This Big Mac Salad has all the savory and satisfying flavors of your favorite fast food burger without the buns. It is a low-carb, protein-rich version of the iconic McDonald’s burger reconstructed as a flavorful and satisfying salad. It's ready in 30 minutes with just a few simple ingredients!
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Disclosure: This post was originally published on May 23, 2020. The recipe has been updated with new photos, an improved recipe, and better instructions as of January 7th, 2024. We hope you enjoy the new look!
This better-for-you salad has all the flavors of a Big Mac, the popular drive-thru classic, while retaining all the veggies, beef, and cheese while omitting the bun. You get the protein, vitamins, and fiber but not the carbs. This cheeseburger salad is naturally low carb and gluten free!
The perfectly seasoned ground beef and fresh lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pickles, onions, and cheese are tossed in our homemade copycat Big Mac sauce. Feel free to use classic dressings like Thousand Island dressing or Ranch. Our copycat Wingstop Ranch would also taste great!
Craving more delicious and filling salads? Try our steak salad, this burrata and prosciutto salad, this lamb salad with herb roasted potatoes, or this keto grilled shrimp salad!
For more burger inspiration, try this big mac casserole or this breakfast burger!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Quick and easy salad. This delicious dinner is ready in 20 minutes and will become a household favorite! You can even cook the ground beef in advance so you can just toss the salad together later on. The Big Mac dressing can be made up to a week in advance to double down on the cheeseburger flavor that we all love and crave.
- Made with simple ingredients. Everything you need for this cheeseburger salad recipe can be found at any grocery store if you don't already have them on hand in your fridge and in your pantry.
- Like a Big Mac burger, in the form of a salad! The flavor of this salad really mimics a traditional Big Mac, just with more veggies!
- Suits multiple diet types. This light and crisp salad is naturally low-carb, gluten-free, and can even be made dairy-free and even vegetarian or vegan with a few simple swaps.
- Great for meal prep, and to serve a crowd! Make this fresh, savory, and cheesy salad for game days, movie nights, and BBQ parties, and watch it disappear. It's a crowd pleaser. It's also a great lunch or dinner to meal prep, or just to make for the whole family!
🍔Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Ground beef. We recommend using 85% lean beef for this recipe. It has enough fat content to make the salad flavorful but not greasy. You can also also use a lean ground beef instead if you'd like.
- Fresh tomatoes. We usually opt for sweet cherry tomatoes, or grape tomatoes and cut them into halves or quarters. Roma tomatoes will also work just fine.
- Big Mac dressing. You can make this up to 1 week in advance and store it in the fridge in an airtight container. This will help the flavor develop even more. If it thickens too much while sitting
- Garnishes. We opted for sesame seeds to give the feel of a bun, plus more ketchup, yellow mustard, and our homemade dressing. Feel free to add anything you like.
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Use beef patties. This is a great alternative if you do not have ground beef. Just break them into smaller pieces when cooking.
- Other proteins. While beef is traditionally used to make the patties, you can swap it with ground turkey or chicken for a leaner protein. Take note though that the cooking time will be quicker and it won’t be as moist and flavorful, so adding more oil and seasonings might be needed.
- Lettuce selection. Iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce are closer to what you’d find in a Big Mac and have a nice crunch, but you can mix in some other salad greens for added nutrition and texture.
- Cheese options. Instead of using cheddar, you can also use Colby Jack, swiss, white cheddar, or anything you prefer.
- Spices. Get adventurous and try using other spices to add more flavor to the sautéed beef. Smoked paprika or cayenne will add even more flavor to the beef. You can also saute some aromatic onion and garlic alongside the beef for even more flavor.
- Swap the onion. You can use red onion or yellow onion in place of white onion.
- Worcestershire sauce alternatives. Swap this unique-tasting condiment with soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos. Though the flavor profiles are not the same, you still get a savory, umami quality from them.
✨Variations
- Upgrade to bacon Big Mac salad! Add bacon bits to your salad for an extra layer of flavor, and a satisfying crunch.
- Add a bit of heat. Cayenne pepper, sliced jalapeño or red pepper flakes will add a spicy kick to your salad!
- Add more veggies to the salad like bell peppers, celery, spinach, arugula, or cucumbers to boost the flavor, color, and nutritional value of this dish. Try our caramelized onions and mushrooms for added flavor!
- Use lettuce leaves to make wraps. Instead of chopping the lettuce, use whole leaves as wraps for a handheld, low-carb option.
- Vegetarian version. You can replace ground beef with non-meat alternatives like crumbled tofu, tempeh, or any mock meat brand like Beyond Burger, Quorn, and Impossible Burger. Since traditional Worcestershire sauce has anchovies, you'll need to find a vegan version.
- Dairy-free. Use any vegetarian cheese substitute you like, or omit the cheese for a hamburger version.
- Vegan. Follow all of the steps above to make this salad both dairy-free, and vegetarian. Then, when making the dressing, you will need to use a vegan-friendly mayo.
- Add croutons. If you still want the element of a bun, feel free to toast up some pieces of a sesame seed bun with a bit of oil to make some tasty burger bun croutons!
🔪Prep work
- Make the Big Mac dressing up to 7 days in advance and store it in the fridge. If making it the same day, make this first and set it in the fridge to chill before making the salad so that it has time to chill.
- Chop the lettuce, onion, and pickles, and halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes.
- Shred cheese (if necessary).
- Measure the rest of the ingredients.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
📋Instructions
To a hot skillet, add oil, followed by the ground beef. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, and use a meat chopper or utensil to break the meat into small pieces. (Image 1)
When the meat is almost all the way done cooking, add in the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and mustard. (Image 2)
Cook until the meat is completely cooked through and adjust seasonings to taste. (Image 3) Remove from the skillet and set aside to cool.
Once the beef has cooled off just a bit, add it to the center of a bed of lettuce. Top it with onions, and cheddar cheese. (Image 4)
Layer on the rest of the toppings, including cherry tomatoes, dill pickles, ketchup and mustard. (Image 5)
✨Pro Tip: Allow the beef to cool down slightly, or else it will just completely wilt the lettuce.
Drizzle with dressing, and top with sesame seeds. Serve with a side of these air fryer waffle fries or some sweet potato fries if you're craving a little more of a burger flavor. Enjoy right away!
✨Pro Tip: This salad is best enjoyed right away if enjoying fresh. It will begin to get soggy quickly if it's made and fully assemebled right away.
✨Tips & tricks
- Use the right pan. A large, flat-bottomed skillet or sauté pan is ideal for browning ground beef. This will ensure that there is enough space for the pieces to touch the hot surface and cook evenly. We love using a cast iron skillet because it retains heat really well, and very evenly.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. If you have a small pan, cook in batches. If you add too much beef at once leads to steaming rather than browning which will make the beef soggy instead of crisp and golden.
- Season generously! Don't be shy about seasoning the beef. This adds a ton of flavor to the salad.
- Chill the lettuce. For super crisp lettuce, make sure your lettuce is well-chilled before you assemble the salad.
- Keep all the ingredients separate before serving. This will help prevent the salad from getting soggy.
- Season to taste, and add your favorite burger ingredients! You can make some croutons from sesame seed buns for an added crunch, add crispy bacon, or even french fries to this yummy salad!
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
If the salad is assembled, store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days. Once the veggies, dressing, and meat are combined, the salad won’t last long and will become soggy. Store separately if possible, and the ingredients will last much longer - up to 5 days.
For meal prep, you can place the ingredients in a mason jar, starting with the wet ingredients toward the bottom of the jar, and layering on the rest of the ingredients, ending with the lettuce at the top. Serve with dressing when it;s time to eat!
Absolutely! We recommend making the sauce a few days in advance to allow the flavors to meld together better. You can cook the beef and chop the veggies (except the tomatoes) in advance too. This will save you so much time because all you need to do is toss them together later. Please note, the tomatoes do tend to get soggy once cut up, so we recommend cutting those right before serving.
When storing fresh lettuce, make sure to keep the leaves dry and place a paper towel in the storage container to absorb excess moisture. We'd also recommend using a salad spinner to get rid of excess moisture after washing the lettuce.
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📖 Recipe
Big Mac Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 pound ground beef 85% lean
- 1 - 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt divided and to taste
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper divided and to taste
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 10 ounces lettuce iceberg or romaine works well
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- 4 whole dill pickles diced
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 small white onion diced
- Big Mac dressing for serving, optional
- Sesame seeds, ketchup, and mustard for serving, optional
Instructions
- Make the Big Mac dressing up to 5 days in advance and store it in the fridge. If making it the day of serving your salad, put this together first and store it in the fridge while you work on the rest of the salad.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil with the ground beef. Season with 1 - 1.5 teaspoons of kosher salt (to taste), ¼ - ½ teaspoon black pepper (to taste), 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Break the meat up with a spatula or utensils and cook until mostly browned about 4-5 minutes.
- When the meat is almost all the way done cooking, add in 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, 3 tablespoons of ketchup, and 2 tablespoons of mustard. Cook until the meat is completely cooked through and adjust seasonings to taste. Remove from the skillet and set aside to cool for a few minutes before assembling the salad.
- Add the lettuce to a large serving platter or bowl. Top with the cooked ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, pickles, and onions.
- Drizzle the Big Mac dressing over the salad, to your liking, followed by more ketchup, mustard, and sesame seeds if desired.
- Enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days. Once the veggies, dressing, and meat are combined, the salad won’t last long and will become soggy. Store separately if possible, and the ingredients will last much longer, up to 5 days.
Save This Recipe! 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Notes
- Please note that the Big Mac Dressing, sesame seeds, ketchup, and mustard are not included in the nutrition facts.
- Use the right pan. A large, flat-bottomed skillet or sauté pan is ideal for browning ground beef. This will ensure that there is enough space for the pieces to touch the hot surface and cook evenly. We love using a cast iron skillet because it retains heat really well, and very evenly.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. If you have a small pan, cook in batches. If you add too much beef at once leads to steaming rather than browning which will make the beef soggy instead of crisp and golden.
- Season generously! Don't be shy about seasoning the beef. This adds a ton of flavor to the salad.
- Chill the lettuce. For super crisp lettuce, make sure your lettuce is well-chilled before you assemble the salad.
- Keep all the ingredients separate before serving. This will help prevent the salad from getting soggy.
- Season to taste, and add your favorite burger ingredients! You can make some croutons from sesame seed buns for an added crunch, add crispy bacon, or even french fries to this yummy salad!
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