This healthier cheeseburger salad uses my chipotle chili meal prep ground turkey and in season summer tomatoes. It’s under 450 calories and it really satisfies those random cheeseburger cravings in a way that won’t sidetrack your progress!
So this cheeseburger salad came to me on a whim one day when I was craving a very specific burger from Izzy’s Burger Spa in South Lake Tahoe, California. I live in Sacramento which is about two hours away from Izzy’s and I have to occasionally remind myself that it would be crazy to drive two hours just to eat a burger, but this place has the best burgers I have had in my life. It’s a place with good prices and no frill burgers. I have to stop talking about them now because suddenly 2 hours doesn’t seem so far!
Anywho, this salad really rests on the chipotle chili meal prep ground turkey recipe I posted last week. That smoky sweet turkey notches up the whole flavor profile of this salad.
Then we have the dressing. Ooh this dressing is perfection! I use full fat mayonnaise in it because, well, life is just too short to completely remove mayo from my life. To make sure the dressing can still fit into my diet I do add some fat free greek yogurt and sugar reduced ketchup (never had the sugar reduced kind? GET IT! It tastes the same but without all the extra calories and sugar!!! I use the Heinz brand). Then comes the acid in two forms: pickle relish and apple cider vinegar. I add a bit of salt and pepper at the end to taste and that’s it. It is creamy and tangy and just what this salad needs.
This recipe also uses this new “method” I’ve learned about. I have started using broth to cook veggies as a way to save my fat (aka the oil and butter you’d usually use) for other parts of my cooking. I add my veggies to a dry nonstick pan, cook them for a bit then add broth, cook them down until they’ve absorbed the broth then repeat the process until the veggies are perfectly cooked. This doesn’t make for crispy veggies but it does make for tender sautéed veggies.
For the lettuce I use salad greens. I usually stay away from packs that have too much arugula or spinach because I hate them and feel that they are way too aggressive. Too many spiky bits and long stems are annoying when I am trying to just enjoy a salad.
This salad is the perfect go between “I want to eat like a rabbit” and “I must have a cheeseburger NOW”. I often have a can of diet root beer next to this, and let me just say… it is perfection!!!
NOTE: These photos do not all match up because I took them at separate times (I eat this salad A LOT) so that’s why they look different.
Healthier Cheeseburger Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup onion and bell pepper mix
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 3 ounces Chipotle Chili Ground Turkey Meal Prep cooked (see notes for recipe link)
- 1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese
- 3-4 cups spring green salad mix
- 1 medium carrot peeled into ribbons
- 1-2 medium tomatoes sliced into wedges
- 1 pinch sesame seeds
- salt and pepper to taste
Healthier Cheeseburger Salad Dressing
- 1 tbs mayo regular
- 1 tbs greek yogurt nonfat
- 1 tbs ketchup reduced sugar
- 1 tbs relish
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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In a nonstick pan, add the onion and bell pepper mix. Let it cook for a minute or two on medium high heat then add a bit of broth and let it cook until the broth is completely absorbed. Repeat this until the broth is gone or when the veggies are soft and caramelized. Add the turkey and cheese and cook just until the whole thing is warmed and cheese is gooey and melted.
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While the veggies cook, mix up the salad dressing. In a small bowl add the salad ingredients and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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In a big bowl layer in the salad greens, carrot ribbons and tomato wedges. Salt and pepper the tomatoes. Add the turkey mix and top with sesame seeds. Drizzle on the dressing and eat while turkey is still warm!
Recipe Notes
Chipotle Chili Ground Turkey Meal Prep recipe can be found here.
I use this broth method to cook veggies when I want to sauté/caramelize them without using lots of oil or butter.
To peel a carrot into ribbons just choose a thick carrot, peel off the outer layer and throw that away. Then just hold the carrot firmly in one hand and peel the carrot until long thin layers come off. Repeat the process until the carrot cannot be peeled then just chop the rest into small pieces for the salad.
In season tomatoes really make this salad stand out so I recommend using the freshest ones you can get your hands on.
This dressing can either be made more acidic or creamy based on your preferences. To make it creamier you can decrease the acidic ingredients and vice versa.
