If you’ve ever tried to "eat healthier" by loading up on salads, only to end up more bloated than before, you’re not alone. Not all vegetables feel the same once they hit your gut. Spinach often behaves differently from tougher greens like kale or gas-heavy options like broccoli.
On our spinach page, it scores a 9/10 for digestibility, which is unusually high for a leafy green. This article compares spinach with lettuce, kale, cabbage, and broccoli so you can build salads and sides that your stomach actually likes.
Spinach vs lettuce
Winner for digestibility: Tie (both are usually gentle)
For most people with a sensitive stomach, both spinach and basic lettuces (like romaine or butter lettuce) behave well:
- Lettuce: Very high water content, very low fiber, extremely light in the stomach.
- Spinach: Slightly more fiber and nutrients, but still tender and quick to digest, especially when cooked.
If you want the absolute safest bet during a bad flare, lettuce might edge out spinach. For everyday use when things are more stable, spinach usually gives you more nutrition without much extra risk.
Spinach vs kale
Winner for digestibility: Spinach (9/10 vs ~7/10)
Kale has a tougher reputation for a reason:
- Kale: Thicker leaves, tougher stems, and more fiber per bite. Raw kale salads in particular can be a lot of work for your gut.
- Spinach: Thin, tender leaves that break down easily when chewed or cooked.
If you’ve tried kale salads and felt like your stomach was doing heavy lifting, switching to spinach-based salads or cooked spinach is often a big relief.
Spinach vs cabbage
Winner for digestibility: Spinach (9/10 vs 8/10, but with more gas risk for cabbage)
Cabbage can be a great food, but it’s more likely to cause gas:
- Cabbage: Higher in fermentable fibers that gut bacteria love to turn into gas.
- Spinach: Still has fiber, but in a gentler form and usually in smaller total amounts per serving.
If you love slaws or sautéed cabbage but always pay for it later, try swapping some or all of the cabbage for spinach. You’ll get a similar "green" feel with less risk.
Spinach vs broccoli
Winner for digestibility: Spinach (9/10 vs 6/10)
Broccoli is a classic "healthy but gassy" vegetable:
- Broccoli: High in fiber and sulfur-containing compounds that create strong-smelling gas when fermented.
- Spinach: Much less likely to trigger extreme bloating, even in moderate portions.
You don’t have to ditch broccoli forever, but if you’re choosing a default green side for a sensitive gut, spinach is usually the more peaceful option.
Spinach vs mixed "spring mix" salads
Winner for digestibility: Spinach (more predictable)
Bagged "spring mix" often contains several greens: baby spinach, baby kale, chard, and others. The problem is that your stomach may not love all of them equally.
- Spring mix: More variety, but also more unknowns. A single bowl can include leaves your gut hasn’t "met" yet.
- Pure spinach: One known quantity. Easier to track reactions and adjust portions.
If you’re trying to troubleshoot digestion, single-ingredient salads like "just spinach" are easier to analyze than mixes.
Building gentler salads and sides with spinach
To keep your greens gut-friendly, you can:
-
Use spinach as the base.
Let spinach make up most of the salad volume, with small amounts of other greens if you tolerate them. -
Add cooked components.
Warm toppings like roasted carrots, potatoes, or grilled chicken make the overall meal easier to digest. -
Go light on raw brassicas.
Keep raw broccoli or cabbage additions small, if you include them at all. -
Watch dressings.
Very fatty, creamy, or onion-heavy dressings can make even a gentle salad feel heavy.
Quick ranking: greens by gut-friendliness
Many people with touchy digestion end up with a ranking like this:
- Easiest: Lettuce, cooked spinach.
- Generally easy: Raw spinach in modest portions.
- Moderate: Cabbage in small, cooked servings.
- Harder: Kale (especially raw), large spring mix salads.
- Hardest: Big servings of raw brassicas like broccoli.
The bottom line
Spinach consistently shows up as one of the most gut-friendly greens. Compared with kale, cabbage, and broccoli, it’s usually less gassy, easier to chew and digest, and faster to clear your stomach.
If you want to eat more vegetables without feeling like your gut is in a wrestling match, building around spinach is a smart move. You can always layer in small amounts of other greens later, once you know how your body reacts.
The goal isn’t to force every vegetable into your diet; it’s to find the ones that give you energy and nutrients without constant backlash. For most people, spinach earns its place near the top of that list.
Related reading: Want a deeper dive into spinach on its own? Start with Spinach and Your Gut: When a "Superfood" Actually Feels Gentle