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Tuna and Avocado Lettuce Cups with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Tuna and Avocado Lettuce Cups with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Ten minutes, no cooking, one bowl to wash. This is the recipe for when the fridge is almost empty and motivation is somewhere between "not happening" and "maybe." Two cans of tuna, a ripe avocado, some crunchy vegetables, and a sesame-ginger dressing with just enough sambal oelek to wake you up; scooped into butter lettuce cups and eaten with your hands over the sink if that's the kind of day it's been. The textures are the thing here: creamy avocado, flaky tuna, cold crunchy carrot and cucumber, all wrapped in a crisp lettuce leaf. A weekday lunch that quietly becomes a default more often than most households would probably admit.

  • Prep10 minutes
  • Cook0 minutes
  • Total10 minutes
  • Servings2
  • PRO
  • GF
  • DF
  • PF
  • ≤30
Estimated macros per serving

Calories ~400 · Protein ~30g · Carbs ~16g · Fat ~21g

Ingredients

For the sesame-ginger dressing:
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or certified gluten-free tamari
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
  • ½ teaspoon sambal oelek (or more if you like heat)
  • 1 teaspoon honey
For the lettuce cups:
  • 2 (5-ounce) cans solid albacore tuna, drained
  • 1 ripe avocado, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, julienned or grated
  • ½ English cucumber, diced
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 8 butter lettuce leaves (about 1 head)

Method

  1. Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl until the honey dissolves and the sambal oelek is fully incorporated.
  2. Flake the tuna into a medium bowl, breaking it into rough chunks; not too fine; you want texture.
  3. Add the avocado, carrot, and cucumber to the tuna.
  4. Pour the dressing over the tuna mixture and gently fold everything together with a fork, being careful not to mash the avocado into oblivion.
  5. Arrange the butter lettuce leaves on a plate or platter.
  6. Spoon the tuna mixture into the lettuce cups, dividing it evenly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Variations & Notes

  • Vegan Swap: Replace the tuna with 1 can of chickpeas, drained and roughly mashed, and use maple syrup in place of any honey in the dressing. The dressing works beautifully with chickpeas.
  • Paleo-Friendly Adjustment: Use coconut aminos instead of tamari. Already paleo-friendly as written with coconut aminos.
  • Extra Hungry: Add a side of leftover rice, or wrap the filling in a large collard green leaf for a more substantial meal. A sliced hard-boiled egg on top doesn't hurt either.
  • Substitutions: Canned wild salmon works in place of tuna. Romaine hearts can stand in for butter lettuce: sturdier, slightly less elegant, equally delicious.
  • A note on mercury: Albacore runs higher in mercury than light tuna. The FDA's guidance for anyone pregnant or breastfeeding is one 4-ounce serving of albacore per week, and it's not on the "Best Choices" list for kids — for both groups, swap in canned light (skipjack) tuna or canned wild salmon and change nothing else about the recipe.
  • Storage: The filling keeps for up to 1 day refrigerated, but the avocado will brown. If making ahead, squeeze a splash of rice vinegar over the tuna mixture to slow browning. Assemble the cups right before eating.