STICKY SAUCY PORK LETTUCE WRAPS
on Jan 20, 2025, Updated Jul 22, 2025
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Ground pork, bell peppers, carrots, and onions cook down with a sweet and slightly spicy Asian-inspired sauce for the most delicious, quick, and easy, handheld dish.
Everyone loves a handheld meal, right? Tacos happen to be one of my favorite foods, but when I’m in the mood for something Asian, I turn to lettuce wraps, specifically these Sticky Saucy Pork Lettuce Wraps.
The Asian-inspired glaze is a mouthwatering combo of broth, tamari, fresh ginger, and a tad of sriracha for a bit of kick.
The ground pork soaks up all this flavor along with colorful bell peppers, carrots, and onions.
Scooped in a butter lettuce wrap, and you have yourself one fan-favorite handheld dinner ready in under 20 minutes!
Not to mention, ground proteins are often more affordable than larger cuts of meat.
So go ahead and add this recipe to your meal plan this week. You’ll thank me after your first bite…Enjoy!
Key Ingredients for Saucy Ground Pork Lettuce Cups
Most of these ingredients are staples in my kitchen. I always have some sort of ground meat frozen for weeknight meals and everything for the sauce I use time and time again in other Asian-inspired dishes. I invite you to stock up and keep these items as essentials in your pantry and fridge!
- Broth: I like to use chicken bone broth as the base of the sauce because it’s nutrient-dense. Regular broth will do the trick too.
- Tamari: This gluten-free soy sauce alternative gives the sauce its Asian flare. Regular soy sauce can be substituted one-for-one if you aren’t gluten-free.
- Fresh Ginger: For this recipe, fresh is best. I like to grate the ginger on a microplane so it really infuses into the sauce.
- Sweetener: Either honey or coconut sugar can be used here. It helps balance the acidity and spiciness of the sriracha.
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Pin It- Sesame Oil: A staple in many of my Asian dishes, sesame oil is best for sauces and marinades because it has a low smoke point.
- Arrowroot Starch: This helps thicken the sauce as it cooks with the pork and veggies. Cornstarch can also be used.
- Ground Meat: I used ground pork, but you can also swap for ground chicken or turkey. All are great, high-protein, and quick cooking options.
- Veggies: Bell peppers, carrots, and onions are the vegetable stars here. They melt into the pork mixture and can easily be eaten as part of a lettuce wrap.
- Butter Lettuce: Nature’s “taco shell,” butter lettuce leaves are crisp and hold their shape well after being stuffed with the pork mixture.
- Garnishes: A sprinkle of green onion, chopped peanuts, and fresh cilantro does the trick here.
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How to Make Ground Pork Lettuce Wraps
You’ll want to have all your veggies chopped, your sauce made, and your garnishes ready to go because the meal comes together so quickly, thanks to the ground pork!
First, prepare the sauce. In a measuring cup, whisk together the bone broth, tamari, fresh ginger, garlic, honey or coconut sugar, unsweetened rice vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, and pepper. Set aside.
Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the ground pork (or turkey or chicken) to the skillet and allow to cook and brown for 1 to 2 minutes before breaking apart with a wooden spatula.
Continue to cook the pork until well browned and crispy, breaking apart as you go. I like to leave mine in small bite-size pieces for a more manageable bite.
If there are more than a couple tablespoons of rendered fat in your pan, remove it using a clean paper towel.
Add the onions, bell pepper, and carrots to the pork and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to allow the veggies to soften.
Meanwhile, whisk the arrowroot starch into the sauce until no lumps remain. Pour the sauce over the pork and veggies. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes while the sauce thickens.
Serve the saucy pork and veggies in lettuce wraps with a garnish of green onion, chopped peanuts, and fresh cilantro. Take a bite and enjoy!
More Asian-Inspired Weeknight Meals:
- Salmon with Red Curry
- Dan Dan Glass Noodle Stir Fry
- One Pot Ground Mongolian Beef Ramen Noodles
- Easy Saucy Peanut Noodles
- Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass
STICKY SAUCY PORK LETTUCE WRAPS
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- ½ cup chicken bone broth
- ¼ cup tamari
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced or grated (approx 1-inch piece ginger)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon honey or coconut sugar (or sub regular sugar if you prefer)
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sriracha
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
For the Pork:
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 small onion, small diced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup carrot, shredded or julienned
For Serving:
- Butter lettuce leaves
- Sliced green onion
- Chopped peanuts
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Whisk all sauce ingredients (bone broth, tamari, fresh ginger, garlic, honey or coconut sugar, unsweetened rice vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, and pepper) except the arrowroot starch together and set aside.
- Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the pork to the skillet and allow to cook and brown for 1 to 2 minutes before breaking apart with a wooden spatula.
- Continue to cook the pork until well browned and crispy, breaking apart as you go (I like to leave mine in small bite-size pieces).
- If there are more than a couple tablespoons of rendered fat in your pan, use a paper towel to remove the excess oil.
- Add the onions, bell pepper, and carrots to the pork and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to allow the veggies to soften.
- Whisk the arrowroot starch into the sauce until no lumps remain. Pour the sauce over the pork and veggies. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes while the sauce thickens.
- Serve the saucy pork and veggies in lettuce wraps with a garnish of green onion, chopped peanuts, and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So delicious!!
Thank you, Joanna!