Light, fresh and popping with lots of colour, textures and flavours, these tuna lettuce wraps with peanut sauce are so delicious for lunch or dinner.
Canned tuna is something we always have on hand. I remember years ago, I would purchase a Thai-style canned tuna with peanut sauce. So good!
I haven’t come across that variety of tuna lately; no worries, though, because these tuna lettuce wraps have those flavours, but better!
If you follow along Girl Heart Food, it’s no surprise that I love carbs and don’t regularly partake in that low carb life, LOL. However, every now and then, I love to mix things up, and that’s where these low carb lettuce wraps come into play. Balance, am I right?
Fan of lettuce wraps? Check out these tofu lettuce wraps!
Why We Love These Tuna Lettuce Wraps
- These easy lettuce wraps takes a humble can of tuna up a notch into something extra special.
- It requires very little stovetop time to make this recipe (just a few minutes to warm and thicken to sauce), so it’s perfect for when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen whilst cooking.
- They’re prepped and ready to devour in about 15 minutes.
- These lettuce wraps can be customized to taste with toppings.
- They taste so delicious!
How to Make This Recipe
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
Place your peanut sauce ingredients into a small food processor and blend until smooth and combined.
Transfer the peanut sauce to a small pot and heat for a little bit on the stovetop.
When the peanut sauce is made, prepare the tuna salad filling. Place your well-drained tuna into a mixing bowl, along with lime juice, black pepper and some of the yummy homemade peanut sauce. Give everything a little mix to combine.
Then it’s just a matter of assembling the tuna lettuce wraps and devouring! Easy, right?
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Best Lettuce to Use
I’ve tried a whole bunch of lettuce for lettuce wraps, but my favourite is Boston (or butter) lettuce. I enjoy the slight crunch and the perfectly-sized leaves.
Other delicious options are romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, or red or green leaf lettuce. Just keep in mind that if your lettuce leaves are larger, you may want to fill them a little more (or roll them up wrap-style).
Are Lettuce Wraps Eaten Hot or Cold?
Though the peanut sauce is warmed/thickened, the general vibe of these tuna lettuce wraps are that they are eaten cold (which makes them a delicious meal, especially when you don’t want to fuss too much with your stove).
Lettuce Wrap Topping Ideas
- Bell pepper
- Carrot
- Nuts, like peanuts or cashews
- Green onion
- Cabbage
- Cilantro
- Hot Sauce
- Sesame Seeds
- Chili pepper
Sides to Serve With Lettuce Wraps
Of course, these lettuce wraps are yummy on their own, but if you want to make things more substantial, they work great with any of these sides:
- Peanut noodles (great, especially if you’re a peanut sauce fan)
- Roasted veggies, like broccoli or sweet potato
- Lentil salad
- Soup (a gazpacho, like this very veggie gazpacho recipe, would be a yummy summertime pairing with these lettuce wraps)
More Recipe Tips and Variations
This recipe makes lots of peanut sauce (it’s so good). If you want to half it, go for it.
I prefer to use canned tuna in water versus canned tuna in oil. It’s lighter and, in my opinion, works better for this lettuce wraps. And don’t forget to drain your canned tuna well to get rid of that excess moisture.
Using Boston lettuce, I had enough tuna filling to yield about 10 lettuce wraps. If your leaves of lettuce are larger (or smaller) than the ones I used, or if you want to add more (or less filling) to each, the quantity of lettuce wraps you yield may vary. Generally speaking, you should get about 10 good tuna wraps. Yay happy bellies!
Hope you love these tuna lettuce wraps with peanut sauce as much as we do!
If you try these lettuce wraps, be sure to leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed!
More Easy Canned Tuna Recipes
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Tuna Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce (less than 15 minutes!)
Ingredients
Peanut Sauce
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ¾ cup low sodium vegetable broth
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sriracha hot sauce
- 1 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (from about ½ of a lime)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Tuna Salad Mixture
- 2 (6 ounce) cans of tuna in water , drained well
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (from about ½ of a lime)
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
Other Lettuce Wrap Ingredients
- 10 to 12 Boston lettuce leaves (depending on how much you fill them)
- ½ bell pepper , small dice
- ½ small carrot , cut into thin strips or shredded
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts or cashews
- Sriracha hot sauce (to drizzle over, to taste, optional)
Instructions
Peanut Sauce
- Combine peanut butter, vegetable broth, soy sauce, sriracha, maple syrup, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic and fresh ginger into a small food processor and process until smooth and combined. Pour sauce into a small saucepan, place over medium-low heat (stirring occasionally) and warm through, about 3 to 5 minutes. Sauce will thicken slightly once warmed.
Tuna Salad Mixture
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the canned tuna, lime juice, black pepper and ¼ cup (or 4 tablespoons) of peanut sauce until combined.
Lettuce Wrap Assembly
- Distribute tuna salad mixture among lettuce leaves, then top with bell pepper, carrot, green onion and nuts. Drizzle with peanut sauce and sriracha hot sauce (if using). Enjoy!
Nutrition estimate (if provided) is based on 1 Serving.
Nutrition information (if provided) is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an estimate only. Ingredients can vary and Girl Heart Food makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are guidelines only.
