Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Wraps

These teriyaki meatball lettuce wraps make the perfect light meal! Tender, flavorful pork meatballs are coated in an easy and delicious homemade teriyaki sauce.

Ribbons of carrot and butter leaf lettuce cups add some color and crunch to this lightened up meal.

I’m definitely a fan of all kinds of meatballs. For summer, I felt like doing something a bit lighter (yeah, in addition to the wintery ones I did last week). What can I say? I like making meatballs. Rolling them is a soothing mindless task, and they sure taste good!

Making homemade teriyaki sauce is super easy and doesn’t actually require any special ingredients that you’ll never use again.

I usually enjoy my meatballs with spaghetti, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes. Never tried them with lettuce, but it works. I always thought of myself as a meat and potatoes kind of gal, but honestly I don’t miss the carbs too much when I decide to reduce them.

Don’t get me wrong… I still love pizza and burger buns, but I can do meatballs without a starch on the side. And you can too. With this recipe.

Will you try making these teriyaki meatball lettuce wraps, or do you prefer your meatballs with noodles and potatoes?

Talk to me in the comments below!

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Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Wraps

Tender, flavorful pork meatballs are coated in an easy and delicious homemade teriyaki sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword meatball lettuce cups, teriyaki meatball lettuce wraps

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4

Author Natasha Bull

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1.5 pounds lean ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian for a bit of extra flavor)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 4 scallions (green parts only) chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Teriyaki Sauce:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons liquid honey
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water

Garnish:

• 1 head butter leaf (Boston) lettuce
• 1 large carrot

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine meatball ingredients using your hands. Shape into 1.5" meatballs and place on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up. Bake for 20 minutes or until they're cooked through and the pork is no longer pink.
3. Meanwhile, combine all teriyaki sauce ingredients except for the 1/4 cup cold water and cornstarch in a small pan on medium-high heat. You need to stir it occasionally and watch it carefully so it doesn't burn. At the same time, mix your cornstarch with the cold water until the cornstarch has dissolved. Once the mixture on the stove begins to boil, stir in the cornstarch. Reduce heat to medium and it should thicken quite quickly. Continue to stir it until it's smooth and thickened to your desired consistency. If it's too thick, add some more water. Remove the sauce from the heat.
4. Prepare your lettuce cups and slice carrot into ribbons using a vegetable/potato peeler.
5. Once meatballs are ready, you can either toss them with the teriyaki sauce or place them into the lettuce cups and drizzle the sauce over them. Don't forget the carrot ribbons! 🙂

Recipe Notes

• Teriyaki sauce recipe adapted from here.

You may also like my Instant Pot teriyaki chicken.