Sometimes feeding people is a pain.
Other times, though, filling bellies with good and wholesome food is my love language. It just depends on the day.
I also find that meals can be harder to get creative with in the middle of winter. When there’s an abundance of garden produce in the summer, I’m so much more interested in crafting tasty and healthy meals. Having fresh food around is just naturally inspiring.
While it’s harder to find fresh food during this time of year, one thing that can actually be easier to find in the middle of winter is fresh greens (including things like: romaine, spinach, various lettuces, kale, tatsoi, arugula, etc). We’ve been dabbling with growing longer into the fall and winter (and also earlier in the spring) with our greenhouse and the easiest thing to grow in there in the colder months are lots of types of greens. Plus, local farms (here’s how to find local food sources) grow many varieties of greens in their greenhouse setups during the winter as well, so even when my non-heated greenhouse can’t be used, we’re still able to source local greens from the area during the winter.
Folks tend to gravitate towards salads in the summer as a light meal option, but this cheeseburger salad is a hearty and filling salad that will leave your family asking for it over and over again. Even in the winter.
Looking to grow fresh food on your counter?
I don’t know about you, but my craving for growing things can get pretty intense when there’s three feet of snow blowing around.
I know, I know, there’s plenty of gardening season throughout the rest of the year.
But if you’re wanting to add a little pop of freshly-grown food to almost any dish in the middle of winter (yes, even if there’s 3 feet of snow on the ground!), sprouting is a great option. Learn more about growing sprouts here, and check out my favorite on the counter sprouting system here.
With growing your own sprouts, you can satisfy your need to grow things while also serving up a nutritious boost. That’s a win/win.
Sprouts are great not only on salads, but also added to stir fries, in wraps or sandwiches, served on top of soups in leu of crackers, blended into smoothies, added to coleslaw, or even on their own for a healthy and crunchy snack.
Growing sprouts is basically gardening that anyone can do and it can be done anywhere. Pretty cool, huh?
Fresh sprouts are one of my favorite toppings to throw on this cheeseburger salad for a pop of color, flavor, and nutrition.
Looking for a Healthy, Easy, and Versatile Meal for Lunch or Supper?
Look no farther.
This Cheeseburger Salad recipe is totally a throw-in-what-you-have, use-what-you’ve-got recipe. It’s great on weekends, weeknights, and is also a great option to feed a crowd.
It was also born out of compromise–Christian wanted cheeseburgers for dinner one night, and I wanted a salad. Boom. Compromise.
By the way, I often use dehydrated tomato powder to mix up a quick paste instead of opening a can. Here’s how I make dehydrated tomato powder and make it into a tomato paste. It’s super easy.
Homemade Cheeseburger Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 cups shredded lettuce (or a variety of salad greens you have available)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup sliced or diced pickles
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- Fresh sprouts, if desired
- 1 batch of cheeseburger sauce
For the Cheeseburger Sauce:
- ½ cup mayo
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. pepper
Instructions:
In a skillet, brown the ground beef with the minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
In a bowl, mix together the cheeseburger sauce ingredients.
Prep the salad greens and toppings.
Serve with salad greens and toppings and a generous serving of cheeseburger sauce.
Notes:
Level up the cheeseburger sauce by making your own 5-minute mayo.
I often use dehydrated tomato powder to make a quick tomato paste instead of opening a can.
Cheeseburger Salad

This Cheeseburger salad is delicious and easy to make as well as very versatile depending on what you have in your kitchen at the time.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 cup shredded lettuce (or other salad greens)
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 cup sliced or diced pickles
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- Fresh sprouts, if desired
- 1 batch of cheeseburger sauce
For the cheeseburger sauce:
- ½ cup mayo
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. pepper
Instructions
In a skillet, brown the beef with the minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
In a bowl, mix together the cheeseburger sauce ingredients.
Prepare your salad greens and toppings.
Serve with salad greens, toppings and a generous serving of cheeseburger sauce.
Notes
Level up the cheeseburger sauce by making your own 5-minute mayo.
I often use dehydrated tomato powder to make a quick tomato paste instead of opening a can.
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More Beef Recipes:
- Homemade Corned Beef (without the nitrates)
- Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
- Homemade Beef Stock
- Slow Cooker Beef Roast with Sweet & Salty Sauce
- French Dip Sandwiches
This was so good! My family of 10 children all loved it. I especially loved the cheeseburger sauce. I tend to stay away from things named “cheeseburger” because I think of processed cheeseburger flavored pasta-roni or something. But coming from your site I knew it would be made with real food. I am so happy to find this tasty sauce. I’ll be using it again and again! Thank you!
Yay! We are so glad you enjoyed Jill’s recipe! 🙂