🍔🥗 Big Mac Salad

All the delicious flavors of a Big Mac—seasoned ground beef, crisp lettuce, cheddar cheese, pickles, onions, and creamy tangy “special sauce”—but served in a fresh salad bowl instead of a bun.

🛒 Ingredients

Serves 4

For the Beef

  • 1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 1 tsp olive oil, if needed

For the Salad

  • 6–8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ small white onion, finely diced
  • ½ cup dill pickles, chopped
  • 1 medium tomato, diced — optional
  • 1–2 tbsp sesame seeds

Tomatoes aren’t traditionally part of a Big Mac, but they’re a popular addition to the salad version for extra freshness and color.

🥣 Big Mac Special Sauce

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped dill pickles or pickle relish
  • 1 tsp pickle juice
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • 1–2 tsp finely minced onion
  • Pinch of black pepper

The dressing is the part that really gives the salad its Big Mac flavor. Similar versions use mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickles/relish, vinegar and paprika.

👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make the special sauce

Add mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, chopped pickles, pickle juice, vinegar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and minced onion to a small bowl.

Mix until completely smooth.

Taste and adjust:

  • More ketchup → sweeter
  • More mustard → tangier
  • More pickle juice → sharper
  • More mayo → creamier

Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Tip: Letting the sauce sit for 10–30 minutes allows the flavors to blend together.

2. Cook the beef

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the ground beef and break it apart with a spatula.

Add:

  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Paprika

Cook for about 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is completely browned and cooked through.

Add Worcestershire sauce and mustard during the last minute and stir well.

Drain excess grease if necessary.

Let the beef cool for a few minutes.

3. Prepare the vegetables

While the beef is cooking:

  • Wash and thoroughly dry the lettuce.
  • Chop the lettuce into bite-sized pieces.
  • Dice the onion very finely.
  • Chop the pickles.
  • Dice the tomato if using.
  • Shred the cheddar cheese.

Important: Dry the lettuce well. Excess water can make the creamy dressing thin and watery.

4. Build the salad

Use a large serving bowl or prepare individual bowls.

Start with a generous layer of crisp lettuce.

Then add:

  1. Warm seasoned beef
  2. Shredded cheddar
  3. Diced onion
  4. Chopped pickles
  5. Tomatoes, if using
  6. Sesame seeds

The cheese is especially good added while the beef is still slightly warm because it softens a little over the meat.

5. Add the Big Mac sauce

Drizzle the special sauce generously over the top.

You can either:

  • Toss everything together before serving, or
  • Leave the ingredients layered and let everyone add their own sauce.

I recommend serving the sauce on top or on the side if you expect leftovers, because the lettuce stays much crunchier.

🍔 Optional “Big Mac” Croutons

If you don’t need the salad to be low-carb, make little burger-bun croutons:

  • Cut a sesame-seed hamburger bun into small cubes.
  • Toss with a tiny amount of melted butter or olive oil.
  • Toast at 375°F (190°C) for 8–10 minutes, turning once.

Scatter them over the salad for that burger + bun experience.

⭐ Extra Delicious Additions

Try adding:

  • Crispy bacon
  • Avocado
  • Jalapeños
  • Extra pickles
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Crispy onions
  • A little shredded mozzarella
  • Sesame seeds
  • A drizzle of ketchup and mustard

🌶️ Spicy Big Mac Salad

Add ½–1 tsp Sriracha or hot sauce to the special sauce.

🥓 Bacon Big Mac Salad

Add 3–4 slices crispy chopped bacon.

🥬 Low-Carb/Keto

Skip the bun croutons and use a low-carb sweetener or sugar-free ketchup in the sauce. Big Mac salad is naturally easy to adapt into a low-carb meal.

🧊 Storage

For meal prep, keep these separately:

  • Cooked beef
  • Lettuce
  • Cheese
  • Pickles/onions
  • Special sauce

Refrigerate the cooked components and assemble just before eating. This keeps the lettuce crisp instead of soggy.

Best part: The combination of warm seasoned beef + cold crunchy lettuce + melted/shredded cheese + tangy pickles + creamy special sauce is what makes this taste so much like a Big Mac. 🍔