These Grilled Flank Steak Lettuce Cups drizzled with Vietnamese Nuoc Cham sauce are such a healthy, lettuce-wrapped meal. They're a cinch to make and assemble!
I love substituting bread (=carbs) for crisp lettuce leaves to help keep the calories down (and to maintain my waistline!). These are super healthy and so satisfying!
Watch this video for a step-by-step on how to make these amazing lettuce cups!
Choose a nice cut of flank steak and marinate the steak in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours with our special marinade. This awesome, zingy sauce will tingle your tastebuds!
Grilled to perfection! You can use an indoor stove-top grill pan, or take it outside on the BBQ grill! Look at those beautiful grill marks!
The flank steak grills to the perfect temperature -- so tender! Let it rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board before thinly slicing and assembling your lettuce cups.
The fresh toppings for the lettuce cups: thinly sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, and cilantro. Or, feel free to add your own toppings, like roasted peanuts for extra crunch!
Which lettuce is best for lettuce cups?
You can use any type of green leafy lettuce for lettuce wraps. I used butter lettuce because that's what I had in my fridge. Other great options are Boston lettuce, iceberg, bibb, and romaine. You want to make sure the lettuce leaves are deep enough for the filling.
These Grilled Flank Steak Lettuce Cups are incredibly flavorful and oh, so healthy!
Nuoc Cham is an awesome, zingy Vietnamese dipping sauce that can be used for many purposes, including the drizzle for these Grilled Flank Steak Lettuce Cups!
What's in this Vietnamese sauce?
This Vietnamese Nuoc Cham, a.k.a. “magic sauce,” goes so well with steak, but also with seafood, spring rolls, Asian salads, you name it! Easy to prepare, you can whip this up in less than 10 minutes! Here's what you'll need:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- Asian fish sauce
- lime
- sambal oelek (red chili paste)
- fresh cilantro and mint
- shallots
- garlic cloves
- brown sugar
- Kosher salt
Assemble the Grilled Flank Steak Lettuce Cups using a lettuce leaf as the vessel. Top with our delicious Nuoc Cham sauce!
Tips and tricks
- I used a stove-top grill pan to grill the flank steak. But, for you grill masters out there, by all means, use your outdoor grill!
- Letting the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing ensures the proper temperature and that the juices don't run off. I like to slice the meat very thinly for these lettuce wraps so the ingredients won't overflow out of the lettuce cups.
- The meat is best served at room temperature. You can even make the meat a day in advance and slice and serve at room temperature when you're ready to serve.
- Feel free to add your own toppings, like roasted peanuts, for extra crunch!
- The Nuoc Cham sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Want more recipes like this?
If you liked this Grilled Flank Steak Lettuce Cups recipe, you're going to want these recipes too!
- Easy Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- Grilled Asian Flank Steak
- Surf & Turf Grilled Flank Steak and Seared Scallops
- Pan Seared Halibut with Nuoc Cham Slaw
- Pan Seared Calamari with Nuoc Cham
Update Notes: This post was originally published on December 4, 2017, but was republished with slight text changes and additions, like step-by-step instructions and tips in March 2022.
Print Grilled Flank Steak Lettuce Cups with Nuoc Cham
These Grilled Flank Steak Lettuce Cups with Nuoc Cham are the perfect lettuce wrapped meal, and a cinch to make. They are incredibly flavorful and oh, so healthy!
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 mins (with marinating)
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 scallions, chopped or sliced
For the steak:
- 1 ½ to 2 pounds flank steak, cleaned of fat
- Cooking spray
For the toppings:
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers
- ¼ fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 head butter lettuce, separated into leaves
- Garnish with black and white sesame seeds
- Nuoc Cham dipping sauce
Instructions
Make the marinade:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine, sesame oil, brown sugar, sambal oelek, garlic, and scallions.
- Place the flank steak in a large glass baking dish, or plastic sealable baggie. Pour the marinade over the flank steak and let marinate for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator and let it get to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
Grill the steak:
- Using a stove-top grill pan, or an outdoor grill, coat with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Grill the steak for about 6 minutes each side, or until cooking to medium.
- Remove to cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Thinly slice the meat across the grain.
Assemble the lettuce cups:
- Place a few pieces of steak into the lettuce leaf and top with carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers, and cilantro.
- Drizzle with nuoc cham dipping sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. (Click here for the Nuoc Cham dipping sauce recipe.)
Notes
- I used a stove-top grill pan to grill the flank steak. But, for you grill masters out there, by all means, use your outdoor grill!
- Letting the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing ensures the proper temperature and that the juices don't run off. I like to slice the meat very thinly for these lettuce wraps so the ingredients won't overflow out of the lettuce cups.
- The meat is best served at room temperature. You can even make the meat a day in advance and slice and serve at room temperature when you're ready to serve.
- Feel free to add your own toppings, like roasted peanuts, for extra crunch!
- The Nuoc Cham sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: Asian Fusion
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 396
- Sugar: 14.1 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 15.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.2 g
- Protein: 41.4 g
- Cholesterol: 102 mg
Carolyn says
I can't wait to try making these!
Laura says
This is my kind of dinner!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
Looks great!!
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen says
I love all the fresh veggies in this dish!
ashley says
This looks delicious!
Asian Caucasian says
Thank you, Ashley! These are so easy and healthy! Great for a post-holiday meal!