These Low Carb Burger Lettuce Wraps are made with double-stacked patties sandwiched between layers of cheddar cheese and special sauce!
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How to make this recipe
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Preheat BBQ to med-high. Mix ingredients for special sauce together and prep veggies.
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Mix salt and pepper into ground beef. Form patties from the ground beef and grill the patties. Remove from the grill and add cheese on top.
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Lay lettuce leaves on plates and topping with two slices pickles and two slices of tomatoes. Add beef patties with melted cheese, and top with red onions, then drizzle with special sauce.
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Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Ground beef – if you’re looking for a leaner option to this recipe, use ground turkey.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- Cheddar cheese – use a sharp cheddar cheese grated or, slices if you’re in a pinch.
- Boston lettuce – iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves can be used as the lettuce wraps if you aren’t able to find Boston lettuce.
- Plum tomatoes – use heirloom tomatoes, Roma tomatoes or red vine tomatoes in place of plum tomatoes.
- Red onion – yellow onions or sweet onions work wonderfully on burgers.
- Pickles – feel free to leave these out if you’re not a fan of pickles. For a similar texture and crunch use banana peppers (if you’re a fan of some heat!)
Special sauce
- Light mayo – use sour cream as a lighter alternative.
- BBQ sauce – mix ketchup and Worcestershire sauce together if you don’t have any BBQ sauce.
- Garlic powder – onion powder or garlic salt can also work.
- Paprika – use chili powder, cayenne powder or crushed chili flakes in place of paprika.
What lettuce is used for lettuce wraps?
This recipe calls for Boston lettuce leaves for these lettuce wraps. Boston lettuce leaves, also known as Bibb leaves, are a highly nutritious option. They have a higher folate, iron and potassium count than other lettuce options and are super malleable!
Iceberg lettuce is another popular option for lettuce wraps. Though they do not have as high of a nutrient count as Boston leaves, they add a great texture to your dish. Iceberg lettuce has a high water content making it more crunchy and solid than other options. Because of their sturdy structure, they're also least likely to get soggy.
If you're looking for an option that's the perfect middle ground of the above options, use romaine lettuce! Romaine lettuce is a longer leaf than the other options but it provides similar nutrients to Boston lettuce while giving a similar crunch to iceberg lettuce. If you're using romaine lettuce, fold over the excess leaf while eating for a true burger experience.
How many carbs are in lettuce wraps?
Boston lettuce has a carb count of 2.9g of carbohydrates per 100g of lettuce. Hamburger buns have an average carb count of 29g of carbohydrates. Though carbs are not the enemy, by using lettuce wraps as a substitute to hamburger buns you are reducing the amount of carbohydrates significantly in this meal. This is perfect if you're counting your macronutrients or are on a keto diet.
Storing and reheating
The leftovers from this recipe will last up to 5 days in the fridge. If storing leftovers in the fridge, I recommend storing the lettuce and the filling separately. This will ensure that the lettuce doesn't get soggy. I also recommend storing the sauce separately and adding it on when you're ready to serve these lettuce wraps.
When you're ready to enjoy the dish, warm up your patties in the microwave, assemble your lettuce wraps, and enjoy!
Freezing the beef patties
To store these beef patties for longer, stack them with a small piece of wax paper or parchment paper in between each patty to ensure they do not stick together. Place the stack inside of an airtight container or freezer bag and they will keep well frozen for 3 to 4 months.
More lettuce wrap recipes
Meal prep tools
- Here's the brand of light mayo I use to make the special sauce.
- Or if you have no time to make the special sauce for this recipe, you can actually buy Big Mac sauce online
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing leftover patties
- I get all my grass-fed ground beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen
Low Carb Burger Lettuce Wraps with Special Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 head Boston lettuce
- 2 plum tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced
- 6 sliced pickles
Special sauce
- 1/2 cup light mayo (or sour cream)
- 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Preheat BBQ to med-high. Mix ingredients for special sauce together and preep veggies.
- Mix salt and pepper into ground beef, mixing well to combine. Form 8 evenly-sized very thin (1/4 inch) patties and place onto grill, BBQing for 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from grill and add cheese to one patty, then stack with another patty and top with more cheese.
- Lay lettuce leaves on plates and topping with two slices pickles and two slices of tomatoes. Add beef patties with melted cheese, and top with red onions, then drizzle with special sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Tiffany says
Can you post the nutritional facts for the burger without the sauce? Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Tiffany – unfortunately I’m unable to recalculate the nutrition facts to account for substitutions. Sorry about that!