Even though green leaf lettuce isn’t the most exciting vegetable out there, there are still plenty of recipes that use it in a creative way.
Not all green leaf lettuce recipes need to be salads. You can stir fry some ground beef or chicken and layer it on top of a leaf of lettuce for lettuce wraps.
Or, par boil the lettuce along with some oyster sauce for an Asian inspired entree.
And of course, there are indeed a variety of different green lettuce salad ideas made with cherry tomatoes, radishes and even eggs.
13 Green Leaf Lettuce Recipes
Korean Lettuce Salad
Let’s kick things off with Sangchu Geotjeori, a traditional Korean salad made with crisp green lettuce.
Apart from the leaf lettuce, this salad contains shredded carrots and is seasoned with a mix of Korean red pepper flakes and sesame seeds.
This gives the salad a bit of a crunch and a mildly spicy flavor.
Get the recipe at: Drive Me Hungry
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Making a simple lettuce wrap is never a bad idea when you want a quick snack or a light appetizer.
These Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps feature shredded chicken coated in buffalo sauce served over a bed of lettuce along with some ranch dressing.
If you want to add some extra flavor, you can garnish the wraps with some blue cheese crumbles and scallions.
Get the recipe at: Tasty
Lettuce Smoothie
While not a whole meal in of itself, this Lettuce Smoothie will help you hit your nutritional goals with minimal effort.
The smoothie is made with half a cup of almond milk, frozen bananas, apples, some honey and chia seeds.
The original recipe uses romaine lettuce, but I’ve tried it with leaf lettuce and it was still a smash hit.
Get the recipe at: The Cookful
Simple Green Salad with Citronette
This Simple Green Salad is made with a rich variety of leafy greens and a refreshing citronette sauce.
Citronette sauce, if you aren’t familiar with the term, is a take on the classic vinaigrette sauce but it’s made with citrus fruits instead of vinegar.
The best thing about this recipe is that it mixes peppery and bitter greens such as watercress and radicchio with milder greens such as leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce and baby spinach.
This gives you a lot of creative freedom and room to play around with different ideas.
Get the recipe at: Eating Well
Green Lettuce Smoothie
If you’re not fond of almond milk and you’re looking for a more traditional smoothie recipe, then you gotta try this Green Lettuce Smoothie.
It uses Greek yogurt instead of almond milk as a base which gives it a creamier consistency and a richer taste.
The rest of the ingredients that offset the bitterness of the lettuce are bananas, apples and celery.
Get the recipe at: Smart Nutrition
Easy Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps
One glance is all you need to fall in love with these juicy Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps.
The wraps are made with a filling of ground beef that’s seasoned with cumin, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper.
They’re also topped off with some crunchy carrots, green onions and peanuts for additional flavor.
Get the recipe at: The Diary of a Real Housewife
Simple 10 Minute Green Salad
Salads don’t get any easier than this Simple 10 Minute Green Salad.
Seriously, all you’ll need for this recipe is some leaf lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, celery stalks and some spring onions.
And of course, a bit of vinaigrette to toss all of the ingredients.
Get the recipe at: Kitchen Sanctuary
Garlic Sesame Chicken Lettuce Cups
These Garlic Sesame Chicken Lettuce Cups are perfect if you’re looking for an appetizer for your Asian inspired dinner party.
They’re made with ground chicken which is sauteed in a sauce of ketchup, honey, garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and red pepper flakes.
The entire recipe also takes less than half an hour to make so you won’t need to worry about time.
Get the recipe at: Swanky Recipes
Boiled Green Leaf Lettuce
I must admit that boiling lettuce isn’t the most conventional way of cooking it, but it’s worth giving it a shot if you’re willing to try out something new.
I’ve tried this recipe once and was surprised at how good it actually turned out, given that most of its flavor came from the oyster sauce and garlic.
Get the recipe at: Easy Chinese Recipes
Butter Leaf Lettuce Summer Salad
This summer lettuce salad is loaded with tons of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, chives, radish and eggs.
As its name implies, it also contains loads of butter leaf lettuce.
Nevertheless, you can easily substitute the butter leaf lettuce with green leaf lettuce without any significant loss in flavor.
Get the recipe at: Reluctant Entertainer
Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Kung Pao Chicken is a staple Chinese dish made from stir fried chicken that’s coated in a savory sauce.
Fortunately, you can also turn it into a wrap by serving it over a few leaves of green leaf lettuce.
This will not only add a bit of freshness, but also give it a more nuanced texture.
Get the recipe at: Swanky Recipes
Green Leaf Lettuce, Pomegranate and Almond Salad
This green leaf lettuce salad offers a delightful mix of sweet and tart flavors packed in every single bite.
It achieves this by coating a mixture of green leaf lettuce, watercress and pomegranate in a simple lime juice vinaigrette.
The salad works great as an entree or an appetizer along with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
Get the recipe at: Epicurious
Wilted Lettuce with Warm Bacon Dressing
Wilted Lettuce Salad is a traditional Southern appetizer that’s made with a hot bacon dressing.
The dressing wilts the leaves of the salad which softens their texture and lets them soak some of the bacon flavor.
It’s also worth pointing out that the dressing contains bits of onion and a handful of bacon.
Get the recipe at: Cooking With Carlee
Wrap up
Green leaf lettuce can be combined in a myriad of different ways to make salads, lettuce wraps and smoothies.
You simply need to know which vegetables pair well with it so you don’t end up with an overly bitter appetizer.
And in most cases this boils down to radishes, cucumbers, and peppery greens.
