So easy to prepare... This Big Mac salad tastes just like a Big Mac but without the carbs. If you're gluten free or just cutting back on the carbs, you might like to try this new Big Mac salad recipe soon. It tastes just like a Big Mac!
You can whip it up in no time. You might also like to try the original Big Mac recipe.

About this recipe.
This is essentially a Big Mac but without the buns. Well, almost. There is a lot more veg in the recipe to make it worthy of being called a salad.
I have given the recipe to serve one to two people but I usually make a lot more. Although it is an alternative to a burger in a bun, you don't really need to think of it that way.
Make this Big Mac salad whenever you want a good salad. Really, it's just another salad and when you prepare as many salads as I do, it's nice to have a few different recipes to stop them from getting boring.
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Ingredients For Big Mac Salad

- Rapeseed (canola) oil
- Minced (ground) beef
- Onion
- Iceberg lettuce
- Cherry tomatoes or baby plum tomatoes
- Yellow cheddar cheese
- Red onion
- Sesame seeds
- Big mac sauce (recipe below)
See recipe card for quantities.
Step by step photographs...

- Step 1: Fry the beef over a medium high heat. When half cooked, stir in the chopped onions.

- Step 2: Cook for about 5 minutes or until the beef is completely cooked. Take off the heat, cover and keep hot.

- Step 3: On a bed of shredded lettuce, arrange all the ingredients and then top with the Big Mac sauce. You can add as much sauce as you like. I'm usually pretty generous with the dressing.

- Step 4: Enjoy!
Hint: Go ahead and prepare your vegetables of choice and store them in the fridge so that they are nice and cold when you add them.
The meat is best cooked right before adding it to the salad. That said, you could fry it up and store it in your fridge too. Then just heat it up in a pan or in your microwave. If that's more convenient for you, do it.
The Big Mac sauce takes the most effort but it could not be easier. If you want to gather and whisk all the Big Mac sauce ingredients and place the sauce, covered tightly in your fridge. It lasts a long time just like the ingredients in it last a long time
How do you make Big Mac Sauce?
If The Big Mac sauce is the dressing for this salad. I have a detailed Big Mac sauce here with photos but you could simply whisk up the following ingredients. I use dill pickles which are difficult to find in the UK. If using sweet pickles, you can leave out the sugar or just add to taste at the end.
Following are the ingredient as I normally prepare them. In the recipe card below, I have downscaled it so that there is enough for the Big Mac Salad. If you make this larger amount, it keeps in the fridge for weeks and is good to have on hand.
- Sugar to taste, I leave it out
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoon pickle relish
- 2 tablespoon onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Salt to taste, I use about ½ tsp
Top Tip
Make this recipe your own...
The ingredients I use in my recipe are all in a Big Mac except for the tomatoes and sliced onions. The cheese I use is different too as burger slices just aren't good in a salad.
So I developed the recipe the way I like it. You could and should do the same. Add what you like. Add more vegetables. Make it with turkey instead of beef.
You can really prepare your Big Mac salad as you want it to be.
FAQ
Nope! It does taste a lot like it but the Big Mac sauce contains ingredients that are not easy to come by and not necessary for the home cook. Things like preservatives and stabilisers.
Make my version of Big Mac Sauce here and you might be impressed at how close it tastes to the real thing.
Burger Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Wet Burger (Islak Burger)
- The All Italian Burger
- Big Mac Sauce
- How To Make A Lettuce Wrap Burger In-n-Out Style
American Recipes
These are my favorite American dishes:
Recipe

Big Mac Salad
It's like a Big Mac but without the bun and all those carbs. Try this Big Mac salad soon. It's so good.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed (canola) oil
- 14oz (400g) minced (ground) beef
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- ½ iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 6 cherry tomatoes or baby plum tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 cup (100) grated yellow cheddar cheese
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 generous tablespoon sesame seeds
- Big Mac Sauce (recipe in post)
Instructions
- Prepare the Big Mac salad dressing first. Place all the ingredients for the Big Mac sauce in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Place, covered in the fridge until ready to use.
- Heat a pan over a medium high heat. Heat the oil and then add the minced (ground) beef. Break it apart as best you can with a spatula and then add the chopped onion.
- Fry until cooked through and season with a little salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.
- To build the salad, take a couple of large iceberg lettuce leaves and place the in a salad bowl or on a deep plate.
- Spread the shredded lettuce on top and then arrange the cheese, sliced red onion, tomatoes and beef on top.
- Drizzle to taste with the Big mac sauce and garnish with the pickles and sesame seeds.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 306Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 446mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 14g
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