Sweet and Sour Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Sweet and Sour Lettuce Wraps

Fast cooking shrimp, crisp red bell pepper, and juicy pineapple are bathed in a tangy sweet and sour sauce, loaded on crisp green lettuce leaves, and garnished with crunchy cashews and sliced green onions.

Is your mouth watering yet? This is a really flavorful entrée that’s easy to make and you’ll use just one pan, so clean-up is a piece of cake.

I’ve been a fan of lettuce wraps for as long as I can remember, or maybe it’s been since the first time I dined at P. F. Changs. I’ve made my chicken lettuce wraps many times, whenever the craving hits, but these shrimp lettuce wraps are an exciting new twist.

Easy Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Not your ordinary lettuce wrap. The shrimp lettuce wraps are uniquely different with a sweet and sour sauce. It puts a whole new spin on lettuce wraps!

Lots to love! The sauce is easy to make and the shrimp cooks up in just a few minutes. It’s packed with ingredients you might find in classic sweet and sour dishes: bell pepper, onions, juicy pineapple. In fact, canned pineapple does double duty in this recipe because the sauce is made with the pineapple juice from the can. (If you love the shrimp/pineapple combo, try these marinated grilled shrimp kabobs with fresh pineapple or shrimp tacos with avocado, mango, and pineapple salsa. So good!)

Versatile. If you’re not a fan of lettuce wraps, sweet and sour shrimp is equally as great served on steamed white rice. Make Instant Pot jasmine rice while you prep the rest of the meal; it’s ready to eat in just 25 minutes.

Ingredient Notes

• Shrimp: Choose a smaller sized shrimp for this recipe so they fit better on the lettuce wraps. I like the 51/60 size. Frozen shrimp are so handy to have. They thaw very quickly and are just the thing for last minute meals.
• Red Bell Pepper: Crisp bell pepper is an essential in this stir fry but the color doesn’t really matter. Choose whatever color you like or happen to have.
• Onion: Another essential for stir fries, onion adds flavor and nutrition.
• Pineapple: You’ll need an 8 ounce can of unsweetened pineapple in its own juice. Reserve the juice when you drain it because you’ll be using it for the sauce.
• Honey: Speaking of sauce, we like to use natural honey to sweeten it. Many commercial sweet and sour sauces are made with high fructose corn syrup.
• Rice Vinegar: This vinegar has a light fresh taste. It works well in the sauce because it’s tangy but not overpowering. Stay away from seasoned rice vinegar; it has a lot of added salt and sugar.
• Ketchup: A tablespoon of ketchup is added more for the color than the taste. Use your favorite brand.
• Fresh Garlic: Mince a clove of garlic finely or press it with a garlic press.
• Ginger Root: The knobby brown roots are usually found in the produce section of the grocery store. Peel the outside with a paring knife, vegetable peeler, or scrape it off with a spoon. Grate the ginger finely. Fresh ginger adds so much pizzazz to the sauce!
• Sriracha: There’s just a hint of spiciness in the sauce. Sriracha is a bright red garlic pepper condiment that is mildly spicy.
• Cornstarch: Powdered white cornstarch thickens the sauce. When it’s cooked, it turns clear.
• Lettuce Leaves: You should have at least 8 leaves. It depends on the size of the leaves and how much filling you like to pile into each one. Take a look at the FAQs below if you’re wondering what kind of lettuce to buy.
• Optional Garnishes: We love roasted cashews and sliced scallions (green onions) as garnishes. Crispy wonton strips or fried rice strips are also wonderful. Chopped peanuts or toasted sesame seeds are good options, too. Some folks love these wraps topped with avocado slices or extra sriracha.

How To Make Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Prep the lettuce leaves. They should be separated, trimmed, washed and dried as well as possible.

Thaw shrimp. If your shrimp are still frozen, set a colander in the sink, put the shrimp in the colander, and spray them with cool water until they thaw. It won’t take long.

Make the sauce. Stir up the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Remember to use the juice from the canned pineapple. The cornstarch will quickly settle in the bottom of the bowl so remember to give the sauce ingredients another quick stir before you add them to the pan.

Cut the veggies. Prep the onion and bell pepper. Cut them into fairly small pieces, about a half inch. That’s somewhat smaller than you would for a stir fry but smaller pieces stay on a lettuce wrap better.

Sauté veggies. Heat up a large skillet. Add a dash of oil (we love coconut oil for this recipe!), swirl it a few times until it’s shimmering, and toss in the peppers and onions. Cook and stir them until they begin to get soft, just a few minutes.

Sauté shrimp. Push the veggies to one side of the pan and add the thawed shrimp.

Stir and cook the shrimp until they begin to turn opaque pink and are starting to curl, just a few minutes.

Cook sauce. Add the sauce ingredients (remember to give them a stir first!) and mix everything together in the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for another couple of minutes. The sauce should be clear and thick and the shrimp completely cooked.

Phew! That really goes quickly, doesn’t it?

Serve. Pile the sweet and sour shrimp into the lettuce cups and top with your favorite garnish. Lettuce wraps are meant to be picked up and eaten so don’t worry about getting your hands messy. Provide lots of napkins!

Helpful Tips

Be ready to cook. Make sure everything is prepped and ready to go before you start cooking. Once you get the pan going, things move along rather quickly and you won’t have time to chop things or stir up the sauce.

Choose the right type of lettuce. For wraps, you can’t beat Bibb lettuce. It naturally forms small cups and it’s quite sturdy. Alternatives are butter lettuce, leaf lettuce, romaine or iceberg. Flimsy, soft lettuce leaves won’t hold up to the filling.

Don’t overfill the wraps. Lettuce wraps have a tendency to fall apart when you eat them, making them a rather messy experience. Choosing the right type of lettuce really makes a difference. Try not to pile on too much filling. They are easier to eat if they aren’t overflowing. If all else fails, put the lettuce and filling in your plate and use a fork to eat it.

Serving Suggestions

Sweet and sour shrimp lettuce wraps can be a light meal all on their own. They are also a popular appetizer.
Fried rice or steamed rice are good sides to serve with lettuce wraps. If you’re thinking more of appetizers, try air fryer egg rolls or air fryer crab rangoon. For parties, this creamy crab rangoon dip is always a huge hit, especially with homemade wonton dippers.

Easy Recipe Variations

• Serve it on rice. Don’t care for wraps? The sweet and sour shrimp goes really well with steamed rice, much like a sweet and sour shrimp stir fry.
• Dial up the heat. If you like a spicier wrap, add a dash of red pepper flakes or increase the sriracha. Extra sriracha can be served on the side. If you like garlic, go ahead and use two cloves.
• Make it keto by omitting the sauce and pineapple. Instead of pineapple, substitute snow peas. Add the garlic and ginger with the shrimp.
• Looking for something different? Try lamb lettuce wraps with red pepper hummus sauce or chicken lettuce wraps.
• Try tortillas instead of lettuce. You can easily serve the sweet and sour shrimp on a tortilla If you’re more in the mood for a taco/sandwich type of meal. If you’re looking for more seafood taco fillings, try salmon tacos with avocado slaw or fish tacos with blood orange salsa. Easy shrimp tacos are another great option.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Get a head start. All of the ingredients for shrimp lettuce wraps can be prepped earlier in the day and stored separately in the refrigerator. Thaw the shrimp in the refrigerator for a few hours. Cut up the onions and peppers. Make the sauce, reserving the cornstarch to add later. Prepare the lettuce leaves and store in a plastic bag lined with paper towels.

If you have everything prepped ahead of time, the sweet and sour shrimp can be ready in 15 minutes!

Storage & Reheating Tips

Refrigerate: If you have leftover sweet and sour shrimp, it can be refrigerated for a couple of days. Store the lettuce leaves and any topping separately. It is really quite good reheated and makes a great lunch or another dinner.

Reheat: Single servings can be reheated in the microwave; larger portions can be reheated in the skillet. Try not to overheat the mixture; you don’t want the shrimp to become overcooked and tough.