Use cupboard staples and a handful of easy-to-find ingredients to get all the flavours of the McDonald’s classic, in a good-for-you form. These Big Mac salad bowls take just 20 minutes, are keto-friendly and make the perfect weeknight lunch or dinner the whole family will love.

This super moreish salad is essentially a deconstructed Big Mac (or a Big Mac without the bun). It’s honestly just as tasty, is packed with protein thanks to the beef and cheese, plus, it has all the flavours you expect from the classic burger. Super savoury ground beef, fresh crunchy salad, sweet and sour pickles, sharp cheese and that glorious sauce.

It’s perfect for lunches, quick weeknight dinners and is great for feeding a crowd. You can serve the salad in one large bowl and let people help themselves, or make everyone their own individual bowls. It’s up to you!

Want more Big Mac inspiration? You have to try these easy Big Mac smash burger tacos.

Ingredients

This recipe is split into three easy parts – the ground beef, the salad toppings and the Big Mac sauce.

• The beef. To keep things lean, I’m using 5% fat ground beef, but you could use one with a higher percentage of fat if you like. You could also swap it for ground turkey, chicken, pork or a plant-based alternative. Onion, garlic, soy sauce and fish sauce help to create a lovely savoury flavour. Use Worcestershire sauce if you don’t have fish sauce.
• The Big Mac sauce. You’ll need aioli (or mayo), garlic, pickles, smoked paprika and Dijon mustard.
• The salad toppings. You can play around here, based on what you like, but the non-negotiables are the shredded lettuce, pickles and cheese (the standard ingredients in a Big Mac). I’ve added pickled onions for extra colour and flavour, tomatoes to freshen things up and scallions instead of chopped raw onions (which I personally don’t like!)

How to make it

Mix all the ingredients for your Big Mac sauce, then set aside.

Cook your onion and garlic, then add the ground beef and cook for a couple of minutes, until brown. Then pour in the soy sauce and fish sauce and let it cook for another couple of minutes.

All that’s left to do is assemble! Layer your lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, scallions and beef, then top with the grated cheese and lots of Big Mac sauce.

You can serve the salad either on one large platter or in a bowl for people to serve themselves, or make individual salad bowls.

Got a question?

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Loaded Big Mac Salad Bowls

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• Author: Kate Alexandra
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Diet: Low Calorie

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Description

Use cupboard staples and a handful of easy-to-find ingredients to get all the flavours of the McDonald’s classic, in a good-for-you form. These Big Mac salad bowls take just 20 minutes, are keto-friendly and make the perfect weeknight lunch or dinner the whole family will love. 

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the Big Mac sauce – 

• 1/2 cup garlic aioli
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 3 pickle slices, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon pickle juice (or white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

For the beef – 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 500g/1lb ground beef
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce

For the salad –

• 1 Romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1/3 cup of pickles, sliced
• 1/4 cup pickled onion slices
• 4 scallions, finely sliced
• 300g/10oz tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

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Instructions

1. Make your Big Mac sauce. Mix 1/2 cup of aioli, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 crushed garlic clove, your finely diced pickles, 1 teaspoon of pickle juice and 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika in a small bowl, until a red, cohesive sauce forms. Set aside.
2. Cook your onion and garlic. Set a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the diced onion and the crushed garlic, along with 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and has softened nicely. PRO TIP: If you start to see the onion burning, but it’s not soft yet, add a little splash of water to the pan and keep cooking. The water will evaporate but will prevent the onion from burning in the pan.
3. Cook the ground beef. Add all your ground beef to the same pan, breaking it up with a spatula. Cook, stirring, until brown, then pour in 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. Cook, stirring, for another couple of minutes, then remove from the heat. 
4. Assemble the salad. You can either do this in one large bowl or platter or make individual servings in separate plates. Arrange the shredded lettuce on the base of your plate, then scatter over half the tomatoes, pickles and scallions. Spoon the ground beef all over, then top with the remaining tomatoes, pickles and scallions. Finish with the grated cheese and a very good dollop of the Big Mac sauce. Toss if you like before serving, then eat right away with more sauce on the side.

Notes

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The three elements of this salad can be made in advance, and then just mixed together when you’re ready to serve. The Big Mac sauce will keep well for 1 week in the fridge, and the ground beef mix will keep for 4 days. If you chop the salad ingredients in advance, keep the lettuce separate so that it doesn’t go soggy. 

INGREDIENT NOTES: Swap the ground beef for ground turkey, chicken, pork or a plant-based alternative. You can play around with the salad ingredients – the classics in a Big Mac are shredded lettuce, cheese, pickles and chopped onions – but I love the freshness that tomatoes, scallions and pickled onions bring. You could also add more greens like diced cucumber, green beans or edamame.

WANT MORE? Try these super easy Big Mac smash burger tacos.

• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 10
• Category: fakeaways
• Method: stove top
• Cuisine: american

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bowl

Keywords: salads, beef salad