Preserving lettuce is easy with this simple trick. Fresh from the store or the garden, this method keeps lettuce fresh for up to 5 weeks!
Trying to eat well is hard enough, trying to eat well on a budget can seem nearly impossible at times! But, with a few tricks and a little focus, you can eat great food on a tiny budget!
One of the ways we do that is to make sure that none of our food is going to waste either by going bad before we get to it, or by having a fridge so full that we forget about something. Of course, we keep our menu plans tight and stick to them rigidly. But in addition to that, we also make sure that we are storing our foods properly.
This goes for food we purchased at the store and food we grew ourselves! There's nothing I hate more when trying to budget than seeing food spoil due to improper storage techniques... and lettuce is one of the worst offenders!
How to Store Lettuce
If you are growing your own lettuce, you can keep it in the ground for fresh lettuce everyday. However, once the weather gets too hot the lettuce will start to bolt and then you have to figure out a way to keep it fresh inside!
This is the very best method I've found for keeping lettuce crisp and green for long periods of time - whether from the garden or the grocery store!
Tip: If you're using this tip on store bought lettuce, make sure the lettuce shows no signs of wilting when you buy it!
My beautiful lettuce from the garden this year, about to be picked because the weather was getting too darn hot!
>> Find out how we grew 1500 pounds of food with zero weeding or watering!
So after years of trying everything I finally discovered the Queen Mother of all lettuce tips! And BOY do I wish I could take credit for this. I really really do! But I stumbled upon this trick because I got a little lazy one day.
Anyway, I bought this lettuce, cut the end off and shoved it unwashed into a Ziploc back and put it in the bottom drawer of my fridge. That's the lazy bit there; I usually wash it before putting it in the bag to make prep easier as the week goes on.
We had our sandwiches and salads that week and I honestly forgot about the remaining lettuce.
Don't judge me here...
But it was WEEKS later that I remembered it and went to throw it out before it liquefied all over my drawers.
Much to my surprise I opened the drawer to find the lettuce completely in tact! We used the rest over the course of the next week and it never did go bad! So 5 full weeks after I put it in the bag it was still perfect!
I really thought it was a fluke, so I tried it several more times and it worked every time! Ok, here's the secret to keeping lettuce fresh for over a month (which you may have already figured out)...
DON'T WASH THE LETTUCE.
That's it. Cut the end off, put it in a bag and wash each leaf right before you need it. No more wasted money on putrefied lettuce!
This is information you need if you don't use much lettuce each week, or you just found a great deal and want to stock up, or perhaps you are fighting the heat and need to get your hard earned heads of lettuce out of the ground!
Whatever the reason, this tip is an absolute must when it comes to keeping your lettuce fresh!
Jane says
I like to re grow the lettuce, celery and onions. Just place the bottoms in a tuna can with a little water. Transfer to a pot when roots appear. ?
Victoria says
A great idea!
Jacque says
Hi Could you give tips for bags of spring mix. Also, for triple washed lettuce(s) kale mix, one might buy from Costco. Right now during stay at home time, it would be wonderful to freeze lots if I knew it had been done and would work.
Victoria says
Hi Jacque, sadly you can’t freeze lettuce as it breaks down into mush when thawed. However, you can place your spring mix in a baggie with a paper towel lining the bag and that will extend the life.
Because these lettuces are usually pre-washed like you said, their life is shorter than lettuce that hasn’t been washed yet. The moisture makes them go bad faster.
So storing them in a baggie with a paper towel is the best option for those!
I hope that helps!
Kim Billhimer says
Thanks for the information and the way you think. Makes sense.
LaVerne Weaver says
We eat a lot of salad ..So here is my tip. I cut all the lettuce up. place it in a salad spinner and wash it. Rinse and spin . Spin it really good in the salad spinner. Pack it into mason jars and place lids on. lettuce will keep for a couple of weeks and its ready to eat!
Julia says
I love this tip, for as a single person, I often end up with too much lettuce and can’t eat it quickly enough. Thank you.
Victoria says
Awesome, so glad! :-)