For yet another way to use up turkey leftovers after a big holiday or if you just buy a lot of turkey deli meat, this cranberry turkey lettuce wrap will hit the spot!
I recently saw a recipe that used lettuce and butcher paper to create a sandwich burrito and knew I had to try it with my favorite fall sandwich recipe! Admittedly, that was the inspiration behind this particular recipe, but once I got going, I knew this was a keeper.
How to Make Cranberry Turkey Lettuce Wraps
A recipe like this is fun to make with lettuce as the wrap. You’ll need a head of lettuce whose leaves are large enough to work here. Try something like iceberg, romaine, or even bibb lettuce. They all tend to be big enough to use as wrap substitutes. You get extra nutrition from the veggie—and it also keeps this sandwich gluten-free and potentially low-carb, depending on how much cranberry sauce you slap on!
All the ingredients get layered carefully. Cranberry sauce, bacon, avocado and pears, create a refreshing sandwich that you can easily make if you’re working from home, or prep ahead of time and take with you. Either way, this will turn out great and give you all the warm, fall flavors that you can’t resist. So delicious!
Cranberry Turkey Lettuce Wrap Ingredients
- 1 head of lettuce
- 6 to 8 ounces shredded turkey (or chicken)
- 2 slices Provolone cheese
- 1/2 can cranberry sauce
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 3 slices bacon
- 1 avocado
- 1 pear
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Are Cranberries Good For You?
Cranberries often go hand in hand with turkey because let’s face it, turkey could use some jazzing up. It’s loaded with protein but it tends to be a little bland. But cranberries are loaded with antioxidants and have been studied for their antiviral and antibacterial purposes, too. (Perhaps you’ve sipped cranberry juice straight to fight a UTI—or taken capsules with cranberry powder in them?) On their own, cranberries are incredibly tart, which is why they’re often cooked down in a little sugar to make fresh cranberry sauce, or sugar is added to the canned kind you often buy for holidays.
Other Cranberry Recipes
If you love cranberries, you might want to try our Cranberry BBQ vegan meatballs. They’re delicious even if you’re not exclusively following a plant-based diet.
Of course, making these is a stellar way to use up Thanksgiving or holiday leftovers when there’s just more turkey than you know what to do with!
Substitutions and Alterations
Chicken would be a fine substitute for this recipe instead of turkey. Also, thinly sliced apples taste great with turkey and chicken if your pear is not ready for prime time; i.e., it’s just not ripe yet!
Tips for Cranberry Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- In addition to the tip above about using butcher paper (parchment or foil works well, too) to keep these wraps together a la a burrito, you can use toothpicks too, to hold them together. Toothpicks are helpful if you want to slice this cranberry turkey lettuce wrap into smaller pieces.
- Toothpicks work well if you don’t have parchment or butcher paper, or don’t want to use foil. Once you’ve rolled up the wrap, place toothpicks down the length of the wrap. You’ll only need a few. That can help the wrap stay together. Put it in the fridge, and then before serving, slice it if desired.
- This wrap is best as soon as it’s made or shortly thereafter, and that’s because of the lettuce. It tends to get a little soggy if it sits too long in the refrigerator.
READ MORE: Can’t get enough wrap action? Try this Cranberry Turkey Pinwheel wrap!
Ingredients
- lettuce head
- 6-8 oz shredded turkey or chicken
- 2 slices provolone cheese
- ½ can cranberry sauce
- ½ cup spinach
- 3 pieces bacon
- 1 Avocado
- 1 Pear
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Pull apart the lettuce and stack leaves together to create an “open burrito."
- Then smear in your cranberry sauce, and add in the turkey (or chicken), spinach, avocado slices, pear, bacon, and cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Wrap it tightly in butcher paper and cut it down the center.
- Enjoy immediately, or you can put in a container and enjoy as a refreshing lunch later on!
