Hamburger Bowls
Hamburger Bowls are like your favorite burger, deconstructed and served in a bowl! These are packed with delicious flavor and amazing texture, you’ll be obsessed! Easy to make with tender ground beef (or turkey), caramelized onion, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, cheese and French fries; all topped off with the best special sauce!
If you crave burgers like I do, add some of these other incredible recipes to the menu: cheeseburger casserole, stuffed bacon cheese burgers and these juicy chicken burgers!
Skip the bun with these tasty Hamburger Bowls! You’ll be enjoying all the flavors of your favorite burger in a bowl instead! These burger bowls or burger salads are so delicious and super customizable. You can add all of your favorite toppings straight to the bowl.
In this recipe, we’re going all out and really loading up our bowls, but feel free to omit whatever you don’t like. My family loves to add in juicy beef, tomatoes, red onion, pickles and lettuce along with some shredded cheddar cheese, fries and bacon! Finish off with a generous drizzle of special sauce to really take this dish to the next level!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Family-friendly: Even kids dig this dish, it’s a crowd-pleaser for sure! It’s also really easy to customize, so everyone can make their hamburger bowls exactly how they want them.
- Super satisfying: These are so hearty and substantial with almost 30 grams of protein per bowl!
- Major flavor: We are packing a ton of flavor into one bowl! Your tastebuds will be dancing with delight.
Made these for my husband and I and we loved them! He kept going back for more, safe to say they were a hit. Will be making it in the future for sure!!!
— Juli
Ingredients you’ll need
This hamburger bowl recipe is made with all of the ingredients that we love to include on our burgers, from the juicy beef to the cheese and special sauce, we didn’t miss anything! However, these are definitely loaded burger bowls, so feel free to add or take away ingredients as you see fit to make this recipe just how you want. You can find all ingredient measurements in the recipe card below.
- For the special sauce: This burger sauce made with mayonnaise, dill pickle juice, dijon mustard, ketchup, onion powder, garlic powder and milk really makes these bowls.
- Caramelized onions: We are using a sweet yellow onion to make some caramelized onions. They really take this recipe to the next level.
- Meat: Use high-quality ground beef for best results. You can use ground turkey, but we definitely prefer beef.
- Salt & pepper: Kosher salt and ground black pepper to season the meat.
- Worcestershire sauce: Gives the meat a deep, complex taste.
- Lettuce: Fresh lettuce for a crisp and refreshing addition, a delicious contrast to the warm ingredients.
- Tomatoes: Any type of tomatoes would work here, but we love cherry or grape tomatoes!
Optional add-ins
While technically all of the ingredients in this burger bowl are optional, the below mix-ins are fine to leave out based on your taste preference and how loaded you want to make your bowls.
- Red onion: If you’re adding the caramelized onions, you might want to leave these out, but they do add a great punch of flavor!
- Bacon: Complements the savory beef.
- Pickle: Dill pickle chips or chopped dill pickle spears bring some zest and crunch to the mix.
- Avocado: I love avocado on my burgers!
- Cheese: Shredded sharp cheddar cheese for that classic cheesy goodness.
- Sesame seeds: For the total burger experience and for extra texture.
- Fries: Can’t have a burger without French fries! Sweet potato fries are great, too!
How to make this recipe
Grab all the fixings for a mouthwatering burger in bowl! Start by getting the fries cooking and whipping up the special sauce. Meanwhile, caramelize the onions and brown the well-seasoned ground meat. Then, assemble the bowls with all of the fresh add-ons: lettuce for crunch, juicy cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, savory bacon, tangy dill pickles, creamy avocado and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Here is how everything comes together:
Step 1: If cooking French fries, prepare them in the oven or the air fryer according to package directions.
Step 2: Make the special sauce by stirring together all sauce ingredients: mayo, pickle juice, mustard, ketchup, onion powder, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you have a thick sauce with a drizzle-able consistency.
Step 3: Bring a large cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and move it around so that the entire pan is coated. Add onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Move onions around the pan and bring heat down to medium heat once onions start to cook down.
Step 4: Continue cooking onions 15-30 minutes, turning heat down as necessary, until they start to turn golden brown. Once onions are golden brown, turn off heat and set aside until the rest of the meal is ready.
Step 5: Heat a skillet over medium high. Add the beef and sauté, breaking apart the meat. Season with the salt, pepper, and Worcestershire. Continue cooking, breaking apart, until it is browned and completed cooked through. Drain any excess grease, as needed.
Step 6: Assemble the bowls by dividing the fries, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, avocado, cheese, and beef between 2 bowls. Drizzle sauce over the top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!
Helpful tips and variations
- Use other meats: Feel free to use ground turkey, ground chicken or bison in place of the ground beef.
- Instead of fries: A good alternative to the fries is to add in roasted baby potatoes.
- Change up the sauce: Swap the homemade burger sauce for your preferred salad dressing, like my homemade Greek yogurt ranch!
- Fun crunchy addition: Missing the hamburger buns? Add in croutons!
- Make patties: If you want an actual burger patty, instead of crumbling the beef you could make the ground beef into patties and melt cheese on top like a typical burger.
Frequently asked questions
These can really be as nutritious and light as you’d like! For the healthiest bowl, consider using lean ground beef, and really loading up on the veggies. You might want to use a lighter sauce, like my Greek yogurt ranch and add in less fries or omit completely.
Yes! This is a great meal prep recipe! You can brown the meat, make the sauce and caramelize the onions ahead of time and store in separate containers. You can also prep the veggies in advance and store in separate containers. For best results, I would make the fries fresh or use baby potatoes instead. When it’s time to eat, simply warm the beef and caramelized onions and assemble all the ingredients in a bowl.
Storage recommendations
Once you’ve assembled your burger bowl, you’ll want to enjoy it immediately.
If you have leftovers of individual components, keep them in separate airtight containers for 3-4 days. To reheat, warm the ground beef and fries in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through.
More recipes you’ll enjoy
If you try this recipe, leave a comment and if your family loves it as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
Hamburger Bowls
Ingredients
Special sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons dill pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon milk, plus more to thin as needed
Caramelized onion*
- 1 medium sweet yellow onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Burger bowls
- 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2-4 cups butter or romaine lettuce, chopped or shredded
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2-4 thin slices red onion, optional
- 4 pieces bacon, cooked and roughly chopped (optional)
- dill pickle chips or chopped dill pickle spears, about 4 slices for each bowl (optional)
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
- 1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, optional
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, optional for garnish
- frozen French fries or sweet potato fries, about 1 cup for each bowl
Instructions
- If cooking French fries, prepare them in the oven or the air fryer according to package directions.
Make the sauce
- Make the special sauce by stirring together all sauce ingredients: mayo, pickle juice, mustard, ketchup, onion powder, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you have a thick sauce with a drizzle-able consistency. Set aside until the remaining ingredients are ready.
Caramelize the onions
- Bring large cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and move it around so that the entire pan is coated.
- Add onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Move onions around the pan and bring heat down to medium heat once onions start to cook down.
- Continue cooking onions 15-30 minutes, turning heat down as necessary, until they start to turn golden brown.
- Once onions are golden brown, turn off heat and set aside until the rest of the meal is ready.
Brown the meat
- Heat a skillet over medium high. Add the beef and sauté, breaking apart the meat. Season with the salt, pepper, and Worcestershire. Continue cooking, breaking apart, until it is browned and completed cooked through. Drain any excess grease, as needed.
Assemble the bowls
- Divide the fries, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, avocado, cheese, and beef between 2 bowls. Drizzle sauce over the top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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My kids love these! The sauce is a must, I usually double because everyone likes to dip their fries in it too.
I made this and it was sooooo good! The special sauce was amazing. Everything was spot on with lots of flavor. Satisfying meal for my whole family.
These were a hit. The whole family loved them (even the picky eater in our family!) The sauce is so delicious and the perfect burger sauce for normal burgers or the bowl. I think it fits perfect together with the meat. Making it definitely again!
Made this using ground turkey. I was surprised at how much flavor this has. It’s definitely going into the rotation!
Made these for my husband and I and we loved them! He kept going back for more, safe to say they were a hit. Will be making it in the future for sure!!!