Discover 101 Foods That Start With L

From lobsters and langoustines to linguini and lasagna, foods that start with L dance across the palette. Focusing on this diverse group of flavors can dig you out of a recipe rut and inject creativity into your everyday meals. 

Here’s a list of foods that start with L. 

1. Lettuce 

Think of lettuce as the perfect companion to any meat and most vegetables and fruit. It can be a crisp bed for a pile of veggies drizzled in dressing, the topping on a sandwich or burger — the culinary world is rife with possibilities.

2. Lima Bean

Whether you call it a lima bean, butter bean, or Madagascar bean, these legumes have a slightly buttery taste that subtly enhances soups and thick stews. Visually, confusing lima beans with edamame is easy, but the flavor isn’t quite identical.

Lima beans are worth eating because they are chock full of nutrients like manganese and fiber. Fiber is especially beneficial for your gut health.

3. Leeks

You may already have leeks in your kitchen if you love to cook. Leeks look and taste like onion stems; however, leeks won’t make you cry when you chop them. The taste is milder and sweeter too. Feel free to eat your leeks raw, sprinkled on a salad. 

4. Lentils

Lentils are a staple food for many vegetarians. They’re full of protein and can even be squashed and shaped into patties for meatless burgers. Lentils also appear in many soup and salad recipes.

Dry lentils look like small, colorful pebbles. There are red, green, brown, yellow, orange, and black varieties. 

5.  Lipstick Pepper

Are you a home gardener in an area with freezing winters? You might love lipstick peppers. The small plants were bred to withstand cold weather and grow well in containers and small garden plots.

Anyone can enjoy the flavor. Lipstick peppers are extra juicy and sweet.

6. Lychee

Lychee is native to China, so it’s widespread in Asian cuisine. Flavored lychee teas, creams, jellies, and candies fill dessert shops. The fruit is so sweet that you can eat it raw as long as you peel its bumpy red skin first.

7.  Lemonade Berries

You may know lemonade berries as lemonade sumac. The name conjures images of sour yellow fruit, but the image is only half right. Lemonade berries have their name because of their sour taste. Before they’re harvested, they look like small red or green grapes because they cluster in bunches.    

An easy way to enjoy these berries is to plop a few into your glass of lemonade.

8. Lingonberries

You can find lingonberries growing wild in forests and the Arctic tundra. When you want to see it on a menu, look at the syrups, pastries, and jellies — lingonberries’ flavor pairs wonderfully with desserts and sweeter meats.

9. Lemon

Sour, mouth-puckering lemons are among the most versatile fruits in the produce aisle. The acidic tang brings forth tenderness and rich flavors in meats. Add a few lemon slices to your chicken before roasting, or squeeze some juice into your marinade. 

Or you can temper the sourness with sugar and whip up subtle and creative desserts. Even the lemon rind can be used, as it can be candied or grated for lemon zest. 

10. Lobster

Few foods have had a rags-to-riches story like lobster. The crustacean was once food for the poor, thought to be little more than an ocean roach. Opinions changed as more people experienced the incredible flavor. 

Now, lobsters are a delicacy served to the richest among us.

11. Lamb

A Lamb is a sheep that’s no more than one year old. When the sheep ages, it turns into mutton. 

Lamb appears on dinner tables worldwide and is particularly common in Middle Eastern and African cuisines, where the meat is used for chops, gyros, stews, and kabobs.

12. Lard

Have you ever fried an egg in bacon fat? Then you’re familiar with lard. Lard is solid white pig fat. When it’s rendered correctly, there’s no lingering flavor, and you can use it as a cooking oil for any dish. Savory recipes spring to mind first when you think about lard, but well-rendered lard also works well in pastry and cake dough.

13. Lasagne

Lasagne usually refers to a cooked, cheesy dish, but the term also applies when simply talking about the noodles. Lasagna noodles are wide and flat with ridged edges. They make the perfect layer between sauce, meat, vegetables, and cheese.

14. Lo Mein 

Lo mein is the ultimate takeout food. The thin noodles covered in soy sauce reheat well, so it’s alright if the meal travels to reach your plate. Lo mein originated in China over 2,000 years ago and has many variations. Don’t confuse it with chow mein, however — chow mein is fried. 

Additional Foods That Start With L 

Vegetables 

1. Laver
2. Land Cress
3. Lady’s Fingers
4. Luffa
5. Lacinato Kale
6. Lion’s Mane Mushroom
7. Lawyer’s Wig Mushroom
8. Lebanese Cucumber
9. Lupin Beans
10.  Long Squash
11. Lawyer’s Wig Mushroom
12. Lagos Bologi
13. Long Beans
14. Lambsquarters
15. Lotus Root
16. Leaf Mustard
17. Leaf beet
18. Lemon Drop Pepper
19. Lamb’s Lettuce

Fruit

20. Limequat
21. Lady Apple
22. Lilly pilly
23. Lodi apples
24. Lime
25.  Long Island cheese pumpkin
26. Loganberries
27.  Lemon aspen
28. Loquats
29. Lemon Drop Melon
30. Lemon Plum
31. Langsat
32. Lucuma
33. Lakoocha
34. Lantana Berries
35. Langsat
36. Li jujube
37. Limau
38. Lulo fruit
39. Lemon Cucumber
40. Loganberry
41. Long Island Cheese Pumpkin
42.  Last chance peaches

Meat and Seafood 

43. Littleneck Clam
44. Limpet
45. Lamprey
46. Langouste
47. Lox
48. lutefisk
49. Lingcod
50. Langoustine
51. Liver
52. Ladyfish
53. Land Snails
54. Llama
55. Lionfish
56. Loin 

Condiments, Spices, Aromatics

57. Lavender 
58. Lemon basil 
59. Lemon grass 

Prepared and Processed Food 

61. Lollipop
62. Latte
63. Liquor 
64. Liqueur 
65. Lemoncello
66. Lumpia 
67. Lefse
68. Loaf 
69. Latke
70. Liverwurst
71. Limburger
72. Liederkranz
73. Limeade
74. Lemonade 
75. Lemon meringue pie 
76. Licorice 
77. Lemon bar 
78. Linzer cookie 
79. Lemon curd 
80. Ladyfingers 
81. London broil 
82. Lobster Thermador 
83. Linguini 
84. Lasagne 
85. Lobster bisque
86. Lentil chips
87. Layer cake 
88. Lo Mein

Summary of Foods That Start with L

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/ArtCookStudio