Tofu and Brown Rice Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce Recipe - Pinch of Yum
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Tofu and Brown Rice Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

43 reviews / 5 average

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!

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


Ingredients for tofu and brown rice lettuce wraps with text over each that says the name of each ingredient.

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.

A white hand grabbing a tofu and brown rice lettuce wrap on a platter. There are extra ingredients for the lettuce wraps in the background.

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.
White hand grabbing a tofu and brown rice lettuce wrap with peanut sauce drizzled on top.

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


  • Author: Lindsay
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 45 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 tofuminimally 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:

Time To Show You Off!

collage of POY readers who made the recipe

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79 Comments

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This looks amazing! I’m a little nervous about cooking with tofu, as I haven’t really done it. Any suggestions on alternatives? Thanks!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      You could try ground turkey or ground chicken for a meat alternative!

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I’ll have to use ground chicken,,,because the exture of tofu is vomit inducing…not off to a good start…

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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.

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      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.

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!!!

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I forgot to buy an orange. Do you think a quarter cup of Tropicana OJ would work okay?

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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.

  12. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      So glad your family enjoyed the recipe! Love the bell pepper idea!

  13. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  14. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  15. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  16. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  17. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Ok. I am obsessed with these. So easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing your genius with us all.

  18. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

  19. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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.

  20. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      It was supposed to be a 5 star rating. I don’t know what happened when I touched it to get four!

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        Thanks for the review, Judi! We’re so glad you enjoyed the wraps!

  21. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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.

  22. Pinch of Yum Logo

    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.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      I also topped with green onions and peanuts in addition to the sriracha mayo. Perfect crunchy additions!

  23. Pinch of Yum Logo

    So easy and delish! Added peanuts and fried onions on top. The spicy Mayo is perfect!!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      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!