If you are looking for something different and meatless for dinner, this is a great idea for you.
This black bean lettuce wrap recipe is darn tasty. We also made a side of guacamole to go with it.
Tip: Keep those avocados fresh
It is the heat of summer here and I wanted something that is filling and wouldn’t heat up the house.
Also, if I am honest, I eat way too much meat.
Also, I wound up making so much that I was able to share.
It is always nice to surprise an extended family member with the gift of dinner.
We are trying to go lower carb in this house.
It isn’t always easy but one thing that really helps is wrapping things in lettuce instead of a taco shell or bread.
A nice touch about fresh lettuce is how crispy it is.
I used fresh and crispy romaine for this recipe but you could use any kind of lettuce leaves that you prefer.
Avocados – Lately, it has sometimes been a challenge to find large ripe avocados at the grocery store.
Also, I have noticed that the smaller avocados are on sale for a much cheaper price.
If you run into this scenario, save yourself a bit of money and just buy 3 or 4 small avocados.
Salt – Feel free to interchange table salt and sea salt in the recipes below.
I prefer to mix table salt into my guacamole.
Then I sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top.
In my opinion, table salt mixes into a recipe more evenly.
However, I enjoy the bit of crunch that sea salt provides. This way, we get the best of both worlds.
Black Beans – When created this recipe, I got low sodium black beans.
When the opportunity presents itself, I will generally pick a low sodium option.
We can add salt to a dish but we can’t take it away.
Be careful that you get black bean WITHOUT additional flavorings.
They love to get clever with beans these days and you don’t want to end up with some weird flavor that you weren’t expecting.
Jalapeno – I didn’t add jalapeno to this recipe because generally speaking, I can’t handle it.
However, if you like spice pick one up and dice it for the guacamole.
How To Keep Guacamole Fresh?
An easy way to keep guacamole fresh in the refrigerator is to put it in a container with a lid.
Then pour at least ½” inch of water over the top of it.
When you are ready to serve the guacamole, gently pour the water off of the top and stir.
I saw this method on Real Simple and tested it. It was incredible how well it works.
Black Bean Lettuce Wrap Recipe (With Fresh Guacamole)
This is a vegetarian black bean lettuce wrap with guacamole. If you are looking for a meatless meal option, this is quick and easy.
Ingredients
Taco Ingredients:
- 1 head fresh romaine lettuce
romaine lettuce
- 2 T. Extra virgin olive oil
olive oil
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans
black beans
- ¾ Red bell pepper
Red bell pepper
- 3 T. Water
Water
- ½ t. Ground cumin
Ground cumin
- ½ t. Chili powder
Chili powder
- ½ t. Paprika
Paprika
- ¼ t. Cayenne pepper
Cayenne pepper
- ¼ t. Oregano
Oregano
- ¼ t. Salt
Salt
- ¼ t. Pepper
- ¼ t. Pepper
Guacamole Ingredients:
- 2 large avocados
avocados
- ½ medium tomato
tomato
- 3 T. lime juice
lime juice
- 2 T. cilantro
cilantro
- ½ t. Salt
Instructions
For the tacos:
- Prepare ingredients - Cut the head off of the romaine lettuce. Wash and dry the romaine. Drain and rinse the black beans. Wash and dry the red bell pepper.
- Dice the bell pepper - Cut the bell pepper in half and remove the seeds. Dice the desired portion of the red bell pepper into small pieces.
- Cook the beans - Add the olive oil to a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add the beans, water, cumin, chili powder, paprika, cayenne and oregano. Stir to combine all ingredients.
- Cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat once the beans become fragrant.
- Add the hot beans to a bowl and mix in the diced bell pepper.
For the guacamole:
- Prepare the avocados - Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit. Scoop the avocado flesh into a medium-size glass bowl.
- Mash the avocado with a fork until it is slightly smooth with small chunks.
- Prepare the tomato - Cut the tomato in half and scoop out the seeds. Dice half of the tomato into small chunks. Add the diced tomato into the bowl with the avocado.
- Mix the guacamole - Add the lime juice, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Use a fork and mix all of the ingredients thoroughly.
- Cover the guacamole and place it in the fridge until time to serve it.
- Serve - Serve immediately with lettuce leaves for wrapping. This is best-served family style with the beans, lettuce leaves and guacamole on the table.
Notes
We also served this with this mango salsa, which made it oh so yummy