Quinoa tossed with diced red bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms then flavored with hoisin sauce and Sriracha and served on butter lettuce. This Asian Quinoa Lettuce Wrap is the perfect appetizer for spring.
Lately, I feel like I’ve been obsessed with lettuce wraps. There’s something about eating your meals in dainty lettuce cups that’s just so darn fun. Butter lettuce is currently my favorite to use since they’re pretty sturdy for wrapping purposes. Plus, I really like that you can get them with the roots still attached so that they can stay fresh for the longest time possible.
My second latest obsession has to be quinoa. Probably because it’s a new food item I’m experimenting with so I want to make everything with it. If possible.
I had butter lettuce sitting in my fridge. I had an opened bag of quinoa begging me to use. What to do?
So ta da! I present to you my Asian Quinoa Lettuce Wraps.
These little do it yourself appetizers are so easy to make. Plus, they’re vegan and gluten-free!
If you’ve cooked quinoa before, then you’re practically set. You can find directions on how to make the perfect fluffy quinoa in this post.
Add olive oil to a small pan and allow the olive oil to heat for about a minute. Next, add the diced red bell peppers, diced onions, and chopped mushrooms to the pan. Cook all three of the ingredients until they’ve softened. Now, add the hoisin sauce, a little bit of sugar, water, and some Sriracha sauce. I mixed a little bit of sugar to balance out the saltiness of hoisin sauce and a little water to thin out the sauce. You can always adjust the flavor to your taste. I also always have Sriracha sauce around just in case I want that spicy kick. Which I always do. But if you don’t like spicy foods, you can always leave the Sriracha sauce out. It’s up to you =)
Remove the pan from heat and toss the cooked quinoa into the pan. Mix thoroughly until the sauce is lightly coating all the ingredients. Add freshly chopped cilantro.
When you’re ready to serve, use a spoon to scoop the Asian Quinoa into each individual lettuce wrap.
Serve the lettuce wraps as appetizers or make more to create a meal.
Enjoy!
I’ll be bringing these to Fiesta Friday!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup diced red peppers
- 2-3 mushrooms, chopped
- ½ cup diced onions
- ⅛ cup hoisin sauce
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2-3 sprigs cilantro, chopped
- Butter lettuce
- In a small pan, add about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Allow the olive oil to warm for about a minute before adding in the diced red peppers, diced onions, and chopped mushrooms.
- Cook the diced red peppers, onions, and mushrooms until they’ve all softened.
- Now, add the hoisin sauce, a little bit of sugar, water, and Sriracha sauce to the pan. Use a spatula to mix the ingredients until they are well combined.
- Next, add the cooked quinoa. Toss the ingredients together until the sauce has lightly covered all the ingredients.
- When ready to eat, use a spoon to scoop the Asian flavored quinoa into lettuce cups.
- Serve the lettuce wraps as appetizers or make more to create a meal.
Linda G. says
I have eaten potato salad and tuna or chicken salad on a bed of lettuce. Cottage cheese and pineapple tastes good on lettuce too. I keep seeing quinoa in store but have yet to try it.
wallflourgirl says
Don’t blame you for being obsessed–lettuce cups are the absolute best vehicle for eating! I love how light and refreshing this quinoa recipe is. Perfect for these wraps–I’ll be trying them soon!
sillycrazylove says
This looks great! <3 I love the colors.
http://www.sillycrazylove.com
Danika Maia says
Lettuce wraps are the best! And you can get so creative with them really anything goes. I like to switch up the lettuce too, sometimes I use romaine leaves, sometimes iceberg, and sometimes big leafy green cabbage or kale leaves. It all works!
Danika Maia
http://www.danikamaia.com
katelon says
I haven’t done much with quinoa, so thanks for another recipe.
skd says
Healthy and yumm…
Randstein says
One of my favorite’s is lettuce wraps. It’s always served with rice but your quinoa recipe takes it to another level of enjoyment. Thank you!
mojoshawn says
Yum!
LogPoes says
Ooh, trying this one later this week! 🙂
smittyrooks says
this looks great :3