20 Types of Lettuce and Other Leafy Greens

GREEN LEAF LETTUCE:

Salad greens are any leafy green vegetable traditionally used in making salad recipes. They could be beet greens, a type of watercress, or a classic Boston Bibb.

Butterhead lettuce is light, airy, and soft with buttery, overlapping leaves that range from pale green to pale yellow-green. They’re sweet and succulent with tongue-shaped leaves. Butter lettuce works well with gentle, vinaigrette-based dressings. Popular varieties include Bibb and Boston.

Good old-fashioned iceberg lettuce is by far the most well-known of this group, which is known for its tightly balled heads, which are high in water content and pack a powerful crunch that’s low in calories. Once you learn how to cut lettuce, it’s easy to make wraps or a classic wedge salad with lots of blue cheese.

These varieties grow away from the main base stem loosely, as opposed to a tightly balled head, and they tend to have ruffled pliable leaves. Leaf lettuce is tender and broken into bite-sized leaves for salads and sandwiches. This variety can be harvested leaf by leaf and sown into the ground every week for a continuous supply of greens throughout the growing season.

Summer Crisp

Also known as French Crisp Lettuce or Batavia Lettuce, it’s a summer-tolerant lettuce that’s sweet, crispy, and versatile.

Oak Leaf

Shaped like oak leaves, this variety comes in several colors; oak leaf lettuce has tender, mild leaves that hold dressing well.

Plentiful in the summer with prominent crispy spines and broad leaves, the romaine family of lettuce varieties is easy to cut or tear up for a delicious Caesar salad, or try grilled romaine on the barbecue with a Romanesco sauce.

CHICORY FAMILY:

A relative of leaf lettuce, chicories are hearty, bitter greens that stand up to rich dressings. They can be used raw or cooked in braises, soups, pasta, and stir-frys. Because they’re so hearty, they thrive in cooler months, and some even winter over.

This oblong head has closely packed pale yellow, satiny white leaves. Endive is grown in the dark to keep its delicate white color. Available year-round. Makes a good scoop for dips, seafood salads such as ceviche, and appetizers—slightly bitter taste.

Although it looks like a small magenta cabbage, radicchio is its own vegetable and is prized for its bold color and flavor. It has closely overlapped red and white leaves. Because of its bitterness, radicchio can be eaten raw with hearty, creamy dressings or cooked to become sweeter. It is fabulous braised in some red wine and served with a steak.

Frisée

Also known as curly endive, this frizzy, fun lettuce adds a lot of texture to any salad bowl. In a salade Lyonnaise, poached eggs and chunks of bacon are commonly served on frisée, which perfectly holds the rich yolk and bacon fat.

It looks like a larger head of Bibb lettuce because of its pale green color, but it is more robust in flavor. It is bitter and crunchy, and it stands up well to braising and Italian soups with beans.

Super peppery in flavor, arugula, also known as Rocket, is actually a slow-growing herb. It can have spiky or rounded leaves that are softly textured. Sprinkle some raw arugula on a pizza fresh out of the oven, or make a pesto with walnuts in place of pine nuts and basil.

Mizuna

Mizuna is a variety of mild Asian greens in the Brassica family with veined, spiked, dark green leaves and a slightly peppery taste. Toss into pasta or a stir-fry just before serving. High in antioxidants and vitamin K.

Kale is a member of the cruciferous brassica family that can have a slightly bitter or even peppery bite when raw. There are various types of kale, from dinosaur (aka lacinato) to more tender baby kale, all with various textures, colors, and flavors. One thing for sure is this vegetable superfood is loaded with antioxidants and notably nutrients like fiber, vitamins A, pyridoxine, K, and C.

A member of the mustard family, watercress grows in freshwater streams but can also be cultivated. Its fresh peppery flavor is enjoyed raw, stems and all, or gently cooked. Watercress can be very sandy, so make sure to rinse it well.

A very intense, bold, flavored bitter green, dandelion greens pack a nutrient punch that’s high in fiber, too. They can be boiled, braised, or eaten raw in salads if you can handle it! High in vitamins A, C, and K.

Also known as lamb’s lettuce, this lettuce grows in small dark green clusters and has a mild and sweet flavor. Rinse it carefully because this delicate salad green is often sold with the root system still intact.

Mesclun

Also known as spring mix, this once exotic lettuce mix is now a mainstay at grocery stores everywhere. It’s made up of a wide variety of baby salad greens: bitter, sweet, and crunchy. If you’re lucky, sometimes even herbs are sprinkled into this tasty mix, but you can always add your own.

Because it comes in such large amounts, I use up extra mesclun by sautéing a handful or two with olive oil and garlic and serving it on top of pre-made cheese ravioli for a quick, satisfying meal.

A sweet little romaine-type lettuce with a sweet little name, this pale green oblong lettuce has a soft crunch and a delicate flavor.

Purslane

Coming back into the limelight, purslane was often thought of as a noxious weed. What it is, however, is a succulent that is high in omega-3 fatty acids. Purslane has a bright, lemony flavor that can be used interchangeably with spinach and thick, almost juicy leaves.

High in nutritional value, spinach originated from Persia and is known around the world as a healthy, leafy green vegetable. Spinach comes in many leaf types, from crinkled to smooth, but all are enjoyed by eating raw or cooked in virtually any recipe, from spinach smoothie to creamed spinach. Use fresh baby spinach soon after buying it for peak nutrition.

Buying & Selection

Look for fresh lettuce with un-creased, intact leaves. Pass up any brown or wilted leaves or slimy bases. While some lettuce may have a few outer leaves that are creased or ripped, the insides should be crisp-looking and unblemished.

Wash Before Eating

Unless the greens have been pre-washed, rinse your salad greens before eating to prevent possible foodborne illness associated with lettuce processing.

Using a Salad Spinner

If you’d like to incorporate more fresh salads into your diet, it may be time to invest in a salad spinner (Amazon link), which uses a hand crank or button to spin the water out of fresh salad greens quickly and efficiently.

Fill the spinner bowl or another large salad bowl, or clean the sink basin with cold tap water, and add the greens, stirring gently to remove any sand or grit. Lift out and gently shake off excess water. Store the greens in the refrigerator under damp paper towels if using them within a few hours.