Lettuce cups are a lot like nachos in my mind (and you know how deep my love for nachos runs). You can truly throw anything you want in them and enjoy as an easy, fresh, guilt-free take on your favorite dishes. I call these particular lettuce cups my “Everything But the Kitchen Sink” lettuce cups because I whip them up when I’m too weary to run to the store, instead using all sorts of things I find in the fridge for an easy and healthy weeknight meal. Sound familiar?!
While these healthy lettuce cups are absolutely delicious the big winner here is the homemade vegan green goddess dressing. I made mine dairy-free, using Vegenaise and Tofutti (two of my favorite vegan substitutions that taste just as good), amongst a lot of other goodness. Guys, this dressing is so good that it might even overtake my love for homemade french onion dip. The dipping possibilities are endless with this vegan green goddess dressing; I’m dunking chips in it as you’re reading this! And I promise you will NEVER taste the dairy free difference.
But back to the lettuce cups. I mixed things up and made a few vegetarian chalked full of Mediterranean chickpeas and fresh avocado and the others with my favorite rotisserie chicken. Even with the pulled rotisserie chicken, the dish is incredibly simple and fast to make, and not to mention super healthy to enjoy. I’m a big fan of making a rotisserie chicken on Sunday, then incorporating it in dishes for 2-3 days during the week. The glory of a great leftover meal like this one never fails to put a smile on my face.
For the actual lettuce cups I prefer to use a head of iceberg lettuce. In order to get 5-6 cups out of each head of lettuce, I first chop off the bottom in one big slice. Next, I flip the head over and very, very lightly hit it down on the cutting board. This will loosen the center pieces, allowing you to slowly pull it apart. Voila! You have your lettuce cups. Check out the recipe in it’s entirety below and please let me know if you decide make these this week, you’ll love them! Truly, MKR
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce pulled apart into 5-6 cups
- 1 rotisserie chicken, pulled apart
- 1 large can Garbanzo beans, rinsed
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced in rounds
- 1 fresh avocado, sliced
- 1/4 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- a small handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
- Plus any leftover herbs you have from your Green Goddess Dressing (see below)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 medium avocado
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons vinegar
- 3-5 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup Vegenaise (vegan mayo)
- 1/2 cup Toffuti (vegan sour cream)
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 4 tablespoons chives, finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the dressing combine all ingredients into a blender and blend till combined.
- On a large platter lay down your lettuce cups and fill with desired toppings. Drizzle with vegan green goddess dressing and enjoy!
- *One head of lettuce should give you 5-6 cups.
The tomatoes look so fresh.
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Yes, I will be making these tomorrow! My vegan daughter is going to flip over these, minus the chicken for her. We’ve never tried the Tofutti or vegenaise but it sounds like a delicious way to add some variety to our plates.