Have you ever bought a big bag of spinach, lettuce or other leafy greens at the store, only to wonder later how you’ll use it all before it goes bad? That sort of thing happens to me all the time. You can only serve ranch-and-lettuce salads with dinner so many times before people start rioting (or just complaining). ;-)
So to make things a little more interesting, I scoured the web for ideas on ways to use a bag of salad (or lettuce, or greens, or whatever you want to call it.) I came up with a list of 8 different ways to use salad greens, and that’s what I’ll be sharing with you today! So no more throwing out wilted bags of lettuce, you hear me? We’re in this together, on the honor system.
8 Ways to Use a Bag of Salad
1. Smoothies
Any greens can be put into a fruit smoothie for added nutrition! Just grab a handful and throw it into your blender, along with fresh or frozen fruit and some liquid. You’ll hardly notice a difference in taste, and it’s a great way to sneak in a serving of veggies!
2. Frozen Cubes
Make frozen cubes of pureed greens. They keep for weeks in the freezer, and it’s an easy way to sneak some greens into smoothies, pasta sauces, casseroles, lasagnas, and more!
To make your own frozen green cubes, pulse several handfuls of greens and a bit of water together in your blender, then pour the puree into an ice cube tray. Freeze the tray, then pop the cubes out and store them in a freezer bag.
Read More: 13 Super Smart Frugal Food Tips
3. Top It Off
You can use all kinds of greens to add flavor and nutrition right on top of your favorite meals. I love to pile a handful of peppery arugula leaves right on top of a good pizza. You can even make your greens a star ingredient in your pizza! A quick Google search for “salad pizza” yields dozens of delicious-looking results.
4. Power Up
“Power bowls” are a popular way to pack a meal’s worth of nutrition into one convenient bowl. They’re heartier than a salad, consisting of a base of grains, with added layers of proteins, veggies, herbs, and usually topped with a dressing.
My favorite power bowl is a southwest-inspired affair. I start with a thick layer of spring greens, then add black rice, shredded chicken, corn, black beans, and chopped cilantro. Then I drizzle a southwest dressing over the top to finish it off. Yum!
5. Side Dishes
Sauteed greens make a quick and easy side dish! Spinach, kale, and chard all taste delicious when cooked down in a bit of oil and sprinkled with kosher salt. Serve alongside your favorite meat and potatoes meal.
6. Spreads & Dips
You can blend a handful or two of greens into almost any dip or dressing, including hummus and pesto. It’s a great way to punch up the nutritional value, and it can help stretch a recipe if you’re feeding a crowd. Spinach is a good choice because it has a mild flavor. But for stronger flavored spreads like pesto, you can use add almost any greens undetected!
7. Wraps
Make lettuce wraps! You really can make almost anything into a lettuce wrap, and you can use all kinds of lettuce to do it. I prefer using romaine hearts, because the stiff leaves are great for filling!
8. Salads
Of course, no list of uses for lettuce would be complete without mentioning salad. Check out the recipes for some of my favorite salads, including:
- Cafe Rio-Inspired Sweet Pork Salad
- Finger Caesar Salad
- Craisin Spinach Salad
- Sarah’s Salad (An ‘80s Classic)
More Ideas You'll Love
I mentioned a few years ago a sandwich type roll,. We make it using crescent rolls and the coleslaw mix. It’s called Bierrocks. I forgot to mention the name in my earlier comment.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like to add greens to smoothies. Blueberry smoothies especially disguise the taste and I’ve never had even a hint of green flavor in a blueberry smoothie.
Another way is to add greens to all of your meals, including breakfast. I’m a vegetarian now but when I ate eggs one of my breakfast favorites was scrambled eggs with cooked spinach on the side, with vinegar. Of course this can be spinach raw, or your favorite way to have it. Who says you can’t have other veggies with breakfast eggs? They can be on the side or mixed in with the eggs. Or breakfast burritos can be filled with greens too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Lovely ideas! It is healthy to have some green in the daily menu.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I eat gluten free and mostly I eat paleo. In the morning, those bagged greens come quite handy when preparing breakfast, whether it’s for preparing sauteed greens or a handful or fresh greens with avocado.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can also throw any salad you don’t want in your soup–even canned soup.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Last week I had half of a bag of coleslaw mix that was beginning to get a little brown on the edges. Since I love wilted lettuce dressing, I cooked 3 pieces of bacon, used the bacon grease to saute the coleslaw, add 1 – 2 T. vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar or to taste, and bacon pieces. Yummmmm
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love the idea of pureeing the leftover spinach. I’m always trying find ways to sneak veggies in!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great ideas. We do have one sandwich we do using the coleslaw mix. You just fry ground beef with onions and then use refrigerated crescent roll dough on the bottom of a muffin tin. Put the mixture in, then overlap and seal it. We then bake it for 10 min and it’s a sandwich type dish you can dip in. Mustard. The power bowls remind me of the Cantina bowls that are popular at Taco Bell. I like to get the vegetarian one with black beans. It’s yummy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great ideas, thanks! We drink a Nutri-Blast smoothie several times a week, and always throw in a big handful of baby greens or even baby spring mix.
I do puree my bag o’ greens just before they go bad, but I simply pour it into a freezer bag and lay it flat in the freezer. When I need some, I just break off a piece. Easy-peasy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I must admit that in winter I rarely buy salad. Now spring is here, it’s healthy eating in my home. I knew spinach can be frozen, and you can also buy some incredibly nice creamed spinach in the frozen section. It was the only way I could get my son to eat his greens when he was young
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If I don’t think I can use up my bag of spinach, I toss it straight in the freezer. When it’s time to make smoothies I break off a portion of the frozen “fresh” spinach to add straight to the blender with other smoothie ingredients. :) This works best with a high quality blender like blendtec, vitamix, etc.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Ive brrn doing that with spinach, kale, chard for years…its the only way to justify the mega bags of kale from Costco. They are strictly for my smoothies
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you so very much, Jillee! Although I’m quite the Salad freak (I use a variety of dressings and vinegrettes), I’m always up for more ideas to eat healthy. This post hit the spot!
Have a lovely Easter.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Wow! I did not know spinach was even freezable! Awesome idea and less food waste that way! Thank you for the tip :)
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