Learn How to Cut Romaine Lettuce for Salad in a few easy steps. My method allows you to rinse all the nooks and crannies of the lettuce leaves so you aren’t left with bits of dirt on the inner pieces.
This yummy leafy green is quite versatile once you know how to cut romaine lettuce for salad! Use chopped romaine for lettuce wraps, sandwiches, tacos, and noodle dishes. Bonus – Prepping romaine lettuce makes you more likely to use it before it goes bad!
Here are a few yummy recipes you can create once you know how to cut lettuce for a salad Easy Caesar Salad or Panera Greek Salad.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Learn
- How to cut romaine lettuce for salad so it’s in even pieces.
- How to rinse/dry the lettuce leaves before use.
- How to properly store the lettuce after following the steps for how to cut romaine lettuce for Caesar salad.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Romaine: I prefer to wash the romaine after it is chopped so the water can rinse over each piece. Otherwise, you’re only rinsing the outside lettuce leaves. This means, you’ll likely find debris and dirt in the inner section of the romaine lettuce when following the steps for how to cut romaine lettuce for salad. So, you’ll need to wash the lettuce again.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
How to Cut Romaine Lettuce for Salad
Quick Overview
- Remove outer leaves.
- Chop.
- Wash.
Step by Step Instructions
Ensure you use cold water to rinse the leaves to prevent wilting.
Step 1: Using your hand, pull off any outer leaves of lettuce that look brown, pink, or soggy.
Step 2: Leaving the core attached, make 2-3 long cuts through the head from core to the dark green leafy end. (See photos above.)
Step 3: Start at the dark green leafy end (top) and move towards the core (bottom). Begin chopping the romaine into 1/2-1-inch pieces in the opposite direction as the cuts made in Step 2. Stop when you reach the pale end near the core. Discard the core end. Repeat this with the other head of romaine. (See photos above.)
Step 4: Place all of the chopped romaine into a salad spinner or colander. Rinse the lettuce multiple times with cold water. Spin multiple times until most of the excess water has pooled in the bottom of the spinner. Drain the water and dry well before assembling your salad.
Expert Tips
- Wash the lettuce after chopping it. Waiting to wash the romaine lettuce until after you’ve chopped it helps you save time and clean your lettuce better. If you wash the lettuce before, you can only rinse the outer leaves, leaving the inner leaves with dirt/debris. However, once you chop the lettuce, you can properly rinse each piece.
- Use a salad spinner. There’s nothing worse than watery recipes because of lettuce that hasn’t been dried off. To make the drying process easier, use a salad spinner. It will have your lettuce nearly fully dry after a few minutes.
- Cut the romaine to the correct size. When following the steps for how to cut romaine lettuce for salad, ensure you adjust the size based on your recipe. For example, you’ll want thicker pieces for salads and thinner bits for burgers, tacos, and garnishes.
Recipes with Chopped Romaine Lettuce
Now that you’ve mastered how to cut romaine lettuce for salad, you can explore recipes. Here are a few ideas:
How to Store Cut Romaine Lettuce
These notes will help answer the question, “How to store cut romaine lettuce so it stays fresh for longer?”.
- Once the lettuce is chopped, storing romaine lettuce in an airtight bag with paper towels is essential.
- Keep the lettuce in the veggie drawer in your fridge for the best results.
- Mark the date on the bag five days from when you chopped the lettuce and consume it before that date.
FAQs
It will depend on how you intend to use romaine lettuce. Some salads work better with chopped lettuce, while others work best with torn lettuce. I prefer to cut lettuce since it helps create more uniform, bite sized pieces.
Once you’ve followed the steps for how to cut romaine lettuce for salad, it’s important to store it in an airtight bag. Keep a paper towel or two in the bag to help absorb excess moisture. If you notice a damp paper towel, replace it with a dry one to keep your leafy greens fresh.
I recommend not washing lettuce before you cut it (including romaine and iceberg lettuce). Instead, chop it first. Then, you can wash lettuce after. This step ensures you clean the outer and inner pieces simultaneously.
You do not need to remove all outer leaves from the romaine lettuce head. However, it’s important to remove any outer leaves that are discolored or soggy before cutting romain lettuce.
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How To Cut Romaine Lettuce for Salad
Ingredients
- 2 heads romaine lettuce, unwashed*
Instructions
- Using your hand, pull off any outer leaves of lettuce that look brown, pink, or soggy.2 heads romaine lettuce, unwashed*
- Leaving the core attached, make 2-3 long cuts through the head from core to the dark green leafy end. (See photos above.)
- Start at the dark green leafy end (top) and move towards the core (bottom). Begin chopping the romaine into 1/2-1-inch pieces in the opposite direction as the cuts made in Step 2. Stop when you reach the pale end near the core. Discard the core end. Repeat this with the other head of romaine. (See photos above.)
- Place all of the chopped romaine into a salad spinner or colander. Rinse the lettuce multiple times with cold water. Spin multiple times until most of the excess water has pooled in the bottom of the spinner. Drain the water and dry well before assembling your salad.
Notes
- Wash the lettuce after chopping it. Waiting to wash the romaine lettuce until after you’ve chopped it helps you save time and clean your lettuce better. If you wash the lettuce before, you can only rinse the outer leaves, leaving the inner leaves with dirt/debris. However, once you chop the lettuce, you can properly rinse each piece.
- Use a salad spinner. There’s nothing worse than watery recipes because of lettuce that hasn’t been dried off. To make the drying process easier, use a salad spinner. It will have your lettuce nearly fully dry after a few minutes.
- Cut the romaine to the correct size. When following the steps for how to cut romaine lettuce for salad, ensure you adjust the size based on your recipe. For example, you’ll want thicker pieces for salads and thinner bits for burgers, tacos, and garnishes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
