Grilled Romaine Lettuce is something that you may not have had before. But it is easy to create and wonderfully delicious as an appetizer or a side for your main course.
When I first saw Julia Child grilling a head of lettuce, I thought to myself, Grilled Romaine Lettuce is something I need to try! Once I tried it, I loved it. So did my family! In fact, they asked me to make it again a couple of nights later.
The flavor of the lettuce when it has been slightly charred is amazing. This recipe is really easy and doesn’t take very long to prepare on your BBQ grill.
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Ingredients
- Romaine lettuce heads
- Olive oil
- Garlic powder
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- Asiago cheese
Let’s face it; you likely have everything you need to make this delicious recipe in your pantry right now! So just go and grab your lettuce and let’s get started.
How to grill romaine lettuce
Making grilled romaine lettuce is super easy, and the results? I will let them speak for themselves! Start by preheating your grill to medium-hot.
Rinse the heads of romaine lettuce, but do not separate the leaves; keep them all together. Shake off the excess water, and with a sharp kitchen knife, cut each head of romaine in half lengthwise from top to bottom.
Next, in a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, Kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Go easy with the salt. Because the lettuce has a very mild flavor, a little Kosher salt goes a long way.
Once your grill is heated, place the romaine lettuce halves cut side up on the grill and brush generously with the olive oil, herb, salt, and pepper mixture.
Allow the one side of the lettuce to get nice and charred. You want the lettuce to be slightly wilted and have nice brownish-black char marks.
Once the first side is grilled, carefully turn each head over. Be sure not to allow the lettuce leaves to come off of the head. Brush the other side with the remaining olive oil mixture and allow it to cook on the grill until done.
Remove the cooked romaine lettuce halves from the grill, sprinkle each with grated asiago cheese (you could use parmesan if you prefer), and serve. Either whole or chopped up and served in a bowl.
What can you do with romaine lettuce
Well, obviously, you can grill your romaine lettuce. I love grilling foods that are not necessarily the things that people think of as something to cook on the grill. But romaine is great in a Caesar salad, with bacon bits too.
When serving your grilled romaine, you have so many options. Serve it just as it comes off the grill with a little grated cheese. The whole half looks wonderful on a plate as a side with chicken or beef.
You can serve it as a grilled salad in a bowl. Simply roughly chop the grilled lettuce heads and serve in a bowl. If you are looking to add some other flavors, you could drizzle the grilled salad with a little balsamic vinegar.
You can squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the grilled lettuce to help enhance the flavors if you like.
Why would you grill lettuce?
I guess when you ask me why would you grill lettuce, I would say, “why not?!”. How many times have you had a regular everyday salad with fresh lettuce? It can often be very good, maybe even exceptional, but it’s still just a fresh lettuce salad. When you take that extra step to grill the lettuce, it just takes it up one more level in flavor and in presentation.
What lettuce can you grill?
You can. In fact, you can grill just about any type of lettuce. I watched Julia Child grill a head of Boston lettuce, and it looked wonderful. You could up the flavor of your iceberg wedge salad by grilling the lettuce wedges before drizzling with dressing and cheese.
Grilling lettuce, although not something you might see every day, is a great way to up your game when it comes to serving your family and friends!
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Pin it HERE!!
Grilled Romaine Lettuce
Ingredients
- 2 heads of Romaine lettuce
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp rosemary crushed
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- ½ cup Asiago cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to medium-hot.
- Rinse the romaine head off but do not separate the leaves. Shake off the excess water.
- Slice each head of romaine in half vertically.
- In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper (be careful with the salt, a little goes a long way).
- Place the lettuce halves on the grill cut side up and brush with the olive oil mixture.
- Once the one side is slightly charred, turn the lettuce over and brush the other side with the remaining olive oil mixture.
- Continue grilling until the leaves are well charred. The lettuce halves should be loose but not falling apart.
- Remove from the grill and sprinkle the grated Asiago cheese on each half.
- Serve whole or rough chop the grilled lettuce if you prefer.
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