How To Cut Romaine Lettuce for Salad

5 from 1 vote

How To Cut Romaine Lettuce for Salad

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.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Appetizer/Snack, Main, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Brianna May

Equipment

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