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Home » Recipe » Big Mac Salad (Whole30, Keto, AIP)

Big Mac Salad (Whole30, Keto, AIP)

Published February 27, 2020. Last modified September 20, 2020 By Anne 2 Comments

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This Big Mac Salad is about to blow you away! Reminiscent of the popular fast-food favorite, this Big Mac Salad is as healthy as they come. This easy low carb lunch is full of wholesome ingredients. It’s Keto, Whole30, and AIP but tastes nostalgic and comforting!

A burger bowl with cheese, dressing, and ground beef on a marble table.

What's in a Big Mac Salad?

Some of my favorite foods are in a Big Mac Salad, like mayo, ground beef, and pickles. Unfortunately, a lot of Big Mac Salad recipes out there are heavy on the fillers and sweeteners and light on the healthy, whole foods. Not this salad!

This Big Mac Salad has two key components – the salad (of course!) and the sauce. Both are equally amazing and nutritious. I paired nutrient-dense veggies like lettuce, onion, and pickles with tasty spices and condiments. Ground beef makes this a substantial meal and the optional cheddar cheese is the perfect topping for a keto-friendly diner.

A burger bowl with cheese, dressing, and ground beef on a marble table.

Is Burger Bowl Salad Healthy?

The way I make it… yes! This Big Mac salad is filled with nutrient-dense ingredients. It also fits perfectly into a range of different diets, like Keto, Whole30, and AIP. It’s the perfect low-carb lunch. Here are some of the super healthy ingredients in this Big Mac Salad:

A stainless steel skillet full of cooked ground beef.

Ground Beef

Are you looking for amazing energy? Want to be satiated for more than a few hours? Choose ground beef! This is the ‘hamburger’ component of this Big Mac Salad. Ground beef is high in super satisfying protein and fat. It’s also got a good portion of your daily requirements of iron, zinc, and B vitamins.

Pickles

Let me be clear: when I talk about pickles, I’m not talking about Vlasic (these aren’t even actually pickled, and they contain food coloring!) I’m talking about traditionally prepared, probiotic rich pickles that you make at home or buy in health food stores. Bubbie’s is a good store-bought brand found in health-focused grocery stores. Aside from that perfectly tangy taste, pickles give you a dose of probiotics. Potassium and Vitamin C are some other pretty amazing benefits. 

Chopping romain lettuce on a wooden cutting board.

Romaine Lettuce

A lot of people think lettuce is one of those ‘nothing’ foods. No calories, no nutrients, no flavor… but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Romaine lettuce offers a wide array of nutrients like Vitamins C, K, and A as well as folate, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, and calcium. How’s that for a ‘nothing’ food?

Diced white on a walnut wood cutting board with a knife in the background.

Onion

The white onion is crucial to the Big Mac flavor in this salad! Especially if you're making some of the Whole30 and/or AIP modifications. Even if you aren't a fan of raw onion ?‍♀️, you'll want to include it in this recipe.

Mayo

Again–I don’t mean your classic store-bought mayonnaise here (unless it’s Primal Kitchen!) Most store-bought mayo is made with inflammatory oils, flavoring, and preservatives. If you’re okay with eggs, Primal Kitchen mayo is a great shortcut for this recipe. 

If you’re following the AIP or can’t tolerate eggs for any reason, take a little extra time to make a batch of this egg-free mayo.

How to Make this Big Mac Salad

This Big Mac salad is quick and easy to throw together. First, brown your ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, sprinkling with salt and pepper (omit pepper for AIP) as it browns. This should take about 6-8 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Set aside and allow to cool.

A collage of 4 images showing how to make Big Mac Sauce.

Now it’s time to make your Big Mac Sauce! This will act as the dressing for your salad.

Combine all your ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. The consistency should be that of a thick dressing – not so thick that you can’t drizzle it over your salad. Think of the consistency of creamy salad dressings. Omit the sweetener for Whole30, and omit the paprika for AIP (or use the alternative ingredients.)

A collage image of two burger bowl salads, one without dressing, and one with.

All that’s left is to assemble your Big Mac Salad! Toss together your lettuce, remaining pickles, ground beef, and onions. Top with cheddar cheese (swap with the dairy free cheese sauce for Whole30 and AIP) and drizzle with your Big Mac Sauce.

How to Store Your Burger Bowl

You can assemble this salad ahead of time, since romaine lettuce will hold up pretty well for a few days. If you pre-assemble your salad or make a few servings, I recommend leaving off the Big Mac Sauce until you’re ready to eat. 

I don’t recommend leaving this salad in the refrigerator for longer than 2-3 days because no one likes a wilted salad (plus, it’s too delicious to leave for that long.) You can’t freeze this salad, but you can freeze cooked ground beef and prepare the Big Mac Sauce ahead of time to cut down on prep time.

A Big Mac Salad burger bowl with cheese, dressing, and ground beef on a marble table.

You'll also love:

  • Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos (AIP, Keto, & Whole30)
  • Chick-Fil-A Keto Cobb Salad (AIP & Whole30)
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A Big Mac Salad burger bowl with cheese, dressing, and ground beef on a marble table.
Print Recipe
3.75 from 8 votes

Big Mac Salad

This Big Mac Salad is about to blow you away! Reminiscent of the popular fast-food favorite, this Big Mac Salad is as healthy as they come. This easy low carb lunch is full of wholesome ingredients. It’s Keto (can be modified to be Whole30 and AIP), but tastes nostalgic and comforting!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: big mac salad, burger bowl
Servings: 4
Author: Anne Marie

Ingredients

Big Mac Sauce

  • 3/4 cup Primal Kitchen Mayo, use this recipe for AIP
  • 4 tsp mustard, omit or use this for AIP
  • 2 tbsp diced pickles or relish
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons honey, Use Swerve, erythritol, or monkfruit for Keto, omit for Whole30
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, omit for AIP

Big Mac Salad

  • 1.5 lb ground beef
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper, omit for AIP
  • 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • ½ onion, cut in half and diced
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (omit for Whole30 and AIP)
  • 1/2 cup sliced pickles
  • cherry tomatoes and avocado, optional, omit tomatoes for AIP

Instructions

  • Brown your ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Sprinkle with salt and pepper (omit pepper for AIP) as it browns. This should take about 6-8 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Set aside and allow to cool.
  • Chop romaine and add to large bowls.
  • Combine all your Big Mac Sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. The consistency should be that of a thick dressing. Omit the sweetener for Whole30, and omit the paprika and mustard for AIP (or use the alternative ingredients listed in the notes section).
  • Toss together your lettuce, remaining pickles, ground beef, onions, and optional toppings.
  • Top with cheddar cheese (replace with this dairy-free cheese sauce for Whole30 and AIP).
  • Drizzle with your Big Mac Sauce.

Notes

Whole30 Modifications: Omit the sweetener and the cheese. You can drizzle your salad with the Cheese Sauce from this recipe. The images above show the salad with this cheese sauce.
AIP Modifications: Omit the cheese and the paprika. You can drizzle your salad with the Cheese Sauces from this recipe.  Use an egg-free mayo like this one, and use this product instead of mustard or omit completely.
Did you try this recipe?Tag me @GrassFedSalsa so I can send you some love!

Anne is a certified Integrative Nutritional Health Coach and Interior Designer who is passionate about whole home and body detox, as well as personalized nutritional therapies tailored to the individual. She's the creator of several online programs and ebooks including Ditch Your Nutritionist, Autoimmune Accomplice, and Detox Your Life.

When she's not creating content for her wellness business and website Grass Fed Salsa, you can find her snuggled up to her daughter GG, her husband James, and their pups Cohen and Kiki.

Previous Post: « How to Create a Healthy Home
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Britt

    April 13, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent!!! Tastes just like a Big Mac. Will make again. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Karlene Jones

    January 30, 2021 at 9:21 am

    5 stars
    Excellent. I swapped out the apple cider vinegar for pickle juice and will eliminate the sweetener next time.

    Reply

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