This Burger salad takes all the best parts of a traditional burger and turns it into a salad. Made with lean ground beef, crispy bacon, dill pickles, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and romaine lettuce. All combined with a delicious homemade dressing. It’s similar to “special sauce” that many people use on burgers.
Burger Salad Bowl Recipe
Classic burger toppings are used to make this recipe, you’ll be surprised at how easy and flavorful it truly is!
Serving a burger in a salad form allows you to eat higher amounts of fresh vegetables. This recipe is also low carb with no bread involved. It’s perfect for a summer barbecue or picnic.
Give this a try and see just how quickly it becomes a family favorite in your own house. After making this recipe for the blog I’ve made it a few times already again!
Recipe Ingredients
Ground Beef:
- 1 lb lean ground beef – ground turkey or ground chicken will also work
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Salad:
- 2 romaine lettuce heads – washed and sliced thin
- 1 cup grape tomatoes – halved
- ½ cup chopped dill pickles
- ½ cup red onions – sliced thin
- 10 bacon slices – cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Dressing:
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp yellow mustard – or dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
How To Make A Burger Salad Recipe
Full ingredients and instructions are also in the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post.
STEP 1: Prep the vegetables by slicing 1 cup of grape tomatoes in half, slice ½ cup of red onion into thin strips, chopping ½ cup of pickles, and shredding the cheese to make 1 cup.
STEP 2: Slice and wash 2 romaine lettuce heads into thin strips. Pat dry with a kitchen towel or use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible.
STEP 3: Add the 1 lb ground beef, 3 tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp red pepper flakes, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Break the beef into smaller pieces with a ground beef masher. Cook until the beef turns brown and is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease by swishing a paper towel with the tip of a spatula.
STEP 4: Cook 10 bacon slices in a frying pan over medium-high heat until strips are crispy. Pat with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, then crumble into small pieces. Drain the excess grease from the pan.
STEP 5: In a small bowl combine the salad dressing ingredients: ½ cup plain greek yogurt, 2 Tbsp ketchup, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp mustard and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes. Mix until smooth and creamy.
STEP 6: Add a layer of chopped lettuce to serving plates or bowls. Add ½ cup of the cooked ground beef. Top with some sliced tomatoes, pickles, sliced red onion, shredded cheese, and crumbled bacon. Drizzle the top with salad dressing and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Chop all of the vegetables into bite-size pieces. This is the key to the salad presentation! It may take a bit longer to do this, but it is definitely worth it.
- Chop, cook, and prep all the ingredients in advance before assembling. This will make it easier when you go to prep the salad.
- Keep the ground beef and dressing separate from other ingredients if you want to save some salad as leftovers. That way you can reheat the ground beef and drizzle the dressing just before serving to prevent the lettuce from wilting.
- You can also use cooked and chopped burger patties in replacement of ground beef. The chicken will also work for this recipe!
- Save the dressing recipe and use it for your upcoming burger nights! Store it in a sealed mason jar and shake it up just before serving. It’s easy and very delicious!
How To Store Leftovers
- To Refrigerate – This salad is best when served fresh. However, my husband still enjoyed eating it for lunch the next day. You can store the salad in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. The ground beef will have to be eaten cold at this point if the salad is already assembled.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links) – Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Never Dull Premium Knife Set – This knife set has premium sharp blades and a build in sharpener. Perfect for chopping and slicing.
- Ground Beef Masher – This is the tool you didn’t know you needed! It crumbles up that package of raw ground beef perfectly! You can use it to mash potatoes too.
- Magnetic Measuring Spoons – I love these magnetic ones which stay nice and organized together when storing them.
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Burger Salad Bowl
Ingredients
Ground Beef:
- 1 lb lean ground beef - ground turkey or ground chicken will also work
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Salad:
- 2 romaine lettuce heads - washed and sliced thin
- 1 cup grape tomatoes - halved
- ½ cup chopped dill pickles
- ½ cup red onions - sliced thin
- 10 bacon slices - cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Dressing:
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp yellow mustard - or dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
Prep:
- Prep the vegetables by slicing 1 cup of grape tomatoes in half, slice ½ cup of red onion into thin strips, chop ½ cup of pickles, and shred the cheese to make 1 cup worth.
- Slice and wash 2 romaine lettuce heats into thin strps. Pat dry with a kitchen towel or use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible.
Bacon:
- Cook 10 bacon slices in a frying pan over medium high heat until strips are crispy. Pat with paper towel to remove excess moisture, then crumble into small pieces. Drain the excess grease from the pan.
Ground Beef:
- Add the 1 lb ground beef, 3 tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp red pepper flakes, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper to a frying pan over medium high heat. Break the beef into smaller pieces with the tips of a spatula and mix evenly with the spices. Cook until the beef turns brown and is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease by swishing a paper towel with the tip of a spatula.
Salad Dressing:
- In a small bowl combine the salad dressing ingredients: ½ cup plain greek yogurt, 2 Tbsp ketchup, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp mustard and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes. Mix together until smooth and creamy.
Salad Assembly:
- Add a layer of chopped lettuce to serving plates or bowls. Add ½ cup of the cooked ground beef. Top with some sliced tomatoes, pickles, sliced red onion, shredded cheese, and crumbled bacon.
- Drizzle the top with salad dressing and serve.
Recipe Notes:
- REFRIGERATE – This salad is definitely best when served fresh. However, my husband still enjoyed eating it for lunch the next day. You can store the salad in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days.
- The ground beef will have to be eaten cold at this point if the salad is already assembled.
- Keep the ground beef and dressing separate from other ingredients if you want to save some salad as leftovers. That way you can reheat the ground beef and drizzle the dressing just before serving to prevent the lettuce from wilting.
- You can also use cooked and chopped burger patties in replacement of the ground beef. These can be cooked in the air fryer or on the barbecue. Chicken will also work for this recipe!
- Salad dressing also tastes great as a regular burger topping! Store it in a sealed mason jar and shake it up just before serving. It’s easy and very delicious.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate and is per serving.