Smoked Cheese Curd Burger Salad

Hearty Burger Salad Recipe

I love a salad as much as the next person. From this Southwest Chicken Cobb Salad to Sweet Potato Taco Bowls, a good dinner salad is my jam. This Smoked Cheese Curd Burger Salad is no exception.

It is loaded with a hearty homemade hamburger well seasoned and studded with cheese curds. Crispy shallots or onions, roasted pepper and a homemade Chipotle lime southwest dressing put it over the top.

The cheese curds hold up to the high temperature but melt down to a stringy cheese that takes on some of the smoke from your pellet grill.

I’m from the Midwest, so cheese curds are easily accessible here. If you can’t find them in the cheese aisle, any sharp cheese will make a good substitute.

• Southwest Chicken Cobb Salad
• Sweet Potato Taco Bowls
• Chipotle lime southwest dressing

Traeger Pellet Smoker

I have a Traeger grill I used to smoke my burgers, but they can be grilled up on whatever grill you have access to. Pellet grills are the simplest way to smoke, and I’m all about simple and easy!

I am by no means an expert smoker, so having a machine take the guess work out grilling is a win for me. It really is difficult to screw up with the grill maintaining an even temperature.

My friend Nicole on the other hand is a master and shares so many drool worthy Easy Traeger Grill Recipes that you should definitely check out.

Grilled Hamburger Salad

If you have a basic grill, you can absolutely grill up these hamburgers on charcoal, gas or whatever suits you. Just add a dash of some liquid smoke if you are wanting a nice smokey flavor. The Chipotle lime southwest dressing adds a great bit of smokey flavor as it is though.

One of the downfalls of a smoker is that the maximum temperature is a little limited. Some of them reach 500°, but mine maxes out at 450°. While high temperatures aren’t as optimal for infusing the smoke flavor into your cooking, they are great for getting a nice caramelized sear on meat.

This is one of the trade-offs of using a wood pellet grill. That and the high cost!

• Chipotle lime southwest dressing

Roasted Poblano Peppers

While your smoker is all fired up, we are going to add a pepper or two to the grill for more great flavor. I used a Poblano pepper, but bell peppers and jalapenos would work great as well, depending on your spice preference.

The pepper smokes while the burger is cooking. A couple minutes before your burgers are done, pull the pepper from the grill and add carefully remove the skin by rubbing it with a paper towel.

Chop it up and add it to the bed of mixed greens and crispy onions.

Poblanos add such great flavor to any recipe. From this Roasted Poblano Chorizo Egg Casserole to Roasted Poblano Sweet Corn Chicken Salad, they add a smokey and just slightly spicy kick to any dish.

• Roasted Poblano Chorizo Egg Casserole
• Roasted Poblano Sweet Corn Chicken Salad

Mixed greens burger salad

Speaking of mixed greens, I have been loving my lettuce I planted in my small garden this year. Those beautiful greens in this burger salad were grown from seed and couldn’t be prouder!

I do NOT have a green thumb, but I keep trying to plant some of my favorite vegetables. Garden home grown vegetables are always far superior to what we can get at the grocery store, so it is worth the effort.

This was the first year I planted lettuce and was shocked at how easy it was! I planted Grand Rapids lettuce in zone 7 and it took off early and continues to produce a nice sweet lettuce after I harvest it.

I will say that I also planted a patch of some heartier mixed greens and they were a total flop. I got one small 6 inch patch that actually came to fruition. I will definitely be sticking with the Grand rapids in the future!

If you are buying your lettuce at the grocery store, any mixed blend or baby spinach will work will with this Smoked Cheese Curd Burger Salad.

More hearty salad recipes

• Chicken BLT Salad with Citrus Tomatillo Dressing
• Pulled Pork Apple Salad
• Grilled Steak Strawberry Salad
• Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad

Serving: 1 g | Calories: 437 kcal | Carbohydrates: 10 g | Protein: 38 g | Fat: 27 g | Saturated Fat: 12 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 122 mg | Sodium: 572 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 4 g