Lettuce
Peak season in the Midwest · down 17% this week
This vegetable is at its local-harvest peak from May through September, and is sold in stores year-round. This week it's peak season in the Midwest — buying it in season usually means better quality and, as the regional prices below show, a lower price.
Per a typical 85g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw).
- 1 NorthwestCheapest $2.23/ea
- 2 Northeast $2.77/ea
- 3 Southeast $2.98/ea
- 4 Midwest $3.16/ea
- 5 Southcentral $3.36/ea
Buying lettuce in the Northwest saves about 34% versus the Southcentral this week.
- How to pick a good one
- Crisp leaves with no browning or rust at the edges and no slimy spots at the base. Heads should feel heavy and springy. Whole heads cost less per usable ounce than bagged mixes and last considerably longer.
- What a good price looks like
- Romaine hearts in a three-pack run $3 to $5; a whole head is $2 to $3. Iceberg is the cheapest lettuce by a distance, usually $1.50 to $2.50 a head, and it is genuinely the right choice for some things. Lettuce prices spike hard when a growing region has bad weather, sometimes doubling for a month.
- What you actually get
- A head of romaine is about 1 lb and gives roughly 6 cups torn, serving four. Iceberg is heavier and denser for the same volume. Bagged salad is convenient and costs roughly three times as much per pound, with a fraction of the shelf life once opened.
- How to store it
- Wash and dry thoroughly, then refrigerate wrapped in a dry towel in a container. Water left on the leaves is what turns lettuce to slime. Kept dry, a head lasts one to two weeks.
- In the kitchen
- Wash and dry it properly and everything else follows: dressing does not cling to wet leaves, and a salad spinner is the difference between dressed and diluted. Tear rather than cut for delicate leaves, which bruise along a knife edge. Dress at the last possible moment — even a minute of sitting in vinaigrette wilts tender lettuce.
- Getting the most out of it
- Dress it immediately before serving; salt and acid wilt leaves within minutes. Sturdy types like romaine take well to grilling or searing. Limp but unspoiled lettuce revives in ice water in about fifteen minutes.
- Buffalo Chicken WrapRecipe by Eating Bird Food~$0.96 / serving 3 in-season
- Kale Caesar SaladRecipe by Well Plated~$1.11 / serving 3 in-season
- Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad with PestoRecipe by Two Peas & Their Pod~$1.13 / serving 3 in-season
- Mexican Quinoa Salad Cups with Creamy Cilantro Lime DressingRecipe by Minimalist Baker~$1.14 / serving 5 in-season
- Roasted beet, quinoa, and carrot saladRecipe by The Recipe Critic~$1.27 / serving 5 in-season
- Colorful Chopped Salad with Carrot Ginger DressingRecipe by Cookie + Kate~$1.31 / serving 6 in-season
See all 575 recipes with lettuce →Filter by diet, time, budget, and macros.
Price from the USDA National Retail Report. Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
Lettuce — FAQ
When can you buy lettuce in season?
This vegetable is at its local-harvest peak from May through September, and is sold in stores year-round. This week the Midwest has lettuce marked peak season.
What's the price of lettuce right now?
As of the week of September 4, 2026, the price of lettuce in the Midwest is $3.16/ea, down 17% from last week. It's cheapest in the Northwest at $2.23/ea.
How many calories and how much protein are in lettuce?
A typical 85g serving of lettuce has about 14 calories, 1g protein, 2.8g carbohydrates, 0.3g fat, and 1.8g fiber, per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I make with lettuce?
SeasonSort indexes 575 recipes that use lettuce, each with its cost per serving computed from this week's prices — starting from about $0.37 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.