Best Lettuce (and Salad Kits) for Tacos
What is the Best Lettuce for Tacos?
Taco night has a lot going for it. Warm tortillas and crunchy taco shells. Proteins like seasoned ground beef, grilled chicken, maybe even some fried shrimp. A heroic amount of shredded cheese. At least one person building something structurally ambitious that absolutely will not stay together after the first bite.
But one of the most underrated heroes of a taco spread? Lettuce. That’s right. The right lettuce adds crunch, freshness, and a cool bite that makes all the warm, saucy, cheesy parts of a taco even better. And if you’re skipping the tortilla to save on carbs, lettuce can even step in as the shell, too.
But you have to use the right lettuce to make everything taste its best. So, what’s the best lettuce for tacos? It depends on what kind of taco you’re building. Let’s take a closer look.
Is iceberg or romaine better for tacos?
For classic tacos, iceberg lettuce is hard to beat. It’s crisp, mild, and shreds easily, which is exactly why it shows up in so many taco bars and restaurant tacos. It doesn’t compete with the filling, and it gives each bite that cool crunch people have come to expect.
Romaine is another excellent pick, especially if you like a little more texture. It has sturdy ribs, crisp leaves, and enough structure to stand up to warm fillings without going limp right away. For taco salads, taco bowls, or overstuffed tacos, romaine is often the best choice.
Green leaf and red leaf lettuce offer a softer bite and a little more color. They’re great for lighter tacos, fish tacos, or really anything with creamy sauces and other toppings/fillings that may have more of a crunchy texture, like fresh slaw, sliced radishes, etc.
The Best Shredded Lettuce for Tacos
The best shredded lettuce for tacos is usually iceberg or romaine. Iceberg gives you that crisp, classic taco crunch. Romaine has a little more texture and a bit more of an earthy flavor. Both hold up well to shredding and give your tacos more of a bite.
Whichever lettuce you choose, shred it thin for best results — bigger pieces can slide right out of the tortilla. A finer shred tucks into the taco better and gives you crunch in every bite instead of one giant lettuce escape attempt.
Of course, you can always spare yourself the hassle and pick up a bag of Taylor Farms shredded lettuce, which is already washed, shredded, and ready to top off your tacos. And we’ve got all the best options:
- Shredded Green Leaf Lettuce
- Shredded Romaine Lettuce
- Shredded Iceberg Lettuce
- Shredded Red Cabbage (perfect for topping seafood tacos with shrimp or salmon)
Using Lettuce for Taco Shells
Tacos don’t have to be relegated to tortillas for shells. If you’re going the low-carb route with lettuce as your “shell,” opt for whole leaves that can bend without tearing.
- Butter lettuce is a great choice because the leaves are tender and naturally rounded.
- Romaine hearts can also work if you want a sturdier “boat” for fillings like grilled chicken, steak strips, black beans, avocado, corn salsa, and so on.
How to Build Better Lettuce-Shell Tacos
Lettuce tacos work best when the filling has enough texture to feel satisfying. Start with a sturdy leaf, add your protein, then layer in toppings with crunch, creaminess, or sweetness. Shredded cabbage, corn, avocado, pico de gallo, cheese, or a spoonful of Mexican rice can all help make the taco feel more complete.
The real trick is not overfilling them — but you may want to keep a fork handy to clean up whatever ends up falling out onto your plate.
The Best Taylor Farms Salad Kits for Tacos
Our salad kits can do more than sit politely on the side during your next taco night. In fact, you can use many of our kits in place of the usual toppings like tomato, cheese, or lettuce, freeing you from doing prep or having to stock up on each ingredient individually. Just open the bag and toss everything together; you’ve got instant taco toppings, a taco salad base, or the start of a very good lunch with your leftovers the next day.
Here are a few Chopped Salad Kits that are ready to join the fiesta.
This one is an easy taco-night match, in case the name didn’t give it away. Made with green cabbage, romaine, carrots, green onions, cilantro, pumpkin seeds, tortilla strips, and creamy cilantro pepita dressing, this kit adds some extra crunch and a little Southwest-style flavor to tacos without making you prep six separate toppings.
It’s a great pick for taco salads, burrito bowls, or spooning right into crunchy taco shells with seasoned beef or turkey.
Want some extra protein with your taco night? Our Protein Southwest Chopped Salad Kit is loaded with a mix of romaine and kale, red cabbage and carrot, topped with Cheddar cheese, chickpea tortilla chips, crunchy pepitas, and our zesty whey protein Southwest-style ranch dressing. That all adds up to 20 grams of protein per bag.
It also happens to provide an easy shortcut for making this High-Protein Cottage Cheese Tacos with Southwest Chicken & Avocado recipe that uses cottage cheese, egg whites, and parmesan to create low-carb tortilla shells, in case you like a little culinary innovation with your protein.
For tacos with proteins like grilled chicken, steak, or even ground turkey, the Chipotle Ranch Chopped Salad Kit fits right in while giving your spread some exciting flavors to shake things up. It features romaine, red cabbage, carrot, sweet corn, taco-seasoned cheeses, crunchy tortilla chips, and our smoky chipotle ranch dressing, which is ideal when your taco could use more crunch and a creamy finish — or if you want a hearty taco salad.
This one basically showed up to taco night already wearing the right outfit. After all, street-style corn and tacos are already natural friends. This kit includes green leaf lettuce, shredded broccoli & cabbage, carrots, smoked paprika cornbread crumbles, green onion, crispy corn, parmesan, and our creamy elote dressing.
Serve it with chicken tacos, cheesy corn tacos, next to carne asada, spoon it over fish tacos, or build a taco bowl around it with rice, beans, and grilled shrimp.
Guacamole always belongs near tacos. The Guacamole Crunch Chopped Salad Kit starts with green leaf lettuce, broccoli, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, carrots, and green onion, then adds real guacamole, salsa ranch dressing with avocado, and chili lime tortilla squares to make this kit a very clear taco-night contender. Try it with grilled chicken, black bean tacos, in a taco salad topped with grilled halloumi, or as part of a pork carnitas salad bowl!
There is no such thing as a wrong taco
The best lettuce for tacos really comes down to a matter of preference, and maybe the type of taco itself. Shredded iceberg is always going to be the classic topper, romaine is also a great choice, and butter lettuce and whole romaine leaves can serve as the perfect low-carb “shell.” And when you want taco night without adding more prep, a Taylor Farms Salad Kit can jump in as the toppings, side, or full-on taco salad base.
Want to see what’s available near you before your next taco night? Use our Product Locator to see what’s in stock at your favorite grocery store.
