Healthy Lettuce Side Dish Recipes

These wraps should be served with lots of condiments: kimchee, for sure, but also nonfat yogurt and shredded carrots dressed with rice vinegar. Serve the various components of the dish separately and let your family or guests build their own wraps to taste.

In this healthy side salad recipe, hearts of palm bring balance to the flavors of this pleasantly sweet tropical fruit salad with pineapple, grapefruit and bananas. Serve alongside grilled chicken or coconut-crusted fish.

Ubod, or hearts of palm, are the edible pith of the coconut tree. Yana Gilbuena, who's toured the world sharing her culture's cooking, considers this ingredient to be a great example of how Filipino cuisine honors a plant by using as many parts as possible. Read more about Gilbuena and this recipe.

Tender-crisp Boston lettuce makes the perfect low-calorie stand-in for traditional wraps in this healthy, gluten-free recipe. If you can't find Boston lettuce, other types of greens, such as kale, cabbage or iceberg lettuce, will work too.

Toasting the pita adds crunch to this bright-tasting salad, and a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of ground sumac--the berry of a bush that grows wild all over Lebanon--add depth. Letting the salad sit for a bit before eating allows the pita to soak up the lemony dressing.

Here we toss rice noodles with crunchy vegetables, fresh herbs, tofu and a light, sweet, tart and salty Vietnamese dressing flavored with fish sauce and wrap the mixture in lettuce leaves. For a vegetarian version, use reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari in place of the fish sauce. Pass the mixture, lettuce leaves and sauce separately so everyone can make their own wraps.

This easy summer salad, which is inspired by similar salads served in Guadeloupe, features the squash that is called christophine in Guadeloupe, chayote in Mexico and parts of the U.S., chocho in Jamaica, xuxu in Brazil and mirliton in New Orleans. It makes a refreshing foil to Caribbean curries and other spicy dishes. Read more about this recipe here.

Next time you're preparing meat or fish on the grill, try this grilled salad recipe. Romaine lettuce is a perfect choice for grilling and it's ready in just a few minutes. Slightly charred and wilted, the taste is enhanced with a simple lemon dressing and a sprinkling of feta cheese.

Crunchy vegetables and tangy blue cheese combine in this simple, delicious salad.

This easy salad, which is inspired by similar salads served in Brazil, bursts with acidity and flavor thanks to the slightly spicy vinaigrette. Blanching the okra helps retain its crunch and color. Read more about Jessica B. Harris' experience with Salada de Quiabo here.

Quick-pickling the shallot tames its sharpness while preserving its crunch. Instead of pouring the pickling liquid down the drain, we use it to make a flavorful vinaigrette for this spring salad.

Perk up your dinner salad by tossing greens with snow peas, carrots and a tangy dressing.

A lovely exaggeration of the French technique of cooking peas with a little lettuce, this light springtime dish goes well with mildly seasoned seafood or chicken.

Quick-chilling the asparagus and carrots in ice water is an important step in this recipe. It stops the cooking process of the vegetables so they don't overcook and go limp.

Romaine or Cos lettuce may have originated on the island of Cos.

Here, crisp lettuce is tossed with ripe tomatoes, potatoes, capers, basil and olives. Tomato juice is the secret ingredient in the dressing.

Quickly cooked snap peas retain their distinctive crunch, becoming the star in this simple green salad.

This healthy side dish is delicious and beautiful! Fresh strawberries, toasted pecans and basil are served with creamy goat cheese and dressed with a Dijon vinaigrette.

Our Caesar salad dressing substitutes flavor-packed pureed roasted garlic for the considerable amount of oil and egg yolks normally found in the classic dressing without losing any of the richness you expect in a Caesar. Add some grilled chicken breast to this salad and you've got a complete meal.

Starting a meal with a “garden” or “house” salad at restaurants is a winning appetite-cutting strategy that works just as well at home. This everyday side salad is a breeze to make; try it with soup or a sandwich for lunch, or for your first course at dinner.

Fresh spring greens are set off by a dressing that takes its cue from the classic bouillabaisse flavoring, a nutty, creamy, garlicky mélange that's stirred into the soup just before it's served.

This garlicky dressing is terrific simply tossed with romaine lettuce, but any sturdy lettuce you have on hand will do--particularly radicchio or escarole.

Black-eyed peas' earthy, nutty sweetness gets oomph from tangy hot sauce. In this recipe, they're mixed with plenty of crunchy vegetables for a satisfying vegetarian salad.

Light mayonnaise makes a velvety base for this zesty dressing, which can easily be doubled if you want enough for another meal later in the week.