lettuce wrap tacos

A new twist on lettuce wraps.

A new twist on taco night.

Black bean crema.

Mashed avocado with lime juice + salt.

Fluffed millet.

Pepper, onion, corn, beans, and spices.

Tomatoes.

Crunchy jicama.

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Lettuce Wrap Tacos [serves about 4]

*This recipe may look intimidating because there are 4 different parts but it actually only took about 35min to make.  I suggest starting with the millet, and while that’s cooking work on the black bean crema, then the the taco filling.  While the taco filling is cooking, make the creamy avocado mixture.

Millet

• 1c dried millet
• 2c vegetable broth, low sodium
• 1/2T safflower oil
• 1t garlic, minced
• pinch of salt
• black pepper

1. Heat a pot over medium with the oil.
2. While heating, thoroughly rinse the millet.
3. Add the garlic and stir for about 30sec then add the millet for 2-3min, stirring frequently.
4. Carefully pour in the broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
5. Stir once then cover and cook for 20min.  Do not open the lid to stir.
6. Leaving the cover on, move to a cool burner and let sit for 5min.
7. Fluff with a fork.

notes: Feel free to sub quinoa instead of millet.  Cook time will reduce to 15min.

Black Bean Crema [from a previous post]

• 1c black beans
• 1/4c half + half creamer [or unsweetened almond milk]
• 1/2T oil
• 3/4t garlic, minced
• 1/2t ground cumin
• 1/2t chili powder
• pinch of cayenne
• 1/8t salt

1. In a food processor/magic bullet/blender combine the beans and cream and process until smooth.  
2. In a small pan over medium heat, heat the oil.
3. Once hot, add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, cayenne + salt and stir constantly for 20-30sec until the garlic begins to brown.
4. Empty the black bean mixture into the hot pan, reduce heat to med-low, and stir until combined.
5. Let cook for 2-5min, stirring frequently, until desired thickness is reached.  It will continue to thicken as it sits.

notes: I used almond milk [out of half + half] and it worked perfectly.

Creamy Avocado

• 1 avocado
• juice from 1/2 of a lime
• pinch of salt

1. Mash all together until smooth.

Taco Filling

• 1 head butter lettuce, washed
• 3/4c red onion, diced
• 2c bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2c corn [frozen works]
• 1T safflower oil
• 1/2T garlic, minced
• 2.5t chili powder
• 1 1/4t cumin
• 1t oregano
• 1/4t coriander
• 1/2t salt
• 1/4t cayenne pepper [opt]
• optional toppings: jicama, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, salsa, cilantroetc.

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium.
2. Once hot, cook the red onion for about 5-7 minutes until just starting to soften.  Stir frequently.
3. Add in the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, then stir in all of the seasonings and cook for 20-30seconds.
4. Add in the bell pepper and corn and cook for 5-6min, stirring frequently.
5. Layer ingredients onto washed and dried butter lettuce leaves.  Roll up and eat.

Layer.

Roll.

Wrap.

Stuff in face.

Repeat.

…

Bed.

Ashley

Comments

[Hillary]

fresh for spring! love it.

[Ellie @ Healthy Belly Ellie]

WOW! This looks absolutely delicious! I am definitely bookmarking this recipe to try out ASAP!!!

Thanks :)

[Sonia]

Delicious! Everything goes into tacos is my fav. Tempting!

[Amanda @ Thinly Sliced Cucumber]

Oh yum! This looks sooo good. I've made the black bean crema twice since the last time you posted it. A HUGE hit around here. We like to smear it on everything. Last time I threw in a bit of chopped jalapeno pepper and I swear I saw my husband eating it by the spoonful. Can't wait to try in with this recipe.

Ashley--> I'm quite obsessed with the crema myself!

[Cait's Plate]

I love it. Lettuce wraps are one of my favorite things to get when I'm OUT to eat but I never think to make them myself. These look awesome and definitely a recipe I'll be trying soon!

[Jamie @ Don't Forget the Cinnamon]

I love tacos in nice big pieces of lettuce! These look awesome!

[Ashley M. [at] (never home)maker]

Yum! Exactly what I need as I embark on my sugar weaning journey!

[Joanna @ Midwestern Bite]

I am so incredibly glad to see a veggie taco recipe that does not include tempeh!!! With Husband's new grain-free diet we wrap up all kinds of things lately, though we haven't done tacos yet. Tacos are going on next week's menu for sure. BTW, I made your orange chia almond meal muffins earlier this week and my Paleo Husband was thrilled with the texture - it's been a long time since he's had a baked good. Of course I only bought one bag of Almond Meal from Trader Joes..... maybe I need to find an online source for this stuff! It's like gold. If I actually go to Trader Joes I buy waaaaay too much other stuff too!

Ashley--> There is tempeh that is grain free. I buy West Soy "original" that is grain free. I also have another taco recipe without tempeh! http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2011/8/12/taco-night-done-right.html I'm so glad you made + enjoyed the muffins. Thanks for letting me know!

[Rachel @ The Parkers Blog]

This is unbelievably unfair to see while sitting at my desk at work on 8:43 in the morning. Very yummy, possibly convincing me to try millet, which is probably delicious but sounds so close to mullet that it makes me feel irky.

Ashley--> Your whole comment cracked me up this morning. I assure you that millet is delicious!

[Andrea]

This looks awesome and I'm really excited for this taco filling recipe. I know taco filling doesn't sound difficult, but I usually think too hard about it so this will be helpful :) Have a great day Ashley!

[Andrea]

Holy yum! Looks fresh and filling. I've yet to try millet... it will happen with these beauties! I love your blog for all of the interesting ingredients I haven't tried before.

Ashley--> I'm pretty sure millet is my favorite grain! Hope you like it as well!

[Lauren @ Oatmeal after Spinning]

Yum! I've seen HEAB reference your black bean crema a million times- and I always comment that I need to make it. Seriously- what is wrong with me- this is totally up my alley! I'm going to actually write it down in the weekly dinner meal plan for next week. I love all of these flavors and ingredients, and the addition of jicama is awesome! Thanks for the great recipe today!

Ashley--> I hope you love it!

[Katie]

We have taco night weekly at our house. Meeker and his low-carb extravaganza is going to love this. Me and my can't-get-enough black bean mash is going to love this, too.

Ashley--> Glad this will work well for you and the fam!

[Heather]

we have taco night too...and whaddayaknow, a ton of lettuce in the fridge. guess i know what's for dinner now :)

[Liz]

These tacos look so amazing! I've definitly getting into the 'using lettuce instead of bread/wraps' lately, but I never thought about using it in place of taco shells!

[Heather Eats Almond Butter]

Ugh, I have not been getting your posts in Google Reader and just resubscribed...and I've missed out on a ton of posts. Sadness. However, I'm very happy to see that the black bean crema is still alive and well. :)

Ashley--> My feed changed last month when I redesigned the blog and switched hosts. I couldn't find a way to notify subscribers which has been annoying. I tried to redirect the feed but it didn't work. Thanks for resubscribing!

[Sarah]

I love this idea! Adding to this week's menu...

[Eileen]

Those look amazing! I could eat two or three right this very minute. We don't normally have jicama around though--maybe I should give it a try.

[Cathy @ What Would Cathy Eat?]

Wow. Very cool recipe idea!

[Catalina @ Cake with Love]

Love the idea of these tacos!!!! :)

[Nadiya @ Milk and Honey]

Cool :D I've never heard of saffron oil before though, do you think it'd be possible to find it at Whole Foods?

Ashley--> Safflower oil is a high heat cooking oil I use when I'm not using coconut oil. You can definitely find it at Whole Foods. :) It's a tasteless oil that can also be swapped with sunflower oil.

[Anne Marie]

Hi Ashley -
We made lettuce wraps last night with your black bean crema - AMAZING! My husband now wants me to keep a full batch of it in the fridge at all times so he can put it on sandwiches, wraps, taco bowls, etc. So thank you for making me look good. :)

Ashley--> Thanks for letting me know. I'm so glad you both loved the meal. I'm hooked on the black bean crema too!