Faster than ordering take-out, these delicious shrimp lettuce wraps are a household favorite. Shrimp, soy sauce, an array of vegetables, and lettuce, come together with a homemade peanut sauce to make a light, healthy but hearty meal. This recipe always hits the spot, and it comes together with simple ingredients that can be found at any grocery store. If you’ve got extra shrimp on hand, try my sweet and sour shrimp recipe or my gluten-free coconut shrimp recipe next.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Vegetables — I like using a combination of onion, bell pepper, zucchini, carrot, and cucumbers but feel free to use vegetables of your choice.
- Shrimp — Make things easy for yourself by purchasing shrimp that is already peeled and de-veined. It's one less thing that you have to do when prepping the ingredients. You can keep the shrimp tail on or off.
- Soy sauce — I recommend using low sodium soy sauce. If you are gluten-free, you can swap the soy sauce for coconut aminos.
- Rice vinegar — Rice vinegar is a sweet, delicate vinegar. Do not swap for white vinegar. The closest swap, if you don't have rice vinegar, is apple cider vinegar.
- Peanut butter — Use creamy peanut butter and not chunky peanut butter for a smooth peanut sauce.
How to Make Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
Step 1: Make the peanut sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
Step 2: Pat all of the shrimp with a paper towel to remove as much moisture from them as possible.
Step 3: Slice the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, carrot, and cucumber into similar sizes and set aside.
Step 4: Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat and add the shrimp. Cook the shrimp for 2 minutes per side until golden. Set aside.
Step 5: In the same pan, add the sliced vegetables. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables have softened slightly. Then add the garlic, red chili, ginger, and cumin and saute for another minute.
Step 6: Add the soy sauce and shrimp back into the pan toss to warm through. To assemble the lettuce wraps, spoon several helpings of the shrimp mixture onto each large leaf of lettuce. Garnish with sliced green onion and a drizzle of peanut sauce.
Tips For This Recipe
- Do not skip patting dry the shrimp. If the shrimps are wet, they will steam in the pan, and you will not get a nice sear on the shrimps.
- If you’re not a fan of peanut butter, you can use any other nut butter in its place.
- I like using fresh ginger for this recipe. The easiest way to peel the ginger to grate is by scraping the ginger with the back of the spoon.
- Keep a close eye on the shrimp. The size of the shrimp will affect its cooking time. Cook until the shrimp is opaque to avoid the shrimp becoming rubbery.
- For an extra crunch, you can top the shrimp and lettuce wraps with peanuts or cashews.
- If you'd like to add a spicy kick to this, you can add a tablespoon or two of sriracha into your sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Feel free to use any green leafy lettuce for lettuce wraps. I like to use Boston lettuce or butter lettuce, but other options are romaine hearts, iceberg lettuce, and even Swiss chard. Use what you have on hand. If you’re unsure when you plan to make this recipe, I recommend buying live lettuce, which lasts longer in the fridge.
I recommend assembling the lettuce wraps before eating. You can make the shrimp filling ahead of time then stored for up to 3 days in the fridge. Feel free to enjoy the filling chilled or gently reheated on the stovetop.
I always prefer jumbo or large because they are thicker, giving you leeway and decreasing the chances of overcooking. For jumbo shrimp, I usually only have to cook it for about 2 minutes per side, or until they are nice and browned.
You can! Frozen shrimp is an excellent alternative if you do not have access to fresh shrimp. Just be sure to thaw the shrimp before cooking, so it cooks evenly.
To quickly thaw from frozen, you can transfer the shrimp to a bowl and fill it with cold water. After 10 to 20 minutes, it should have thawed. You might have to change the water and stir it every 10 minutes.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Shrimp Lettuce Wraps Recipe, then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb large raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 zucchini sliced thin
- 1 carrot sliced thin
- ¼ onion sliced thin
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp red chili pepper Fresno pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 head Boston lettuce or butter lettuce
Peanut Sauce:
- 4 tbsp peanut butter
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 clove garlic grated
- ½ tsp ginger grated
Garnish:
- Green onion sliced thin
Instructions
- To make the peanut sauce, combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Pat all of the shrimp with a paper towel to remove as much moisture from them as possible. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat and add the shrimp. Cook the shrimp for 2 minutes per side until golden. Set aside.
- In the same pan add the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, carrot, and cucumber. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables have softened slightly. Then add the garlic, red chili, ginger and cumin and saute for another minute. Add the soy sauce and shrimp back into the pan toss to warm through.
- To assemble the lettuce wraps, spoon several helpings of the shrimp mixture onto each large leaf of lettuce. Garnish with sliced green onion and a drizzle of the peanut sauce.
Video
Notes
- Do not skip patting dry the shrimp. If the shrimps are wet, they will steam in the pan, and you will not get a nice sear on the shrimps.
- If you’re not a fan of peanut butter, you can use any other nut butter in its place.
- I like using fresh ginger for this recipe. The easiest way to peel the ginger to grate is by scraping the ginger with the back of the spoon.
- Keep a close eye on the shrimp. The size of the shrimp will affect its cooking time. Cook until the shrimp is opaque to avoid the shrimp becoming rubbery.
- For an extra crunch, you can top the shrimp and lettuce wraps with peanuts or cashews.
- If you'd like to add a spicy kick to this, you can add a tablespoon or two of sriracha into your sauce.
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