12 Different Types Of Lettuce To Seriously Up Your Salad Game

Spinach is a super versatile veggie, but there is nothing we love more than eating it as part of a salad. It's full of minerals like vitamin C and vitamin A and is also very high in iron. Because of its fairly mild taste, it pairs well with everything from fruits to cheese to make a delicious summer salad.

If you want to cook it, you can use it in everything from stuffings to sauces—but be wary, it cooks down to be much smaller than it is raw.

People love romaine for its crispness and fresh taste that works well as the base of many a salads. Best of all, you can create different dishes using the hearts (which are a little crunchier) and the leaves (which are a little softer). Because of this, it has the nutritional benefits of leafy lettuces and the snap of head lettuces.

Leaf lettuce is great because it's chock full of nutrients and antioxidants while still being very low in calories. These lettuces, which come in red or green, are not quite as crisp as something like romaine, but are great for those who want an earthier taste. Just be sure to eat them quickly. Because they're particularly tender, they wilt relatively quickly.

Arugula (sometimes you'll hear it called rocket) is a spicy and peppery leafy green that is certainly an acquired taste. It's a great option to have in your fridge because it doesn't wilt easily but is still tender. You can certainly use it to create a salad but it's also fantastic on top of things like pizza and burgers.

Ah, kale. It's gotten a bad rep as a bland health food, but that's because people don't know how to prepare it. This leafy green is actually a leaf cabbage and has an earthy and strong flavor that makes it as delicious to eat cooked as it is raw. You can find it in green or purple and both kinds stay crunchy for a long time in the fridge. It's also packed with vitamin C.

Pro tip: If you think you don't like kale because it's too tough to chew, make sure you're massaging it before eating it in a salad...it will change everything.

Bibb lettuce is a type of butter head lettuce, which makes sense because of its soft texture and slightly sweet flavor. You'll mainly see this lettuce as a burger topping or even as a low-carb substitute for a bun.

This lettuce, also known as French crisp, isn't the most commonly used green, but you'll notice it because of its ridged leaves. The leaves are sweet and crunchy and great if you like things like romaine and iceberg lettuce. If you're a gardener, this is an easy type of lettuce to start with.

Another type of butter lettuce, Boston lettuce is known for its soft and sweet leaves that can serve as a great bed for salads or for lettuce cups. It generally lasts a while without wilting but just be sure you choose a lettuce head with leaves that are a beautiful bright green.

Much like arugula, dandelion greens are a little bitter but very delicious. And yes, they really are the leaves off that ever-present plant so they're generally pretty cheap and hearty.

This bright plant is actually a leaf chicory. It's known for its spicy and bitter taste, so you probably don't want to make this the base of your salad. Its a good thing to keep in your crisper though because it tastes more mild and almost sweet when you grill it.

You're probably pretty familiar with this type of lettuce because it's the go-to lettuce for everything from the base of house salads to the middle of Italian subs. Though it's pretty crispy, it's also fairly water-based, so it'll last a while in your fridge, but doesn't have much in the way of nutrients or taste.

Frisée is another type of endive. Its ends are green while its core is a pale yellow and white. It's got a refreshing bite and a delightfully curly appearance which is bound to make anything you pair it with look fancier.