HELLO YUM. Firecracker Lettuce Wraps that are happily vegan – with crispy tofu bits, saucy brown rice noodles, and a creamy sesame sauce.
Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps
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I made these last night and ate 6 of them; and then had them for breakfast today. I hadn’t cooked with tofu in YEARS, and it was so fun! I love this recipe!!!
Denise
Firecracker Lettuce Wraps – I see you with your browned crispy tofu bits, your sticky brown rice noodles, your delicate lettuce leaves, and your creamy umami sauce. I see you and I love you and I want you.
These lettuce wraps are a big deal, because a) they taste, obviously, aaaamazing, and b) they are lettuce wraps that know how to actually keep you full. That’s right. I said ACTUALLY KEEP YOU FULL. None of this two-tablespoons-of-ground-chicken-in-a-lettuce-leaf-counting-as-a-meal business. I LOVE lettuce wraps. I also love to be full after a meal, and sometimes it is hard to find a lettuce wrap that can deliver. Enter this delicious mashup.
Why it’s a mashup:
- There are noodles.
- But wait, seriously, NOODLES. Brown rice noodles. Inside the lettuce. Like… noodle stir fry meets lettuce wrap. (I’ve done it before and I’ve done it again!)
- Also tofu, so this is vegan!
- But you know you can use other protein, right? Can be vegan, doesn’t have to be vegan. For our traditionalists, ground chicken is a winner, too.
- Everything in this lettuce wrap is drenched in my Favorite Of All Time sauce. From way back here.
Naturally I am a huge supporter of anything that involves wrapping up a essential noodle stir fry and delivering it straight from plate to hand to mouth. So yes, these are my new thing of the moment.
How To Make Our Vegan Lettuce Wraps (1 MIN):
Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Here’s what we’re working with: lettuce, tofu, sauce, noodles.
Pause here to stand over the pan and eat several big forkfuls.
And finally, your saucy masterpiece.
There is a 99% chance that you will end up with a firecracker sauce bomb all over your face / lap / fingers, but please, for the love, do not get all proper on me and start eating this with a fork. Grab a few napkins and a few friends who aren’t going to judge you for getting savage with it and just get in there. That’s the way to do it, pals.
More Amazing Lettuce Wraps
Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 large lettuce wraps 1x
Description
HELLO YUM. Firecracker Lettuce Wraps that are happily vegan – with crispy tofu bits, saucy brown rice noodles, and a creamy sesame sauce.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Firecracker Sauce:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup sesame oil
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chili paste (like sambal oelek) ++ for more firecrackery-ness
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- a small knob of fresh ginger, peeled
- a clove of fresh garlic, peeled
For the Lettuce Wraps:
- 1 block extra firm tofu (see notes)
- 4 ounces brown rice noodles
- 1 head butter lettuce for wrapping
- 1/2 cup peanuts for serving
- 1/2 cup cilantro for serving
- 1 lime for serving
Instructions
- Noodle Prep: Soak your noodles in a bowl of lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes while prepping the rest of the recipe. You want the noodles to be soft and flexible.
- Sauce: Blend all the sauce ingredients together in a small blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.
- Tofu: Press the tofu with a few paper towels to get some of the moisture out. Cut the tofu into small pieces. Heat a little oil in a nonstick skillet. Add your tofu. Stir-fry until golden brown. I usually let it sauté for at least 15 minutes. Add about half of the sauce to the pan. Stir-fry for another 3-5 minutes. As the sauce browns, it will form small crispy pieces around the tofu. Yum! Transfer tofu to a bowl.
- Noodles: Drain and rinse your noodles. Add another swish of oil to the pan and plop the noodles in. Add about half of the remaining sauce. Stir fry for just a minute or two until coated. Add a splash of water if it’s too sticky. Remove from heat immediately and toss with the tofu.
- Lettuce Wrap It Up: Fill your butter lettuce leaves with the noodle/tofu mixture (it’s okay if it’s sticky – you’re just wrapping it up in lettuce). Top with peanuts, cilantro, lime, and more sauce. YUM YUM YUM!
Notes
Air Fryer Option: To get really crispy tofu, you could also consider air frying your tofu!
Protein Options: It’s super easy to swap out your protein here. My two favorites are tofu (as written) and chicken!
Soaking the Noodles: This is important. If you don’t soak the noodles long enough they will require more liquid in the pan to cook, which kind of makes them boil into a big glob. Edible? Yes. Awesome? Not really. Be sure to soak them until they are very, very soft – almost ready to eat soft.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Asian-Fusion
Keywords: lettuce wraps, vegan lettuce wraps, vegan recipe, tofu recipe
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy tofu recipes. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Dairy-Free Dinner Main Dishes Most Popular Pasta Tofu Vegan Vegetarian Winter
February 19, 2018
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Looking delicious! I love the texture! Great recipe, thanks!
I totally need to step up my tofu game. I have never cooked with it. This looks like a delicious recipe to start with!
STOP with that sauce. OMG sounds amazing! I would most likely sub with chicken because I don’t think my husband would dig the tofu, but I’m loving everything about this recipe.
My husband used to be quite offended by tofu. But the man married a vegetarian so over the years he has warmed up to it…how? Well i would make something utterly delish (instert above recepe) and use chicken but crumble small amounts of tofu into it. Over time the tofu would increase and eventually it would be enough for him to notice. I would reply that I add tofu every time, that he loves the dish, and admit I added more this time.
Now he eats the stuff straight up.
Try it!
Also, get some vegan chicken nuggets and see if he likes them without you saying they aren’t chicken. Serve with his fav dunking sauce. You might be surprised!
Could you sub soba noodles instead of brown rice?
What a great idea!! I would think so.
What measurement is a container of tofu?
Typically 14 ounces!
Making this currently… my noodles say to boil for 5 min. Does soaking them replace that instruction or should I do both? Thanks
Hi, Robyn! It depends on the kind of noodles you ended up purchasing, but typically soaking your noodles for 30 minutes and then popping them in the pan (like at the end of this recipe) should cook them completely.
Oh.my.god! This is seriously some mouthwatering stuff, need to try this!
These TOTALLY reminded me of the P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps or the lettuce wraps from California Pizza Kitchen for some reason! I love how colorful and flavorful the tofu and brown rice noodle filling appears. You can even toss some of it into a salad FULL of butter lettuce, but of course, it’s way more fun to get your hands messy with lettuce wraps!
Hi! This looks fantastic. Do you think almond butter would work in place of peanut butter?
This looks SOOOO YUM!! My kids would love this except how spicy is it as it’s written? Just wondering how much I should scale back the spicy stuff
They’re probably medium spicy! I would start with just a little chili paste and add more to taste.
Oooh, I bet I can convince the carnivores in my house to try this one!
http://www.slackergirlfitness.com
I am also a huge fan of lettuce wraps…but the ones that fill you up 🙂 genius idea adding the brown rice noodles to this, this is on a my to-make list!!
Hope you enjoy it!
Lindsay, these look super tasty! A good way to keep a meal vegetarian or vegan with some great flavor.
Looks amazing!!! I’m working and can’t stop thinking about trying this recipe!
Thank you so much for the vegan recipes and explaining how to veganize the non-vegan recipes! I am a long time fan and I am transitioning from vegetarian to vegan this year. I will be making this for dinner tonight!
Hope you enjoy it!
I loved this! Made it last night and it was a big hit. So much flavor. Thank you for this recipe.
Glad to hear that, Christine!
This recipe was absolutely delicious! I used ground chicken and regular rice noodles because I couldn’t find the brown rice ones and it was so good. Will definitely be making again. Thanks for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Allie!
this looks easy and delicious! what butter would you suggest replacing the peanut butter in for? I am allergic to peanuts and walnuts so I haven’t tried any of your recipes with those nuts in them but really want to try this one. any suggestions?
Almond butter would probably be the best sub!
Almond butter if you can tastes delicious! My son has a peanut and tree nut allergy. We sub sunflower butter and it works great.
I always love creative meals and this is a great example. The wraps look like they would be less dense than tacos but would still be very satisfying. Plus, the green contrasts well against the rest of the colors.
I made these last night for dinner! OMG delicious. My boys have requested these for after school snack today. The firecracker sauce is soooo good, I could eat it with a spoon. Thank you for a great recipe!
Glad to hear that!
You’re right, this is filling. In a good kind of way. It’s also fun with all the garnishes. Not the prettiest dish, but boy, is it tasty. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it, Vivian!
Sounds and looks like a real winner. I know my other half will not do the tofu but maybe chicken.
Wow … This looks so delicious. Definitely trying this tonight. Thank you! 🙂
Hope you enjoy them!
Lindsay, I’m completely in love with this sauce !!!
Oh. My. YUM!!!! Definitely my next dinner recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hope you enjoy them!
Omg this sounds delicious!! How long will the sauce keep in the fridge? I would love to make a big batch and use it on different dishes.
It should keep for about 3-4 days!
Would this transfer well? Like to bring to a friend who had a baby? Would I bring her the whole tofu/sauce and letttuce separate? Thanks!
Hi Lydia! This travels fairly well. I’d probably reserve a little sauce for them to drizzle on too. And yes, lettuce separate from the noodle/tofu mixture!