This Burger Salad with Dill Pickle Vinaigrette is the perfect easy dinner! Paleo, whole30 and keto friendly – it’s a yummy healthy meal everyone will enjoy! Better than a restaurant, this cheeseburger salad is delicious and quick to make! This post is sponsored by my friends at ButcherBox.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my policy and more about affiliate links.
Bacon Burger Salad with Dill Pickle Vinaigrette.. yea, let that sink in for a second.
This is not your average salad my friends. This is the queen of all salads. We’ve got the BEST burgers ever, piled high on top of a bed of romaine lettuce, with all the best toppings.
Tomatoes, pickles, avocado, red onion, and the most delicious crispy bacon.
Oh and then we drizzled dill pickle vinaigrette on top. Ya know, just for good measure. (This is definitely the BEST keto cheeseburger salad dressing)
I promise – you’re not even going to miss the bun one bit!
We’re pretty big burger people. They’re one of our favorite things to enjoy when out to eat, or for a quick dinner at home. But as you know, many burgers often get served on a big bun, with lots of greasy french fries, and they aren’t exactly the healthiest meal option.
If you’re looking for other grilling recipes – check out these 25 Healthy Grilling Recipes!
You know I’m always on the hunt for ways to make a healthy twist on a classic meal – and that’s exactly what this Burger Salad is! Here’s why it’s better for you than a regular burger.
What makes this burger salad healthy:
Good quality meat. Good quality meat is without a doubt the foundation of any great meal, especially a burger. When you’re making a burger you don’t just want random mystery meat from a store, you want the best grass fed, grass finished beef. We love getting meat from ButcherBox – everything is humanely raised, has no added antibiotics and just tastes delicious!
Low carb/gluten free – If you’re following a keto diet, or need to skip the gluten – this salad is for you.. and I swear you won’t need a bun to make it feel like you’re eating something delicious!
Whole30/Paleo – This burger salad is also paleo/whole30 – so those of you following this diet won’t feel left out at summer cookouts!
All the veggies – We’ve got a big bed of romaine lettuce, tomatoes + onions here to make sure you get in all the veggies ya need!
Ok..so now that we’ve gotten that cleared up, let’s talk about how to make this yummy salad!
Ingredients for the best burger salad:
You’ll need ground beef, bacon, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, onions, pickles, avocado and a few other pantry staples to make this burger salad! These Healthy Caramelized Onions would also make a great addition, along with any other toppings you like (mustard, ketchup, pickles, you choose!)
Best ground beef for burgers:
We LOVE ButcherBox’s Ground Beef. It’s an 85/15 mix, which gives the burgers just the right amount of fat to lock in flavor while still being lean and tasty.
(PS – Their ground beef isn’t just for burgers! We use it in our favorite taco cauliflower rice bowls, our Whole30 Stuffed Peppers, and even in these Meatballs!)
Their bacon is also the best – it’s from heritage breed pigs, and has no added junk. It’s completely free of sugar, nitrates and is Whole30. Plus it’s so delicious!
If you want to learn more about the subscription, check out the post I wrote Butcher Box Review: Is Butcher Box Worth it? – it gives you ALL the details!
How to make a Burger Salad:
There’s really no wrong way to make a burger salad, but we have a few tips to make the most flavorful salad!
- Season/Prep your burgers. We’re going to give you all the details on how to do this in a second, but that’s the first step.
- Heat your grill/cook ’em up! Once your grill is heated, cook these babies up. Scroll down for a guide on how to best cook a burger
- Prep your bacon – While your burgers are cooking, cook your bacon. You could grill your bacon if you’d like, but I recommend following this method for crispy bacon.
- Assemble your salad- We put tomatoes, pickles, onions, the best bacon and avocado on ours – but go ahead and load it up with your fav toppings!
- WW Freestyle Note: Save 5SP per serving by skipping the dressing
How to form a burger patties:
- Roll ground beef into a ball. Make sure not to over-pack or press the meat. This will make the burger tougher.
- Gently press the burger into a patty.
- Using your thumb, press an indentation into the center of the burger. This helps the burger cook evenly.
How to season a Burger:
You can simply season your burgers with salt and pepper, but we like to take it a step further and include onion/garlic powder. We sprinkle the patties on both sides with seasoning for maximum flavor!
When forming your burgers, we gently press the meat into 5-6 oz patties. We then make a small divot in the patty (this helps the burger when it rises as it cooks. It will give you an evenly flat top vs a domed shape burger!)
How to cook a burger:
- Grill it – Grilling burgers is definitely our preferred way to cook them. We set our grill to about 375 and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes on each side. (For more medium burgers go with about 6 mins on each side)
- The best way to check if your burger is done is to check internal temp. You’re going to want around 145 degrees for medium-rare burgers, and 160 degrees for medium. *Don’t* cut into your burger to check if it’s done- you’ll lose all the juices and it won’t be as yummy!
- Stovetop – A cast iron skillet will be best for cooking burgers on the stove top. Get your skillet nice and hot with about 1/2 tbsp avocado oil in it. Follow directions above.
Other yummy low carb recipes:
- Healthy Buffalo Turkey Meatballs
- Coffee BBQ Pork Chops
- Chili Chicken Meatballs
- Whole30 Stuffed Peppers
- Taco Cauliflower Rice Bowls
- Easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
Burger Salad with Dill Pickle Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Burgers:
- 1 lb ButcherBox ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salad/Toppings:
- 8 cups romaine lettuce chopped
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup ButcherBox Bacon chopped
- 1/4 cup pickles chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion chopped
- 1/4 cup avocado cubed
Dill Pickle Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup pickle juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat grill to 375 (medium-high)
- Form ground beef in patties. Roll into balls, gently shape into patties, and press the center of the burger with your thumb to create an indent.
- Place burgers on the grill + cook for 6 minutes. Flip + cook for an additional 6-8 minutes. Check the temperature - you're going to want around 145 degrees for medium-rare burgers, and 160 degrees for medium.
- While burgers are cooking, cook bacon. Follow this Crispy Bacon tutorial or cook the bacon on the grill.
- Chop vegetables + assemble salad.
- Once salads are assembled, whisk together vinaigrette. Top salads with cooked burgers/bacon and enjoy!
