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Big Mac Pasta Salad

Big Mac pasta salad with tender elbow macaroni, browned seasoned ground beef, crunchy iceberg lettuce, diced dill pickles, and a creamy copycat Big Mac sauce. Tossed cold and chilled for a crowd-pleasing burger-pasta salad texture in every bite.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 720
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Big Mac pasta salad components
  • 1 lb elbow macaroni
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 tbsp burger seasoning
  • 2 cup iceberg lettuce
  • 2 cup cheddar cheese
  • 0.5 cup dill pickles
  • 0.5 cup red onion
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 0.25 cup ketchup
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp pickle juice
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 sesame seeds for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook pasta
  1. Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions until tender, then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Let it drain well so the salad doesn’t get watery.
Brown the beef
  1. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and brown ground beef with burger seasoning until fully cooked. Drain excess grease and cool the beef so it won’t melt the cheese or loosen the sauce.
Make Big Mac sauce
  1. In a bowl, whisk mayonnaise, ketchup, yellow mustard, pickle juice, and sugar until smooth. This is the creamy Big Mac-style sauce base for coating the pasta salad.
Assemble the salad
  1. In a large bowl, combine pasta, ground beef, iceberg lettuce, cheddar cheese, dill pickles, and red onion. Toss lightly to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Coat and chill
  1. Pour Big Mac sauce over the salad and toss until everything is coated. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up flavors and help the pasta stay saucy.
  2. Right before serving, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve cold. Keep leftovers covered in the fridge.

Notes

Pro tip: cool the cooked beef completely before mixing—warm beef can make the sauce runny and soften the lettuce. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; the texture is best within 2 days. Freezing isn’t recommended because the lettuce and mayonnaise-based sauce can break. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat mayonnaise and cheddar.