Get all of your romaine lettuce questions answered here! We will go over how to properly cut romaine lettuce for salads, how to prep the lettuce, and how to store it for the best, long lasting freshness and more.
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📋 What is Romaine Lettuce?
- A crisp lettuce variety that grows in large "hearts" or "heads" of lettuce. The top half has lots of leafy greens and the bottom is made of crunchy, white ribs that allow the heads to grow strong and tall.
- Romaine can be grown quickly and easily in a home garden in raised beds, the ground soil, or even a pot. Check out this post for details on how to grow and nurture it at home: Growing Romaine Lettuce: A Gardener's Checklist.
- Romaine is high in water content, low in calories, and a good source of dietary fibers and various vitamins and minerals. It's more nutritious than iceberg lettuce, but more palatable and neural tasting than darker varieties of lettuce like kale or collard greens. It's the perfect nutritious crunch to add to all of your favorite salads, sandwiches, and more.
⁉️ What You'll Need
- Sharp chef's knife - One of the most important tools in the kitchen. It may be counterintuitive, but using a small knife or a dull knife is going to make it more likely that you will cut yourself and have difficulty cutting your lettuce uniformly. A good chef's knife should glide through whatever you are cutting without resistance and feel comfortable in your hand.
- Cutting board - The larger the better! Using a small cutting board is going to make your workspace feel crowded and take you longer to prep.
- A salad spinner - I like to use a salad spinner to prevent my lettuce from turning wet and soggy. I also store my lettuce in the salad spinner with a clean paper towel to soak up any additional moisture. This helps keep it fresh longer!
🔪 How to Prepare the Lettuce
Contrary to what you may think, you do not need to wash the romaine lettuce first. I find the best way to wash leaf lettuce is after chopping because it is easier to wash the lettuce thoroughly once it is chopped into individual pieces. When the lettuce is still intact in a large head, it is difficult to wash the inner layers of the head of lettuce.
- To prepare the lettuce, start by removing any outer brown leaves or leaves that may not look very fresh.
- Then, cut the entire head of lettuce in half lengthwise, including right through the core at the bottom.
📓 How to Cut Lettuce for Salad
- Now you will have two halves of the lettuce head. Set aside one half, allowing you to work with one half at a time.
- Starting at the top, leafy green end of the head, begin chopping. Depending on what you are using the lettuce for, you can create larger chopped texture, or a shredded lettuce texture.
- Continue chopping in even, consistent thickness.
- Stop chopping right before reaching the white, tough ribbed core at the bottom. Repeat steps with the second half of the romaine head.
- Discard the core end of the lettuce head, then transfer the chopped lettuce to a salad spinner or colander. Thoroughly rinse the chopped romaine under cool, clean water. Spin the chopped romaine in the salad spinner until a majority of the water has pooled in the bottom, leaving the lettuce crisp and dry.
- Serve the chopped romaine with desired salad toppings and dressing. Then, enjoy!
❄️ How to Store
To store whole lettuce: A head of lettuce that has not been rinsed or chopped will last in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
For optimal, long lasting freshness, wrap the romaine heads individually in a paper towel to absorb any moisture, and store in a plastic bag or an air-tight container.
To store cut lettuce: Once your lettuce is chopped, it won't have as long of a storage life, but there are few things you can do to extend its freshness.
Most importantly, prevent the romaine from sitting in any excess moisture by storing in a colander set in a bowl or directly in a salad spinner. Top with a clean, dry paper towel to absorb any extra moisture.
🍽 How Do You Use Romaine Lettuce?
One of the best things about romaine lettuce is how it is so versatile!
- In hearty salads, like Healthy Bruschetta Salad or Loaded Burger Bowls.
- Dressed in your favorite salad dressings like Fall Harvest Pumpkin Salad Dressing.
- Thinly sliced on top of savory dishes like Cheesy Ground Turkey Enchiladas, Air Fryer Nachos, or Fajita Tacos.
- As a simple side salad with Slow Roasted Pistachio Crusted Salmon or Mushroom, Sausage, and Arugula Pizza.
🔍 FAQs
When romaine lettuce begins turning red or pink, particularly on the white portions of the head, it is a sign that it is oxidizing and no longer of optimal freshness.
However, it is still perfectly safe to eat. As long as the romaine is not wilted, slimy, or have an odor, it is safe to eat, pink and red parts included.
Once romaine lettuce has been washed and chopped, it likely will only be at optimal freshness for a few days.
You can prolong the romaine's life up to 7 days by storing it in an airtight container with dry paper towels to absorb any excess moisture.
You can also change the paper towels every other day or so to ensure that it stays as fresh as possible.
Yes! Any lettuce or leafy green that grows in similarly sized heads can be cut using this same method. Give it a try on red lettuce, kale, chards, and more.
💭 One More Tip
Invest in a salad spinner if you don't have one already! It is the easiest, quickest way to not only thoroughly wash lettuce, but it is also the fastest, most efficient way to dry it as well. This is particularly helpful when prepping romaine lettuce for meal prep, as you will be able to keep it as fresh as possible when dried properly.
If you found this helpful, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
🍴 Recipe Ideas
Need More Cooking Tips and Tricks?
- Learn how to cut shallots.
- Cut and store asparagus so it lasts much longer in the refrigerator.
- Make snacking easier by following these tips on how to cut an apple!
📖 Recipe
How to Cut Romaine Lettuce for Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
Instructions
- To prepare the lettuce, start by removing any outer brown leaves or leaves that may not look very fresh.
- Cut the entire head of lettuce in half lengthwise, including right through the core at the bottom.
- Now you will have two halves of the lettuce head. Set aside one half, allowing you to work with one half at a time.
- Starting at the top, leafy green end of the head, begin chopping. Depending on what you are using the lettuce for, you can create larger chopped pieces, or smaller, shredded lettuce-sized pieces. Continue chopping in an even, consistent thickness.
- Stop chopping right before reaching the white, tough ribbed core at the bottom. Repeat steps with the second half of the romaine head.
- Discard the core end of the lettuce head, then transfer the chopped lettuce to a salad spinner or colander. Thoroughly rinse the chopped romaine under cool, clean water. Spin the chopped romaine in the salad spinner until a majority of the water has pooled in the bottom, leaving the lettuce crisp and dry.
- Serve the chopped romaine with desired salad toppings and dressing. Then, enjoy!
Notes
- Contrary to what you may think, you do not need to wash the romaine lettuce first. I find the best way to wash leaf lettuce is after chopping because it is easier to wash the lettuce thoroughly once it is chopped into individual pieces. When the lettuce is still intact in a large head, it is difficult to wash the inner layers of the head of lettuce.
- To store whole lettuce: A head of lettuce that has not been rinsed or chopped will last in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. For optimal, long lasting freshness, wrap the romaine heads individually in a paper towel to absorb any moisture, and store in a plastic bag or an air-tight container. To store cut lettuce: Once your lettuce is chopped, it won't have as long of a storage life, but there are few things you can do to extend its freshness: Most importantly, prevent the romaine from sitting in any excess moisture by storing in a colander set in a bowl or directly in a salad spinner. Top with a clean, dry paper towel to absorb any extra moisture.
Nutrition
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Stacy
Very helpful post! Thanks for the information.
Alana Lieberman
You're welcome. Glad it was helpful!