Sesame Beef Lettuce Wraps

If you are looking for a fresh and delicious weeknight dinner, Sesame Beef Lettuce Wraps with quick pickled cucumbers and radishes is your recipe. This dish has Korean inspired flavors and comes together quick in 30 minutes from prep to table. 

Sesame Beef with Cabbage

This is one of my favorite (somewhat light) dinner recipes to make because it comes together in just about 30 minutes and is so, so flavorful and delicious. This recipe is heavily inspired by a Hello Fresh meal I tried and loved so I made it again and again.

You can serve this sesame beef with cabbage on it's own with steamed white rice or I enjoy it wrapped in savoy cabbage. A cabbage or lettuce wrap adds extra crunch and freshness to the beef.

Also, a heavy drizzle of chili sauce at the end makes these wraps spicy, just how I like them, but if you aren’t a fan of heat, they are plenty flavorful without. The secret to all of the flavor is sesame oil.

Ingredients in Sesame Beef Wraps

• ground beef- or ground turkey
• scallions
• Persian cucumbers
• radishes
• cilantro
• rice wine vinegar
• red cabbage
• garlic cloves
• sesame oil
• savoy cabbage, or butter lettuce

How to Make Sesame Beef

Sautée your beef and cabbage in a drizzle of sesame oil and then finish it with a bit more for extra seasoning. Fresh garlic, scallions, and red cabbage all go into the beef and it makes the most unique filling.

Because I make this dish mild up until the assembly, these tacos can also be made kid-friendly if served in mini flour tortillas. My twins actually love the pickled cucumbers and radishes!

Pickled Radish & Cucumber Salad

As for the quick pickles, I make them first and pop them in the fridge while I cook the meat and prep the cabbage wraps however you could make them up to one day ahead if you want to get a real-good pickle on them.

A few thinly sliced red onions would also be super tasty in this pickled mix! Here’s to easy week night dinners.

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Sesame Beef Lettuce Wraps

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Sesame ground beef tacos with quick pickles in a cabbage wrap.

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Ingredients

• 2 scallions
• 2 mini Persian cucumbers
• 4 radishes
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• handful of cilantro
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• 10 oz bag shredded red cabbage
• 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil + more for the pan
• 1 head of savoy cabbage, or butter lettuce
• Sriracha or other chili sauce
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Start by prepping your produce. Trim and thinly slice scallions. Thinly slice cucumbers and radishes and pick cilantro leaves from the stems. Mince garlic and wash and cabbage removing leaves and setting them aside to dry.
2. In a small bowl, make your quick pickles by combining cucumbers, radishes, rice wine vinegar and sugar. Mix to combine and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
3. In a large sautee pan add a drizzle of sesame oil, scallions and cabbage. Sautee until softened about 4-5 minutes. Add beef and minced garlic and cook breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon until you have a nice crumble and the meat is fully cooked about 4-5 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. Remove from heat.
4. To assemble your tacos, fill cabbage leaves with ground beef mixture and top with a few pickled cucumbers and radishes, some fresh cilantro and a drizzle of chili sauce (if desired.) Eat and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 399Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 275mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 34g

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