This Big Mac salad, topped with the most delicious high-protein burger sauce, is reminiscent of the classic fast food burger but made healthier at home with quality ingredients. It’s the perfect meal prep lunch that’ll have you set to press go on the week ahead!
Table of Contents
This recipe is…
Perfectly seasoned ground beef sits on a bed of lettuce and is topped with fresh chopped onion, shredded cheese, pickles, and the most delicious, homemade high-protein burger sauce. The flavors scream Big Mac, while the ingredients are the furthest thing from fast food. Perfect for meal prep, these salads will have you ready for the week ahead.
If you’re looking for more incredible meal prep lunch recipes, we’ve got you more than covered. Start with these Mojo chicken bowls, these Southwest chicken caesar salads, and these beef gyros. Once you’ve crossed those off your list, check out meal prep page for more!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s ideal for meal prep – this recipe was made with meal prep in mind. Every component is easily prepped in advance, and we’ll tell you exactly how to store the salads so that both flavor and texture is perfectly preserved, even on day 3!
- It’s delicious – who doesn’t love the classic fast food burger that this recipe was named after? The sauce really makes it!
Big Mac Salad Ingredients
Aside from the sauce ingredients, these Big Mac salads are pretty minimal ingredient-wise. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Ground beef – this recipe was written for ground beef, of course, but you can absolutely swap it for another ground protein (chicken, turkey, or pork) if needed.
- Greek yogurt – we used full-fat plain Greek yogurt here, but you can use fat-free, if you’d like.
- Hot sauce – we tend to stick with Frank’s Hot Pepper Sauce, but any comparable hot sauce will work just fine.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Use a different protein – as mentioned above, feel free to swap the ground beef with ground chicken, turkey, or pork.
- Make it grain-free – this recipe is grain-free as-is.
- Make it dairy-free – swap the Greek yogurt for mayonnaise to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Make it gluten-free – as with all recipes on Fed and Fit, this one is completely gluten-free.
How to Make Big Mac Salad
Cook the ground meat, then whisk the sauce, and then, build your bowls. It’s that easy! Follow along below for the full, super easy how-to.
Step 1: Add the ground beef to a large skillet with the salt and black pepper. Cook and crumble over medium heat until cooked through.
Step 2: Add the Greek yogurt, ketchup, Dijon mustard, dill relish, garlic, smoked paprika, hot sauce, and black pepper to a bowl, and whisk until evenly combined. Either store in its own large sealed container or pour into individually-sized serving containers.
Step 3: If you’re meal prepping the recipe, divide the lettuce, cooked ground beef, cheese, onion, and pickles evenly in 3 containers, and store in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy. If you’re eating right away, simply divide the ingredients in bowls, top with the dressing, and dig in!
Recipe Tips
- If you’re looking to hit fiber goals or add some carbs to your meal, enjoy the salads with whole grain tortilla chips.
- To up the protein per serving in this recipe, use 1.5 pounds of ground beef instead of 1 pound. That’ll get you over 50g of protein per serving.
How to Serve
Serve the burger salads as-is or with whole grain tortilla chips. If you’re serving these for dinner and looking to add a more substantial carbohydrate, whip up some oven roasted potato wedges!
How to Store
Store any leftover Big Mac salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you’re meal prepping these bowls for the week, you can go one of two routes when it comes to both storing and reheating:
Assemble the day of – if you choose to go this route, simply prepare each component, store them separately in the fridge, and then heat the warm components (in this case, the ground beef) and build the bowls at lunchtime each day.
Assemble right away – alternatively, you can prep each component, then store lettuce, beef, cheese, onions, and pickles together in food storage containers in the fridge. Store the dressing separate grab-and-go jars. This allows you to QUICKLY grab a lunch and head out the door. When you’re ready to enjoy, simply pour the dressing over the salad and enjoy. If the thought of cold ground beef doesn’t do it for you, store the ground beef in a separate container, too, heat it, and then pour it over the salad before enjoying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dill pickles work best for this recipe!
Shredded iceberg lettuce is served on an actual Big Mac, and we chose the same for this recipe.
More Lunch Bowl Recipes
If you tried this Big Mac Salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Big Mac Salad with High-Protein Burger Sauce
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 small head iceberg lettuce, finely chopped
- ¾ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ white onion, finely diced
- ½ cup pickle slices
For the Big Mac Sauce
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons dill relish
- 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce, adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a large skillet with the salt and black pepper. Cook and crumble over medium heat until cooked through.
- Add the Greek yogurt, ketchup, Dijon mustard, dill relish, garlic, smoked paprika, hot sauce, and black pepper to a bowl, and whisk until evenly combined. Either store in its own large sealed container or pour into individually-sized serving containers.
- If you're meal prepping the recipe, divide the lettuce, cooked ground beef, cheese, onion, and pickles evenly in 3 containers, and store in the fridge until you're ready to enjoy. If you're eating right away, simply divide the ingredients in bowls, top with the dressing, and dig in!
Recipe Notes
- If you’re looking to hit fiber goals or add some carbs to your meal, enjoy the salads with whole grain tortilla chips.
- To up the protein per serving in this recipe, use 1.5 pounds of ground beef instead of 1 pound. That’ll get you over 50g of protein per serving.
Nutrition
Like this recipe?
Leave a commentRecipe Contributors
Cassy Joy Garcia
Recipe Developer
Brandi Schilhab
Copywriter
Jessica Gaertner
Photographer
