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A Cheeseburger Salad features all of your favorite burger fixin’s, minus the bun! This salad combines seasoned ground beef, a bit of bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomato, and pickles. Top it all with a savory mustard salad dressing for the best burger salad ever!
It’s customizable and easily made Paleo and Whole30-friendly.
The Best Cheeseburger Salad Recipe
Dare I say it, but I think I like this cheeseburger salad better than a traditional burger with a bun! This salad is delicious, hearty, and so flavorful. The burger meat alone is insanely good. It’s cooked up with my classic burger seasoning, and a little (optional) ketchup added in to give it a really umami flavor. And when it’s combined with all that salad fixin’s, it’s out-of-this-world.
I also love how customizable this salad is. You have the freedom to add what you love on your burgers! Feel free to get creative with it! And this is easily made Paleo, Keto, and Whole30 friendly for whatever your dietary needs are!
Ingredients Needed and Substitutions
*Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and ingredient list!
Burger
- Oil: I prefer to use extra-virgin olive oil to cook the meat, but avocado oil will also work.
- Ground Beef: You’ll need 1 pound of ground beef for this recipe. I recommend using lean ground beef (80% or leaner) to keep it lower and fat and prevent the salad from becoming soggy.
- Burger Seasoning: I use my homemade burger seasoning blend, but you can also use any storebought option you like best.
- Ketchup: This is optional but adds a sweet, umami flavor to the beef!
Dressing
- Mustard: Use regular yellow mustard or Dijon mustard, depending on your preferences.
- Olive Oil: This creates an emulsion, combining all the ingredients and contributing to the rich taste.
- Mayo: Use your favorite store-bought mayonnaise, or make homemade Paleo mayo!
- Apple Cider Vinegar: This adds a touch of subtly sweet, tangy flavor.
- Spices: Paprika, salt, and pepper enhance the savoriness of the sauce and add just a touch of heat.
For Assembling
- Lettuce: I like Romaine lettuce, but you can use any greens you prefer for the base of your cheeseburger salad.
- Tomatoes: I use cherry tomatoes, but grape tomatoes are a great alternative.
- Crumbled Bacon: This is optional but adds a delicious salty, slightly smokey flavor!
- Avocado: For a boost of healthy fats and a creamy consistency.
- Dill Pickle Slices: I’m a huge pickle lover, but you can omit them if you’re not a fan.
- Red Onion: For a hint of tang and a bit of crunch.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese: You can’t have a cheeseburger salad without cheese! For the best taste and texture, buy a block of cheddar, and grate it yourself.
Where I Buy My Meat
- 100% Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished Beef
- Free-Range Organic Chicken
- Humanely Raised Pork
- Wild-Caught Seafood
Delivered to your door! The latest ButcherBox deal can be found right here!
Flavor Variations
One of my favorite things about this cheeseburger salad recipe is that you can easily mix and match different ingredients to make it your own. Some great variations include:
- Meat: Swap the ground beef with ground bison, ground turkey, or ground chicken instead.
- Cheese: Use any flavor of cheese you like best such as pepperjack, monterrey, or Swiss. Or, omit it completely for a hamburger salad recipe.
- Sauce: Swap the mustard sauce with burger sauce, BBQ sauce, or ketchup. Or, leave it out entirely if preferred.
- Toppings: Mix and match any burger toppings you like best such as pickled onions, fried eggs, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, or grilled pineapple.
How to Make a Cheeseburger Salad with Mustard Dressing
- Brown the beef: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and burger seasoning. Brown until the meat is no longer pink, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add the ketchup: Stir in the ketchup, if using, and shut off the heat.
- Make the dressing: While the beef cools slightly, whisk all the dressing ingredients in a jar or small bowl until smooth. Adjust the seasonings to taste.
- Assemble the salads: Divide the salad ingredients between four bowls. Then, portion the burger mixture on top, and 1-2 tablespoons of dressing. Serve immediately!
Serving Suggestions
Honestly, I find that this cheeseburger salad recipe is plenty filling on its own. However, if you want to add a side, you can never go wrong with fries or onion rings! Or, if you want a slightly healthier option, try including a side of sliced fruit.
Meal Prep Option
This salad is great to make for meal prep, with a few modifications. While the burger meat can be eaten cold if you want, this recipe is best served with hot or warm burger meat.
The best way to meal prep this salad is to have a separate container for the salad components and the meat, that way the meat can be heated up on its own. And of course, with most salads, you’ll want to dress with the mustard dressing right before serving. So, keep that separate, too.
Just be careful about what salad components you choose. Obviously, something like sliced avocado will not keep well. So, omit that if intending to make this for meal prep.
Keeping all of this in mind, this salad will keep well for 3-5 in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve, reheat the meat in the microwave or a skillet over medium heat, and assemble as normal. It will taste as good as new!
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- Easy Edamame Salad
- Southwest Tuna Salad
- Greek Lentil Salad
- Spicy Shrimp and Citrus Salad
- Sriracha Lime Grilled Chicken Salad
- Shrimp Avocado Salad
Watch The Video:
Cheeseburger Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the “Burger”:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 tablespoon burger seasoning
- 2 tablespoons ketchup optional
For the Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons yellow or dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoons mayo
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Big pinch salt and pepper
For Assembling:
- 8 cups fresh lettuce chopped
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 4 strips bacon cooked
- 1 Avocado diced
- ½ cup dill pickle slices
- ½ red onion sliced thin
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a skillet. Once hot add ground beef and burger seasoning. Cook until no pink remains. Once cooked through, add in ketchup (optional) and stir together to combine. Shut off the heat and let cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing: Add all ingredients to a jar or small bowl and whisk together. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Assemble the bowls: Divide lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, avocado, pickled and red onion among four bowls. Divide the beef mixture on top, then drizzle over 1-2 tablespoons of dressing. Serve immediately.
This is hands-down my favorite salad. So very delicious.
This salad was absolutely amazing! It tasted like a burger you would get at a fast food restaurant (but even better). This is going on my list of rotational dinners for sure.
This salad was amazing! Can’t wait to make it again! Thank you!
Made this tonight and it was fabulous!
This was amazing!!! There is so much you can add to this salad. I added olives to my husband’s. The dressing is so yummy! I can’t wait to make it again.
Great recipe! I swapped scallions for red onions and a few spices to make it low FODMAP and it was still great!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this salad! It’s become a weekly favorite in our house. The hubs requests it 🙂 And it even works well for our “selective” 6 year old as he eats his version in a de-constructed style. He’s not a big fan of salad mixed up together, but he likes all of the ingredients so that’s how he eats his serving. Gotta love a recipe even more when it’s a family hit. Also, this does really well for meal prep!
I don’t see cheese in the ingredients list. What kind of cheese do you recommend using?
Cheddar cheese.
This was delicious and so easy to make for dinner! I have dressing leftover and I’m totally making this with ground turkey for lunch this week!
Loved this recipe! Great for lunches for the week!
This looks great, but where is the recipe for the mustard dressing? That seems to be the key component to bring this salad together but there is not a recipe for it.
Apologies, Leslie but we were having some site work completed and it caused issues with some of the recipes. It is back up to the correct recipe. Enjoy!
These were great! I e Topped salads before with a burger and fried egg for hubby but never thought to put the burger fixings in there aka pickles!! I had Some sir Kensington’s chipotle mayo and thinned it out with a little oat milk. Delish dressing! Really a hit with the fam!! Thanks for the inspo!! ♥️
What kind of mustard do you use?
Love this! So simple and easy!
That has been my routine as well, make extra chicken or burgers on the weekend and I’ve got lunch for the whole week! Love this salad and will definitely try the dressing!
Such a great salad! I love mustard based dressings as well. So spicy and flavorful!