Big Mac Salad

If you’re looking for a lighter version of McDonald’s fast food favorite, this copycat Big Mac Salad is a perfect choice.

The recipe yields the flavors of a drive-through burger that you know and love — all in salad form.

💛 Why you’ll love this recipe

• Easy to make with straightforward ingredients and recipe instructions.
• Stores well and the leftovers are delicious.
• Great for meal prepping.
• Gluten-free and can be made low-carb and keto-friendly.

➡️ Ingredients

⏲ How to make Big Mac salad

This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Preheat Oven and Prep Baking Sheet: Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cook Bacon: Lay bacon strips atop the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake the bacon in the preheated oven until crispy, about 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the bacon. (Alternatively, bacon can be cooked on the stovetop over medium heat and drained of excess grease on the paper towel-lined plate.)
• Cook Ground Beef: While the bacon cooks, to a large skillet over medium-high heat, add ground beef, and cook that until browned. Break up the meat while it cooks. Once cooked, remove the skillet from the burner, then stir in salt and pepper. Do not drain the grease from the skillet.
• Prepare Salad: Once the bacon has cooked, remove the baking sheet from the oven, allow the bacon to cool slightly, then crumble the bacon into a large mixing bowl. To that same bowl, add the cooked ground beef, romaine, shredded cheddar, and chopped pickles.
• Prepare Dressing and Add To Salad: In a high-speed blender or food processor, blend dressing ingredients until smooth. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
• Chill Salad Then Serve: Transfer salad to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.

👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions

• Bacon: Turkey bacon can be used instead of pork bacon.
• Ground Beef: Use lean ground beef patties instead and just break them up while cooking. Or, if you’re looking for a lighter option, you can use ground turkey or ground chicken.
• Romaine Lettuce: Iceberg lettuce would work well here.
• Pickle Slices: Use sweet pickle relish instead of pickle slices.
• Cheddar Cheese: Other types of cheese like Colby-Jack cheese, American cheese, Swiss cheese, or dairy-free cheese will work.
• Mayonnaise: Use Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. (If you’re altogether looking for a substitute for the copycat Big Mac sauce ingredients, use storebought Thousand Island dressing.)
• Sour Cream: Similar to mayo, you can substitute sour cream with Greek yogurt.
• Pickle Juice: White wine vinegar, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar can be used.
• Sweetener: Honey, maple syrup, or powdered monk fruit sweetener can be used, but only use 1 teaspoon.
• Yellow Mustard: Use dijon mustard or stone-ground mustard.
• Onion Powder: Garlic powder can be subbed in at a 1:1 ratio.

✨ Variations

• Chop up and stir in Roma tomatoes or grape tomatoes to the salad.
• Add some ketchup to the dressing for added sweetness and flavor.
• Add sliced or cubed avocado to the salad right before serving.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the salad right before serving.

〰️ How to serve

• Soup — Serve with creamy Italian sausage soup or Cauliflower Cheddar Cheese Bacon Soup.
• Bread — Serve with a slice of keto bread, a buttered and toasted sesame seed bun, or a slice of crusty bread.
• Croutons — Sprinkle in some croutons right before serving.
• Fries — Serve golden baked jicama fries or sweet potato fries alongside the salad.

💬 FAQs

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