Grilled Romaine
on Jun 28, 2021, Updated Jul 20, 2023
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Grilling firm lettuces is downright delicious and a fun way to "summer up" your salads.
Let’s acknowledge the reality of grilling lettuce – it seems weird, right? As in, lettuce on the whole is a very delicate vegetable, and putting a delicate vegetable with a propensity for wilting over live fire may seem counterintuitive. But it’s downright delicious and a fun thing to introduce to people who have never had it before.
Serve it with Quinoa Salad, Grilled New York Strip Steaks, or Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs.
You can grill all kinds of lettuce, but firmer heads of lettuce hold together better and don’t wilt as much. The outside gets a nice chariness, but the inside holds a bit of crunch. Grilled lettuces are popular in Italian cuisine, and endive and radicchio are common, but romaine is also very much a thing.
How to Make Grilled Romaine
In a small bowl of container combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, shallots, and salt and pepper. If you like you can add minced fresh herbs like tarragon, basil, thyme, oregano to the mixture, about 1 to 2 teaspoons total of any single herb or a mix.
Cut the romaine heads in half lengthwise, allowing the base core to keep the leaves together.
Heat the grill to medium high.
Brush the cut side of the romaine hearts halves with about a few tablespoons of the dressing. Allow the dressing to drip into the layers between the lettuce, which will flavor the whole head beautifully and moisten the inside.
Place the lettuce, cut side down, on the grill. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes until the lettuce is slightly wilted and has charry nice grill marks.
Turn the lettuce over and grill the other side for another 2 minutes. Make sure the lettuce doesn’t start to burn.
Remove from the grill and place cut side up on a serving platter.
Stir or shake the remaining dressing and drizzle over the romaine.
You can use large heads instead of hearts, but you may want to cut them in quarters — try and cut them through the core at the bottom so the pieces of romaine will hold together while being grilled.
Grilled Romaine: Grilling firm lettuces is downright delicious and a fun way to “summer up” your salads.
Tweet This
Grilled Romaine Salad
You can serve grilled romaine, or any grilled lettuce (or any grilled vegetable for that matter) hot off the grill, slightly warm, or at room temperature. Either slice the romaine and toss it up as a salad (on its own or with other lettuces or vegetables, grilled or raw) or serve the romaine halves whole, or halved, and let diners cut up their own chunks of lettuce.
What to Serve with Grilled Romaine:
Other Romaine Salad Recipes:
- Romaine, Kale and Broccoli Salad
- Crunchy Mixed Green Salad
- Romaine and Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing
- Romaine Pear and Goat Cheese Salad
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Grilled Romaine
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons grainy Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup minced shallots
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 4 hearts of romaine , halved lengthwise
Instructions
- In a small bowl of container combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, shallots, and salt and pepper.
- Heat the grill to medium high. Brush the cut side of the romaine hearts halves with about a few tablespoons of the dressing, allowing the dressing to drip into the layers between the lettuce
- Place the romaine halves cut side down on the grill. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes until the lettuce is slightly wilted and has charry nice grill marks. Turn the lettuce over and grill the other side for another 2 minutes.
- Remove from the grill and place cut side up on a serving platter. Stir or shake the remaining dressing and drizzle over the romaine. Serve warm or at room temperature.
