Made with simple ingredients, this burger bowl with special sauce recipe is the perfect way to get your burger fix, but also load up on extra vegetables! These deconstructed burger bowls come together so quickly in 30 minutes or less, making for an easy weeknight meal!
If you’re in a hamburger mood but want to eat more veggies, these bunless burger bowls (or burger salad bowl, whatever you feel like calling them) are the perfect recipe for you!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The homemade tangy burger sauce comes together with kitchen staples! I am one of those people who, if I purchase a bottle of sauce, it takes me ages to get through it, and odds are high that I’ll forget and it will expire in my fridge. In my experience, making a homemade copycat burger sauce means I’ll have just enough for what I’m serving.
- While it may look like a ton of ingredients, this cheeseburger bowl is actually really easy to put together! All you have to do is cook the ground beef, and then the rest is just assembly!
- It’s so easy to customize these homemade burger bowls! There are so many options for toppings, so you’ll never get bored! You can also load up on additional veggies.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You don’t need anything fancy to make these weeknight burger bowls! These are the key ingredients, and you can find the full list of measurements in the recipe card down below.
burger sauce — the special sauce without pickles is my go-to recipe! If you are a fan of pickles, you can definitely add them to your sauce, but I don’t usually keep any in my fridge as I’m not a huge pickle girl. I usually make this first and let it sit in the fridge while I cook the ground beef and assemble the bowls so the flavors can meld together.
olive oil — you can use olive oil or a neutral oil of your choice to cook your ground beef in.
ground beef — I recommend using lean ground beef. If using a fattier ground beef, in my experience, you definitely need to drain the fat or blot with paper towels before assembling the bowl to prevent the burger bowls from getting greasy.
seasoning — I season the ground beef with garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper.
toppings — for the salad portion of the bowl, you can really get creative and add whatever you’re in the mood for! I usually use romaine lettuce as a base (see how I usually cut my romaine lettuce for salads), then top the bowls with grape or cherry tomatoes, red onions, and avocado. I also like to add some shredded cheese and french fries but that’s usually depending on what I have in my fridge/freezer.
How to Make Burger Bowls with Special Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef.
- Cook for 3 minutes, making sure to break up the pieces, and add the seasoning.
- Continue to cook until the beef is fully browned. Drain any grease if there is any in the skillet.
- Assemble your bowls by starting with a lettuce base, then add your ground beef and toppings of your choice.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Make sure not to overcook your ground beef as it’ll taste dry. It can be tricky when using lean ground beef. If you’re worried about overcooking, you can use a fattier ground beef and just drain the beef or use a slotted spoon to strain out the grease when scooping the beef.
- If you don’t want to use ground beef, you can also use ground chicken or ground turkey. I’ve used an assortment of ground meat for this recipe and it is always delish.
- If serving with some french fries, I like to air fry frozen fries so they’ll be done while I cook the beef and are super crispy.
- Instead of avocado, you can top the bowls with some guacamole so you can mix it into the bowl more easily! You can also try hummus!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store ground beef an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. I don’t recommend storing the beef with the toppings as it’ll make it difficult to reheat.
- Veggies: you can wash and cut the lettuce and when dried, store in an airtight container (with a paper towel to help keep it dry) in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also chop your onions ahead of time, too.
- Sauce: you can store the burger sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: allow the ground beef to cool before transferring to an airtight container and freezing for up to 3 months.
Burger Bowls with Special Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
For the Burger Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, light or regular
- ¼ cup bbq sauce
- 1½ tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 to 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
For the Ground Beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef, lean
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the Bowls
- 1 head romaine lettuce, (or more), chopped and washed
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, (or cherry tomatoes), halved
- ½ cup diced red onions
- 2 avocados
- french fries, optional
- shredded cheese, optional
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, bbq sauce, Dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce to a jar. Mix to combine and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef. Cook for 3 minutes, making sure to break up the pieces, and add the seasoning. Continue to cook until the beef is fully browned. Drain any grease if there is any in the skillet.
- Assemble your bowls by starting with a lettuce base, then add your ground beef and toppings of your choice.
Notes
- The toppings are what I personally love, but feel free to use what you have on hand or what you prefer.
Nutrition Per Serving
More Recipes To Try
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