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This easy Big Mac salad recipe is a hearty, flavor-packed salad with a zesty and creamy dressing! Get all the best Big Mac inspired flavors without leaving the comfort of your home.
Try my Taco Salad or Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing next.
Why you’ll love it
This cheeseburger salad has all the good stuff. There’s seasoned ground beef, iceberg lettuce, cheese, and mild crunchy onions. McDonald’s uses dehydrated onions in their burgers, so we’re using them here too to more closely approximate Big Mac flavors!
My Big Mac sauce isn’t what I’d call a straight dupe, but it sure is tasty. It’s so creamy, a little tangy, perfectly seasoned, and has that irresistible thousand island style flavor you crave. This low-carb salad is fantastic when you’re craving both freshness and comfort food.
What you’ll need
For the salad
- Dehydrated onions – find these in the seasoning aisle. If you’re unfamiliar, these come as flakes and plump up when water is added. The appeal is that they don’t have the harsh raw bite of fresh onions!
- Lettuce – we’re using the classic choice, iceberg
- Cheddar – I recommend freshly grated
- Ground beef – we’re seasoning it with garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoning salt
For the dressing
- Mayo – the creamy base. I like Duke’s or Hellmann’s best.
- Sweet pickle relish – what’s a burger without pickles?
- Ketchup – for color and the signature thousand island flavor profile
- Yellow mustard – more depth of flavor
- White vinegar – for acidity and balance
- Paprika – it adds a special earthy, savory quality
- Onion powder – another layer of flavor
Helpful tips
- Start re-hydrating the onions before starting the rest of the recipe so they’re ready when needed!
- You don’t need to constantly stir the ground beef as it cooks. Letting it sit undisturbed for a bit helps it brown more evenly and develop better flavor.
- You can definitely make the dressing ahead of time. This will help the flavors meld more too.
How to make Big Mac salad
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Add water to the dehydrated onions in a bowl to rehydrate them. Meanwhile, prep the salad ingredients. Mix together the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add the beef and seasonings to a skillet, and cook until browned. Drain any excess fat.
Drain the water from the onions, and stir into the beef mixture. Let the ground beef cool a bit. Add the lettuce to individual bowls, and top with the beef and cheddar. Drizzle the dressing over top. You could also make it in one large salad bowl if preferred.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- It’s best to grate your own cheddar vs. using the pre-shredded bagged kind. I use this Microplane grater.
- Here’s my cast iron skillet pictured, and this Lodge skillet is a terrific budget-friendly alternative.
- Iceberg lettuce is easiest to chop with a bigger knife from a chef’s knife block.
Substitutions and variations
- To save time, you can use bottled thousand island dressing if you prefer.
- The relish adds plenty of pickle flavor on its own, but if you really love pickles, feel free to mix in about 1/2 cup of diced dill pickles.
What to serve with big mac salad
- It’s definitely a meal on its own, but you could for sure serve with air fryer/oven French fries and a Coke for the full experience. Why not? And crumble some Air Fryer Bacon on top.
- Some of my Sweet Tea would be awesome as well.
- A dinner roll, fresh crusty bread, or my Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread are great ways to round out the meal.
Leftovers and storage
- The individual components will last a few days in the fridge, but I recommend storing any leftovers separately, or the salad will get soggy.
- Reheat any leftover meat on the stove or microwave until warmed through.
- You can freeze any leftover beef for 3 months.
If you made this big mac style salad, please leave a star rating and review below! Reader reviews are my favorite. Or tag me on Instagram so I can see your photos!
Big Mac Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 tablespoon dehydrated minced onions see note
- 1 head chopped/shredded iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese or to taste
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1.5 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
For the beef:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt or more, to taste
Instructions
- To rehydrate the dried onions, add them to a small bowl and add 1/4 cup of water. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prep the other salad components and mix the dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Add the ground beef, garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoning salt to a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the beef until it's browned and cooked through, breaking it up with your spoon as you go along (about 8-10 minutes). Take the pan off the burner and spoon out excess fat as needed. Stir in the re-hydrated onions (drain the water out first).
- Let the beef cool for a few minutes. Add the lettuce to 4 individual bowls, and top with the beef and cheddar. Drizzle the dressing over top. I prefer to add ingredients to individual bowls vs. tossing it all together in one big bowl, but you can definitely do this step how you prefer!
Notes
- I highly recommend using dehydrated chopped onions to get closer to that signature Big Mac flavor vs. using freshly chopped onion. You can find these in the spice aisle in most major grocery stores.
- The pickles in the relish are enough for me, but if you’re a big pickle fan, you can definitely add 1/2 cup or so of diced dill pickles to the salad.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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