Spring Lettuce Recipes: 15 Ideas, Zero Salads

The most common place you'll find lettuce is in a salad bowl, but if that's gotten old we've got some recipes for you. Since spring is all about lettuces, there's no better time than the present to enjoy the gorgeous greens. Go to the market right now and you'll see the produce section stocked with beautiful, frilly heads of red leaf, green leaf, romaine (a.k.a. Cos) and butterhead (a.k.a. Boston, Bibb and butter). These lettuces range in flavor and texture: Romaine is extra crisp and perfect paired with strong flavors (it's famous in Caesar salad). Butterhead is soft, tender and, as the name suggests, buttery -- it's great to use as a wrap or cup for Asian-style fillings since it's so pliable. Red leaf and green leaf are not as delicate as butterhead but not as crisp as romaine, so they're in the middle in terms of texture.

Check out the slideshow below to get all 15 lettuce recipes -- you won't find a single salad. We have lettuce used as wraps, lettuce in wraps, lettuce wrapped around fish, lettuce on pizza, and more.

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Comments

[J Owen Williams]

01:56 AM on 05/15/2012

Oh... I was hoping for something to improve my cell phone reception.

[GraniteSkyline]

06:09 PM on 05/14/2012

Allow me to share my husband's favorite snack recipe, Salad on a Stick.

He jabs a fork vertically into the base of a romaine heart, adds a splash of salad dressing on the top [giving it a minute to trickle down], and then gnaws away from top to bottom like a bunny. Its his most common snack and he eats it will computing, watching TV, driving, going for a walk--he takes it everywhere.

[Barbara DeZan]

06:59 PM on 05/14/2012

I thought I was the only one.......

My lettuce choice is a nice healthy wedge of iceberg, drizzle a little olive oil an dlemon juice, salt and pepper....and stick a fork in it...

Also LOVE raw cabbage heart....the part most people throw away.

Glad to know I'm not the only Nut in the country.

[simzillyjp]

04:25 PM on 05/14/2012

Lettuce in soup is very good.

[sushiferret]

06:21 PM on 05/14/2012

my favorite is adding tons of fresh spinach to PHO.OMG!

[DJCranky]

02:00 PM on 05/14/2012

Here's how to store lettuce and have it last a week or more: wash and dry lettuce thoroughly. Line a large ziplock bag with paper towels. Put washed and dried lettuce into bag and gently press out excess air and close up.

You're welcome.

[hattie54]

08:24 PM on 05/14/2012

I've done this for years but also leaving the bag open helps keep it dry too in the frig bin.

[WhereIsTheTruth]

01:40 PM on 05/14/2012

Lettuce can also be used to trap unwanted snails in your aquarium.

[Sid Small]

01:37 PM on 05/14/2012

A bit of lettuce leaf in a sealed baggie will rehydrate your too dry pot

[Statusnaturae]

01:22 PM on 05/14/2012

Use lettuce leafs as you would tortillas, specially when eating mole.

[Nic the wonder puppy]

01:17 PM on 05/14/2012

the only good lettuce is a buried lettuce

[sushiferret]

06:22 PM on 05/14/2012

I don't blame you, you're just a dog...

[Dastius-Krazitauc]

01:17 PM on 05/14/2012

The cooked lettuce dishes are interesting, the "using a piece of lettuce to hold some other food", not so much.

[FronzelNeekburm]

12:59 PM on 05/14/2012

Cut them into shapes of people, have mock weddings on your patio. (This will also get you out of jury duty.)

[mario andretti]

01:54 PM on 05/11/2012

Lettuce cake.

[PlayedMostFoul]

10:08 AM on 05/11/2012

Instead of salad, HuffPo gives us a slideshow of nearly all lettuce wraps. How inventive.

[garystartswithg]

11:12 AM on 05/10/2012

petit pois a la francaise is mighty good, i like tarragon instead of mint and cook it with some almond milk instead of dairy.

minestra maritita is always a favorite with lots of chicory family lettuces -- like curly endive and escarole, just chopping up a head of escarole and throwing it into just about any soup makes it better.

if you haven't had gazpacho verde de huelva you should correct that, now.