Burger Bowl Recipe

If you find yourself craving all the flavors of a juicy burger without the bun, this Burger Bowl recipe will be your new best friend. It’s a quick, customizable, and low-carb meal packed with seasoned ground beef crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, pickles, onions, cheese, and a drizzle of special sauce. It’s like eating your favorite cheeseburger with a fork! Perfect for meal prep, weeknight dinners, or when you just want something satisfying and simple.

Ingredients to Make Burger Bowl Recipe

If you’re someone who likes to keep ingredients prepped for quick, easy meals, this recipe is just the ticket. I usually cook the ground beef crumbled for convenience, but you can just as easily use a burger patty topped with melted American cheese for a more classic feel. If you’d like to add fries, pop them onto a baking sheet and into the oven to roast while you prep the rest of the meal. Ingredients you’ll need to gather to make homemade Burger Bowls: (Scroll down for the full printable recipe card.)

Bacon – Bacon adds a smoky flavor to the beef.
Beef – I highly recommend using a high quality lean ground beef.
Onion – Diced onion adds flavor and moisture to the beef mixture. I used Vidalia.
Seasoning – Steak seasoning or hamburger seasoning amps up the flavor of the beef.
Condiments – Ketchup (sugar free ketchup works!), yellow mustard and worcestershire sauce adds depth of flavor.
Salad – 8-10 cups green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce sliced into 1-inch strips.
Tomatoes – Sliced cherry tomatoes work on salad AND burgers!
Onion – Thinly sliced red onion for crunch.
Pickles – Dill pickles or bread and butter pickles, whatever you enjoy on a burger works here. Add as many as you like.
Cheese – Shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
Dressing – One batch Special Burger Sauce serves as the dressing.

How to Make the BEST Burger Bowl Recipe

Cook Bacon – Cook bacon over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from the skillet using a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined platter to drain, then chop.
Cook the Ground Beef – To the bacon drippings, add the hamburger, diced onion and steak seasoning. Cook over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Drain excess grease from pan, then add the ketchup, mustard and worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine, simmer for 1-2 minutes longer.
Assemble: Divide lettuce among wide, shallow bowls. Top with ground beef, bacon, tomatoes, onion, pickles, shredded cheddar cheese and burger sauce. Serve immediately.

Kitchen Equipment for Making Easy Burger Bowl Recipe

Large skillet for frying the bacon and hamburger mixture.
Sharp knife and chopping board for prepping the vegetables.
Measuring cups and spoons.

Recipe Variations, Tips and Substitutions

Protein – You can use ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork in this recipe.
Bacon – You can top your burger bowl with as much bacon as you like. You can also use turkey bacon.
Seasonings – In place of steak seasoning you can use a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper.
Oil – You can skip the bacon and use olive oil or vegetable oil to cook the hamburger.
Cheese – The sky’s the limit with cheese! You can swap out cheddar for spicy pepper jack cheese, colby jack cheese, gruyere, bleu cheese, feta cheese or cotija cheese.
Ketchup – I use a low sugar ketchup for this recipe but any ketchup you enjoy will work. You could omit the ketchup and replace it with tomato sauce, if preferred.
Mustard – You could use Dijon mustard, Creole mustard, whole grain mustard or spicy brown mustard in place of yellow mustard.
Dressing – For a timesaver, you can use thousand island dressing, ranch dressing or any sauce that you enjoy. I highly recommend using my Special Burger Sauce recipe, if time allows.
Serving Options – You can top these salad bowls with your favorite burger toppings. You might enjoy adding french fries, croutons, onion rings, sesame seeds, pickled jalapeños, avocado, pimento cheese, sweet potato fries, caramelized onions or grilled onions, fried egg or sautéed mushrooms. Use any of your favorite veggies to build your burger bowl your way!

Storage and Leftovers

Leftovers – You can store leftover ingredients for Burger Bowls in an airtight container chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Pack each ingredient in baggies.
Reheating – Store the hamburger mixture separately so you can reheat it either in the microwave or in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Doing it this way you can assemble a piping fresh burger bowl anytime you like.
Meal Prep – When I’m using this burger bowl recipe for meal prep, I pop the ground beef into a baggie so it can be portioned for each bowl. This way it can easily be removed from the container and reheated without wilting the fresh ingredients.
Freezer – The hamburger mixture freezes beautifully for future meals. You can store it frozen for up to 3 months, then thaw and reheat just before serving.

More Easy Ground Beef Recipes to Make

Barbecue flavored Smokey Joes.
Treat the family to a big bowl of Chili Spaghetti.
Old fashioned Hamburger Steak drizzled with gravy is a downhome feast.
Shepherd’s Pie for St Patrick’s Day or any day that suit your fancy.
Teriyaki Beef Fried Rice is quick and easy.
Quick and easy Taco Rice can be enjoyed as an entree or a side dish.
Use a fluffy loaf of bread from the grocery store bakery to make this Stuffed Sloppy Joe Bread.
Italian Basil Beef and Shells for Italian night at home.
Get a jump on meal prep with this tutorial for How to Make Ground Beef for Freezing.
Slow Cooker Keto Chili from All Day I Dream About Food.

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