Chinese Five Spice Lettuce Cups With Pork
Healthy and insanely delicious, these Chinese Five Spice Lettuce Cups with Pork make an amazing appetizer or meal. Chinese five spice adds a warm and cozy flavor, paired with the rich pork, and light lettuce and veggies this is sure to be a favorite in your house!
If you are looking for more dinner recipes try Turkey Zucchini Red Pepper Skillet, Garlic Lime Chicken Taco Salad with Avocado Dressing, or Mushroom Zucchini Baked Pasta.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Chinese Five Spice Lettuce Cups With Pork
- Ready In: 20 minutes
- Makes: 4 servings
- Main Ingredients: ground pork, Chinese five spice, butter lettuce
- Flavor Profile: lightly spiced pork with caramelized onions and peppers in crisp lettuce
- Dietary Info: gluten free, no seed oils, eggless
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: light dinner or appetizer, perfect for sharing
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 20 Minutes: Quick and easy, in just 20 minutes you can have a healthy and light dinner or a delicious appetizer.
- Light & Delicious: While this recipe can be an appetizer or a meal, we usually make this as a meal with Easy Bone Broth Rice or 5 Ingredient Bone Broth Vegetable Soup.
- Wholesome: I love these Pork and Peppers Lettuce Cups because they are a healthy dish that's insanely good!
- Naturally Gluten Free: Nestled in organic butter lettuce, these pork lettuce cups are naturally gluten free. Also, try Flank Steak Asian Lettuce Wraps for a beef option!
- Five Spice: My secret ingredient is Chinese five spice in this recipe. It brings an Asian flair to this dish, but it's very subtle that you'll just taste umami!
Ingredients
- Ground Pork: I use organic ground pork, but you could also make this recipe with ground beef or ground turkey as well.
- Ghee: You can use ghee, butter, or EVOO.
- Spices: The main spice I'm using is Frontier Co-Op Organic Chinese Five Spice, which gives these lettuce cups so much flavor! Chinese five spice is made up of cinnamon, fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, and white pepper. Some brands will use slightly different spices, but this one is my top choice!
- Mini Bell Peppers: I use organic mini bell peppers, you can use regular size if you prefer though.
- Lettuce: I use organic living butter lettuce for the cups. This is the best kind to use for lettuce cups as it's naturally round and cup-like.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Tips for Chinese Five Spice Lettuce Cups with Pork
- While I'm using ground pork here, you can also use ground beef or ground turkey if you prefer.
- You can use regular bell peppers if you can't find minis, just choose red, yellow, or orange to get the sweeter flavor.
- If meal prepping or have leftovers, store meat and lettuce separately. This ensures you have crisp lettuce when you reheat.
How to Make Chinese Five Spice Lettuce Cups With Pork
- In a large bowl, season the pork with the Chinese Five Spice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and marjoram.
- Mix with your hands to combine completely. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the ghee, yellow onion, and peppers. Sauté over medium/high heat, for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add in the ground pork. Continue to cook on medium until the pork is browned, and fully cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Turn heat to high and brown for another 3 to 5 minutes.
- To serve, place lettuce cups on a serving board. Add the pork into lettuce cups.
- Top with scallions.
- You can assemble as you eat for the best results, this will ensure that the lettuce does not get soggy!
Serving Ideas
These Chinese Five Spice Lettuce Cups with Pork are a wonderful appetizer or lunch all on their own. But, if you want to make them into a meal, here's what I usually pair these with!
- Easy Bone Broth Rice makes this into a quick and easy meal. You could also serve with quinoa or brown rice if you prefer.
- Serve as an appetizer to Honey Garlic Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner.
- This makes a great hosting recipe along with Sweet Chili Baby Back Ribs.
- Enjoy with a potato side like Chinese Five Spice Garlic French Fries, Bone Broth Mashed Potatoes, Lemon Herb French Fries, or Garlic Lemon Sweet Potato Fries.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, you could use either ground beef or ground turkey in this recipe.
The butter lettuce is really ideal for lettuce cups as it's cup shaped. I have used Romaine in the past but the shape is more oblong.
Store leftover lettuce and meat in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
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Chinese Five Spice Lettuce Cups With Pork
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup sliced mini sweet bell peppers (about 8 mini peppers)
- 1 head butter lettuce
- 2 scallions (sliced)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, season the pork with the Chinese Five Spice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and marjoram. Mix with your hands to combine completely. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the ghee, yellow onion, and peppers. Sauté over medium/high heat, for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add in the ground pork. Continue to cook on medium until the pork is browned, and fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Turn heat to high and brown for another 3 to 5 minutes.
- To serve, place lettuce cups on a serving board. Add the pork into lettuce cups and top with scallions.
Video
Notes
- While I'm using ground pork here, you can also use ground beef or ground turkey if you prefer.
- You can use regular bell peppers if you can't find minis, just choose red, yellow, or orange to get the sweeter flavor.
- If meal prepping or have leftovers, store meat and lettuce separately. This ensures you have crisp lettuce when you reheat.
Nutrition
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We are obsessed with this recipe in my house! It can be dinner or an appetizer!