Nutty tofu lettuce wraps with peanut sauce
I know a lot of people find tofu a bit hit or miss – when it’s nice and crispy it can be absolutely delicious, but if it’s cooked poorly, it can be really bad, with a slightly spongy, squidgy texture. If you’ve had trouble cooking tofu in the past, this is the recipe for you – nutty tofu lettuce wraps, served with a creamy peanut sauce. It’s impossible to get wrong.
When you cook tofu in big slabs, it can be so easy to cook it badly. But in these lettuce wraps, the tofu is crumbled up before being cooked, so the small pieces get nice and crispy. It’s then mixed with ground peanuts and cashews, red chilli and basil, to give it a beautiful flavour and texture.
Serve it up in a big green lettuce leaf with some fluffy rice and a drizzle of creamy peanut sauce, and you’ve got yourself a delicious, and pretty healthy, lunch.
I’ve been struggling to think of healthy meal ideas lately (I know, it’s literally my job to think of recipe ideas, but I was struggling) – so I was excited to remember that lettuce wraps were a thing. In some contexts, it seems a bit depressing to substitute a tortilla wrap for a lettuce leaf, but actually, with these Asian flavours, a proper wrap wouldn’t have felt right anyway. The big lettuce leaves work perfectly as big spoons for the tofu, nuts and rice, and make you feel like you’ve had something a bit different.
Don’t forget the creamy peanut sauce! It keeps these nutty tofu lettuce wraps nice and moist – and it’s made from peanut butter, so you know it’s going to be good. Just try to resist drinking it with a straw.
Nutty tofu lettuce wraps with peanut sauce
Ingredients
For the tofu mixture:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 200 g firm tofu, crumbled (~ 1 cup when crumbled)
- 2 tbsp cashew nuts and / or peanuts (I used half of each)
- 1 small red chilli, seeds removed
- Small handful fresh basil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
For the peanut sauce:
- 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 2-3 tbsp water
To assemble:
- 80 g uncooked white rice (~ 1/3 cup)
- ~ 8 large lettuce leaves
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the crumbled tofu. Cook over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until slightly dry and crispy.
- While the tofu is cooking, add the nuts, deseeded chilli, and fresh basil to a mini food processor. Blitz to form a coarse crumb. Add this mixture to the pan with the tofu, along with a squeeze of lime juice and a dash of soy sauce. Continue to cook over a medium-low heat for another 5 minutes, until the mixture is cooked to your liking.
- To make the peanut sauce, add the sweet chilli sauce and peanut butter to the mini food processor (no need to clean it properly after using it for the nuts), along with a dash of water. Blitz to combine, and adjust the consistency with more water if needed.
- Boil the rice in plenty of water until cooked, then drain.
- Serve the nutty tofu mixture with the rice, in large lettuce leaves, drizzled with the peanut sauce.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 2 lettuce wraps, though I’d recommend serving up to 4 per person for a decent portion.
Got some lettuce left over? Stick it in a sandwich! I’d thoroughly recommend my tofu bacon BLTs:
This has quickly become a family favorite recipe! It’s so quick and easy and full of flavor. With the rice, tofu and nuts, it’s also filling enough for dinner. I usually make a little extra sauce (and sometimes I add a little sweet Thai chili sauce and/or hoisin to stretch it) and mix the rice right in so the flavor coats everything. The leftovers are awesome for lunch the next day as a salad.
Thanks so much Danielle, I’m so glad you enjoy this one! A bit of Thai sweet chilli sounds fab :)
These are so great, I love tofu anyway but know this would make the perfect lunch especially with the nutty sauce to drizzle over it. This would also be a lovely idea for a bbq side dish now the sun is out!
Love the idea of serving these with a BBQ! You’ve made me long for the summer now ;)
You had me at the peanuts, wow these look so tasty, would love to try these healthy wraps:-)
I love lettuce wraps for Asian flavours, the crispness and freshness is so perfect. Love the look of that peanuty tofu filling too.
Yes perfect for when you want something light and fresh for lunch but want something a bit more interesting than a plain old salad!
Gonna have to try this one Becca! Looks delicious!
Thanks Jaxx, enjoy! :)
Hi Becca,
These look awesome! Love your blog – have found so many great recipes to get my family eating healthy and tasty, and even easy! Thank you!
Anyway, wondered if you had a nut free (and soy and gluten free) alternative idea for the pecans? We have allergies here. Do you think sunflower seeds would work here?
Thanks so much!
Thank you! :) I didn’t use pecans here – do you mean an alternative for the peanuts? To be honest if you can’t eat soy either, then that means the tofu is out too, which doesn’t leave much! You could try blitzing up some seeds, maybe add some white beans as a replacement for the tofu? I have no idea how well that would work though, sorry!
I love the sound of the nutty crumb and the peanut sauce, it’s a recipe that would be perfect for lunches to take to work too I think.
Definitely, I bet the leftovers keep well – not that we had any!
Love the lettuce wraps Becca, so light and healthy-)
Thanks Camilla! Thought I should do some healthy recipes for a change! ;)
I haven’t ever really liked tofu, but I can see its usefulness in a dish like this one. But I haven’t the first idea where you buy it, or what it looks like when you do!
Whereabouts do you live? It’s usually pretty easy to find in UK supermarkets, in the chilled vegetarian section. It comes in a block, surrounded by water, so you just need to drain that off and then you’re good to go :) This would be a great first recipe to try!
I’m in London, but I’ve never seen tofu in our local Tesco. Actually, I’d probably substitute paneer (which I can get easily), as I have slight reservations about eating soya products, due to the hormones they are supposed to have.
I personally think everything in moderation, but I’m sure paneer would work well here too :)
These look gorgeous! I love tofu, and I think it’s wonderful in most forms. Not had it like this though and really keen to try it with that peanut sauce!