Cheeseburger Salad
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Published Jun 18, 2021, Updated Jul 21, 2023
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Enjoy all the flavor of a delicious burger, but make it low carb with a cheeseburger salad that’s loaded with veggies and topped with a honey mustard dressing.
Before you judge this recipe by it’s name and think that a “cheeseburger salad” sounds less than appetizing… let me break it down!
I love enjoying a cheeseburger, but I don’t love feeling heavy and bloated after indulging. This salad is a lighter way to enjoy a cheeseburger! It’s basically a deconstructed burger without a bun… Just think of it that way if a cheeseburger salad sounds too weird to you. 😜
If you’re a vegetarian or vegan and craving a burger salad, I have an option for you too! I shared this vegan “cheeseburger” salad made with lentil walnut “burger” meat and it is so delicious! It’s topped with a special sauce that tastes similar to the Big Mac sauce from McDonald’s and it’s SO dang good!
Here’s What You Need:
- ground turkey – you’ll brown this with a few seasonings and spices for ultimate flavor! You can use ground beef if you prefer!
- romaine lettuce – the base of this salad. Feel free to mix in other greens as well!
- red onion – add a little zest with sliced red onions.
- cherry tomatoes – any type of tomato will work!
- pickles – add dill pickle slices or a chopped pickle to the salad! You can also use bread and butter pickles or homemade pickles if you’re lucky enough to have some.
- cheddar cheese – gotta have cheese on the cheeseburger! Omit if you need this to be dairy-free.
- avocado – add healthy fats and a delicious creaminess.
- honey mustard dressing – I love this sweet and savory dressing on this salad! Use my homemade recipe or store-bought. I really like the Primal Kitchen honey mustard dressing! I’m also sharing some other dressing options below.
Another delicious topping idea… roasted sweet potato croutons!
Cheeseburger Meat
The delicious cheeseburger meat is what makes this salad so tasty and we’re using ground turkey to keep things on the lighter side! The turkey is cooked up with a mixture of red onion, garlic powder, onion powder, ketchup and Worchestire sauce.
Other Salad Dressings That Would Pair Well
We usually serve this salad with honey mustard dressing, but there are quite a few salad dressings that will work well. It just depends on what you’re in the mood for:
- Chick-fil-a Sauce – This is delicious with chicken nuggets obviously, but it pairs so well with this salad as well!
- Thousand Island – There’s a joke that “special sauce” is just thousand island. Trust me and give this dressing a try! Make your own or look for Primal Kitchen’s thousand island dressing at the store.
- Vegan Special Sauce – This cashew based dressing is what’s used on the vegan cheeseburger salad, but it would work great on the meat version too! It’s so creamy and tasty. Bonus points for being dairy-free.
tip! Prep the meat and dressing ahead of time for super quick assembly when you're ready to eat!
More Burger Recipes to Try
- Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers
- My Favorite Black Bean Burgers
- Teriyaki Salmon Burgers with Sriracha Mayo
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Burgers
- The Best Tempeh Veggie Burger
Popular Salad Recipes
- Healthy Taco Salad
- Blackened Chicken Cobb Salad
- Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad
- Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- Pear Salad with Walnuts, Avocado and Grilled Chicken
- Superfood Salmon Salad
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
- Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad
Cheeseburger Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Worchestire sauce
Salad
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce, about 2 romaine hearts
- ½ cup sliced red onion
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup sliced, or chopped dill pickles
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado
- honey mustard dressing
Instructions
- Prep honey mustard dressing: Make dressing by blending all of the ingredients together.
- Cook turkey: Place the ground turkey into a skillet over medium heat and cook meat for about 12 minutes, breaking the turkey with a spatula apart as it cooks. Once the meat is browned and fully cooked, stir in 1/4 cup diced red onion, ketchup, Worchestire sauce, garlic powder and onion powder. Toss to combine and remove from heat.
- Make salads: Prep salads by adding a bed of romaine to each bowl. Top each salad with toppings: seasoned turkey meat, red onion, tomatoes, pickles, shredded cheese and avocado slices. Drizzle on dressing and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
That’s a great idea. All the flavors without the gluten.
Thanks, Stu! Let me know if you try it!
Wow!!! Super delicious! I didn’t even miss having a bun!
Woo! So glad you enjoyed this cheeseburger salad! Thanks so much for the review, Stephanie. It means the world to me!
Tried the cheeseburger salad but used Beyond Meat instead of turkey & it is So Good.My Hubby and I loved it! Definitely Recommend! Thank you for this recipe.
Yay! So glad you loved this salad, Shirley. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
I just randomly happened upon this recipe over the weekend and knew I had to make it. Something about it screamed “you know I’m gonna be awesome.” And it WAS AWESOME. Like I had enough for one more salad and even though I just had it for lunch, I think I’m gonna eat it for dinner too. Thank you!
Woo!! This makes me so happy to hear, Caitlyn. So thrilled this salad was a hit. Thanks for the review and star rating. It means so much to me!
I made this with beef instead of turkey just because I like it better! This recipe is DELICIOUS. The best part about it is it tastes just as good for leftovers!
Woo!! So pumped to hear this recipe was a success, Kathryn. Thanks for the review!!
Oh my I just made this for dinner! It was so good. Thanks for the recipe. I did use that magnifasauce from Trader Joe’s.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kaypee!