Some of you may know that my mom asks me to cook for her and her friends occasionally. Which firstly, I love because I will make vegan food for just about anyone to get them to eat a vegan meal/dish/dessert/etc. Second, it’s great because then I can usually get creative with it and share the recipe with you all! In this case it worked out great because I needed to make something convenient, delicious and more like an appetizer. Enter: Sweet & Sour Porkless Lettuce Cups.

Incomiiiiiing! gardein to the rescue, as always. I find it kind of weird that my mom (who eats meat) is into fake meats, but who am I to judge? She loves lettuce cup plates from various restaurants, so I thought utilizing gardein’s sweet & sour porkless bites would be a tasty and easy way to recreate something similar.

Sauté the porkless bites with onions and peppers for a juicy filling with good texture, then top it off with a lightly seasoned slaw of daikon, carrots and cabbage for some crunch! Lastly, you can’t go wrong with a simple garlic aioli and some sesame seeds. Overall, it was a huge success!

Because I don’t have to spend the time prepping tofu or steaming tempeh for this recipe, I saved tons of time; making this a good choice for parties or gatherings. Gawd knows I get in over my head when putting together a spread with too many components, but in this case you can prep the slaw and aioli ahead of time and sauté when you’re ready to serve.

Two years: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chia Parfait // Three years: Mini Choco Chip Banana Cheesecakes // Four years: Blueberry Yogurt Pierogi

Continue to Content

Yield: 4

Sweet & Sour Porkless Lettuce Cups

Print

Make these quick and easy Sweet & Sour Porkless Lettuce Cups for any guest and wow them with their great flavors!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Garlic Aioli

• 2 tablespoons vegan mayo
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, depending on how much you like garlic

Slaw

• 1/4 cup julienned daikon radish
• 1/4 cup grated carrots
• 1/4 cup shredded red cabbage
• 1/4 cup julienned broccoli stalk
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• Pinch of salt

Filling

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cooking oil
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped red or yellow bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon diced fresh jalapeño
• 1 package gardein Sweet & Sour Porkless Bites + included sauce packet

Assembly

• 8 leaves butter lettuce or similar cup-like lettuce
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Garlic Aioli

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the aioli ingredients until combined and very smooth. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Slaw

1. In a mixing bowl, toss radish, carrots, cabbage, broccoli stalk, rice vinegar and salt together until combined. Place in refrigerator until ready for plating.

Filling

1. Warm oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Place onion, bell pepper and jalapeño in pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add porkless bites to the pan and saute mixture for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the bites start to brown. Add sauce to pan and cook for 2 more minutes over medium-low.

Assembly

1. Lay the 8 lettuce cups out and divide porkless mixture between them, then top with slaw, drizzle with aioli and garnish with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Sweet & Sour Porkless Lettuce Cups switch-ups:

• If you can’t find gardein near you, find a store-bought sweet & sour sauce and pan-fry some tofu, for the filling!
• For bigger parties, try endive cups to make many more smaller servings.