This Big Mac Pizza is a healthier version of a typical Big Mac pizza, but it's still like eating a Mcdonald's Big Mac in pizza form. Made with a copycat special sauce, extra lean ground beef, lighter ingredients, 2 ingredient ww friendly dough, and fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles, this Big Mac Pizza will leave you begging for more. And the best part is no one will suspect it's good for you!
This recipe is popular all year round, ideal for pizza night and it makes a great Father's Day dinner or lunch. This was inspired by my other big mac recipe (Big Mac Salad) and pairs perfectly with my Weight Watchers Pizza with 2 ingredient Weight Watchers Pizza Dough on this site.
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🥘Ingredients
Most Big Mac Pizza recipes use Thousand Island dressing, but I use Catalina dressing for my secret sauce :). I remember hearing from someone that worked at McDonald's that it's more authentic and tastes closer to the real thing if you use the Catalina dressing.
You'll need the following simple ingredients for this Big Mac Pizza:
- Pizza dough (enough for a 14" pizza) * I use 2 ingredient WW pizza dough (see variations below)
- Pizza Sauce:
- 1 cup light (low-fat) mayonnaise * I use Hellman's ½ the fat mayonnaise
- ½ cup light Catalina dressing *I use Kraft or light French dressing can be substituted
- 4 tbsp sweet relish
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- Toppings
- 3 pickles, chopped *I use dill pickles
- 1 whole onion
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 3 cups low-fat sharp cheddar cheese
- Garnish:
- 1 ½ cups iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce chopped
- 2 whole tomatoes chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon sesame seeds
🔪Instructions
Just follow these simple steps:
Prep: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) and spray a 14-inch perforated pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Brown ground beef with ½ the onion, in a medium skillet, on the stovetop, over medium-high heat until cooked through.
Prepare your pizza dough (see variations and substitutions)
Combine pizza sauce ingredients in a small bowl (for homemade Big Mac sauce): Catalina salad dressing, mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, onion powder, salt and vinegar. Mix well.
Spread ¾ of the pizza sauce on pizza dough and set aside the remaining sauce for garnish.
Spread meat mixture evenly over pizza sauce.
Sprinkle on half the chopped pickles
Add the shredded cheddar cheese to the top of the pizza
Bake for 20-25 minutes in a hot oven, or until crust is lightly browned and pizza is cooked through. Optional : (if it's not yet browned enough for you) Turn oven to broil (500 degrees F/260 degrees C) and cook for 2 minutes or until pizza browns and is bubbly.
*You need to watch it very closely
Once out of oven, add shredded lettuce, the remaining uncooked onion, pickles, tomatoes, and sesame seeds
Garnish: Drizzle on remaining sauce or serve with additional sauce
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Lettuce - you can use romaine lettuce or leaf lettuce or iceberg lettuce
- Pizza crust - ww pizza crust is the least calories, fat and lowest ww points, but you could use another homemade pizza dough like my bread machine pizza dough or my 15 minute pizza dough. Alternatively, you could use a store-bought pizza dough or pre-baked pizza crust. *NOTE: if you use a pre-baked pizza shells, it will need a lot less time to cook (about 10 minutes)
- Ground beef - you could substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for the ground beef
- Relish - you can substitute pickle relish for sweet relish
- Cheese - you can use American cheese slices or mozzarella cheese instead of shredded cheddar cheese if you prefer
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes and/or jalapenos
🥗 Side Dishes
Serve Big Mac pizza with:
- Cucumber Kimchi (shown)
- Coleslaw
- Spinach salad
🍽Equipment
You will need a medium sized skillet, a 14-inch pizza pan and a cheese grater. I recommend using a perforated pizza pan but you could also use a pizza stone or large cast iron frying pan.
🌡️Storage
Store leftover cheeseburger pizza in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. If you are just storing it overnight, you can just cover it in plastic wrap.
If you are making it in advance, store the garnish (lettuce, tomatoes, pickles,, and onions in a separate container). The sesame seeds can be stored at room temperature.
This pizza can be made in advance and frozen for up to 2 months covered in Glad press n' seal (be sure to double it). When you want to serve it, defrost it, warm it, and then put the fresh toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, pickles,, and onions) on.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe makes 12 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust. You will need additional pizza pans if you double or triple.
🔢WW Points
This recipe tastes like a Big Mac hamburger but it's Weight Watchers friendly at 7 ww points per serving (1 piece), if you use the ww pizza dough and light ingredients. You can bring the points down even further if you use fat-free mayonnaise. You can use a cauliflower crust to bring down the points even further (message me for recipe, as I haven't had a chance to post it yet).
💭Top tip
The trick to keeping pizza dough crispy is to use a perforated pizza pan .
Another way to keep pizza crispy, is to bake it in a cast iron frying pan (affiliate links).
🦺Food safety
- Cook ground beef to an internal minimum temperature of 160 °F (71°C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- Never leave cooking food unattended
See more guidelines at USDA.gov
❔ Frequently Asked Questions
Most Big Mac Pizza recipes I have come across are about 400- 600 calories per slice. My lighter Healthier version of a Big Mac Pizza is 271 calories per slice.
So if you're looking to satisfy your Big Mac and pizza cravings in a healthy way, you’ll love this pizza! And don't be surprised if it becomes your family's favorite pizza. The best part is.. this is one guilty pleasure you don't have to feel guilty about.
📋 Healthy Big Mac Pizza Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 recipe for Pizza dough (enough for a 14" pizza) * I use 2 ingredient WW pizza dough
Pizza Sauce
- 1 cup light (low-fat) mayonnaise * I use Hellman's ½ the fat mayonnaise
- ½ cup light Catalina dressing *I use Kraft or light French dressing can be substituted
- 4 tablespoon sweet relish
- 4 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Toppings
- 3 pickles, chopped *I use dill pickles
- 1 whole onion
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 3 cups low-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Garnish:
- 1 ½ cups iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce chopped
- 2 whole tomatoes chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 14 inch pizza pan with non- stick cooking spray. .
- Brown ground beef with half the chopped onion, in a large skillet, on stovetop, over medium-high heat until cooked through.
- Prepare pizza dough
Pizza sauce:
- Combine Big Mac pizza sauce ingredients: Catalina salad dressing, mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, onion powder, salt and vinegar in a small bowl
- Spread ¾ of the pizza sauce on pizza dough and set aside the remaining sauce for garnish.
- Spread meat mixture evenly over pizza sauce.
- Add half the pickles to the ground beef
- Sprinkle on the cheddar cheese
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and cooked through. Optional : (if it's not yet browned enough for you) Turn oven to broil (500 degrees F) and cook for 2 minutes or until pizza browns and is bubbly. You need to watch it very closely
Garnish
- Once out of oven, add lettuce, the remaining raw onion and pickles, tomatoes, and sesame seeds. Drizzle on remaining sauce and/or reserve some to serve with pizza.
Terri Gilson
My teenage son called this "genius!"and said it was one of the best pizzas he's ever had. I didn't tell him it was WW friendly 🙂