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Aug 22, 2019 By Stacie Hassing

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps

Dairy-Free
Egg-Free
Gluten-free
Grain-Free
Nut-free
Paleo
Whole30
Jump to Recipe

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps are a quick and flavorful Asian-inspired recipe that can be served as an easy entree or tasty appetizer. Plus, it’s Whole30-compliant and meal prep-friendly!

This recipe was created in partnership with our friends and farmers at MN Pork Board.

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps

Healthy eating made simply delicious!

It’s our mission as The Real Food RDs to share recipes that are simple, incredibly tasty AND made with whole, real food ingredients. We want to show and teach you that eating healthfully doesn’t haven’t to be boring or monotonous or require hours upon hours in the kitchen. And that it CAN be enjoyable, flavorful and full of variety. We want to inspire you to try new foods, cook at home more and fuel your body with foods that make you feel good inside and out.

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps are a quick and flavorful Asian-inspired recipe that can be served as an easy entree or tasty appetizer. Plus it's Whole30-compliant and meal prep-friendly. @MinnesotaPork Click To Tweet

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps

Cooked ground pork, sautéed mushrooms, onions and water chestnuts simmered in a flavorful yet simple homemade Asian-inspired sauce and tucked into a crisp lettuce leaf? Yes, please!

Recently, we teamed up with Minnesota Pork to bring you four wholesome recipes that make for easy and delicious weeknight meals. These recipes will help you add flavor to your menu and are perfect for avoiding that dinner rut we too often fall into. So far, we’ve shared recipes for an Easy Orange Pork Stir Fry and Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas – both of which make simple yet delicious weeknight dinner options. And today, I’m sharing these Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps, a recipe that was inspired by a popular menu item at Asian-style restaurants. While these lettuce wraps can be served as a tasty appetizer, I often serve them as an easy entree along with a side of fluffy basmati rice (or cauliflower rice) for a satisfying and scrumptious meal.

Fun Fact from the MN Pork Board:

  • Minnesota is home to 3,000 family pig farms! The farmers are committed to the care of their animals throughout every stage of the pig’s life. Read more about Minnesota’s pig farming here, about the value of this industry in the state of Minnesota, the strides it has made in sustainability, and the commitment to make animal care a top priority.

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps

Top and garnish as you please.

This is where you can get creative and have a little fun! The topping options for these Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps are endless – you can go all out or keep it simple. Because the Asian-inspired sauce adds so much amazing favor to the ground pork filling, I tend to keep it simple and top them with shredded carrots, cilantro, sesame seeds, crushed red pepper and cashews, but you’ve got options:

  • Shredded carrots or cabbage
  • Fresh cilantro
  • Thinly sliced radishes
  • Avocado
  • Sliced green onion
  • Finely diced red onion
  • Finely diced red pepper
  • Crushed red pepper
  • Sesame seeds or sunflower seeds
  • Cashews, almond or peanuts
  • Squeeze of lime juice
  • Crushed plantain chips

Additionally, instead of serving in a lettuce leaf, you could also serve the Chinese pork filling over greens and enjoy as a salad OR serve over rice with a side of veggies. All are great and tasty ways to enjoy this recipe.

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps are meal prep-friendly!

We love meal prep-friendly recipes because they taste just as delicious reheated a day or two after being made. The meat filling for the Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps is 100% meal prep-friendly and freezer-friendly, too!

Here’s how you can prep this recipe ahead:

  • Make the Chinese pork filling on your prep day. I like to use Sunday’s as my prep day.
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 3 months.
  • Prepare the toppings that you plan to add and store those however appropriate.
  • When ready to eat, simply reheat the meat in the microwave or in a pan over medium heat (stirring occasionally), set out the toppings and assemble the lettuce wraps as you please. Easy peasy!

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps

Now let’s all give this recipe a try! Comment below with how you will choose to top these Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps.

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Let's Get Cookin'

Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps

  • Author: Stacie Hassing
  • Prep Time: 20 min
  • Cook Time: 15 min
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 5 servings (10 lettuce wraps) 1x
Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps
Print Recipe
★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

  • ⅓ cup coconut aminos
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (may sub 1 tsp. garlic powder)
  • 1 tsp. grated ginger (may sub ½ tsp. ground ginger) 
  • ¼ tsp. pepper 

For the Pork:

  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 2 cups diced mushrooms
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, diced

For serving and topping:

  • Lettuce leaves (butter lettuce, bib or green lettuce)
  • Shredded cabbage and carrot mix
  • Green onion, sliced
  • Cilantro, chopped
  • Roasted cashews, chopped
  • Sesame seeds
  • Crushed red pepper
  • Lime wedge

Instructions

  1. In a small mason jar or bowl, combine the sauce ingredients. Whisk well with fork and set aside. 
  2. In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the ground pork, diced mushrooms, diced onion and a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add water chestnuts and continue to cook until pork is cooked through.
  3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the sauce to the pan plus 2 Tbsp. additional water (add the water to the empty mason jar that contained the sauce, shake up and pour in).
  4. Bring to a low simmer and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes or until sauce is mostly absorbed. Stir occasionally.
  5. Serve pork in a lettuce leaf and top with desired toppings.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/5 of recipe - 2 lettuce wraps (without toppings)
  • Calories: 285
  • Sugar: 5 g
  • Sodium: 500 mg
  • Fat: 16 g
  • Carbohydrates: 13 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 18 g

Pin now to make later!

Pin image for Chinese Pork Lettuce Wraps


Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter. 

This post was made possible by our friends at MN Pork Board. Although we received compensation for this post, the opinions expressed here are – as always – 100% our own. Thank you for supporting the great companies we work with thereby allowing us to continue creating great recipes and content for you.

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!

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About Stacie Hassing

Stacie is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian from rural southern Minnesota where she, her husband and daughter reside with their two pups. She’s a co-founder of The Real Food RDs and content creator of simple and wholesome recipes. She loves all kinds of fitness and has a passion to inspire as many as she can live a healthier and happier life both in and out of the kitchen - the driving force behind the co-development of the The Real Food RDs brand.

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Reader Interactions

Join the Conversation

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  1. Jessica says

    January 22, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    These are so delicious. Great for leftovers too.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Amanda M. says

    February 7, 2020 at 6:40 am

    We were always eating the same thing over and over again and I was looking for some new recipes. I hit the jackpot on this one. This is so easy and delicious. I serve it over rice for my kids. My kids get excited when they hear that I’m making this for dinner. Great flavor and is a quick dinner on busy nights!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      February 7, 2020 at 6:26 pm

      Thanks for sharing this, Amanda! We love that everyone gets excited about this recipe!

      Reply
  3. kayla says

    February 10, 2020 at 5:49 am

    Delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Lisa says

    April 22, 2020 at 4:10 pm

    My family doesn’t like mushrooms. Is there anything I can substitute for them?

    Reply
    • Stacie Hassing says

      April 22, 2020 at 7:09 pm

      Zucchini would make for a great substitute!

      Reply
  5. Jennifer says

    July 14, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    Another winner! Made ahead and reheated for dinner. Served with riced red and green cabbage with cilantro that I sauteed until soft. Took leftovers for lunch. Fabulous!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  6. Mindy Spencer says

    July 26, 2020 at 11:36 am

    What could you substitute the mushrooms for?

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      July 26, 2020 at 4:03 pm

      You could more water chestnuts, diced celery or even diced zucchini or carrots.

      Reply
  7. Caroline Cramer says

    December 1, 2020 at 7:52 pm

    Incredible meal texture and flavor wise. I recommend using half of the mushrooms (1 cup) in the recipe: the 2 full cups + onion + pork was too much for my skillet. Cooking everything took longer than expected but if you drain the water from the mushrooms in the pan often, it speeds the process up. We’re definitely making this recipe a staple in our household!

    Reply
  8. Hallie Murphy says

    December 11, 2020 at 12:21 pm

    I couldn’t find water chestnuts at the store, any sub ideas?

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      December 16, 2020 at 10:44 am

      Chopped celery is a good substitute because it will add a little crunch. You can add it to the pan with the mushrooms and meat mixture.

      Reply

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The Real Food Dietitians is the passion-driven product of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists Stacie Hassing and Jessica Beacom. They’ve combined their love of nutrition, health and real food with the concepts of ease and convenience to bring you recipes that are big on flavor but short on ingredients.

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