Cheeseburger and Fries salad with homemade ranch dressing

A couple of weeks ago my husband text’d me while I was out running errands and asked me to grab some frozen fries. We eat those sometimes, so I didn’t think anything of it. But when I got home and he described a cheeseburger and fries salad he wanted to make, I was mind-blown! YUM!!

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I’d never heard of such a thing and neither had he. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but still. I asked him how he thought of this idea, he shrugged and said “I don’t know! Just sounded good!”

Who does that?!

Food Bloggers I guess. haha!!

After tasting this DELICIOUS Cheeseburger and Fries Salad I knew I had to get it posted on the blog!

Anyway we threw the fries in the oven (we always bake our fries to avoid excess grease), and grabbed the salad bowls from the cupboard. We knew the kiddos would love this recipe too.

Cheeseburger and Fries Salad

This recipe is SUPER simple. I like keeping things that way. You could easily compile a salad recipe with countless ingredients and layers and flavors. But here at Jennifer Wagner Studios (not a thing) we like to keep our meals suuuuuppppeeerrrrr simple.

The thing about this cheeseburger and fries salad is that you can switch things up and make it your own based on your preferences.

So let’s break down each aspect of this super simple salad so you can build your own. In the recipe at the bottom of this post, I’ll use only the ingredients you see in the photos.

Choose Your Greenery

First thing in the bowl is greens. I’m a huge fan of spinach (try my delicious green smoothie!) so that’s what I went with. Phil likes hearts of romaine or even iceberg lettuce, so he chopped up a bunch of that. He also chopped up some tomatoes and onions. I also throw in some shredded cabbage for texture!

Choose Your Cheesery

I personally enjoy cheddar cheese on this salad, but what I would encourage you to do is to close your eyes and daydream about your favorite cheeseburger. Let’s say you’re at your favorite burger place, what kind of cheese do you order on your burger? Can you replicate that? For example, you could grab a creamier cheese like gouda or even American if you wanted, and either slice it into small pieces or shred it! Maybe you like Swiss or provolone.

Shredding it and putting it on your salad is a great option (and that’s what we do when we make this salad) but you could also throw your cheese into the pan with the ground beef after it’s fully cooked, and melt it in.

Brown Your Beef

Yep. Just brown your beef in a skillet with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Or mix in your favorite burger seasoning.

Choose Your Dressing

I don’t mean to brag, but I make THE BEST homemade ranch dressing!! I’m not one to have much faith in my cooking abilities but everyone who has ever tasted this at my house has ranted, raved, and asked for the recipe. It’s super simple (you know how we do), and absolutely delicious.

I’ve got the vegan version of the recipe here on the blog, but simply substitute the mayo for any mayo of your choice, and swap the vegan yogurt for plain greek yogurt if you don’t want to keep it vegan. IT WILL BE DELICIOUS EITHER WAY! Keep all the measurements and everything else about the recipe the same! I will someday remember to blog the not-vegan recipe, but #momlife and #busy and #forgetful so who knows! 😉

I love ranch dressing. But if you want to switch it up, you could use thousand island; that’s what my sweet hubby uses and he loves it. You can buy it from the store or try this recipe.

Choose Your Fries

The first time we ate this salad (yes we’ve had it three times in two weeks, judge not) we used restaurant style frozen fries. Tonight when I made it I used crinkle cut (as you can see) because that’s what I had in the freezer. You can use any kind you like! I find that the restaurant style fries are easier to eat since you top the salad with the fries and eat the whole thing with a fork.

Cheeseburger and Fries Salad

This recipe is so absolutely delicious. It’s healthy, light, and very easy to throw together. Get creative and enjoy! Come find me on Instagram and tell me what you thought!