If you are looking for a quick and healthy dinner idea that includes loads of flavor, look no further! These wraps are healthy, delicious, and completely satisfying.
We all need some go-to recipes that are easy and healthy, but we don’t want to sacrifice flavor just because we are trying to be healthy. And if you are anything like me, you want to break out of your salad rut once in a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love salads, but part of eating healthy consistently is keeping your food interesting. Wraps are a great way to mix it up, and honestly, the variations are endless!
Sauce: These wraps start with a southwestern-style sauce, ranch dressing, and barbecue sauce. I make a ratio suggestion for the ranch and barbecue sauce, but you can change that based on your preference. You can use any variety of barbecue sauce that you like. If you love barbecue sauce, add more! If you want a bit of heat to wrap, use a spicy barbecue sauce.
Cheese: You really can use any you like, shredded or sliced. My preference is Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, as I find they go perfectly with the other flavors of the wrap. I have even used sliced Gouda…and it didn’t disappoint! One suggestion, if you use shredded cheese, be sure to layer it on top of the sauce; the shredded cheese will stick to the sauce and will be less likely to fall out of your wrap when you are eating it.
Lunch Meat: Turkey works the best, as it is mild in flavor and allows the sauce to be the dominant flavor, and at the same time adds healthy protein to your wrap. However, you could certainly try other lunch meats and find a combination that you love.
Vegetables: This is where you can really get creative or even individualize the wraps. I love to load my wraps up with lots of lettuce; I’ve even used spinach when we had it growing in our garden. My husband loves olives, so I’ll load his up with extra. On the other hand, I don’t like olives, so I leave them out of mine. I do recommend using the peppers and cucumbers, as they add a nice crunch to the wrap.
For added flavor, we like to dip our wraps in the leftover sauce or make a little extra, if needed. We even save the leftover sauce for dipping carrots, bell peppers, or cucumbers. Our family prefers the ranch/barbecue combinations over just ranch for dipping vegetables. Try it!
My kids even enjoy getting involved in making the wraps to their liking, loading up on the things they like, and skipping the ones they don’t. I find they are more likely to eat vegetables if they have some control over which ones they get to eat. Otherwise, my kids will peek through the wrap suspiciously, concerned about what I might have slipped inside.
Southwest Club Wraps
Ingredients
Sauce:
- ¾ cup ranch dressing
- ⅓ cup barbecue sauce, (any brand will do)
For the Wraps:
- tortillas, (use the large burrito size)
- lettuce or spinach leaves
- 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces shredded cheese or sliced cheese, (Monterey jack or pepper jack)
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced thinly
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
- ½ of a cucumber, sliced into thin strips
- ½ – 1 cup sliced black olives
Instructions
Sauce:
- Combine the ranch dressing and the barbecue sauce in a small bowl. Mix well. Set aside.
Wraps:
- Prepare all the vegetables by washing and slicing them as indicated on the ingredient list.
- Begin assembling the wraps. Layout the desired number of tortillas. Start with the sauce, spread evenly over the entire tortilla, leaving about an inch around the edge. Layer the cheese and meat over most of the tortillas. Add the vegetables down the center of the tortilla.
- Roll the finished wrap. To make a closed-end wrap, fold both the right and the left edges over the vegetables about one to two inches and then roll from the bottom. Be sure to press the ingredients into the center of the wrap as you roll the tortilla tightly.To make an open-ended wrap, fold only one edge and roll tightly.
- If you make a closed-end wrap, cut the wrap in two and eat half at a time.
- Use the leftover sauce to dip the wrap as you eat it.
