WW Recipe of the Day: Skinny Cheeseburger Salad
Want a tasty healthy low calorie spin on everyone's favorite cheeseburger? Here it is. All the flavors of a cheeseburger in a salad.
This Weight Watchers Friendly Cheeseburger Salad is adapted from this Pampered Chef recipe that I discovered back when I spent a short time as a Pampered Chef Consultant.
It always gets rave reviews and is such a light and healthy alternative to your standard cheeseburger the entire family will love.
I love how it manages to be lighter, yet still hearty and satisfying!
Mom thought this salad tasted "just like a cheeseburger." Many of her friends commented that they liked it better than taco salad.
I think it's a great summer alternative to firing up the grill that will satisfy the whole family, young and old alike. And it's a tasty way for cheeseburger fans to get more vegetables too.
When you eat this salad instead of a cheeseburger you won't even miss the french fries!
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Salad?
This salad is pretty Weight Watchers friendly.
With just 250 calories and:
6 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
This a much better choice than your typical fast food cheeseburger.
Cheeseburger Salad Recipe Variations:
- Use reduced-fat cheese instead of full fat
- Use whole grain light hamburger buns
- To make lower carb skip the buns altogether
- Vegetarian: Substitute veggie crumbles, tempeh, or cooked lentils for the ground beef
- Ingredient Amounts for One Serving: 2 tablespoons onion, ½ plum tomato, 3 ounces extra lean ground beef, 1-½ tablespoons pickles, 2 tablespoon ketchup, ½ teaspoon mustard, 2 cups romaine, 2-½ tablespoons cheese. (Since this is a salad the amounts don't need to be exact.)
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More Weight Watchers friendly recipes for burger lovers: Weight Watchers Southwestern Beef Salad with Chile Lime Dressing, Healthy Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew, Mom's Hamburger Goulash, Easy Baked Ziti, Easy Skinny Southwestern Skillet
If you've made this Protein-Packed Cheeseburger Salad, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Weight Watchers Friendly Cheeseburger Salad
Ingredients
- 2 light hamburger buns
- 1 small red onion (about ¾ cup total)
- 2 plum tomatoes
- ¾ pound extra-lean ground beef
- ½ cup sliced dill pickles
- ¾ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 12 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 cup shredded reduced fat cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Slice bun tops and bottoms into ¼-in. (6-mm) strips. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet (affiliate link) and bake 8—10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove to a cooling rack (affiliate link); cool completely.
- Cut onion in half crosswise. Slice half of the onion crosswise into thin rings using a sharp knife or mandolin. Cut tomatoes lengthwise into quarters and slice crosswise. Set onion and tomatoes aside.
- Put beef in saute pan over medium-high heat and cook 5—7 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining half onion. Finely dice pickles. In a large bowl, combine chopped onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard. Add cooked beef and mix well.
- To serve, arrange lettuce on large serving platter. Spoon beef mixture over lettuce. Top with cheese, tomatoes and sliced onion. Arrange hamburger bun croutons around edge of platter.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- use reduced-fat cheese instead of full fat
- use whole grain light hamburger buns
- To make lower carb skip the buns altogether
- Vegetarian: Substitute veggie crumbles, tempeh, or cooked lentils for the ground beef
- Ingredient Amounts for One Serving: 2 tablespoons onion, ½ plum tomato, 3 ounces extra lean ground beef, 1-½ tablespoons pickles, 2 tablespoon ketchup, ½ teaspoon mustard, 2 cups romaine, 2-½ tablespoons cheese. (Since this is a salad the amounts don't need to be exact.)
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More WW Friendly Great Burger Salad Recipes you might like:
- Skinny Cheeseburger Salad (SkinnyKitchen)
- Naked Greek Feta Salad Turkey Burgers (SkinnyTaste)
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers (DrizzleMeSkinny)
- Low-Carb Burger Kebabs (HungryGirl)
Here's another light and healthy variation of a Big Mac Cheeseburger Salad from Delish...
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Debbie
I have been making something similar all summer but use store bought patties. My husband grills up extra and they slice into small squares easily when they are cold, i make a dressing out of fixings (ketchup, mustard, dill relish and a squeeze of light mayo) and add a but of cold water to get it to the right consistancey and skip the bun altogether and top with the dressing and some shredded cheese- don;t even miss the traditional burger this was!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Debbie! Thanks for taking the time to share your version of this salad which sounds even easier! What a perfect way to use leftover grilled burgers 🙂
Karen Bauer
I found sugar-free relish at Hyvee which cut down on the points. Regular relish has lots of sugar in it. I went looking for it for my tuna salad , but will enjoy it in my CB salad too!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Karen, Thanks for the suggestion. Another alternative is to substitute dill pickle relish, a low sugar choice, instead of sweet pickle relish! - Martha
jenelle ochsner
That sounds amazing....I don't miss the bread that much either.
nancy@skinnykitchen.com
Love this post Martha. Thank you so much for including my Skinny Cheeseburger Salad. It's one of my favorites. I can't wait to try your version. Looks fantastic! Pinned and yummed.
Wishing you all the very best,
Nancy