Big Mac in a Bowl Recipe

Get the flavors of a fast food cheeseburger made healthier with our Big Mac bowl recipe. Topped with a simple special sauce dressing, this hearty salad is low carb, gluten-free, and keto friendly.

A traditional Big Mac contains 563 calories and a whopping 41 net carbs, we're sharing our deconstructed cheeseburger salad version that has just 3 net carbs per serving yet keeps the flavor of the original!

Our Big Mac bowls are so good!

Whether you're trying to eat healthier by cooking more meals at home, eating whole foods, or you're trying to lose a little weight, eating lighter copycat versions of your favorite fast food meals really can help.

Looking for variety? We also have a low carb Big Mac casserole!

What you'll need

The full ingredient list and recipe instructions are down in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, this is just an overview!

To make this recipe even faster you can buy a sugar free "special sauce" that makes a great substitute for the dressing or you could use your favorite Thousand Island dressing in a pinch.

•  ground beef (80/20) - we used 80/20 for recipe testing but we've also made this with leaner ground beef and it's tasted just as good! You could even do a ground chicken or ground turkey version.
• salt
• ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil - used to cook the ground beef, you can skip it if you're using a nonstick skillet.
• minced garlic - fresh garlic, jar garlic, or frozen garlic cubes like Dorot
• sharp cheddar cheese - sharp cheddar has a stronger flavor
• Dill pickles
• minced onion - we minced a sweet onion, white onion, or red onion work well to
• Iceberg lettuce - or use a bag of lettuce like butter lettuce, you could also try shredded cabbage or broccoli slaw.
• Big Mac Dressing - we either make our own (listed below), or we buy Sir Kensington's Special Sauce that's low carb.
• Sesame seeds (or Everything But the Bagel Seasoning)

Big Mac Sauce

•  mayo - use a no sugar mayo
• low carb pickle relish (or chopped pickle with juice)
• ketchup - look for a no sugar brand to keep the carbs low
• yellow mustard
• monk fruit (increase if swapping chopped pickle for the relish)
• garlic salt - or use salt and garlic powder
• onion powder

How to make a Big Mac salad

Assembling the salad is as simple as cooking the hamburger meat, prepping the veggies, making the dressing, and assembling it all together.

Cook the meat: Heat a skillet on medium-high and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan (or cook this in a nonstick skillet without the oil). Add the ground beef, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Stir and cook the ground beef until it's no longer pink in the middle, which will take about 6-7 minutes.  Drain some of the grease and set the hamburger meat aside.

Make the dressing: In a small bowl, add all of the ingredients for the Big Mac sauce, including the mayo, pickle relish, ketchup, yellow mustard, sweetener, garlic salt, and onion powder.

Assemble the salad: Lay the lettuce in the bottom of 4 bowls or you can make one large bowl of salad.

Sprinkle the burger meat on top of the lettuce. Then add the pickles, onion, and shredded cheese.

Drizzle Big Mac dressing over the salad or serve the dressing on the side. The sauce and yummy toppings are what give the salad so much flavor. Feel free to add as many pickles, onions, and cheese as desired. Enjoy!

Meal prep for the week

Big Mac bowls are terrific for meal prep lunches for the week too. Simply assemble the 4 salads in meal prep containers and store the dressing in a separate container so the lettuce doesn't get soggy.

We eat the ground beef cold if we have leftovers or are meal prepping them for lunches. If you'd prefer warm meat, store the hamburger meat separately, heat it in the microwave, and then add it to your salad when you're ready to eat it.

Stored covered, the salads will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.

Recipe tips

• While a Big Mac traditionally only has lettuce and pickles, feel free to include additional vegetables like tomatoes or anything else that's to your liking.
• You can make this in one large salad bowl or you can make individual cheeseburger salads.

Is Big Mac salad keto?

Yes, Big Mac salad is keto - when you follow the recipe! Using pickles in the sauce instead of relish will keep the dish sugar-free, or be sure to find a relish that is low carb. If you feel it needs to be sweeter, increase the monk fruit a bit.

Just 3 Net carbs per serving!

The ground beef, cheese, and pickles are all zero carb. The carbohydrates are coming from the lettuce and sauce. It's important to shred the cheese from a block since pre-shredded cheese adds potato starch and has carbs. Always check the labels when you're shopping since brands can really vary.

More low carb salads

• Keto Cobb Salad
• Keto Taco Salad
• Low Carb Broccoli Salad with Bacon
• Italian Antipasto Salad

Recipe

Big Mac Bowl Recipe

WholeLottaYum

A take on the popular fast food burger turned into a healthy salad with cooked beef, shredded cheddar cheese, onions, pickles, seasoning, and sauce. If you're craving Big Macs, you'll love this fast food adaption.

4.66 from 127 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salads

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 530 kcal

Equipment

• 1 skillet

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb ground beef 80/20
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
• 4 + Dill pickles sliced
• ½ cup onion minced
• 1 head Iceberg lettuce
• ½ teaspoon Sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning

Big Mac Sauce

• ½ cup mayo
• 2 tablespoon low carb pickle relish or chopped pickle with juice
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• ½ teaspoon yellow mustard
• ¼ tsp+ monk fruit increase if using chopped pickle for the relish
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder + salt
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

 

Cook The Beef

• Over medium-high heat, warm a large skillet and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the ground beef, salt, pepper, and garlic clove. Stir and cook the ground beef until it's no longer pink in the middle, which will take about 6-7 minutes.  Drain some of the grease.
• Set aside and let cool down while you prep the remaining low carb Big Mac salad ingredients.

Make the special sauce

• In a small bowl, add all of the ingredients for the Big Mac sauce, including the mayo, pickle relish, ketchup, yellow mustard, sweetener, garlic salt, and onion powder.

Assemble

• Lay the lettuce in the bottom of 4 bowls, or for as many low carb Big Mac salad bowls as you're making. You could even one do large bowl.
• Sprinkle the burger meat on top of the lettuce. Then add the pickles, onion, and shredded cheese.
• Drizzle Big Mac sauce over the salad or serve the dressing on the side. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and add salt & pepper to taste. You can also add more pickles, onions, and cheese if preferred. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

• Tomatoes typically aren't found on a Big Mac, but feel free to add them for color or extra low carb veggies. Likewise, you could use a different type of green than iceburg or butter lettuce.
• Ground turkey or lean ground beef can be used to make a lighter option than full-fat cooked beef.
• When you're in a hurry, swap out the homemade sauce for low carb Thousand Island or Sir Kensington's Special Sauce (burger sauce).
• Use a sugar-free pickle relish to keep the carbs down.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 530kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 39gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 32gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 1143mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!