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Home » Recipes » Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

12/30/21

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These Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars are like a healthy cheeseburger – you probably already have the sauce ingredients!  

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

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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:

  1. Salad dressing
  2. Cooked ground beef
  3. Onions
  4. Pickles
  5. Tomatoes
  6. Cheese
  7. 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.

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

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

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

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

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

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.

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

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!

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

More mason jar meal prep recipes

  • Shrimp sushi jars
  • Mason jar salads
  • Chicken spring roll jars

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!
Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars

Big Mac Salad Jars {Meal Prep, Low Carb}

These Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars are like a healthy cheeseburger - you probably already have the sauce ingredients!  
4.72 from 63 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 jars
Calories: 426kcal
Author: Taylor Stinson

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

Calories: 426kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 1041mg | Potassium: 422mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1050IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 3.1mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GirlonBloor or tag #girlonbloor!

These Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars are like a healthy cheeseburger - you probably already have the sauce ingredients!  #bigmac #masonjarsalad   These Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars are like a healthy cheeseburger - you probably already have the sauce ingredients!  #bigmac #masonjarsalad

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About Taylor Stinson

Hey there, my name's Taylor! I’m the founder of The Girl on Bloor, a food blog where I share healthy meal prep recipes for busy people. I'm a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto on (you guessed it!) Bloor Street. I've got 10 years experience meal prepping, along with a Master's degree in journalism, and you can find my work across the internet featured on publications such as Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Women's Health, Reader's Digest and more. I also run the awesome 5-Day Meal Prep Challenge, which is a free email course and Facebook group where I share my meal planning strategies and easy meal prep tips and recipes. Be sure to check out my free beginner’s guide to meal prep and follow me on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get my latest recipes and meal prep tips!

Comments

  1. Madeline says

    January 11, 2021 at 10:09

    426kcal is equivalent to 426000 calories I would have to say this is incorrect. Did you mean 426cal per jar?

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      January 11, 2021 at 11:32

      Hi Madeline – it is 426 calories per jar.

      Reply
    • Susan Ritchie says

      January 22, 2021 at 22:50

      Actually food is measured in kilocalories or Calories- I frequently see kcal used as an abbreviation. This article explains https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-food-manufacturers/

      Reply
  2. Ginger Pope says

    January 2, 2021 at 23:54

    Thanks, I can’t wait to try this recipe.

    Reply
  3. Francesca says

    January 1, 2021 at 13:51

    Where does the 1/2 tsp salt go?
    It’s not in the directions or in the video….I’m confused.

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      January 4, 2021 at 07:51

      It goes in with the beef – I have just updated the recipe to reflect that. Sorry for any confusion!

      Reply
  4. Iris says

    December 30, 2020 at 18:31

    When refrigerating the salad, do you eat the beef cold or do you have to heat it up?

    Reply
    • SUsan says

      January 11, 2021 at 10:58

      This sounds yummy do you have a suggestion for a sugar free big Mac dressing. No sugar at all so no artificial sugar either. Thanks

      Reply
      • Taylor Stinson says

        January 11, 2021 at 11:32

        Hi Susan – I’m afraid you would have to try sugar free ketchup and relish. I wish I had more helpful suggestions.

        Reply
  5. Veronica says

    November 8, 2020 at 15:30

    What size mason jar do you use for these salads? Thanks! 🙂

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      November 9, 2020 at 08:05

      Hi Veronica – I have the mason jars I use linked right above the recipe card under the Meal Prep Tools heading 🙂

      Reply
  6. MandiP says

    September 12, 2020 at 22:56

    5 stars
    Super easy and super delicious! Will make again!

    Reply
  7. Andrea Morse says

    August 20, 2020 at 08:05

    You’re recipe for “Big Mac” sauce is how I’ve been making Thousand Islad salad dressing for decades!

    Reply
  8. Tabitha says

    August 6, 2020 at 14:22

    I notice it says 15 grams of carbs. Is that for all 4 salads or per salad ?

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      August 10, 2020 at 08:04

      Hi Tabitha – all nutritional info is per salad.

      Reply
  9. Katelyn Elmore says

    July 12, 2020 at 12:08

    Is the nutrition for 1 jar or the 4??

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      July 13, 2020 at 08:21

      It’s for one jar 🙂

      Reply
  10. Linda says

    June 21, 2020 at 07:53

    Incredible!!!! I can’t believe how much this tastes like a Big Mac. This recipe has been moved from my “recipes to try” board to my “favourites” board. I will be checking out your other recipes for sure. Thank you so much.

    Reply
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Taylor Stinson

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I'm Taylor Stinson, a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto. Looking to switch up your weekly meal prep routine? I've got you covered with healthy recipes and meal planning resources. Join 1.5 million other monthly readers and dive in! MORE ABOUT ME..

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