How to Store Lettuce to Last a month! This easy tip shows you how to wrap your lettuce in aluminum foil to keep it fresh in the refrigerator. The lettuce stays so crisp after a month I can even use it for salads!
How do you keep lettuce fresh in the refrigerator?
Lettuce only lasting a few days? Never again! With this easy method using aluminum foil you can store lettuce to last for a month!
In June we pick lettuce. We pick lots of lettuce. I’m talking so much lettuce you begin to get lettuce anxiety. Have you ever had it? It’s when you dream of lettuce chasing you with baskets to capture you. It’s rough.
And nothing makes me more angry (ok, maybe littering) than wasting our garden vegetables. If a vegetable goes bad, I fall into a puddle of tears on the kitchen floor. This method works for romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, bibb lettuce and more! Btw, this is how we store kale too!
This trick works so well, it keeps our lettuce fresh for 1 month (!) after we pick it. You’ll be amazed by how well it works too!
Step by Step Directions on How to Store Lettuce
So how do you make your lettuce last weeks? Easy. There’s only one step and you only need one tool.
- Take a big piece of aluminum foil, preferably the extra long version, but if you can’t do that, then just use 2 pieces of aluminum foil to cover the entire head of lettuce. Wrap it tight and make sure it’s completely covered. Now put it in your fridge.
- Whenever you need some lettuce, take it out and use a piece, then wrap it up. Here’s a lettuce head that’s been wrapped in aluminum foil for a month!
That’s it! Easy, right? Even after weeks of picking our lettuce, I can still enjoy it in tacos or a salad. That makes this lettuce growing girl pretty happy!
How to Wash Lettuce
I get asked often when and how I wash lettuce so I thought I would share it here. With this method, do not wash your lettuce before wrapping it aluminum foil. Moisture is our enemy. Instead, wash the lettuce after you remove it from aluminum foil. I prefer washing ours with our salad spinner. I use a salad spinner to wash all our vegetables – from greens, beans, broccoli and more, so it was worth it!
Hope you enjoyed this quick and easy lettuce trick! Now you know how to keep lettuce fresh!
Recipes That Use Lettuce
Creamy Pasta with Cauliflower and Lettuce
Lettuce Soup
Simple Pea Pasta
Chopped Mexican Chicken Salad
Other Ways to Save Food
How to Store Bananas
How to Store Blueberries
How to Store Bok Choy and Salad Greens
Carrot Tops Vegetable Broth
Broccoli Leaves Vegetable Broth
How to Dry Mint for Mint Tea
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How to Store Lettuce to Last for a Month
PrintIngredients
- 1 head lettuce
Instructions
- Take a big piece of aluminum foil, preferably the extra long version, but if you can’t do that, then just use 2 pieces of aluminum foil to cover the entire head of lettuce. Wrap it tight and make sure it’s completely covered. Now put it in your fridge.
- Whenever you need some lettuce, take it out and use a piece, then wrap it up.
Lorraine Runstedler says
You are amazing!! Just finished wrapping some veggies with foil in my fridge – no lettuce but will get some next shop – I throw out so much lettuce – I wrapped up celery, asparagus and some cabbage – thanks so much for letting us know
Pamela Reed says
So happy this is helpful to you Lorraine!
tellfile says
I was hoping you could rap with foil. The plastic wrap is such a pain to handle because its hard to spread out without clinging together too much.
Also , seems that when I take a piece of paper towel and put around the root part where it was cut off, then rap that with a rubber band as tight as I can put it on there, it seems to curb the action of leaves turning yellow spreading from the root I think.
Jane Doe says
Does this work for romaine that’s been pulled from the bunch? I buy it in the plastic containers pre washed and chopped from the head base and their individual leaves/pieces. Not chopped though, still whole pieces.
Kathryn says
It works. Can you reuse the aluminum foil and do it again
Gwen McKim says
This recipe for kibasa looks wonderful to use as an appetizer at a party. My family does not like sweets, so I would not serve it as a main dish but I know I would enjoy it too bad for them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sheryl says
Hi Pam,
Where should I store the lettuce after wrapping it in foil, in the veggie drawer or can I store it anywhere in the fridge?
Frances Harrison says
IT WORKS!!!! Wrapping in aluminum foil is amazing. I can keep heads of lettuce , the kind for wraps, in aluminum foil for a month and it’s crispy & not brown or wilty!! Thank you for the tip!!!
Eno says
Great idea! I have a question – in what part of the fridge do you keep the lettuce? In the main body of the fridge or inside a high humidity crisper drawer?
Dee says
I thought I’d tried every method known to mankind. So far, wrapping in paper towels and storing in a Ziploc with the air squeezed out has had some semi -decent results. I can’t wait to try your method, but I have a question: If your romaine hearts have been sitting in their plastic bag in the refrigerator, gathering moisture, should you take them out and let them dry out a little on the counter before wrapping in the aluminum foil?
Will the same method work for celery? Even my fancy Tupperware celery keeper proved useless, and my paper towel method only buys me a little extra time.
Any suggestions for storing strawberries? They have me totally stumped, as do blueberries.
Pamela says
Hey Dee, yes, this method works for celery too! For strawberries, here’s my favorite method: https://brooklynfarmgirl.com/how-to-store-and-freeze-strawberries/ – hope this helps!
Frances Harrison says
YES the aluminum foil also WORKS GREAT for celery!!! This tip is a life changer for veggies!!!
BETTY says
i have tried everything, nothing works. Will this work on the delicate mixed baby lettuces, the ones in a box different colors they go bad fast
Pamela says
Yes this works on all kinds of greens!
Cb says
Thnx for the info, I buy green leaf lettuce from the store and it goes bad before I use it all….will try this.
Donna says
Thanks, Pamela – I read this other times, but needed the refresher course from you. I’m very happy about not washing the new lettuce I got a few days ago. 🙂
Ali mcnab says
Love this idea, hate having to buy lettuce every few days
Tam says
This is fantastic! I hate throwing away lettuce so now I’m off to grab my foil and attack the fridge. That you so much for the tip
Kathy l says
Can’t wait to try these tips!
How would you freeze spinach?
Susan Hawthorne says
Does this lettuce in foil trick work with iceberg lettuce from the grocery store?
Pamela says
It sure does Susan!
Katie Millard says
Love the idea but as foil takes 400 years to break down I do hope you use your foil more than once. I flatten, go over with a cloth and dry. One small box lasts me years.
Donna says
Katie – that’s wonderful. Thank you. I’m going to begin doing that now, after having thrown out years of boxes of used foil. 🙁
Kathy says
I have used this method for celery. Didn’t think about doing the same for lettuce. Thanks, I will do this!!
Cid says
Can you yse this method with bagged romaine?
Anne says
yes; take lettuce from plastic; do Not wash the lettuce before putting in the aluminum foil + lettuce n fridge;
Sheri says
Does this tip work with red leaf lettuce? (The lettuce in your picture looks Romaine.) Maybe a better question would be: is there any kind of lettuce that your tip does not work with? I would be so happy to be able to stop throwing away lettuce!!!
Pamela says
Hey Sheri, I’ve found that it works with all types of lettuce. Hope this helps!
Gary says
It is also great for storing bean sprouts so they don’t go brown in a day or two
jim sturtz says
hi pamela
have you some thoughts on storing cabbage bokchoi and leeks for a week or two in the fridge.
thanks
jim
Pamela says
Hey Jim, I place my cabbage whole in a sealed bag in the refrigerator, this usually keeps it good for a couple weeks. Regarding bok choy, I don’t wash it until it’s time to cook it. I store it in a plastic bag, with the top opened, in the crisper drawer. I also recommend freezing bok choy if you have too much of it: https://brooklynfarmgirl.com/how-to-freeze-bok-choy-without-it-turning-mushy/
Brittany says
I know this is an old article but it came up in my search today!” For how to store the oodles of lettuce I bought on clearance. The thing is Kroger sprays all the veggies with a rain shower so they’re very wet. You mentioned in a comment to not wash them but clearly they have been saturated with water by the store already 😭 Should I let them dry out? Just do the paper towel trick instead? Thoughts?!
Pamela says
Hey Brittany, I’d definitely try to dry it as much as possible before wrapping them up. To do this, you can take a towel and blot them, trying to get into the leaves to dry any very wet leaves. Hope this helps! Enjoy all your lettuce! 🙂
Sabina Shalom says
Will tin foil wrap be also O.K. for assorted Field Greens?
Pamela says
Yes, it will.
Juanita says
This works really well with celery also.
Paulina says
Thanks you so much for this tip! It’s only my day 15 of the trial but I’m already shocked, it really works! The letruce it’s still fresh, as green as the first day! I’m going to try with cabbage and also bananas, do you have any trick for bananas?
Jannine says
I always have done this with celery stalks. (Last about a month and still has the same crunch as when you bought/ harvest it) never thought about lettuce. Will have to try it.
Judy says
Fab idea and it works! I too am a cryer at food wastage 😫
Elaine says
This is great. Question: can you cut off the bottom portion and do the same thing with aluminum foil?
The reason I’m asking is I would like to take the bottom portion and grow it hydroponically.
Pamela says
Hey Elaine, I think cutting off the bottom wouldn’t allow the lettuce the last as long. Why not just use all the leaves and then grow the bottom afterwards?