Buffalo Turkey Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Buffalo sauce is often synonymous with chicken, but there's no reason why classic Buffalo wing flavors can't be used with other types of poultry, as well. Turkey is recipe developer Feta Topalu's choice for flavorful buffalo lettuce wraps.These lettuce wraps make for a meal that is not only light but extra-healthy — the absence of starch make them low in carbohydrates, and the choice of ground turkey as a filling minimizes the amount of fat. 

If you want to make a meal out of these wraps, serve them alongside a lettuce-free salad –- perhaps a tomato-and-cheese Caprese salad or one based around shredded carrots, cucumbers, or lentils. You could also go with the classic Buffalo wing side of celery and carrot sticks since you should have some of these left over from making the filling. They can also be dunked in any additional blue cheese dressing you have on hand.

These wraps start with a ground turkey filling flavored with Frank's RedHot sauce, butter, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper. The filling is then rolled in butter lettuce and topped with carrots, celery, tomatoes, green onions, and blue cheese dressing. Add some olive oil for cooking, and you'll be all set to go.

In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, hot sauce, garlic powder, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper until well combined. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.

Add ground turkey and cook until it's no longer pink, breaking it apart with a spatula as it cooks. Season with the remaining salt and pepper.

Once the turkey is cooked through, reduce the heat to low and stir in the buffalo sauce. Simmer for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Take a large lettuce leaf and spoon some of the buffalo turkey mixture onto the center of the leaf.

To serve, top with carrot, celery, tomatoes, blue cheese dressing, and green onions.

This recipe can be tweaked to suit your tastes or the contents of your refrigerator. For starters, you can use a different kind of lettuce as long as you can get the leaves to roll up. Even raw spinach would work as long as you're using the full-sized kind instead of baby spinach. Topalu also notes that you needn't stick with turkey as a filling, suggesting chicken, beef, or a plant-based substitute. "Feel free to bulk up your wraps with additional fillings ... for added texture and protein," she suggests, advising that rice, quinoa, or beans be used for this purpose.

As for the toppings, anything goes here. Topalu's suggestions range from avocados to apples, while she feels that either shredded cheddar or blue cheese crumbles would also be a great addition. If you want to spice things up, you can add jalapeños, crushed red pepper, or extra hot sauce, while if you prefer a greener garnish, you might sprinkle the wraps with chopped cilantro or parsley.

If you prefer not to use blue cheese dressing on your wraps, Topalu assures us that "a variety of dipping sauces [can] complement the buffalo flavor." Ranch dressing is a popular alternative to blue cheese with buffalo chicken wings, and it would work well with these wraps, too. You could also try flavored ranch dressings, such as avocado, salsa, or sriracha.

If you want to lean into the salad side of this lettuce-based dish, you could go with Caesar, Italian, or a vinaigrette, although you'll need to apply any less-creamy dressings sparingly so that they don't drip out of the wrap. Another option is to go in a different direction with a thicker sandwich spread, such as a flavored mayonnaise (Topalu suggests sriracha), while homemade aioli would add some garlicky pungency. Topalu also feels that a yogurt-based dressing could work well — try making your own tzatziki if you enjoy the flavor of cucumbers and dill.