Seasoned ground beef, homemade special sauce, pickles, and cheese are tossed with fresh salad veggies and the most adorable mini burger bun croutons. This Big Mac Salad is easy to make, and completely delish! As the famous Mcdonald’s jingle goes, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun”. That’s what makes up a Big Mac Sandwich, and that’s exactly what we’re mixing up to make this amazing Big Mac Salad! Ground beef, homemade Big Mac Sauce, cheese, and veggies come together to make a salad that tastes just like a cheeseburger with all of the fixings. To make it even better, we’ll top it with miniature burger bun croutons! Another salad featuring ground beef is my Dorito Taco Salad. It’s perfect for parties and potlucks.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Big Mac Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this cheeseburger salad:
Ground Beef: Instead of two all-beef patties, we’ll top our Big Mac bowl with cooked ground beef. I prefer to use 80/20 ground beef here, but any type will work. Simply season the meat with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Special Sauce: The dressing for this salad is a simple and homemade Big Mac Sauce. It’s made with mayo, ketchup, minced onion, pickle relish, and seasonings, and is completely delicious! Lettuce: Crunchy lettuce like iceberg and romaine are perfect in this recipe. I’m using 1 romaine heart and about a half-head of iceberg. Cheese: A Big Mac would typically have American Cheese on it, but shredded cheddar works best for salads. For the best flavor, shred the cheese from a block rather than using pre-bagged shreds. Pickles and Onions: Sliced white onion and dill pickle chips are a must in anything “big mac” style. Tomato: Not an ingredient in the original Big Mac, but I like diced tomatoes in this salad for their juiciness! Sesame Seed Buns: We’ll cut these into circles and toast them up to make croutons that look like tiny burger buns!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make The Best Big Mac Salad
Recipe Tips
Make this recipe low-carb: Skip the croutons, and replace the sugar in the sauce with your favorite low-carb sweetener. Make it vegetarian by replacing the beef with your favorite vegan ground meat substitute, such as Beyond Meat or Impossible Burger. Croutons: The little round mini burger bun croutons are perfect, but you can also cut the sesame buns into cubes or just tear them into pieces before baking. These can be made ahead too, just store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Big Mac Sauce: The flavor of this sauce is best if you make it a day ahead of time, but it’s good enough to let it chill for about 30 minutes if that’s all the time you have. You can also make the dressing ahead of time. Store it in the fridge for 4-5 days if needed. Make extra sauce to dip french fries into!
Storing Tips
Once the salad is mixed up, it’s best to eat it right away. You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, but you’ll find that the lettuce and veggies soften with time. If you would like to make this ahead of time, I suggest preparing all of the parts of the salad and storing each separately. When you’re ready to eat, add the meat, sauce, and croutons to the vegetables and toss.
What To Serve With Big Mac Salad
This Big Mac bowl is already a meal, complete with protein, veggies, and carbs from the homemade croutons. If you’re extra hungry, I suggest serving this salad with a side of homemade french fries or easy air fryer tater tots. Fried potatoes are always great with cheeseburgers! For dessert, Try a slice of warm Apple Pie, or a homemade McDonalds Copycat Shamrock Shake. This salad is exactly like a Big Mac in a bowl, but tastier and healthier! Make sure to save this recipe – You’ll want to remember how to make homemade Big Mac Sauce for salads and burgers. © Little Sunny Kitchen
