What Is Bibb lettuce and How Can I Use It?
Bibb lettuce is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 11 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- Bibb is a small, dense butterhead: tender cup-shaped leaves, a touch sweeter than Boston.
- Bred in Kentucky in the 1800s; also sold as limestone lettuce.
- Great for lettuce wraps and gentle salads; see boston lettuce for full butterhead handling.
What is bibb lettuce?
Bibb lettuce is a small, compact butterhead with loose, cup-shaped leaves and a tender, almost buttery bite. Think of it as a petite, sweeter version of Boston lettuce: same soft texture and the same natural leaf-cups, just a smaller, denser head.
It was bred in Kentucky in the 1800s and is sometimes sold as limestone lettuce. The flavor is mild and clean, with a touch more sweetness than its larger butterhead cousins.
Cooking With Bibb
Those tidy little leaves are made for lettuce wraps and single-bite appetizers. They peel off whole and hold a spoonful of filling, the way a Chicken Taco Salad or a Lettuce and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing puts them to work.
In a salad, keep the dressing light. Bibb wilts fast, so a gentle vinaigrette and a last-second toss is the move.
It is fragile and short-lived, so store it unwashed in the crisper and use it within a few days. For everything else, swaps, pairings, washing, reviving limp leaves, see the fuller boston lettuce page, which covers butterhead as a type.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 比伯生菜
- British (UK) term
- Bibb lettuce
- en français
- laitue bibb
- en español
- bibb lechuga
Recipes using bibb lettuce
There are 11 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Three Lettuce Chiffonade
A French-style chiffonade salad of finely shredded radicchio, Bibb, and iceberg lettuce with green pepper strips, tossed in a simple red wine vinaigrette. Crisp, colorful, no cooking required.
Grilled Shrimp Wrapped in Bacon
Bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp served warm over a radicchio, endive, and Bibb lettuce salad with julienned peppers and a balsamic-thyme vinaigrette.
Ziti with Asparagus, Peas & Lemon Cream
Ziti with asparagus, peas, and lemon cream: tender pasta in a tangy reduced cream sauce with spring vegetables, wilted Bibb lettuce, and Parmesan. A bright, elegant springtime pasta in 30 minutes.
Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato Salad
Goat cheese and sun-dried tomato salad with radicchio and Bibb lettuce in a tangy Dijon mustard vinaigrette. An elegant no-cook salad with bold, layered flavors.
Chinese Salad
Chinese salad with Bibb and Boston lettuce, napa cabbage, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts tossed in soy French dressing. Crisp and light.
Lettuce Cups with Tofu & Beef
Lettuce cups with ground beef and tofu in a savory chili-garlic, hoisin, and sesame sauce. A lighter take on Chinese lettuce wraps with hidden tofu stretching the beef.
Savory Beef Burgers
Savory broiled beef burgers seasoned with Italian seasoning, cumin, and cracked pepper, served bunless on a bed of Bibb lettuce with tomato and red onion rings.
Lettuce & Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Citrus fruit salad with mandarin oranges, pink grapefruit, and tender bibb lettuce tossed in a homemade poppy seed dressing made with tarragon vinegar and dry mustard.
Melrose Avenue Spring Rolls
Crispy spring rolls filled with chorizo, Chinese mushrooms, rice sticks, cabbage, and bean sprouts in an oyster-sesame sauce. Double-fried for extra crunch and served wrapped in lettuce leaves.
Chicken Taco Salad
Tex-Mex spiced chicken tossed with fresh mango, crunchy jicama, and bell peppers in a zesty lime dressing. Served in crispy microwaved tortilla bowls over shredded Bibb lettuce.
