Healthy Big Mac Salad Recipe (Easy Meal Prep!)
Published Sep 09, 2023 Updated Apr 21, 2024
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Skip the burgers and try the most delicious Big Mac Salad recipe! Meal prepped in mason jars and stored for easy grab-and-go lunch or dinner, this delicious salad has all the fixings of everyone’s favorite fast food, with simple, fresh ingredients and no bun!
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
Back-to-School has come and gone, and we are BUSY! So I’m busting out my tried and true mason jar salads for super easy weekday meal prep. I absolutely love a quick, fresh salad! Today, I have a super special one I’m so excited to share! This isn’t your average cheeseburger salad recipe. This is a McDonald’s-inspired Big Mac Salad!
Made with all your favorite burger fixings- ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, dill pickles, sweet onion, and cheddar cheese, plus the sauce that makes it famous: Big Mac Sauce (in salad dressing form!).
This low-carb salad has it all! It’s filling, flavorful, and perfect for an on-the-go lunch or dinner. It’s easy to store in a sealed mason jar and can be eaten from the jar or transferred to a bowl- your choice! If you’re missing the sesame seed bun, throw in some sesame seeds for extra flavor and crunch. You really won’t miss the bun!
Ingredient Notes
Big Mac Salad
- Ground beef: I used lean ground beef. You can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if desired.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Worcestershire sauce: If gluten-sensitive, choose a gluten-free version.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Shredded Lettuce: Use butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, or iceberg lettuce, whichever is your favorite.
- Tomatoes: You can use grape tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, diced into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Dill Pickles
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Sweet Onion
- Sesame Seeds (Optional)
Copycat Big Mac Sauce
- Plain Greek Yogurt
- Mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Yellow Mustard
- Chopped Pickles: I used chopped pickles to make the sauce slightly lower in calories, but you can also use sweet pickle relish if preferred.
- White Vinegar
- Onion Powder
- Pickle Juice
- Garlic Powder
- Splash of Worcestershire sauce
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the ground beef. Break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Drain excess grease, if desired. Allow it to cool, and set the pan aside.
- In a medium bowl, prepare the dressing/special sauce. Add all the Big Mac sauce ingredients to the bowl and mix well until combined.
- To assemble your salad, start with a layer of the sauce at the bottom (about 2 tablespoons per jar). Add a layer of cooked ground beef (about 1/4 cup per jar). Follow with layers of onions, tomatoes, pickles, and shredded cheese. Top with the lettuce.
- Add the lids to the mason jars and refrigerate until ready to eat.
- When ready to enjoy, simply pour the contents from the mason jar into a bowl and toss to combine.
Mac’s Pro TipS
Expert Tips
- If you are not worried about calories or fat count, you can replace the Greek Yogurt with mayo. This will give the dressing a richer flavor. I prefer Greek yogurt to keep it slightly lower in calories and higher in protein.
- I recommend making 4 jars at a time. Store in the fridge and eat within 4 days.
- If you don’t have ground beef on hand, feel free to use beef patties, season according to the recipe instructions, cook them up, and chop one beef patty per jar.
- If you’re dairy-free, use non-dairy yogurt instead of Greek yogurt and dairy-free cheese shreds for the shredded cheddar (or omit the cheese).
Serving & Storage Tips
- Store your Big Mac Salad mason jars in the refrigerator and eat within 4 days.
- When ready to eat, transfer to a bowl and toss to combine.
- This salad is super easy to throw in your lunch bag for a healthy, on-the-go meal-prepped lunch for those super busy days.
Recipe FAQs
Thousand Island dressing and Big Mac sauce are similar but not the same. Thousand Island is made with mayonnaise, ketchup, and pickles, while Big Mac sauce is a bit sweeter and contains mayonnaise, pickle relish, mustard, and vinegar.
This salad comes in at 448 calories (including the dressing!), 36 grams of protein, and only 16 net carbs. While it’s not technically a “keto Big Mac salad recipe,” it’s definitely low-carb, protein-packed, and a well-rounded, under 500-calorie meal!
I use and recommend 32 oz jars. This size provides enough space to layer your salad ingredients, including greens, vegetables, protein, and dressing, while still leaving room for shaking or mixing the salad when you’re ready to eat.
For sure! The dressing is already dairy-free and simply use dairy free shredded cheese.
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Healthy Big Mac Salad Recipe (Easy Meal Prep!)
Ingredients
Mason Jar Salads
- 1 pound ground beef 1/4 pound meat per jar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 cups shredded lettuce (2 cups per jar)
- 1 cup diced tomatoes (1/4 cup per jar)
- 1 cup diced pickles (1/4 cup per jar)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, regular or dairy free (1/4 cup per jar)
- 1/2 cup diced sweet onion (about 2.5 tbsp per cup)
- Sesame seeds optional
Big Mac Dressing
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt* or dairy free yogurt
- 1 1/2 tbsp mayo
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp chopped pickles
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp pickle juice
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Splash of Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Make the Beef: In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the ground beef. Break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Drain excess grease, if desired. Allow it to cool, and set the pan aside.
- Make The Dressing: In a medium bowl, prepare the dressing/special sauce. Add all the Big Mac sauce ingredients to the bowl and mix well until combined.
- Assemble The Jars: To assemble your salad, start with a layer of sauce at the bottom (about 2 tablespoons per jar). Add a layer of cooked ground beef (about 1/4 pound per jar). Follow with layers of onions, tomatoes, pickles, and shredded cheese. Top with the lettuce.
- Store: Add the lids to the mason jars and refrigerate until ready to eat. When ready to enjoy, simply pour the contents from the mason jar into a bowl and toss to combine.
Notes
Expert Tips
- If you are not worried about calories or fat count, you can replace the Greek Yogurt with mayo. This will give the dressing a richer flavor. I prefer Greek yogurt to keep it slightly lower in calories and higher in protein.
- I recommend making 4 jars at a time. Store in the fridge and eat within 4 days.
- If you don’t have ground beef on hand, feel free to use beef patties, season according to the recipe instructions, cook them up, and chop one beef patty per jar.
- If you’re dairy-free, use non-dairy yogurt instead of Greek yogurt and dairy-free cheese shreds for the shredded cheddar (or omit the cheese).
Serving & Storage Tips
- Store your Big Mac Salad mason jars in the refrigerator and eat within 4 days.
- When ready to eat, transfer to a bowl and toss to combine.
- This salad is super easy to throw in your lunch bag for a healthy, on-the-go meal-prepped lunch for those super busy days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
