These lettuce wraps are ridiculously good! Crunchy, fresh, and packed with tofu, brown rice, crispy onions, plus a drizzle of peanut sauce and spicy mayo. Delicious!
Tofu and Brown Rice Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce
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Easiest dinner ever! Topped ours with peanuts and Trader Joe’s crispy jalapenos. It was on the table in 15 minutes with little effort, and we loved it. Will make again!
Sarah
This is a fan favorite recipe that’s part of our Fall 2022 SOS Series! View the full series.
How much do I love a quick pan-fried crumbled tofu and brown rice filling, coated in peanut sauce, tucked into tender little butter lettuce leaves, and crowned with a drizzle of spicy mayo and – obviously – a couple little crunchy fried onions? Judging by the tens (hundreds?) of these that I’ve eaten, the answer is: A LOT.
There’s just something about these flavors and textures that makes a person feel good in their heart. It’s light but it’s filling, it’s savory but a little sweet and spicy, it has a complexity of texture with a delicate, fresh crunch and an almost-meaty-like filling, and it comes together so ridiculously fast – I mean, let’s just go ahead and accept right now that this is a recipe that cannot be made just once.
This recipe has absolutely been our most-made meal of the summer.
In This Post: Everything You Need For These Lettuce Wraps
- Our Short and Sweet Ingredient List
- What I Love About These Lettuce Wraps
- Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe
- VIDEO to Make Lettuce Wraps
Our Short and Sweet Ingredient List
- tofu
- lettuce
- brown rice
- sriracha
- teriyaki sauce
- orange
- peanut butter
If you like a little spicy mayo on top (and I do, thank you very much) then grab your mayo and sriracha out of the fridge, and if you like a little crunchy onion action (also yes) pull those out of the pantry.
And there you go: saucy, peanutty, flavor-packed tofu and brown rice lettuce wraps, coming right up.
What I Love About These Lettuce Wraps
There’s just so much to tell!
- Most lettuce wraps leave me wanting more, I think because they lack a carb element. Having brown rice (or quinoa, or another grain) in the filling solves this problem and makes them super satisfying in a full-meal kind of way.
- The tofu is just so low maintenance. Give it a quick squeeze over the sink and then plop it in the skillet and crumble it up. SOS-style.
- The peanut sauce is semi-homemade, using a bottle of teriyaki to start you off. If you wanted to make your own peanut sauce, this is my go-to. I’ve done it both ways and it’s great no matter how you choose to peanut sauce it.
- It makes great leftovers! The filling lasts for days, and it can be used in your extra lettuce leaves or over a salad or in a stir fry… endless options.
- It’s family-approved! At least in my house it is: my husband raves every time I make these and my toddler gets *so* excited for what we’ve come to call “lettuce wrap night.” We put yogurt on hers instead of spicy mayo, and she will eat 2, 3, sometimes even 4 of these. 😂 You just never know with these little people.
This recipe has landed on our table so many times in the last 6 months and it is just everything I love in life: creamy, salty, saucy, spicy, a little bit sweet, and light, crunchy, and filling. Not to mention SOS-level easy.
Blessings on your lettuce wrap journey! I hope you love them. ♡
Tofu and Brown Rice Lettuce Wraps: FAQs
This looks so good! Tell me! How do I level these up?
Fresh garlic, scallions, or ginger are great additions to your filling mixture. And obviously homemade peanut sauce is fab (love, love, love this one). Go with whatever works! This recipe is meant to be flexible and easy.
How can I make these totally vegan?
Only swap you’ll need to make is using a plant-based mayo!
How long will filling leftovers keep in the fridge?
3-5 days is ideal here for leftovers.
How could I add meat to this?
The easiest sub would be to use ground chicken or turkey instead of tofu!
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Tofu and Brown Rice Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4–5 servings 1x
Description
These lettuce wraps are ridiculously good! Crunchy, fresh, and packed with tofu, brown rice, crispy onions, plus a drizzle of peanut sauce and spicy mayo. Delicious!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Lettuce Wraps
- olive oil
- One 14-ounce block extra firm tofu – minimally pressed to remove water
- about 2 cups cooked brown rice and/or quinoa or other grains – I use the 8.5 ounce precooked packages so it’s very, very easy
- butter lettuce or leaf lettuce for wrapping
- spicy mayo (see notes)
- chopped peanuts or crispy onions for topping
SOS Peanut Sauce
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- juice of 1 orange
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- a squirt of Sriracha or other chile sauce if you want
If you have a bit more time, you can also use this amazing homemade peanut sauce.
Instructions
- Cook the tofu: Heat a few swishes of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the tofu and crumble in the pan. Cook until slightly browned. While that’s cooking, whisk up all sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Add rice and sauce: Add the rice and most of the sauce to the pan. Sauté for 5 minutes or so – just enough to get some browning / light caramelization and get everything nice and yummy. Season with salt to taste.
- Fill and serve: Spoon your tofu and brown rice filling into crispy little pieces of lettuce. Top with something crunchy (peanuts? crispy onions?) and something creamy (spicy mayo all the way) and drizzle with a little extra sauce, and now tell me this isn’t your favorite meal of the week.
Notes
Spicy Mayo: I usually just mix about 1/4 cup mayo with about 1 tablespoon sriracha. But super easy to make it more or less spicy depending on your heat tolerance!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sauté
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: lettuce wraps, vegan lettuce wraps, tofu lettuce wraps
More Lettuce Wrap Recipes To Swoon Over:
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Lime Drench (crumbly-crispy and tangy to the max)
- Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps (kinda similar to these but with slurpable noodles)
- Roasted Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps with Korean BBQ-Inspired Sauce (hurry up and make these!)
- Creamy Miso Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps (the grapes on these cuties are a must)
Time To Show You Off!
Filed Under: All Recipes Dairy-Free Dinner Healthy Lunch Main Dishes Peanut Butter Quick and Easy Rice SOS Series Spring Stovetop Sugar-Free Summer Tofu Vegan Vegetarian
September 23, 2022
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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This looks amazing! I’m a little nervous about cooking with tofu, as I haven’t really done it. Any suggestions on alternatives? Thanks!
You could try ground turkey or ground chicken for a meat alternative!
Any suggestions for a peanut/nut free sauce?
This is a pretty tasty one! http://wvaea.org/incredible-gochujang-sauce
I’ll have to use ground chicken,,,because the exture of tofu is vomit inducing…not off to a good start…
Ground chicken is a great option for this recipe. Enjoy!
I had some tofu in the frog that I was wondering what to do with!
We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made this for dinner tonight and it could not have been easier! I had a bunch of leftover brown rice from dinner the other night, so I was happy to be able to use it for something! I’ll add some garlic to this next time and maybe some green onions. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed the lettuce wraps!
Easiest dinner ever! Topped ours with peanuts and Trader Joe’s crispy jalapenos. It was on the table in 15 minutes with little effort, and we loved it. Will make again!
So happy to hear this, Sarah! Thanks for the comment!
Oh my! This is just the best. I could swim in your sauces and what a good way to start eating tofu. Just to easy and yummy.
We hope you enjoy the recipe, Karen!
Swapped the tofu for mushrooms so it would make a smaller portion and used puy lentils for my grains – loved this recipe! Will definitely mix and match and make again in the future
Great substitutions! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’m a huge fan of your site and all your recipes. Thank you for making my life healthier and tastier!
These wraps were great. I used ground chicken and cauliflower rice. I couldn’t believe how flavourful with so few ingredients. Next time I’ll kick it up with onions, garlic and ginger.
I did make the homemade sauce (the easier one looks great too), but I really liked these! I was leery of all that unseasoned tofu, but with the sauces it was full of flavor and brown rice gives a pleasing texture! My husband doesn’t like tofu if you can taste it, but he gobbled these up!
Glad to hear the recipe was a hit, Colette!
Made these tonight and they were delicious! Even with a fussy toddler under foot, I was able to get dinner on the table in under 20 min. Also love that I didn’t have to chop anything 😂 Will definitely be making again and again!
We love hearing this, Melanie! Thanks for the comment!
So easy and delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Abby!
Delicious! I levelled up by sautéing the tofu with the white part of the green onions, garlic, and ginger. Didn’t use mayo or crunchy onions because I didn’t have any one hand. Just topped with green onions and extra Siracha. Way better than I expected! Thank you!!!
Glad to hear it, Michelle!
I forgot to buy an orange. Do you think a quarter cup of Tropicana OJ would work okay?
Yes, that should work just fine!
Last week my husband was expressing how difficult cooking was while taking care of all three of our young kids so when meal planning this week I was shooting for simple recipes and this scored big at our house. It was SO good and everyone went back for seconds. We used quinoa instead of rice and the texture was delicious. We will definitely be making this on the Reg.
Glad to hear the recipe was a hit with your family!
This was delicious, fast and easy. The whole family loved it. For the kids who won’t do it lettuce wraps style, I might add some chopped bell peppers next time. I will definitely keep this recipe on hand for easy meals. Thank you!
So glad your family enjoyed the recipe! Love the bell pepper idea!
So easy and so delish! The fried onions were the perfect crunchy topper. Next time will try the more complex peanut sauce. But these will go into the weeknight rotation!
Glad to hear this, Katie! Thanks for the comment!
Lindsay! This recipe is insanely good and easy! Oh my…. I could eat this at least once a week. Genius! I love you ❤️ thanks for sharing!
We swapped ground chicken for tofu and my husband and I both loved this! He requested it again next week. Quick and easy! Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Jane! So glad the recipe was a hit!
So good!! I made this with the homemade peanut sauce and it really hit the spot. Topped it with cilantro, peanuts, and furikake. So easy and quick too – thank you!
Glad to hear it! Thanks for the comment, Wallis!
Ok. I am obsessed with these. So easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing your genius with us all.
Glad to hear it, Jennifer!
Here are some great ideas!
This was fantastic and so simple! I doubled the recipe but used 1/2 rice and 1/2 crumbled leftover steamed cauliflower. The whole family loved it. Will definitely make it again soon. Thank you!
So glad the recipe was a it!
I can’t do tofu due to a soy allergy so I made this with pork and a quick teriyaki sauce using coconut aminos. We also had some shredded zucchini and carrots that we tossed in. Holy moly, this will be a regular in our meal rotation for sure. And wow, the pre-cooked brown rice is amazing. Why haven’t I bought it before?! I like brown rice but never get it to cook right.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe with pork! Thanks for commenting!
Made this last night. So delicious! I didn’’t have lettuce leaves so I just put it in a bowl and it was fabulous. Definitely going on repeat. Thank you!
It was supposed to be a 5 star rating. I don’t know what happened when I touched it to get four!
Thanks for the review, Judi! We’re so glad you enjoyed the wraps!
I frequently eat tofu but have always felt like it’s a cumbersome and time-consuming ingredient to use but this recipe has given me the confidence to use it even more because this was so easy! I love that this recipe was so quick to come together and when I had it plated it felt like I had ordered takeout.
We love hearing this, Brittany! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This was so easy and delicious! I added a couple grated carrots, some fresh ginger, and garlic. The texture is amazing and it’s fresh and light while also being filling.
I also topped with green onions and peanuts in addition to the sriracha mayo. Perfect crunchy additions!
So easy and delish! Added peanuts and fried onions on top. The spicy Mayo is perfect!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Katie!
These were so good- made the homemade peanut sauce and my husband who usually complains that vegetarian food is never filling enough (and doesn’t love peanuts butter) ate several and loved them! I love the potential for the clean out the pantry style of these- I threw some sliced bell peppers in and am already considering adding mushrooms and water chestnuts next time! This has so much potential to customize and it’s so quick and easy!