Ree Drummond’s 1-Pan Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps Are a Lighter Take on Taco Night

No taco shells, no problem. Make Ree Drummond’s Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps. One of many Pioneer Woman taco recipes, the Food Network star swaps taco shells for Bibb lettuce leaves. 

Ree Drummond’s Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps are a 1-pan meal

Use one pan to make Drummond’s Turkey Lettuce Wraps. Featured on Food Network’s “Quick and Easy: One Pan” episode of The Pioneer Woman, Drummond explained that it took her a while to learn they’re the secret to her happiness.

“It took me several years of raising kids on a busy ranch to realize that one-pan recipes are really the secret to my happiness,” she said while making the tacos. “There were years there where I would pretty much dirty up every pot in my kitchen.” 

She continued, saying, “At the end of dinner, I would want to sell the house because I could not bear the thought of cleaning it all up. So it’s kind of ironic that as more of my kids are leaving the house I’m actually starting to learn how great one-pan recipes are.” 

Drummond has four biological children and one foster child with her husband, Ladd Drummond. 

The Pioneer Woman tops the lettuce wraps with homemade pico de gallo 

Drummond serves the lettuce wraps with a variety of toppings including homemade pico de gallo. 

“This is my all-time favorite way to make it,” she said before explaining the simple process. “Everything is chopped and thrown into a bowl. A quick mix and that’s my pico.”

Her recipe has six ingredients: tomatoes, jalapeno, lime juice, onion, cilantro, and salt. 

“It is so simple I could probably do it in my sleep,” she added before noting she’s made “so many gallons of it” through the years. 

Take a cue from the cooking show host and prepare the pico de gallo ahead of time. That way, the turkey taco lettuce wraps will still be a one-pan meal. Plus, it makes the cooking process that much quicker and easier. 

Tips on making Drummond’s Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps from the Pioneer Woman and reviewers

First up, a tip from Drummond on making the lettuce wraps. The Pioneer Woman host advises using a lot of herbs and spices when cooking with ground turkey. 

“That’s the thing about turkey. It’s leaner and it’s nice if you’re kind of trying to eat a little bit lighter but it sure needs a lot of help in the seasoning department,” she said.

Now for tips from reviewers. At the time of writing, Drummond’s recipe for Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps has five stars on Food Network’s website. Reviewers like the lighter take on traditional tacos but they do suggest making a few changes. 

“Do everything else before you cook the meat mix,” a reviewer said. They “broke up the cheese, cut the avocado into squares” and put “lime wedges and cilantro all in separate bowls” before cooking the turkey.

Another suggested using something other than the lettuce Drummond calls for in her recipe.

“The Bibb lettuce leaves are good with this but they are flimsy and make it messy to eat,” they said. They used romaine hearts instead and they “held up much better.” 

The same reviewer also suggested store-bought pico de gallo to “cut down on the prep time” while another proposed making it in advance.