Bacon and BBQ Burger Salad

When my husband and I first started dating, we would meet up at our favorite local burger joint every Sunday evening. You see every Sunday night during the summer was half price burger night outside on the deck of the restaurant.

We were both young and poor and this was a fun, inexpensive date for us (our bill never went over $10!). We’d soak up the summertime sun, eat our burgers and talk about whatever two people young in love talk about.

This burger joint had the best burgers ever. They were so creative with what they could do with a simple hamburger and we decided that over the summer, we would try every single burger that this place offered.

We came to a hands down conclusion that the “western burger” was our favorite. It had a sweet sticky sauce coating the burger, making it extra messy. Which was awesome (not) because I would get in the car and see I still had it all over my face (thanks, Zach). The sticky coated burger was piled high with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, bacon, pickles, cheese and that sticky sauce would be dripping everywhere. It was the bomb and we loved it.

Bacon and BBQ Burger Salad

When we removed grains from our diet, I came up with this salad to replicate the tastes and flavors of our favorite burger. It quickly became a favorite and a heavily requested meal. This recipe is that western burger in salad form and I can’t even begin to tell you how good it is. The “sticky sauce” that coats the beef is more than enough for a dressing so no extra dressing is necessary. Trust me on that – I’m the one who always asks for extra salad dressing, so if I say you don’t need dressing, you really don’t need dressing. 

I hope you love it as much as we do! And I’d love for you to comment below and tell me about your favorite burger so I can try it in salad form  

Bacon and BBQ Burger Salad Recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

 1 ½ lbs ground beef

1-2 heads of romaine lettuce, torn into pieces

1 slice of bacon per serving, cooked and crumbled (if you are serving 4, you’d need 4 bacon slices)

1 medium red onion, sliced thin

1 avocado, diced

1 pint of cherry tomatoes or 3 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 dill pickle spear per serving, diced (if you are serving 4, you’d need 4 dill pickle halves), diced

½ heaping cup BBQ sauce*

1 ½ T yellow mustard

1 ½ T dijon mustard or spicy mustard

Optional ingredients: grated cheddar cheese if you tolerate dairy

 *This is by far our favorite BBQ sauce to use, but you can use any BBQ sauce you wish.

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet over medium high heat, brown your ground beef. If there is a lot of excess fat, drain most of it off. Remove the skillet from the heat and add in the BBQ sauce and mustards. Mix well, coating all the beef. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Divide the lettuce onto each plate or salad bowl. Pile on the ground beef on each plate/bowl. If you are using cheese, add it now so it will slightly melt. Next add your bacon, chopped tomatoes, pickles, avocados and onion. Serve immediately and enjoy!