have a healthy meal on the table that everyone is going to love!

We have other delicious healthy wraps on this website like our easy veggie wraps, these collard green wraps, and some veggie sandwich pinwheels that are great for parties and entertaining.

Reasons you are going to love these wraps

• Light and Refreshing: These lettuce wraps are packed with fresh, crisp ingredients that provide a light, refreshing meal, perfect for when you want something satisfying without feeling heavy.
• Quick and Simple to Make: With minimal prep and cook time, these lettuce wraps are incredibly easy to prepare, making them an ideal choice for a healthy meal on busy days.
• Low-Carb and Nutritious: Using lettuce leaves instead of traditional wraps keeps the carbs low, while still delivering a nutritious, veggie-packed meal that’s rich in vitamins and fiber.
• Customizable and Versatile: You can easily customize these lettuce wraps with your favorite fillings, from plant-based proteins to a variety of veggies and sauces, ensuring a delicious and personalized meal every time.

Ingredients you will need

It only takes a few ingredients to make delicious healthy vegan lettuce wraps.

• Leafy greens- These are to be used as a wrap. Some of the most widely used greens are Boston bib, butter lettuce, Romaine hearts, endive, or cabbage.
• Veggies- Whatever veggies you have on hand will work fine–carrots, onions, tomatoes, etc.
• Vinegar- Balsamic is a great choice but other varieties work well too.
• Hummus- Purchase oil-free hummus or make your own.

Spread options

One ingredient in this vegan wrap recipe is oil-free and tahini-free hummus. It can be purchased or homemade. Since it’s often difficult to find hummus premade without any oil or tahini, to me, it is much simpler to just make my own especially since it takes only about 10 minutes. These are some of my personal favorites.

• Italian Hummus
• Basic Garlic Hummus
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
• Edamame Hummus

How to make vegan lettuce wraps

The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.

STEP #1: Begin by making the hummus if you don’t have premade. Any of the Hummus Recipes on this page are great options.

STEP #2: Disassemble the head of lettuce you plan to use and choose the right size leaves. Preference for this can vary by the amount of filling to be used in each one. Remember to wash the leaves thoroughly and pat them dry.

STEP #3: Go ahead and prep the veggies for the filling. You really can use whichever vegetables are preferred. The ones mentioned in this recipe are garlic, carrots, red bell pepper, cucumber, green onions, cilantro, and jalapeno. You’ll want to wash, peel, deseed, and slice them accordingly.

STEP #4: In a large bowl, toss together all of the prepared vegetables. Add the vinegar and stir. Add the hummus and stir again. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

STEP #5: To make the lettuce wraps, fill the center of each lettuce leaf with about 1/4 cup of the dressed vegetables. Arrange the filled leaves on a platter. To eat, fold the sides together into a little wrap.

The recipe is from The Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook where it is called Lettuce Wraps with Creamy Marinated Vegetables. Published here with permission.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Chefs (mother-daughter team)

Ann Crile Esselstyn is a relentlessly energetic and creative advocate for the plant-based, whole-food way of life. She has devoted herself to inventing recipes to prevent and reverse heart disease in support of the research of her husband, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. Ann never stops looking for ways to bring that important agenda to delicious life, devising ever more practical and powerful ways to shop, cook, and engage even the most reluctant eaters in the plant-perfect diet.

Ann is the author of the recipe section of Dr. Esselstyn’s bestselling book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and co-author of  The Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook with her daughter, Jane Esselstyn. She is a graduate of Smith College and holds a Masters in Education from Wheelock College.

Jane Esselstyn, RN is a fresh and charismatic voice on the whole food, plant-based diet. She brings her perspective and passion as a woman, nurse, researcher, and mother to creating on-ramps to the plant-based way of life. Jane is an avid and inventive designer of plant-based recipes and the co-author of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook with her next-door neighbor, mom, and human firecracker.

Jane met her husband and fellow plant-based educator, Brian Hart, while working as a field instructor for Outward Bound. They have three plant-based children. Jane graduated from the University of Michigan, where she competed nationally as a recruited swimmer and rower, and earned a B.S. in Nursing from Kent State University. More…