Vegan Black Bean Lettuce Wraps

For a light and healthy take on taco Tuesday, try these delicious black bean lettuce wrap ‘tacos’ loaded with spiced black beans, corn, avocado, tomato, and lime! A quick, easy, & healthy protein-dense, delicious, 15-minute appetizer or main!

Fresh and Healthy 15-Minute Veggie Lettuce Wraps

For those days when you’re craving tacos but want something lighter and healthier, lettuce wraps/lettuce cups are a must-try! By swapping out the tortilla for fresh, crisp lettuce, you still get all the same delicious flavors of the fillings, but with fewer carbs, calories, and no ‘heavy’ tummy feeling. Not to mention these vegan black bean lettuce wrap tacos are a breeze to prepare!

While we’ve already shared recipes for tofu lettuce wraps (and jackfruit lettuce cups), this version is soy-free, focusing entirely on pulses and vegetables like black beans, corn, tomatoes, and avocado. The result is vegan lettuce tacos that require minimal effort and prep but are loaded with nutrients.

Best of all, like regular vegan black bean tacos, these vegan taco lettuce wraps are easy to adapt and add to, fairly meal prep friendly, and still wonderfully cheap, satisfying, and delicious. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegetarian, and vegan, too!

The Ingredients and Substitutions

These veggie tacos with black beans make for a pantry-friendly meal, requiring under a dozen ingredients.

• Romaine lettuce: For these taco lettuce wraps, we used Romaine lettuce, but keep reading for more options.
• Black beans: We use canned black beans (regular or low sodium). Other beans, like pinto beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas, would also work.
• Corn: Use canned or frozen corn.
• Seasonings: We used a simple combination of three seasonings for these lettuce wraps. Add as much or little as you’d like.
  • Cumin
  • Chili powder
  • Cayenne pepper

Alternatively, you may use a pre-mixed taco seasoning, added to taste.

• Soy sauce: To add depth and salty flavor. Use salt instead if preferred.
• Vegetables: We use grape tomatoes and avocado (or guacamole) for additional freshness, flavor, and texture to the vegetable lettuce wraps.
• Salsa: We like to use restaurant-style salsa, but fresh chunky versions like Pico de Gallo or even a sweet pineapple or mango salsa will also work.
• To garnish: Cilantro and lime juice (served as lime wedges) are our favorite options.

What is The Best Lettuce For Lettuce Wraps?

There are several options to choose from based on the size, look, and texture of the lettuce wraps/cups you plan to make. For example:

• Romaine lettuce: These smaller, crisp leaves are perfect for making taco-style lettuce cups but would be fairly tricky to make into actual ‘wraps’ because of the lack of softer leaf area.
• Little Gem: Similar to Romaine lettuce, but even shorter and rounder, these work well as little ‘mini’ vegan taco lettuce wraps.
• Butter lettuce: (Boston/Bibb lettuce) These small, soft leaves can be used for tacos and wraps, with their smaller size making them great for appetizers and light bites.
• Iceberg lettuce: Iceberg is excellent for larger lettuce cups/wraps and is very popular for lettuce wraps. However, its crunchiness also means it isn’t super flexible, making it better for cups than a full wrap.

What Else Could I Add To Vegan Lettuce Wraps?

Whether you’re looking to focus on adding more nutrients, flavors, textures, etc., here are some of our favorite optional add-ins for these lettuce wraps.

• TVP: If you want to make more of a classic ‘ground beef’ taco filling, add some textured soy protein or your favorite vegan mince alternative with a splash of vegetable broth and more of the spice.

For this version, reduce the beans to just one can and use between 1 ½-2 cups of the TVP. Alternatively, use 1 12oz package of firm tofu, crumbled.

• Hot sauce: To drizzle over the lettuce tacos when serving for extra heat.
• Oregano: To add to taste.
• Smoked paprika: Added to taste.
• Quinoa/Rice: Enjoy heartier vegetarian lettuce wraps with cooked (optionally flavored, like Mexican rice) grains. Use cauliflower rice for a lower-carb option.
• Sweet potato: Add ½-inch roasted sweet potato cubes for a subtle sweetness and extra heartiness.
• Vegetables: Thinly sliced and sautéed, like
  • Bell pepper
  • Zucchini
  • Mushrooms
• Red onion: Finely diced and raw for some ‘bite’.
• Water chestnuts: While they’re not always super budget-friendly, if you have some in your pantry, they’ll add extra crunch to the vegan lettuce wraps.
• Vegan cheese: Use a strong-flavored cheese alternative, like a vegan shredded cheddar or feta.
• Vegan sour cream: To drizzle over the vegan black bean taco lettuce wraps.
• Pickles: Pickled jalapeños or red onions work best with lettuce wraps.

For more aromatic flavor, you might like to prepare the beans and corn as we have in this Southwestern lettuce wraps.

How to Make Black Bean Lettuce Wraps?

Just a bit of chopping and heating are all that is required to pull together these simple, delicious, and nutritious veggie lettuce wraps in just 15 minutes!

• 1) First, transfer the contents of the cans of beans (liquid, too) to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until warmed through.

• 2) Meanwhile, cube the avocado, quarter the tomatoes, and rinse and pull apart 12 romaine lettuce leaves similar in size.

Note that the closer to the center of the head of lettuce, the crunchier the leaves.

• 3) Then, drain the liquid from the beans and return them to the saucepan. Add the soy sauce and all the seasonings to taste. Stir well and cook until heated through.

If you’re using frozen corn, you can either add it directly to the bean mixture to thaw and heat OR cook them separately in some boiling water to simmer until warmed.

• 4) Assemble the black bean veggie lettuce wrap tacos by loading them with the black beans, corn, tomatoes, and diced avocado. Finally, drizzle with the salsa and optionally sprinkle with some cilantro and fresh lime juice — Enjoy!

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

• Adjust the bean texture: If you prefer a semi-mashed consistency, wait until the beans are cooked and seasoned. Keep aside the cooking liquid, then use a potato masher to mash them to your desired consistency. Add back in a little of the liquid if needed.
• Get creative: This healthy lettuce wrap recipe makes for a great ‘clear out the fridge’ meal, so use what you have on hand.
• To serve a crowd: Pile the various fillings on a large platter in the middle with the lettuce on a separate plate and allow your family/guests to prepare their own veggie lettuce wraps.

FAQs

Serving Recommendations

Enjoy these easy lettuce wraps alone (or with your favorite dipping sauce) for a light and healthy lunch, or make a heartier meal with the addition of:

• Regular or sweet potato fries
• Potato wedges
• Coleslaw
• Vegan mac n cheese
• Grains like rice, quinoa, noodles, etc.
• Vegan nachos
• Chips and dips
• Marinated/flavored tofu — like sweet and spicy tofu, crispy breaded tofu, buttery lemon tofu, or sweet and salty tofu bites

Note that any leftover fillings will also work within rice bowls, burritos and burrito bowls, regular corn tacos, or a delicious salad.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

These black bean lettuce wraps are great for enjoying throughout the week as you can prepare the black bean filling 3-4 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also pre-rinse and separate the lettuce leaves, storing them in an airtight container lined with paper towels.

Once assembled, we prefer to enjoy the taco lettuce wraps immediately. However, leftovers will store in airtight containers in the fridge for an extra day or two (minus the avocado and cilantro) if the beans aren’t warm when added to the lettuce.

You can freeze the black beans for several months and reheat them either in the microwave or on the stovetop.

More Vegan Taco Recipes

• Potato and chickpea tacos
• Chipotle lime street-style tacos
• Roasted vegetable tacos
• Tofu tacos
• Cauliflower tacos
• Lentil tacos
• Breakfast tacos
• ‘Impossible’ meat tacos

Photos by Alfonso Revilla