Healthy Lettuce Recipes

Find healthy, delicious lettuce recipes including lettuce cups and lettuce wraps. Healthier recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Chopped Power Salad with Chicken

2
Enjoy this filling and colorful salad for lunch or dinner. The dressing gets made in the same bowl that the salad is tossed in, so the greens absorb every bit of flavor.
By Carolyn Casner

White Bean & Veggie Salad

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This meatless main-dish salad combines creamy, satisfying white beans and avocado. Try mixing it up with different seasonal vegetables.
By Katie Webster

Green Goddess Salad with Chickpeas

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In this cucumber, tomato, Swiss cheese and chickpea salad recipe, a healthy green goddess dressing is made from avocado, buttermilk and herbs. The extra dressing is delicious served with grilled vegetables.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Homemade Chicken Tenders with Everything Bagel Seasoning over Salad

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Using everything bagel spice is a quick way to season and add extra crunch to breadcrumbs for chicken tenders. If you can't find any premixed, make your own by combining equal parts dried minced onion and garlic, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, salt and ground pepper (see Associated Recipes). This healthy chicken recipe tops a simple salad for an easy dinner that's ready in 25 minutes.
By Devon O'Brien

No-Cook Black Bean Salad

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A classic black bean salad is a must for picnics and potlucks. This vegan version gets its creaminess from blended avocado. Any mix of salad greens will work well, but try arugula if you want to give this hearty salad a peppery kick.
By Hilary Meyer

Vegetarian Chopped Power Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Cilantro adds color and flavor when blended to make a creamy dressing. Serve this healthy salad for lunch or dinner.
By Carolyn Casner

Chicken & Cucumber Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

4
We love the crunch from sliced cucumber and jicama in these savory chicken lettuce wraps. Serve with the simple peanut sauce for an easy dinner recipe that will impress kids and adults alike.
By Lauren Grant

Tomato, Cucumber & White-Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

4
This no-cook bean salad is a delicious way to use summer's best cherry or grape tomatoes and juicy cucumbers for a light dinner or lunch. Fresh basil elevates an easy vinaigrette recipe that dresses up this simple salad into something extraordinary.
By Carolyn Casner

Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps

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We love the retro vibe of these egg salad lettuce wraps. Iceberg lettuce makes a perfect low-carb swap for bread to serve the egg salad.
By Katie Webster

Guacamole Chopped Salad

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All of the delicious guacamole flavors you love in a healthy veggie-packed salad. Want to pump up the protein? Add leftover roast chicken or sautéed shrimp. Serve with tortilla chips on the side (or crumbled over the top) to take it up a notch.
By Carolyn Casner

Chickpea, Artichoke & Avocado Salad with Apple-Cider Dressing

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This delicious 400-calorie salad is a helpful tool for weight loss because it provides a good balance of fiber, protein and healthy fats from loads of veggies and beans, all tossed in a tangy apple-cider vinaigrette. To meal-prep these for lunch throughout the week, pack the dressing and the salad separately and make sure your veggies are thoroughly dried before packing them together.
By Hilary Meyer

Meal-Prep Vegan Lettuce Wraps

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For these meal-prep-friendly lettuce wraps, we swap the traditional warm filling for a cold plant-based bean salad filling loaded with fresh herbs and lemon. Topping each lettuce leaf with a little quinoa before adding the filling helps to keep the lettuce from getting soggy.
By Carolyn A Hodges, RD
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Inspiration and Ideas

20 Salad Recipes for When You're Bored of Lettuce
These delicious salad recipes use ingredients like chickpeas, spinach, cucumbers and broccoli as the base instead of lettuce, creating a flavorful salad that's anything but traditional.
Fresh & Healthy Iceberg Lettuce Recipes
From classic wedge salad to lettuce wraps and more, iceberg lettuce is having a moment. Granted, this type of lettuce doesn't pack as much of a nutritional punch as its darker green counterparts, but it's still a low-calorie, delicious way to eat more vegetables. Plus, it's a great option for kids and picky eaters because of its mild taste and fresh crunch. Next taco night, try it in place of tortillas, and you'll question why this versatile vegetable ever went out of style.
Crab Louie Salad
Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Dressing
Big Beautiful Summer Salad
2
Chopped Cobb Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
1

In place of bacon, this satisfying salad uses store-bought crispy chickpeas for lower saturated fat and less prep time. Using fresh herbs, bright citrus and a creamy base of yogurt and mayonnaise for the dressing gives it a flavorful finish.

All Healthy Lettuce Recipes

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

2
This scrumptious and healthy salad combines elements of Caesar salad, pasta salad and chicken salad for an easy weeknight dinner that comes together in less than 30 minutes (and most of the prep can be done ahead). Use your blender to whip together the tangy buttermilk-based dressing, which would also be great on a salmon or chickpea salad.
By Pam Lolley

Beefless Vegan Tacos

4
Take taco night in a new direction with these healthy vegan tacos. We've swapped crumbled tofu for the ground beef, without sacrificing any of the savory seasonings you expect in a taco. You can also use the filling in burritos, bowls, taco salads and to top nachos.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu & Peanut Dressing

3
Prep four days' worth of high-protein vegan lunches using just four easy ingredients from your local specialty grocery store, including a veggie-heavy salad mix as a base. Because this salad mix is hearty, you can dress these bowls up to 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors in this healthy chopped salad to marry. If you can't find a hearty mix, go with broccoli slaw or shredded Brussels sprouts.
By Carolyn A Hodges, RD

Salmon Caesar Salad

This easy Caesar salad subs creamy Greek yogurt and buttermilk for the traditional egg yolks and olive oil and mixes in mildly bitter radicchio in addition to classic romaine. Using just a small amount of flavorful Parmigiano-Reggiano shaves calories and sodium too.
By Liz Mervosh

Tuna Salad Sandwich with Sweet Relish

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This sweet twist on a classic tuna-salad sandwich is a healthy high-protein lunch that even your kids will love.
By Carolyn Casner

Fresh Asparagus-Tomato Salad

Topped with Parmesan cheese and pine nuts, this tasty green salad is perfect for any barbeque or picnic.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Avocado & Corn Salad

5
In this fresh summer salad recipe, sweet corn and honey balance nicely with tomatoes, avocado and lime juice. Bring it along to your next summer picnic or pair it with grilled shrimp or chicken for an easy weeknight meal.
By Ali Ramee

Meal-Prep Turkey Cobb Salad

2
Cubed deli turkey takes the place of chicken, while Cheddar replaces blue cheese in this easy Cobb-inspired salad. The protein-rich turkey and cheese, plus eggs and bacon, gives the salad staying power, so you won't get hungry an hour after you eat. Feel free to swap out the turkey for cooked chicken or chickpeas to mix things up. Serve the salad right away or pack it up in individual containers and you'll be set for lunch for days.
By Carolyn Casner

Chicken Caesar Lettuce Cups

Upgrade your work lunch with these tasty Caesar salad lettuce cups. This Caesar salad recipe gets a healthy makeover, thanks to homemade dressing made with Greek yogurt.
By Cooking Light

Grinder Salad Sandwich

1
Inspired by the viral TikTok trend, we put our own spin on the grinder salad sandwich. We stick to one deli meat, in this case turkey, to cut back on sodium. For the salad topping, additions like bell pepper, red onion and tomato add color and crunch while also amping up the veggies. Whether you call it a grinder, hoagie or sub, you'll want to make this sandwich again and again.
By Karen Rankin

Green Salad with Pita Bread & Hummus

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Elevate hummus and pita by piling your plate high with cucumbers, carrots and mixed greens! Just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil is all it takes to dress it up.
By Katie Webster

Mediterranean Veggie Wrap with Cilantro Hummus

These healthy multi-grain wraps are filled with mixed greens, chopped cucumber, tomato and red onion, as well as feta cheese and a homemade cilantro hummus. As a time saver, the hummus can be prepared up to 3 days ahead, and chilled until you're ready to make the wraps.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Chopped Cobb Salad

1
This single-serving recipe for Cobb salad swaps chicken in for bacon, which makes it a great source of protein for lunch. If you prefer another salad dressing, feel free to use that instead of our honey-mustard vinaigrette.
By Katie Webster

Chopped Cobb Salad with Chicken

This healthy chopped salad is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken. You can reserve the remaining hard-boiled egg half for a snack.
By Rachel Meltzer Warren, M.S., RDN

Greek Salad Wraps

2
Zesty Greek salad packed with tomatoes, cucumber and olives--plus chickpeas for a protein punch--gets tucked into a whole-wheat wrap for a healthy vegan lunch that's easy to pack for work. It's so flavorful and satisfying, you won't miss the feta!
By Carolyn Casner

Egg Salad English-Muffin Sandwich

When you boil eggs ahead of time, it's easy to create a lickety-split and delightful lunchtime egg salad. And using the flavorful leafy carrot tops in it is like getting herbs for free.
By Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDCES

Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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Take taco night to a new level with sweet potato taco "shells." Tender sweet potatoes pair perfectly with spicy taco meat, creamy cheese and crisp lettuce. Let everyone customize their taco potato with their favorite toppings.
By Carolyn Casner

Spring Roll Salad

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All the tastes, color and fun of a spring roll without all the work! This healthy salad recipe is bursting with the colors of rainbow from generous amounts of fresh vegetables, shrimp and whole grains all topped with a peanut dressing for the ultimate satisfying salad.
By Devon O'Brien

Pear, Gorgonzola & Walnut Salad

2
The light and refreshing vinaigrette in this side salad offsets the tangy funk of Gorgonzola and sweetness from the raisins and pears. Even better, this salad celebrates fall and has beautiful colors. Feel free to get creative with this salad: Add chicken to make it meal-worthy, choose a different nut or swap Bosc pears for your favorite variety. Be sure to wait to dress this salad until ready to serve or the greens will wilt.
By Sarah Epperson

Roasted Veggie & Quinoa Salad

4
Quick, simple and packed with satisfying protein and fiber, this salad makes a perfect lunch or easy one-dish dinner.
By Victoria Seaver, M.S., R.D.

Blackened Chicken with Chopped Salad

In this spin, we coat this blackened chicken with spices common to Cajun cooking, like dried thyme and cayenne pepper. Then, instead of using the traditional method of searing in a cast-iron pan, we take advantage of the warmer weather by grilling outside.
By Hilary Meyer

Catchall Lunch Salad

This easy salad is great for using up any small amounts of leftover canned foods and produce you have on hand.
By Patsy Jamieson

Turkey & Cheddar Lettuce Wraps

1
Crispy green lettuce leaves hold the filling inside this low-carb turkey wrap. It's perfect for lunch or a quick, easy dinner on the go.
By Carolyn Casner

Turkey BLT Wraps

This delicious kid-friendly twist on a classic BLT includes turkey. The extra protein makes a filling, healthy lunch to pack up for school or work.
By Carolyn Casner
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