Crispy, crunchy romaine is the perfect lettuce for summer salads - cool and refreshing, loaded with texture, and the perfect neutral base for all your favorite toppings. This simple romaine heart salad requires just 5 ingredients yet is filling, hydrating, and packed with bright, fresh flavor. Perfect for a light summer lunch!
What is Romaine Heart Salad?
Crisp romaine lettuce is the best salad green for people who want salads with major texture. It's tender and mild enough to let your favorite dressing shine, yet it's hardy enough to withstand lush, creamy dressings or even a quick grill!
You'll often find it in a classic Caesar salad for plenty of crunch to balance the sharp flavors in the dressing. But, romaine is incredibly versatile and can work well in almost every salad out there.
This vegan romaine lettuce recipe is super simple, combining fresh romaine leaves, cucumber, cannellini beans, and pepitas all in a fresh lemon chive vinaigrette.
You can easily throw it together when it's way too hot to cook and know you're getting plant-based protein from the beans, healthy fats from the pepitas and dressing, and lots of fiber.
It's a mainstay for us and one of my favorite go-to recipes anytime we need a simple salad. I hope you love it!
Why you’ll love this Romaine Salad Recipe
- Extremely quick and easy salad to make
- Made with a short list of simple, everyday ingredients
- No cooking required!
- Can easily be made ahead of time to meal prep for the week
- Perfect side dish to go with any main dish
- Hearty and filling from the beans, veggies, and seeds
Ingredients for Romaine Salad
Sometimes, less is more. This is one of the easiest salads ever and has such a short list of ingredients, but don't underestimate it. You get serious crunch, a refreshing coolness, and the most delicious lemon chive dressing to wake it all up. Plus, you don't have to cook a single thing!
- Fresh romaine hearts - These are the star here, so you'll want to find the freshest hearts of romaine at the market or store. Clean well to remove any dirt or bugs.
- English cucumber - Slice and peel the cucumber for a nice crunchy texture and a cool, refreshing flavor.
- Cannellini beans - Canned cannellini beans couldn't be more convenient. Just drain and rinse.
- Toasted pepitas - You can either toast the pepitas yourself or buy them toasted. Feel free to substitute with different types of nuts or seeds, like almonds or pine nuts.
- Lemon Chive Dressing - Combine extra virgin olive oil with fresh lemon juice, fresh chives, pure maple syrup, and salt. Super simple recipe with wicked flavor. I love how the little bit of sweetness mellows out the lemon while making the chives pop.
How to Make Romaine Heart Salad
After whisking the dressing together, let it set while you prepare the ingredients for the salad. Toss everything together and serve right away.
- Make dressing by whisking olive oil, lemon juice, chives, maple syrup and salt together until slightly emulsified.
- In a large salad bowl, add chopped romaine, sliced cucumber, white beans, and pepitas. Pour dressing over and toss well.
- Serve immediately.
Storing Suggestions
If not eating immediately, place salad ingredients in an airtight, sealed container and store dressing separately. Combine right before serving instead. Enjoy within 3-4 days for the best quality.
Tips for Making the Best Romaine Lettuce Salad
- Play with toppings. You can easily take this salad in a different direction by changing the nuts, adding more veggies, and more. Feel free to load up on any of your favorite salad toppings, like kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, artichoke hearts, and anything else you're craving.
- Cheese it up. If you want to add some cheese, I'd recommend adding vegan feta cheese or a little parmesan cheese.
- Don't add too much dressing. I often like to add a little at a time, toss well, taste, and then adjust as you go. It's easy to add too much and drown out the other textures and flavors.
FAQs
Since romaine lettuce is known for its crisp, crunch texture and mild flavor, it can be hard to find anything else quite like it. Iceberg lettuce can be crispy, but tends to be very bland and a little lackluster. In this situation, it can be best to venture out into different categories.
Leaf lettuces (green or red leaf) have a nice texture and are available in most grocery stores. Softer lettuces, like butter lettuce, can work, but are very tender and prone to wilting. I often prefer to use hardier greens, like cabbage or kale, both of which add major texture and can withstand sitting in dressing for a few days.
Remove any wilting or browning leaves from the outside. Fill a clean sink or large bowl with very cold water. Place the head of romaine in the sink and move it through the water, leading with the with open side, to help flush any dirt or little bugs out of the leaves. Drain well and either dry the head with kitchen towels or run it through a salad spinner to remove all the excess water.
Other Delicious Vegan Salad Recipes
Love this recipe? Drop a comment below to share your experience with others!
Craving more? Explore all of my free ebooks or come hang out with over 1 million other plant-based foodies on Instagram!
Crunchy Romaine Heart Salad with White Beans
Ingredients
For Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 lemons juiced
- 4 tbsp chives chopped
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp salt
For Salad
- 2 Romaine hearts chopped
- 1 English cucumber peeled and sliced
- 1 15-oz can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- ½ cup toasted pepitas
Instructions
- Make dressing by whisking olive oil, lemon juice, chives, maple syrup and salt together until slightly emulsified.
- In a large salad bowl add chopped romaine, sliced cucumber, white beans, and pepitas.
- Pour dressing over and toss well.
- Serve immediately. If not eating immediately, store dressing separately and combine right before serving instead.
- If keeping salad separate from dressing, enjoy for 3-4 days for best quality.