These Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars are like a healthy cheeseburger – you probably already have the sauce ingredients!
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How to make Big Mac salad
The secret to making a fantastic Big Mac salad, or any salad in a jar for that matter, is layering correctly. These salad jars are easy to assemble, but be sure to follow the layering instructions for the best results.
The only preparations you need to make are to fully cook the ground beef in a skillet and to mix the sauce together.
Then you can start layering. Be sure to do so in this order:
- Salad dressing
- Cooked ground beef
- Onions
- Pickles
- Tomatoes
- Cheese
- Lettuce
This order will keep the salad dressing and ground beef from wilting the lettuce. Packing the onions on the warm ground beef will give them a chance to soften a bit.
Ingredients and substitutions
- extra-lean ground beef – you can totally use ground turkey or chicken to make these jars even healthier
- yellow onion – any type of onion will do
- dill pickles – any type of pickle will work, but dill pickles will give you that signature burger flavour
- plum tomatoes – Big Macs technically don't have tomatoes so feel free to leave these out. I just like to add a bit more colour and nutrition to these salads
- cheddar cheese – any type of cheese will work
- romaine lettuce – iceberg lettuce is more authentic to a Big Mac but this particular lettuce isn't as nutritious as romaine or other types of leaf lettuce. Romaine has a similar crunch to iceberg but packs more nutrition in per serving so that's why I use it with these jars. Feel free to use spinach, kale, arugula, Boston lettuce or any other type of greens you'd prefer to switch it up!
Big Mac sauce
- light mayo – feel free to use regular fat mayo or vegan mayo; unfortunately Greek yogurt or sour cream will not give you that signature flavour so mayo is the way to go here
- ketchup – there's no great substitute for this
- relish – you can chop up 1 tbsp of pickles instead
How to make the Big Mac sauce
This salad dressing couldn’t be easier. You already have the three ingredients in your house! Mayo, ketchup and relish are all you need.
You’ll find lots of copycat recipes online that include vinegar, but I’ve discovered you really don’t need it.
The measurements I’ve given will make more than you need for four salad jars. But don’t worry because it will keep in the refrigerator for a long time. Make a big batch and keep it for making these Big Mac salad jars in the future or just to have on hand for salad night at home.
What store bought sauce can I use instead?
There are now versions of Big Mac sauce that you can buy at the store. Feel free to keep a jar in the refrigerator and add it to this or any other salad.
There are other salad dressings that would also taste great on this. It’s basically a salad with ground beef so anything you like can be used. Some of my favorites are:
- Thousand Island dressing (the ingredients are very similar to what you will find in this Big Mac sauce)
- French dressing
- Mustard vinaigrette (it tastes just like one of the burger toppings!)
- Salsa will make it taste more like a taco
- Greek dressing will give it the feel of a gyro
How to serve salad jars
Mason jars are the perfect container for storing salads. They each have a lid. They’re vertical so they fit better in the refrigerator. Plus, they are easy to wash and reuse. You can find them in any store, and they are inexpensive. You never have to worry about plastic containers leaching questionable chemicals into your food either.
However, mason jars can be very difficult to eat from, especially if you don’t have the wide mouth variety.
Pour your salad onto a plate to make it easy to mix everything together and eat.
Storing Big Mac salad jars
The prepared salad jars will last in the refrigerator for up to five days. This means they are perfect for meal prep.
This recipe will make four servings. You can have nearly a whole week’s worth of lunches ready in about 30 minutes.
If you are preparing lunches for a crowd, you can easily double or triple this recipe.
The Big Mac dressing will also last for a long time in the refrigerator. If it becomes a family favorite, you can make a large batch to use any time!
Freezing the ground beef
While you can’t freeze salad, you can make the ground beef in advance and freeze for up to four months. You’ll want to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before adding to your salad jar.
What you can also do is store the ground beef separately and reheat in the microwave or a skillet with a pinch of water to revive the beef and make it taste just like new!
More mason jar meal prep recipes
Meal prep tools
- These are the Mason jars I use.
- You can even get Big Mac sauce online if you're too lazy to make the sauce
- And of course I get all my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box!
Big Mac Salad Jars {Meal Prep, Low Carb}
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup dill pickles, chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
Big Mac sauce
- 1/2 cup light mayo
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp relish
Instructions
- Cook ground beef with salt in a medium-sized skillet over med-high heat until fat has absorbed and beef is fully cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix Big Mac sauce ingredients together. Divide sauce among 4 mason jars. Top with ground beef, then layer with onions, pickles, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce.
- Store in the fridge up to 5 days - serve by dumping into a large bowl and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Barbara says
I know this is going to sound crazy but can you heat it up before you eat it…. Maybe 20 second so the meat is not so cold. May pack the meat separate… thoughts
Taylor Stinson says
If you’d like the meat to be hot then I recommend packing the meat separately.
Rebecca says
Toronto girl here! I’m converting this to a veggie salad using vegan mayo, and Beyond Beef. Still adding cheese, but I can’t wait to try it!
Lyd Walls says
Omg! This was insanely delicious and tasted exactly like a Big Mac!! This one is on regular rotation!! I used Beyond Meat plant based ground and baby kale spring mix in place of romaine. DEE- LISH!!!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed 🙂
Lindsey Riddle says
Is this 15g or carbs per jar? Or 15g total for the four jars combined?
Taylor Stinson says
It’s per jar.
Meg says
Hi! Could I make this recipe and put in a meal prep container instead of a jar?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes you could for sure! I might pack the lettuce separately though, or at least ensure it’s far from the dressing to avoid sogginess.
Emily M. says
Did you use a light mayo? Just curious with regards to nutritional information. It looks good and I am ready to try it for my new high-protein, low-carb lunch ideas!
Taylor Stinson says
Yes I do use light mayo! I will adjust the ingredient list to specify further 🙂
Dianne says
Those look delicious. With the ingredients for the salads the tomatoes, pickles, lettuce etc for each jar or devided between the 4 jars?
Taylor Stinson says
All of the ingredients are divided among the 4 jars 🙂
Shawn R. says
How big of a Mason jar did you use?
Taylor Stinson says
One litre!
Chantal says
Really good and easy to make. I added a bit of apple cider vinegar to thin the dressing out a bit. I was having trouble getting it all to mix in the jar. Might thin it with a bit of pickle juice instead next time.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed! Even adding a little bit of water works if you’d like a thinner consistency 🙂
Jennifer Rossman says
This sounds delicious! Just wanted to double check – did you use sweet relish for the dressing?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Jennifer! Yes, I did 🙂