These healthy beef taco lettuce wraps prove that healthy eating is anything but boring at our house!
If you are looking for a healthier and low-carb alternative to traditional beef tacos, this recipe is for you. These wraps are packed with flavor, easy to make, and are a satisfying option for any mealtime.
The wraps make a great main course and are also one of my favorite easy appetizers.
My Mexican lettuce wrap recipe is a bright and colorful take on the normal taco recipe. To slim it down, I make tacos with lettuce instead of tortilla shells. Best of all, these are one of my favorite 30-minute meals. Let’s get started!
When you are trying to watch your weight and eat more healthily, it sometimes seems that mealtimes are boring. But that does not have to be the case. We love tacos at our house, but we want to cut down on carbohydrates.
Even though I love traditional, carb-heavy wraps, for those times when you want to have a meal with a tortilla and another way to keep the calories down, be sure to check out my cheeseburger wraps. They are amazing and only 279 calories each.
Spice up your mealtime with our Mexican beef taco lettuce wraps recipe
I used Romaine lettuce leaves and doubled them to make them more sturdy. They are the perfect size and shape to hold the fillings and their lovely green color complements all the fillings beautifully.
One of my favorite things about these lettuce tacos is that the fillings really are up to you. Just about everything you can add to a taco is somewhat healthy.
Feeling like extra fiber? Add some black beans.
Want more healthy fats? Add some chopped-up avocados. Lower-fat cheese, such as Cabot reduced-fat cheddar, lightens the calories and still tastes great.
And of course, lettuce, tomatoes, and chopped sweet peppers all add a wonderful bit of healthy carbs as well as loads of color.
Making the seasoning for taco lettuce wraps
I made my own taco seasoning, rather than using packaged mixes (which taste too salty for my taste). It is simple to make from ingredients that you probably have on hand.
The ingredients are a great blend of chili powder, garlic powder, onion flakes, red pepper, oregano, paprika, and cumin.
What lettuce is best for wraps?
In my opinion, the best lettuce for taco wraps is Romaine. (also called cos lettuce.) This lettuce has green, crisp, extended leaves that are tightly wrapped to form an elongated head.
The leaves are crunchy and hold up well to fillings. Romaine lettuce leaves fit perfectly into my serving dish.
Be sure to use some inner leaves. They hold up better than the outside ones. I made 6 tacos with this recipe.
The recipe is perfect to serve 3 hungry people or a starter for 6.
This meal is so easy to make and is on the table in a flash. It takes just a few minutes to prepare and then a few more to cook. Spoon it into the shells and serve.
Healthy eating done the right way! Doesn’t this platter look fantastic? Your family will love this new way to do tacos.
I served this with black bean salsa, and it’s also great with an easy side dish such as strawberry peach salsa with jalapenos. I even added extra veggies by serving it with roasted beet salsa. All make the perfect accompaniment, and the whole meal will be very filling too.
This recipe is healthy cooking at its best. It is gluten-free, and if you omit the cheese and sour cream, it’s also Paleo and Whole30 compliant.
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Beef Taco Lettuce Wraps
These healthy beef taco lettuce wraps are easy to prepare and offer a low-carb twist on traditional beef tacos.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ¾ cup of yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound of lean ground beef
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning
- ½ cup of diced tomatoes
- ½ cup of beef broth
- 12 Romaine lettuce leaves, doubled up, for serving
Optional toppings
- ⅓ cup of reduced-fat cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup of red onions, finely sliced
- ⅓ cup of avocados, diced
- ⅓ cup of sweet peppers, diced
- 2 tablespoons of cilantro, finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons of light sour cream
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the ground beef and garlic, and add the salt and pepper.
- Cook, breaking up the beef occasionally, until the beef is no longer pink - about 5 minutes.
- Mix in the taco seasoning, tomatoes, and chicken broth.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce has reduced.
- Spoon the mixture into lettuce leaves and top with your favorite taco toppings.
Notes
Optional toppings: Shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, diced avocado, sweet peppers, chopped cilantro, light sour cream, for serving.
Calories in the nutritional info are for the taco wraps with beef. Your toppings will add extra calories.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 325Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 361mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 28gSugar: 17gProtein: 22g
Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.