If you love a tasty beef burger but want to cut down on carbs, fat, and calories, then this big mac in a bowl salad recipe is for you! It has all the flavors of a big mac but is deconstructed and an incredibly easy recipe to make for a quick family dinner!
Did you know that this cheeseburger salad bowl was one of the first unofficial Slimming World recipes I ever made when I joined a few years ago?
I was so happy that I'd won my family over to the idea of a traditional big mac, but in an actual salad with no sesame seed bun. I know!!!
It makes its way to our dinner table every month. But if I don't have any special sauce in (Thousand Island) or Gherkins, you'd think the world was coming to an end. So if you want to convert who has fast-food favorites, keep reading!
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✔️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
Here are just a few reasons we think this low carb big mac salad bowl will be end up being one of your favorite meals!
- It's filling and tastes like the real thing
- No need to make a burger patty
- Perfect on a low carb diet
- No food scale or measuring needed
- It will also impress the non salad lovers in your life
- It truly is fast food as meal prep only takes minutes
- Makes a great lunch or main meal for the whole family
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities, nutrition information, and preparation instructions at the bottom of this post.
Lean ground beef - I use 5% fat or less, but if you eat the low-carb way, you might prefer 20% fat
Salad tomatoes - I add sliced or diced tomatoes for a Burger King Whopper, or you could use cherry tomatoes
White onion - or red onion, finely diced to mimic a classic big mac. You might also like to add a teaspoon onion powder to the beef while cooking
Gherkins - (AKA dill pickles), sliced, or a perfect way to get a similar tang is to pickle cucumber overnight in malt vinegar, or use baby pickled onions for tang
American cheese - or use any cheddar cheese, grated, crumbled blue cheese, etc
Fresh lettuce - I usually shred an iceberg lettuce, or use ready prepared salad when I find them reduced in price
Thousand Island - this uses far fewer ingredients, or you can try making a simple homemade big mac sauce, or use a sweet pickle relish
Seasoning - salt and black pepper. You might like to add some garlic powder to the meat too.
📋 Instructions
Here's my step by step picture instructions on how I make this low-carb salad:
1. Spray a large skillet with oil spray and add the beef mince and seasoning.
2. Brown brown ground beef over medium-high heat until fully cooked.
If preferred, you can transfer to paper towels to soak up any excess fat if preferred.
3. Arrange your chopped lettuce into a large bowl per person or separate containers.
Then spoon the cooked ground beef on top.
4. Now top with the rest of your salad ingredients, cheese, and pickles.
Then drizzle your burger bowls with your big mac dressing, dill pickle relish, or one of many different salad dressings available.
Tip: for an even more authentic big mac bowl recipe, why not sprinkle some sesame seeds on top too?
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can do and still enjoy a really good burger:
- Beef - swap beef for turkey or chicken mince for a leaner protein option
- Thousand Island - use Greek yogurt or light sour cream instead of mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce or drizzle apple cider vinegar for a no added sugar sauce to reduce calories
- Lettuce - swap for shredded cabbage or kale instead for more fiber and nutrients
- Cheese - use vegan cheese and plant-based veggie mince for a vegetarian or vegan version
⚖️ Variations
Making a delicious salad is a very personal thing, so here's a few ideas you can do to enhance and make the perfect big mac salad:
- Easier version - use prepared salad bags for quickness
- Deluxe - add fried bacon rashers or lardons to the beef and the best cheese you can
- Kid friendly - serve a large salad bowl with homemade oven chips, tomato ketchup, and serve like sloppy joes in a bread bun
🔪 Equipment
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- Frying pan or cast iron skillet
- Weighing scales
- Chopping board
- Chopping knife
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon
❄️ Storage
Storing - we prefer eating this cheeseburger bowl freshly cooked, but it can be separated and stored in airtight plastic containers and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing - we don't recommend freezing the salad, but you can freeze the beef for up 3 months.
Reheating - If you want to eat the next day, you can defrost the meat and reheat in the pan or microwave until piping hot, then serve on fresh salad.
💡Pro Tips
- If you can't find thousand island dressing, try mixing ketchup and mayonnaise in a small bowl
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds for an even more authentic taste
- If you prefer, you can shape your ground meat into patties instead of loose mince and pan fry
- If using 20% fat beef mince, then frying over medium heat instead of high heat will suffice as the oil will help it cook quicker than lean
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Bread: obviously, you can serve as Sloppy Joes in bread buns, or wholemeal wraps, etc
Pasta: mix in some cooked salad for a burger pasta salad
Sides: enjoy with classics like battered onion rings, corn on the cob, and some cheesy dirty fries
❓ FAQ
If you've found a thousand island dressing and you're not sure about the syns, then you can count 1 syn for every 20 calories.
However, for convenience, here's an estimated list of the best syn value per tablespoon that I could find. Note that it is around 15ml per tbsp:
Walden Farms Near Zero Thousand Island Dressing: ½ syn per 4 level tbsp
Kraft Light Thousand Island Dressing: ½ syn per level tbsp
Co-op Good Life Thousand Island Dressing: ½ syn per level tbsp
Sainsburys Be Good to Yourself Thousand Island Dressing: ½ syn per level tbsp
Morrisons Eat Smart Counted Thousand Island Dressing: ½ syn per level tbsp
I know it can be extremely difficult eating healthily while you're out.
Sometimes choices can be limited, so to help you think about the syns in some of the cheeseburgers, here is an estimated list may encourage you to think differently:
McDonald's Big Mac: 22.5 syns
Burger King Whopper: 30.5 syns
Five Guys cheeseburger + bun: 29.5 syns
Wimpy double cheeseburger: 32.5 syns
J D Wetherspoon Classic 6oz Beef Burger with no chips: 28.5 syns
Due to the simplicity of this minced meat salad, you can easily use vegan mincemeat, vegan cheese and make a keto, vegan thousand island dressing.
➕ More Keto Recipes
If you're looking for some new low carb meal ideas like this keto big mac salad recipe, then here are a few more!
🍽️ New recipes
Want to try something new? Here's our latest recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Unofficial Slimming World Big Mac in a Bowl + Keto Options
Ingredients
- 500 g Extra Lean Mince Beef or 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 onion peeled and finely diced
- 2 handfuls Lettuce chopped
- 3 gherkins sliced
- 2 cheese slices (or 40g of grated cheese) Low fat for Slimming World, Full fat for Keto
- 4 tablespoon Lighter Thousand Island dressing *to be counted
- 2 tomatoes Sliced
Instructions
- Season and fry the beef in a frying pan using Fry Light for Slimming World or a tablespoon of olive oil for Keto.
- Arrange the salad in two bowls.
- Place the beef, diced onions and gherkins on top.
- Tear or slice the cheese slices and place on top.
- Drizzle a thousand Island dressing of your choice on each dish and enjoy.
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World's website can be found at https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/. Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Video
Notes
- If you can't find thousand island dressing, try mixing ketchup and mayonnaise in a small bowl
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds for an even more authentic taste
- If you prefer, you can shape your ground meat into patties instead of loose mince and pan fry
- If using 20% fat beef mince, then frying over medium heat instead of high heat will suffice as the oil will help it cook quicker than lean
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