Burger Bowls with Special Sauce

Turn burger night into a healthy feast with these deconstructed burger bowls with special sauce. Ready in 30 minutes, this recipe is perfect for a quick and easy dinner.

If you like burgers, but you’re trying to eat more veggies, a burger bowl or “burger salad” is a fun way to do it. The combination of juicy ground beef, crispy bacon, and special burger sauce helps to satisfy a burger craving while increasing your veggie intake at the same time.

While I designed this loaded burger bowl recipe to cook the ground beef from scratch, this recipe is a great way to use up leftover burgers. Just chop or break the cooked burgers into bite-size pieces, warm them up, and add them to your favorite salad with a generous drizzle of special sauce as a dressing.

Why You’ll Love Them

• Quick and Easy – Ready in less than 30 minutes, this recipe is great for a weeknight dinner.
• High in Protein – The combination of juicy ground beef and bacon each burger bowl contains 34 grams of protein.
• Full of Flavor – The homemade special sauce adds a punch of flavor to every bite.

Ingredients + Substitutions

• Ground Beef – To add some protein. I used lean ground beef, but you can use regular ground beef, or use ground turkey or chicken if preferred.
• Bacon – To add some more protein and ensure the bowls are fully loaded. You can use traditional pork bacon or turkey bacon if preferred.
• Lettuce – To add some veggies and make the bowls. I used romaine lettuce, but iceberg lettuce, mixed greens, spinach, or kale would also work.
• Tomatoes – To add some more veggies. I use cherry tomatoes, but grape tomatoes or diced whole tomatoes will also work.
• Red Onion – To add some color and crunch.
• Pickles – To add some saltiness. I used bread and butter pickles, but you can use any sliced pickles you like.
• Mayonnaise – To make the special sauce. If you don’t like mayonnaise, you can use plain Greek yogurt instead.
• Tomato Paste – To add to the special burger sauce. You can use ketchup if preferred, see the notes section of the recipe card for details.
• Mustard – To flavor the special sauce. Regular yellow mustard is recommended, but Dijon mustard will also work.
• Spices – Some garlic powder to season the burgers and some smoked paprika to flavor the special sauce.

How to Make Loaded Burger Bowls

1. Make the special sauce. In a small bowl, add the mayonnaise, tomato paste, mustard, minced pickles, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder, and whisk to combine.
2. Cook the ground beef. In a large skillet, warm the olive oil on medium-high heat, add the ground beef, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and cook for 7-8 minutes, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon or spatula, until cooked through.
3. Prep the veggies. Chop the lettuce, slice the tomatoes, and thinly slice the red onion.
4. Assemble the bowls. Once the beef is cooked, divide the lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and pickles evenly across 4 bowls, top with cooked ground beef, crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and top with sauce.
5. Serve and enjoy! The bowls can be served immediately or cooled and stored in the fridge.

You can find the detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

Serving Suggestions

These bowls are a great source of protein, fat, and fiber, and can be enjoyed as is as a healthy meal. If you want to make it a more balanced meal, you can add some complex carbohydrates by adding some roasted potatoes to the bowls, serving them with a side of sweet potato fries, or a side of crusty bread.

You can also adapt the recipe to suit your own diet needs and health goals, for instance:

• To make them higher in protein, increase the amount of ground beef, add an extra slice of bacon, and/or top your bowl with a fried egg.
• To make them lower in fat, swap the ground beef for lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken, the bacon for turkey bacon, and the mayonnaise for 0% plain Greek yogurt.
• To add more fiber, add some high-fiber vegetables to the bowls, such as broccoli, kale, cooked sweet potatoes, or brown rice.

More Ground Beef Recipes:

• Crispy Beef Bowls
• Firecracker Beef Meal Prep Bowls
• Meal Prep Taco Salad

Burger Bowls with Special Sauce

Author: Stephanie Kay

Ready in 30 minutes with over 30 grams of protein per serving, these loaded burger bowls are perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. Plus, you can easily double or triple the recipe without much effort so they are great for serving a crowd.

• Author: Stephanie Kay
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 bowls
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

Burgers:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Bowls:

• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup pickles, sliced
• 4 slices bacon, cooked (optional)
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese (optional)

Special Sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoon pickles, minced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper, as needed

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Instructions

1. In a small bowl, add the mayonnaise, tomato paste, mustard, minced pickles, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder, and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed and then set it aside.
2. In a cast iron pan or heavy bottom skillet on medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the ground beef, and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook the beef, breaking it apart with a spatula or wooden spoon into small pieces, for 7-8 minutes or until cooked through.
3. While the beef is cooking, prepare the veggies; chop the lettuce, and slice the tomatoes and red onion.
4. Once the beef is cooked, assemble the bowls. Divide the lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and pickles evenly across 4 bowls, top with 1/4 of the cooked ground beef, crumbled bacon (optional), shredded cheese (optional), and top with a drizzle of special sauce.
5. These bowls can be served immediately and any leftover ground beef and bacon can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Leftover special sauce can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Notes

To Use Ketchup: Swap the tomato paste for 2 tablespoons of ketchup.

To Use Fresh Garlic: Swap the garlic powder for 1 finely grated garlic clove.

To Use Fresh Onion: Swap the onion powder for 1 tablespoon of finely grated onion.