Skip The Bun Crunchy Cheeseburger Salad

Overview

Get ready for all the satisfaction of a cheeseburger with the crisp freshness of a salad! This 20-minute bowl of all your favorite loaded burger ingredients—tomato, pickle, lettuce, cheese, and savory seasoned ground beef, plus a classic special sauce in place of dressing—will convince you to skip the bun (and skip the drive-through!).

This meal is inspired by HelloFresh, which we originally used to make this in the past.

• Serves: 6
• Prep Time: ~5 minutes
• Cook Time: ~15 minutes

Estimated Calories & Sources

Ingredient	Quantity	Calories	Source
Organic Ground Beef (85/15)	30 oz	2,295 kcal	FatSecret
Mayonnaise	6 tbsp (~3 oz)	600 kcal	FatSecret
Ketchup	2 tbsp (~1 oz)	40 kcal	Nutritionix
Dijon Mustard	6 tsp (~2 tbsp)	~30 kcal	FatSecret
Monterey Jack Cheese	¾ cup (~3 oz)	320 kcal	FatSecret
Roma Tomatoes	3 medium (~11 oz)	60 kcal	FatSecret
Baby Lettuce	3 stalks (~9 oz)	45 kcal	FatSecret
Sliced Dill Pickles	8 oz	80 kcal	Nutritionix
Beef Stock Concentrate	1 packet (~1 tbsp)	~15 kcal	Estimated (varies by brand)
Fry Seasoning	1 tbsp	~20 kcal	Estimated (varies slightly by brand)
Olive Oil (for cooking)	1 tbsp	119 kcal	FatSecret
Salt & Pepper	To taste	0 kcal	—
Total (for 6 servings)		3,624 kcal
Per Serving		~604 kcal

Ingredients

Produce

• 3 stalks baby lettuce
• 8 oz sliced dill pickles
• 3 Roma tomatoes

Pantry

• 1 tbsp fry seasoning
• 5.5 oz beef stock (or 1 concentrate)
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 6 tsp Dijon mustard
• Cooking oil / olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Dairy

• 6 tbsp mayonnaise
• ¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese

Protein

• 30 oz organic ground beef (85% lean, 15% fat)

Instructions

1. Prep the Produce:

   • Wash and dry produce.
   • Trim and discard root end from lettuce; roughly chop.
   • Reserve ½ tsp pickle brine (1 tsp for 4 servings) in a small bowl; drain remaining brine and roughly chop pickles.
   • Dice tomatoes.
   • Stir ½ tsp fry seasoning and ¼ tsp sugar into the reserved pickle brine (1 tsp fry seasoning and ½ tsp sugar for 4 servings).

2. Cook the Beef:

   • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
   • Add beef, remaining fry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned, 3–5 minutes.
   • If there’s excess grease, carefully pour it out.
   • Stir in stock concentrate and ¼ cup water (⅓ cup for 4 servings). Cook until liquid is absorbed and beef is cooked through, 2–3 minutes.
   • Transfer to a plate.

3. Make the Special Sauce:

   • To the bowl with pickle brine mixture, add mayonnaise, ketchup, and half the Dijon mustard (all for 4 servings).
   • Stir until well combined.
   • Add water, 1 tsp at a time, until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.

4. Assemble the Salad:

   • In a large bowl, toss lettuce with half the dressing and half the tomatoes.
   • Divide salad between bowls. Top with beef, Monterey Jack, pickles, and remaining tomatoes.
   • Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.

💡 Notes

• Add an extra spoon of mayo or ketchup for a creamier dressing.
• Swap Monterey Jack for cheddar, Colby Jack, or your favorite melty cheese.
• This salad makes a great meal-prep option—store the dressing separately and toss when ready to eat.