Name: Big Mac Salad Jars {Meal Prep, Low Carb}
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
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; 1/2 cup light mayo; 2 tbsp ketchup; 1 tbsp relish

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

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!

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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!

Meal Prep Low Carb Big Mac Salad Jars