Pork Lettuce Wraps — How To Use Ground Pork {KETO}
Got some ground pork and wondering what to do with it? Pork Lettuce Wraps are super easy and ready in 30 minutes. We had some extra ground pork that one of my recipes required so I immediately thought of something more ‘light’ to make with it. And lo and behold, I had all of the simple ingredients on hand! How often does that happen?
Oh, and did I say it is ‘low carb’ and ‘keto’? That ought to satisfy a lot of people!
All you need to do is saute’ garlic in oil, sear some ground pork, and then add some ginger, soy sauce, and sriracha. Place the pork on lettuce leaves and garnish with matchstick carrots, chopped green onions, and sesame seeds.
That’s it.
And they are really good — not too spicy and not too dull…..just right!
Angie asked if this was truly a keto recipe. Ant that is a really good question due to the carrots. So I looked it up and found that these wraps are –>
Yes—for most people, that amount of carrot spread across 6–8 lettuce wraps would still fit keto.
Here’s why:
- Carrots do have carbs, but one medium carrot is only about ~6–7g net carbs total (roughly; size matters).
- If you divide that across:
- 6 wraps: ~1.0–1.2g net carbs per wrap
- 8 wraps: ~0.7–0.9g net carbs per wrap
So the carrots themselves usually won’t “break keto.” The bigger keto risks in pork lettuce wraps are typically the sauce ingredients (hoisin, sweet chili sauce, sugar/honey, regular teriyaki) and sometimes water chestnuts.
If you want it to be extremely keto-clean:
- Keep carrots as garnish (what you’re doing is fine)
- Use soy sauce/tamari + sesame oil + rice vinegar/lime + garlic/ginger
- Sweeten with monk fruit/erythritol if needed
- Skip/limit hoisin or use a keto hoisin
Pork Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 Tbsp. canola or peanut oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (or hoisin sauce)
- 1 tsp. siracha
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchstick slices
- 6 scallions/green onions, sliced thin including as much of the green stem that you prefer (or not)
- 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
- 8 – 10 leaves romaine leaves
Instructions
- In a large skillet/frying pan, on medium heat, pour in the oil and heat.
- Add garlic and saute' until fragrant for 2 minutes (do not burn).
- Add ground pork and cook until it is no longer pink, about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Pour any excess fat from the pan.
- In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce (or hoisin sauce) and siracha.
- Pour this mixture into the ground pork. Cook and stir gently for 2 – 3 minutes.
- While hot, immediately place on top of individual romain lettuce leaves.
- Sprinkle carrot matchstickes, sliced green onions, and sesame seeds.
- Serve immediately while hot. Serve some extra soy sauce in a little bowl on the side.
- ENJOY!
Low carb, yes, but not sure if it’s keto because of carrots..delicious all the same, Roz.
Hi Angie, Good point that made me wonder about the carrots as well, so I did a search and found out that used as a minimal garnish, it is still a keto recipe:
Probably yes—for most people, that amount of carrot spread across 6–8 lettuce wraps would still fit keto.
Here’s why:
• Carrots do have carbs, but one medium carrot is only about ~6–7g net carbs total (roughly; size matters).
• If you divide that across:
• 6 wraps: ~1.0–1.2g net carbs per wrap
• 8 wraps: ~0.7–0.9g net carbs per wrap
The carrots themselves usually won’t “break keto.” The bigger keto risks in pork lettuce wraps are typically the sauce ingredients (hoisin, sweet chili sauce, sugar/honey, regular teriyaki) and sometimes water chestnuts.
If you want it to be very keto-clean:
• Keep carrots as garnish (what you’re doing is fine)
• Use soy sauce + sesame oil + rice vinegar/lime + garlic/ginger
• Sweeten with monk fruit/erythritol if needed
• Skip/limit hoisin or use a keto hoisin