I wanted a burger, but not in a bun. I’m not really sure why, I guess I was just craving something different. And I really wanted a Big Mac (yep, I did). But I would never order one. It’s just too many calories. So I sort of created this bunless-burger-Big-Mac-thing to satisfy my cravings.
I love fillo dough and I wanted this to feel like an appetizer. So here you have it, Cheeseburger Fillo Squares with Copycat Big Mac Sauce. And the copycat sauce is a copy of the copycat recipe…had to do it my way…with my own ingredients. I think it’s better than the original. But you can decide for yourself.
At first I was a little worried about doing this recipe and baking lettuce in the oven, but it turned out great. It’s just one of those dishes you have to serve right away. You cannot let it sit and get cold etc. It’s just not the same.
The idea is to build up the fillo dough with cheese between the layers. The American cheese addition at the end makes it really taste like a Big Mac. Other fancy cheese did not have the same effect.
I used a squeeze bottle to drizzle on the Big Mac Sauce before cutting it into squares with a pizza cutter.
Cheeseburger Fillo Squares with Copycat Big Mac Sauce
Ingredients
- 7 sheets fillo dough, thawed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1-3/4 pound ground beef, (85/15 lean)
- 1 bag (16 oz) shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1-1/4 cups diced dill pickle
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 12 slices American cheese
Copycat Big Mac Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup hamburger relish (it's sweet-found next to the pickle relish)
- 1/4 cup Thousand Island dressing
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking tray (rimmed 11 x 17 works best) with parchment paper and spray paper with cooking-oil spray. Lay 1 sheet fillo on paper and brush lightly with a little melted butter. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Repeat layering 5 more times (with filo, butter and cheddar), pressing each sheet firmly so it sticks to sheet below. Lay the last fillo sheet on top and place American cheese slices on top of dough. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat, cook meat until just cooked. Remove from heat and stir in lettuce, pickle, onion and sesame seeds. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Stir mixture until lettuce wilts and then drain through a sieve.
- Place meat mixture on top of cheese and bake for 20 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- While squares are baking combine all ingredients for the copycat Big Mac Sauce and place in a squeeze bottle.
- Once fillo is done baking, drizzle with sauce and cut into squares with a pizza cutter. Serve immediately.
The perfect Super Bowl snack!
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