These Sriracha Meatball Lettuce Wraps are a super easy dinner that come together in 30-minutes – plus the meatballs are freezer-friendly!
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How to make this recipe
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Mix all ingredients together for meatballs and roll into 1-inch sized balls.
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Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add meatballs and cook until browned and fully cooked.
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Meanwhile, prepare veggies, adding to lettuce leaves.
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If serving meatballs right away, mix together ingredients for sauce in a large bowl, then toss cooked meatballs in sauce.
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Top lettuce wraps with 2-3 meatballs each and serve with extra sriracha and soy sauce. Enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
Meatballs
- Ground beef – ground chicken or ground turkey will give you a lean, healthier meatball
- Breadcrumbs – if you don’t have breadcrumbs or are in a pinch, you can use soft bread crumbs, panko, cracker or pretzel crumbs or crushed unsweetened cornflakes.
- Egg – plain yogurt or buttermilk can be used to bind the meatballs together.
- Dried minced onion – fresh minced onion or onion powder can also work for this recipe.
- Garlic powder – feel free to use equal amounts of freshly minced garlic in place of garlic powder if you’re in a pinch.
- Worcestershire sauce – mix soy sauce with ketchup or hoisin sauce to create an easy Worcestershire sauce substitute.
- Ketchup – tomato paste on its own or mixed with vinegar and sugar can replace ketchup.
- Dijon mustard – spicy brown mustard, Worcestershire sauce, honey mustard or yellow mustard will work in place of dijon mustard.
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Sticky Sriracha Sauce
- Sriracha – if you can’t use Sriracha, use sambal oelek, or chili paste pepper as a replacement.
- Honey – agave, maple syrup or coconut nectar can be used in place of honey.
- BBQ sauce – combine ketchup with mustard and brown sugar to make your own BBQ sauce.
- Soy sauce – Tamara or coconut aminos is a great substitute for soy sauce.
Toppings
- Boston leaf lettuce – romaine hearts and iceberg lettuce are both great alternatives to have for lettuce wraps
- Red cabbage – coleslaw mix, green cabbage, Napa cabbage can be used in place of red cabbage. Leave out the cabbage altogether if you prefer not to use it.
- Carrot – this topping is optional. Replace it with another topping listed, your preferred topping of choice or leave it out altogether.
- Red pepper – See substitution notes for carrots.
- Cucumber – See substitution notes for carrots.
- Sesame seeds (garnish)
- Scallions (garnish)
- Cilantro (garnish)
- Sriracha (add extra if needed)
Storing and reheating
The leftovers from this recipe will last up to 5 days in the fridge. I recommend storing the lettuce and the filling separately so that the lettuce doesn't get soggy.
You can also store the filling in an airtight container or a mason jar add store the lettuce in freezer bags or another airtight container to keep them fresh and crispy.
When you're ready to enjoy the dish, warm up your meatballs in the microwave and then assemble your lettuce wraps!
Freezing the meatballs
You can freeze the meatballs cooked or uncooked.
If you formed your meatballs and want to freeze them uncooked, put them on a tray in the freezer for about an hour so that they form their shape without sticking together or crumbling. Uncooked meatballs will last for three to four months in the freezer.
If you're freezing the meatballs after they've been cooked, let the meatballs cool completely. Then you can store them in the freezer for two to three months. When you're ready to enjoy your Sriracha meatballs, let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking.
More lettuce wraps
Meal prep tools
- Grab some Glass meal prep bowls for your leftovers.
- And of course I get all my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box!
- Order some coconut aminos if you're looking for a gluten-free alternative to soy sauce.
Sticky Sriracha Meatball Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp dried minced onion
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp ketchup
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Sticky Sriracha Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sriracha
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Toppings
- 1 head Boston leaf lettuce
- sliced red cabbage
- Carrot matchsticks
- Diced red pepper
- diced cucumber
- sesame seeds
- scallions, sliced
- chopped cilantro
- Extra sriracha
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together for meatballs and roll into 1-inch sized balls. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan, then add meatballs and cook for 7-8 minutes until browned and fully cooked. Set aside or freeze for later, reheating for 2-3 min in the microwave as needed.
- Meanwhile, prepare veggies, adding to lettuce leaves. If serving meatballs right away, mix together ingredients for sauce in a large bowl, then toss cooked meatballs in sauce. Top lettuce wraps with 2-3 meatballs each and serve with extra sriracha and soy sauce. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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Julie says
Hi,
Just found your page. Love the thought of this recipe, but especially love how the website changes it from u.s measurements to metric
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks so much Julie! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Christine BP says
Tried the meatballs last night and loved them! They will definitely be at my next party
Taylor Stinson says
Yay!!! So happy to hear that Christine 🙂 Thanks for sharing with me!
Ashton says
I never comment on recipes… but I just wanted to let you know I literally have dreams about these meatballs. THEY ARE SO GOOD.
Taylor Stinson says
Hahahaha aww THANK YOU Ashton!!! 🙂 So glad you love them so much!!!!!!
Tabitha says
Tasty, easy, just plain amazing!!!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed 🙂