Forget Lettuce: Cabbage Is The Better Choice For Sandwiches

There are few sandwiches that don't benefit from a refreshing, crispy layer of lettuce, from deli meat sandwiches and egg salad to BLTs and hamburgers. Lettuce provides textural contrast and notes of freshness that help make a sandwich such a great meal. However, the next time you crave a sandwich, ditch the lettuce and grab cabbage for a tasty, healthy, super-crispy upgrade.

Cabbage is a great swap for lettuce in sandwiches because it's much more durable, and gives you an even crunchier texture thanks to its lower water content (cabbage is only 93% water compared to the 96% of lettuce). It not only holds up much better in a sandwich, it's also less likely to transfer that moisture to the bread (nobody likes a soggy sandwich).

If you're a fan of breadless sandwiches and burgers, which are often wrapped in lettuce as a substitute for bread, use cabbage instead. It has the firmness and structure necessary to hold all those ingredients in place while you eat so you don't end up with a messy pile of sandwich innards all over your plate and hands.

Cabbage comes in many varieties and is something of a culinary superhero. Each type's levels of crispiness, flavor nuances, and colors make beautiful sandwiches that are all the more appealing. Regardless of type, cabbage is loaded with nutrients, and has a slightly bitter and peppery taste. This natural flavor is a tasty upgrade from plain ol' lettuce that doesn't overpower the rest of your sandwich ingredients. It gets a bit sweet when you cook it, but use it raw in sandwiches to get the maximum crunch factor. You can always season it up by sprinkling it with salt, pepper, or any other seasoning you favor.

However, you don't have to settle for single leaves or thin slices of cabbage. You can also chop it up and make it into a creamy coleslaw. Added to a sandwich, a flavorful slaw gives you the fresh crunch of lettuce along with the creaminess of mayonnaise. If you prefer your cabbage cooked, which still gives your sandwiches amazing flavor, just without the crunch factor, saute it in butter with a little salt and pepper and you're good to go. It works like the sauerkraut on a Reuben sandwich, but with the crunchiness of a coleslaw.