Cheeseburger Salad Is The Delicious Way To Use Up Leftover Burgers

Having leftover cooked burgers at your barbecue is a common occurrence. After all, how many times do you ask the younger eaters if they want one, they say yes, and then they decide that the chips and bowl of watermelon look far more appetizing? This can leave you with leftover ground beef that you can't necessarily repurpose for making meatballs or the like because it's already cooked. You'll have to get a little creative to find a way to save these perfectly good patties from the trash can. 

The best way to use up uneaten burgers and get another flavorful meal out of your leftovers is to use them for a cheeseburger salad. You'll want to repurpose the cooked patty itself, along with your favorite burger toppings. When it comes time to assemble, chop and sprinkle your cooked burgers on top of a bed of lettuce and stack your toppings on top. The classic accompaniments include chopped tomatoes and red onions, and you can even whip up your own special burger sauce to drizzle on top as a dressing. 

While everyone can appreciate burger toppings like tomatoes, onions, and cheese, the litany of different burgers out there opens up tons of opportunities to experiment with different and unconventional toppings in your salad. For example, try a blue cheese-stuffed burger with fig and pear; you can add the fruits directly to the salad and repurpose the blue cheese filling for the dressing. Or try a sweet and spicy bacon burger recipe, which you can serve with the maple mustard dressing, extra bacon, and caramelized onions. 

Regardless of your ingredients, you'll want to have a solid balance of savory, salty, and refreshing — which is where we look to pickles or pickled red onions. These toppings will add an acidic pop to your bowl and make it a little less heavy, especially when you have a massive, greasy patty and bacon involved. You can even make use of your leftover hamburger buns for this recipe. Cube them into small pieces and toss them in your oven to whip up some convenient croutons for your salad.