Sooooo I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps for literally MONTHS now but life’s been crazy (isn’t it always tho??) I was going to write it up on my phone but have you ever tried typing a whole recipe with your thumbs? Pure torture.
ANYWAY. These lettuce wraps. Oh My. They’re my current food obsession and I’m not even sorry about it. Like, there was a solid two-week period where I ate them for lunch AND dinner. My friend started calling me “the lettuce wrap lady” which is… not the cute nickname I was hoping for in our friendship but whatever I’LL TAKE IT.
If you’ve been following my food journey (aka my sporadic posts whenever I remember this blog exists lol), you know I’m all about maximum flavor + minimum effort because WHO HAS TIME?? These wraps tick all my boxes. Thai-inspired? Check. Veggies that don’t taste like sad diet food? Check. Can I make them while slightly tipsy after book club? Triple check.
Why I’m Slightly Unhinged About These Wraps
Let me count the ways I’m obsessed with these Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps:
They’re healthy-ish (I say “ish” because I tend to go overboard with the sauce, but that’s a me problem)
Ready in 30 minutes (45 if I’m being honest and factoring in my tendency to get distracted by Instagram between steps)
Flexible AF – I’ve made these with sweet potatoes I forgot about that were growing actual SPROUTS and they still turned out amazing
Perfect for when my mom drops by unannounced and I need to pretend I regularly cook nutritious meals instead of eating cereal for dinner
Quick Stats (because apparently recipes need these now??)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (or 30 if your knife is as dull as mine)
- Cook Time: 15-ish minutes (depends if your oven runs hot like Satan’s kitchen like mine does)
- Total Time: Let’s just say “under an hour” and call it good
- Difficulty: Easy enough that I didn’t mess them up when making them during a conference call on mute
- Servings: 4 normal people or 2 hungry people or just me after a really bad Monday
Stuff You Need (aka what to frantically text your roommate to pick up on their way home)
Must-Haves:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (OK fine I never peel them because FIBER and also LAZY)
- 1 small head of cauliflower (or half a big one, I’m not the cauliflower police)
- Lettuce – butter lettuce works best but I’ve used iceberg in desperate times and lived to tell the tale
- ½ cup Thai peanut sauce (I have a homemade recipe somewhere in the disaster zone that is my Pinterest boards but honestly the Trader Joe’s one works GREAT)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or avocado oil or that weird specialty oil your aunt got you for Christmas that you don’t know what to do with)
- 2 cloves garlic (or 4 because I measure garlic with my heart)
- Fresh ginger (that weird knobby thing in the back of your vegetable drawer that’s probably sprouting by now)
- A lime (or that bottle of lime juice that’s been in your fridge door since 2019, no judgment)
- Green onions and cilantro (unless you’re one of those people with the soap-cilantro gene, then just skip it, your genetics aren’t your fault)
Optional But Worth It If You’re Not Too Lazy:
- Protein of some kind: I’ve thrown in leftover grilled chicken, those pre-cooked Costco chicken strips, half a can of chickpeas I found in the back of my fridge
- Something spicy: sriracha or that random hot sauce sample you got in a subscription box
- Crunchy stuff: peanuts, those fried onion things from the Thanksgiving green bean casserole, crushed up chips when I’m feeling chaotic
How To Actually Make Them (with real-life interruptions included)
1. The Roasting Part
Turn your oven to 400°F. While it’s heating up, wash your sweet potatoes. I never peel them because A) nutrients or whatever and B) I can’t find my peeler half the time.
Chop everything into bite-sized chunks. My definition of “bite-sized” varies wildly depending on my hunger level and patience, so you do you.
Toss the veggies with oil, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. If you’re like me and realize too late that you’re out of fresh ginger, powdered works fine. Don’t @ me, food purists.
Spread them on a baking sheet. USE PARCHMENT PAPER. I cannot stress this enough. I once spent an entire episode of Succession chiseling caramelized sweet potato off a bare sheet pan. Learn from my trauma.
Stick the veggies in the oven. Set a timer because you WILL forget about them otherwise. I speak from experience and multiple smoke detector incidents.
2. The In-Between Part
While the veggies are doing their thing, wash your lettuce. I like to soak the whole head in cold water because there’s always dirt hiding in there, and one time I found A LITERAL BUG, and I still have nightmares about it.
Chop your garnishy things. This is a good time to pour yourself a glass of wine if that’s your vibe. It’s definitely mine.
Check Instagram. Text back that friend you’ve been ignoring. Remember the veggies! Panic! Realize there’s still 7 minutes left on the timer. Relax.
3. The Assembly AKA The Messy Part
Wait for the veggies to cool a bit unless you enjoy burning the roof of your mouth. (I never wait long enough, hence why I haven’t been able to taste anything properly since 2018.)
Take a lettuce leaf. Overfill it with roasted veggies because portion control is a myth. Drizzle with sauce. Who am I kidding, DROWN IT in sauce.
Add your garnishes. Take a photo for social media that no one will care about but you feel obligated to post anyway.
Try to pick it up gracefully. Fail. Filling falls everywhere. Eat it anyway because floor food doesn’t count during a Mercury retrograde.
Brutally Honest Tips From Someone Who’s Messed These Up Multiple Ways
- Don’t multitask too hard: One time I was making these while online shopping and somehow ordered $200 worth of skincare AND burned the cauliflower. Neither my bank account nor my dinner recovered.
- Sauce storage: Make extra sauce and keep it in an old jam jar in your fridge. It will somehow taste better on day 3 for reasons science cannot explain.
- The lettuce situation: Double up your lettuce leaves if you’re heavy-handed with fillings like me. It prevents the tragic lettuce wrap rip that results in peanut sauce on your favorite shirt. Ask me how I know.
- Meal prep reality check: I always PLAN to make these for the whole week but they never last past day 2 because I have zero self-control and eat them cold, standing in front of the fridge at midnight.
How To Serve These Without Actually Having To Try
Honestly, just dump everything in random bowls and call it a “DIY lettuce wrap bar.” People love interactive food experiences because it distracts them from asking why you still have Christmas decorations up in April.
If someone complains about lettuce wraps not being a “real meal” (DAD), just add a side of rice or those microwavable grain packets that cost too much but save your sanity.
My personal serving style is eating them hunched over the sink to avoid doing more dishes, but maybe don’t do that when you have company.
Leftover Situations & Real Talk
If by some miracle you don’t inhale all of these in one sitting:
- Keep the components separate or you’ll end up with a soggy mess that will make you question your life choices.
- The roasted veggies are amazing cold. Sometimes I just eat them straight from the container with my fingers while standing in front of the open fridge pretending I’m not actually eating a meal.
- True story: I once mixed leftover filling with scrambled eggs the next morning and it was LIFE CHANGING. Hangover approved.
Customization For When You Inevitably Don’t Have All The Ingredients
The beauty of these Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps is that they’re basically impossible to ruin:
- Out of sweet potatoes? I’ve used regular potatoes, butternut squash, and once in a moment of desperation, parsnips. All weirdly good!
- No peanut sauce and too lazy to go to the store? Mix peanut butter with whatever Asian-ish condiments you have. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, that half-empty bottle of teriyaki… it all works somehow.
- Lettuce looking sad? I’ve used collard greens, cabbage, and once just put everything in a bowl and called it a “deconstructed wrap” because I’m fancy like that.
- Vegetable drawer looking sparse? Throw in whatever random vegetables need to be used up. Broccoli, bell peppers, that zucchini that’s about to cross over to the other side – they all roast up fine!
Look, I’m not saying these Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps will change your life, but also I kind of am?? They’ve gotten me through breakups, deadlines, family visits, and that weird week where my upstairs neighbor was learning the trumpet.
Make them next time you’re staring into your fridge wondering how Door Dash got all your money again. Your wallet will thank you, your body will thank you, and you can tell everyone you’ve got your life together because you cook ~healthy meals~ at home.
Just don’t tell them you ate all the servings in one night while watching reality TV. That’s between you, me, and your empty peanut sauce jar.
xoxo, The Lettuce Wrap Lady
Recipes You May Like
Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower
Deliciously easy Thai Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps! Healthy-ish, packed with flavor, ready under an hour. Flexible & satisfying. Try them!
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (OK fine I never peel them because FIBER and also LAZY)
- 1 small head of cauliflower (or half a big one, I'm not the cauliflower police)
- Lettuce – butter lettuce works best but I've used iceberg in desperate times and lived to tell the tale
- ½ cup Thai peanut sauce (I have a homemade recipe somewhere in the disaster zone that is my Pinterest boards but honestly the Trader Joe's one works GREAT)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or avocado oil or that weird specialty oil your aunt got you for Christmas that you don't know what to do with)
- 2 cloves garlic (or 4 because I measure garlic with my heart)
- Fresh ginger (that weird knobby thing in the back of your vegetable drawer that's probably sprouting by now)
- A lime (or that bottle of lime juice that's been in your fridge door since 2019, no judgment)
- Green onions and cilantro (unless you're one of those people with the soap-cilantro gene, then just skip it, your genetics aren't your fault)
Instructions
1. The Roasting Part
Turn your oven to 400°F. While it's heating up, wash your sweet potatoes. I never peel them because A) nutrients or whatever and B) I can't find my peeler half the time.
Chop everything into bite-sized chunks. My definition of "bite-sized" varies wildly depending on my hunger level and patience, so you do you.
Toss the veggies with oil, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. If you're like me and realize too late that you're out of fresh ginger, powdered works fine. Don't @ me, food purists.
Spread them on a baking sheet. USE PARCHMENT PAPER. I cannot stress this enough. I once spent an entire episode of Succession chiseling caramelized sweet potato off a bare sheet pan. Learn from my trauma.
Stick the veggies in the oven. Set a timer because you WILL forget about them otherwise. I speak from experience and multiple smoke detector incidents.
2. The In-Between Part
While the veggies are doing their thing, wash your lettuce. I like to soak the whole head in cold water because there's always dirt hiding in there, and one time I found A LITERAL BUG, and I still have nightmares about it.
Chop your garnishy things. This is a good time to pour yourself a glass of wine if that's your vibe. It's definitely mine.
Check Instagram. Text back that friend you've been ignoring. Remember the veggies! Panic! Realize there's still 7 minutes left on the timer. Relax.
3. The Assembly AKA The Messy Part
Wait for the veggies to cool a bit unless you enjoy burning the roof of your mouth. (I never wait long enough, hence why I haven't been able to taste anything properly since 2018.)
Take a lettuce leaf. Overfill it with roasted veggies because portion control is a myth. Drizzle with sauce. Who am I kidding, DROWN IT in sauce.
Add your garnishes. Take a photo for social media that no one will care about but you feel obligated to post anyway.
Try to pick it up gracefully. Fail. Filling falls everywhere. Eat it anyway because floor food doesn't count during a Mercury retrograde.
Notes
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