During these early spring days, quick and easy dinners are what I’m all about. goddess Delicious shrimp lettuce wraps With avocado, check all the boxes for a delicious and easy dinner. They are ready to use in minutes, are healthy, low carb and easy to customize. Plus, you can serve them for lunch or dinner!
Avocado and shrimp are a very underrated combination in my opinion. Shrimp are really lean and the avocado adds some fat and creaminess to the lettuce wrap. There are a lot of options for additions to these guys once you get the basics down and I’ve included some ideas in the list of replacements below.
The peanut sauce is a bonus and worth the extra bit of work. I like mine a little spicy so I added more sriracha than the recipe calls for. Adjust to your taste or leave out the sriracha entirely for an unseasoned version.
These Shrimp Lettuce Wraps should be on your menu at some point, whether as a full meal or just as a fun and hearty appetizer.
Ingredients for lettuce wraps
There are some basics that are essential to these lettuce wraps, like lettuce, of course, and shrimp. As I mentioned above, I think avocado is really important because it gives a bit of creamy fat to the wraps. Other than that there are no hard and fast rules as to what you can put in these. Here are some ideas!
- Grated vegetables like carrot or cucumber
- Hot jalapeño or serrano peppers
- Fresh herbs such as coriander, dill or mint
- Crispy, thinly sliced root vegetables (radish, jicama, etc.)
- Brown or white rice (room temperature so that lettuce does not wilt)
Shrimp hunter
OK. Let’s talk shrimp! I like to use the large ones for this recipe which usually come in at 26-30 per kilo. This means you should get about 10 lettuce wraps out of the batch if you have 2-3 shrimp per lettuce wrap.
There are a million ways to cook shrimp and you can even use leftover shrimp for these wraps. I tried a poacher method below, but you can also use my steamed shrimp method which is easy and gives wonderful results. It would also be a wonderful addition to use these beer battered shrimp, but the fried shrimp element kind of counters the healthy lettuce wrap situation.
To poach the shrimp, peel and devein the shrimp, remove the tails and add them to a pot of boiling water with lemon and Old Bay. You don’t want a lot of Old Bay, just enough to season the shrimp. I would add more if I were eating the shrimp as a shrimp cocktail.
When the shrimp are ready, do not wash them! Instead add them to a bowl with some ice to cool them down quickly. Washing them in water will wash away all the wonderful seasoning you just added.
These are now ready to mix with your other ingredients and use in the casing!
Can I use canned shrimp?
I’m a fan of canned shrimp for things like shrimp salads or even shrimp cakes. When shrimp is the only ingredient in the finished dish, it may be okay to use canned shrimp, but I wouldn’t use them for these wraps. The main flavor and ingredient of the wraps is the shrimp so it’s nice to have fresh shrimp that really shine in the wraps.
Which lettuce is best for wraps?
Lettuce is of course not as strong as a tortilla or even rice paper. It doesn’t stretch at all so you have to be a little gentle with the wraps. Sometimes it’s good to add two pieces of lettuce to each wrap to give them a little extra support.
When it comes to what type of lettuce to use, I’ve used many types. I like plain green lettuce, but if you use this, definitely stack two pieces. Romaine lettuce can be strong enough to be used separately and is a great option. Butter lettuce has a wonderful flavor for wraps like this and a nice crunch and is also a great option.
I would avoid iceberg lettuce for these wraps, which is crisp, but hard to bend at all and will fall apart if you try to wrap it at all.
How to make the spicy peanut sauce
The trick to making this peanut sauce is to actually add water to it. You might think this dilutes the flavors, but the flavors are so strong they could use a little dilution. Also, I like that the dressing is thinner so you can easily drizzle it over the lettuce wraps. If you have to spread it with a knife, it’s too thick.
I had to add about 1/2 cup of water to mine to get it to the right consistency. You will have to mix and add in small amounts until your consistency reaches the right consistency. All peanut butters are different!
You can mix in the other flavors, soy sauce, sriracha and lime before you dilute them to make sure you get the right consistency. You can also adjust the flavors according to your taste, like a little honey for sweetness. There’s nothing expensive about my recipe – it’s just a starting point!
Assembling the covers
After the shrimp have cooled, add them to the bowl with the carrots and avocado. Looks good! Again, you can add a million crunchy veggies or toppings to this bowl at this point.
Divide the salad between several washed and dried lettuce leaves and drizzle heavily with the peanut sauce! If you wanted to add some rice or something to the wraps, do it before you pile the shrimp.
Three or four of these Avocado Shrimp Lettuce Wraps make a great easy dinner!
Residue storage
Shrimp don’t keep very well and these will get a little rubbery after a few days, but they will keep well for a day or two in the fridge. Better if you can store the parts separately. The thing that will run out the fastest is actually the avocado so if you can anticipate that a bit and use fresh avocado when you make leftover wraps, that’s best.
Of course, I wouldn’t recommend throwing away leftover wrappers if you have them! Wrap the lettuce wraps tightly in plastic and they will be fine for lunch the next day!
My recipe for Shrimp Lettuce Wrap
Shrimp lettuce wraps with avocado
Simple Avocado Shrimp Lettuce Wraps are a great option for an easy dinner. It’s especially nice on a hot summer day with a bubbly drink! Don’t forget the peanut sauce!
- 1 pound A big loss 26-30 per pound
- 1 lemon bisected
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 Medium carrot grated
- 2 Ripe avocado chopped
- Green lettuce or butter lettuce
- chives decorate
Peanut sauce:
- ½ Goblet Creamy peanut butter
- 1 Lyme juice only
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼-½ Goblet hot water
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For the peanut sauce, mix together the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl. Start with 1/4 cup hot water, but you may need more to thin the sauce enough. It should be thin enough to drip.
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For the shrimp, bring a medium pot filled with 2 inches of water to a boil along with the lemon (squeeze juice into the water) and Old Bay seasoning. Peel the shrimps (remove the tails) and peel them and add them to the boiling water on a low heat. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until the shrimp are cooked.
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Remove the shrimp and add to a bowl with ice. Do not wash the shrimp. Throw them with ice to cool them quickly.
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In a separate bowl, mix together shrimp with avocado and carrot.
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Scoop some of the avocado and shrimp mixture onto washed and dried lettuce leaves. Drizzle generously with peanut sauce and garnish with fresh chives. Serve immediately!
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An avocado and shrimp mixture will keep well in the refrigerator for a day, but the avocado will oxidize and turn brown.
dose: 1Lettuce wrapCalories: 186KKLCarbohydrates: 10Gprotein: 10GFat: 13GSaturated fat: 2GPolyunsaturated fat: 2GUnsaturated fat: 7Gtrans fat: 0.004GCholesterol: 57mgsodium: 459mgpotassium: 388mgfiber: 4GSugar: 3Gvitamin: 2197IUVitamin C: 13mgcalcium: 49mgiron: 1mg
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