
About
Fantastic Fast-Food Salad feels like we're finding a food loophole. Of course it's healthy; it's a salad! It has fresh lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and sharp red onions! Sure, it also has mini cheeseburger patties, which are succulent and beefy, but hey, salads can have meat on them, right? Right! And sure, the croutons are made from buttered hamburger buns, but salads need croutons, right? Right! And the bacon and Thousand Island dressing just help keep the theme going, right? Exactly. Fantastic Fast-Food Salad is definitely the sneakiest kind of salad... and probably the most delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 slices yellow American cheese
- 3 sesame seed hamburger buns, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 3 romaine lettuce hearts, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup jarred dill pickle slices, plus 1/4 cup pickle juice
- 1 (16-ounce) container cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Thousand Island dressing, to taste, for serving
Directions
Step 1 -Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 -Cut a 3-inch square of parchment paper and set it aside.
Step 3 -In a large bowl, add the ground chuck, the Worcestershire sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and the black pepper and stir to combine.
Step 4 -Roll the meat mixture into 12 equal-sized balls, about 2 ounces each.
Step 5 -In a large, cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil and heat until it is shimmering.
Step 6 -Add 4 of the meatballs to the hot oil, evenly spacing them apart.
Step 7 -Working with 1 of the meatballs at a time, place the prepared parchment paper square on the meatball, then press down firmly using the back of a spatula on the meatball until it is a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
Step 8 -Peel the parchment paper off the patty and repeat the smashing process with the remaining meatballs in the skillet.
Step 9 -Let the patties cook, undisturbed, until the bottoms are browned, about 2 minutes.
Step 10 -Flip the patties and cook until the reverse sides are browned and the patties reach an internal temperature of at least 135 degrees F for medium-rare doneness, about 2 minutes.
Step 11 -Transfer the browned patties to a rimmed baking sheet, spreading them out evenly.
Step 12 -Repeat the smashing and cooking process with the remaining meatballs.
Step 13 -Cut each slice of the cheese into 4 equal squares.
Step 14 -Top each of the browned patties with 1 of the squares of the cheese.
Step 15 -In a medium bowl, add the bun cubes and the melted butter and toss to coat.
Step 16 -On a separate rimmed baking sheet, add the butter-coated bun cubes, spreading them out evenly.
Step 17 -Bake the bread cubes until toasted, about 10 minutes.
Step 18 -In the last 5 minutes of the baking time, place the baking sheet with the patties in the oven and let them bake until the cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes.
Step 19 -In a large bowl, add the lettuce, the pickles, the tomatoes, and the red onions.
Step 20 -Drizzle the lettuce mixture with the pickle juice and sprinkle it with the remaining salt, tossing to coat.
Step 21 -Top the salad with the burger patties, the bun croutons, and the bacon crumbles.
Step 22 -Serve the salad with the Thousand Island dressing.

























