Get ready to enjoy these delicious burger bowls that are inspired by the classic all-American burger. Think all the wonderful flavors and textures of a burger, without the bun, and loaded in bowl form. French fries included, of course. Can’t have burger without fries!
Here’s what else you will find in this incredible hamburger bowl recipe: well-seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, caramelized onions, and my incredible burger sauce made with mayo and ketchup.
Into the whole meal in a bowl concept? Check out my Chicken Burrito Bowl, Chicken Rice Bowl, Mexican Breakfast Bowl, and Beef Burrito Bowl as well!
Burger in a Bowl
A burger bowl is simply a deconstructed burger, served in a bowl. Instead of enjoying a hamburger the traditional way involving a meat patty and toppings between two slices of buns, you are simply enjoying it in a bowl form.
I first saw burger bowls on Instagram and I thought, sure, I’ll give it a try. What I did not expect was to absolutely fall in love with it and have made it 1000x since then!
I love the combination of the juicy flavorful ground beef patty meat along with that crispy fries, the tangy pickles, juicy cherry tomatoes, flavorful caramelized onions, crunchy lettuce in every bite.
And don’t even get me started on that magical burger sauce. This is the same homemade burger sauce that I rave about non stop in my Smash Burgers. It ties the whole bowl together and IT IS SO GOOD. Trust me, you’ll be licking it off your bowl!
Not only is this so dang delicious but also healthier, easy to put together (ready under 20 minutes!), and can be customized in so many ways.
What I love about burger bowls is you still get all that meaty-deliciousness-and-more yet avoiding all that extra carbs. But fries are still necessary (in my humble opinion). Yes yes yes.
Next time you are craving a juicy burger, give this satisfying hamburger bowl a try. Who knows, you may actually end up loving it even more than a regular burger! I know I’m now a burger bowl girl all the way!
Ingredients
It’s hamburger bowl time! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Ground beef – I typically use 80%/20% ground beef. Keep some of the fat for flavor. This is the base of your burger and the main flavor driver for your burger bowl. Lower fat options such as ground turkey or chicken can be used but burger bowls will be not as flavorful.
- Seasonings – To pack in additional flavor, we will be using a simple four-ingredient spice mixture: salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. If you prefer, you can also use a premade burger seasoning blend. Seasoning your beef is key to flavorful burger bowls!
- French Fries – I typically make this using frozen French fries. Just throw them in the air fryer or oven while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Sweet potato fries work very well too.
- Lettuce – I like to use romaine or green leaf lettuce in my burger bowl. Can substitute with kale or spinach.
- Pickles – Do not leave pickles off your burger bowl! They are small slices of perfectly crunchy, sweet-sour flavored deliciousness.
- Onions – we will be using caramelized onions which will be used to top off our hamburger bowl. This is typically a sticky sweet and savory profile (basically a super condensed/sweetened form of onions). You can omit this if you prefer but I LOVE caramelized onions in my burger/burger bowl.
- Tomatoes – cherry or grape tomatoes are best for this recipe. Slice them into halves or quarters for best results. You can use Roma tomatoes or larger tomatoes, but they have too much moisture which is less ideal.
For the burger bowl sauce:
- Mayonnaise – This is the base of our burger sauce that brings the flavors of these cheeseburger bowls together.
- Ketchup – This adds a hint of sweetness and tanginess to our sauce.
- Garlic – Fresh is best for bold flavor. Mince it as fine as you can. In a pinch, you can purchase the pre-minced garlic.
Equipment
You will need the following kitchen tools:
- a simple frying pan to cook the well-seasoned ground beef
- air fryer to air fry the fries, but you can also bake them in the oven.
Let’s Make Those Burger Bowls!
I’m going to break down the process of making hamburger bowls and I think you’ll find this fairly simple!
Step 1: Caramelizing onions
I always start by caramelizing the onions.
This will take a little while so I like to get it going and let it cook, stirring occasionally, while I prepare the other ingredients.
Step 2: Prepare French Fries
Next, I prepare my French fries in the air fryer. It usually takes about 10 minutes so I let it go and do its thing while I make the rest of the items.
Step 3: Cooking Ground Beef
To make the ‘burger patties’, which will exist in smaller pieces of ground beef bites but with the same delicious flavors, first bring together a simple seasoning made up of salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
I like to keep the ground beef intact and sprinkle about half of the seasoning on one side.
Heat a skillet with oil and when skillet is hot, place raw beef seasoned side down, pressing it down so that the ground beef spreads out a bit, then season beef generously on the tops with the other half of the seasoning.
Let the beef cook for a minute or so without moving it too much, then flip to the other side – you will most likely need to break into a few portions to make it easier to flip.
Once beef is cooked, remove skillet from heat.
I typically try to avoid crumbling up the ground beef so that it’s still in chunky bites, but if you prefer to crumble up the beef you totally can.
I find that a 10″ skillet should comfortably fit the full pound of ground beef this recipe calls for – you won’t have to cook in batches.
Step 4: Make Burger Sauce
While beef is cooking on the skillet, combine the sauces together in a small bowl.
This burger sauce is ultra creamy and is made of mayonnaise, ketchup, paprika and garlic. It is so good and truly brings burger bowls together!
Step 5: Assemble Burger Bowl
Let’s assemble everything together and bring together our burger bowl!
Add lettuce to the burger bowl and top it off with tomatoes, pickles, french fries, caramelized onions, and seasoned ground beef.
Lastly, drizzle with that creamy burger sauce to bring it all together.
Grab a fork and dig in!
That lovely combination of ground beef patty with crunchy lettuce, juicy tomatoes, tangy pickles and bites of that crispy fries in every bite is truly so satisfying you won’t even notice the buns are missing!
Variations and Substitution
There are endless possibilities when it comes burger bowl toppings, and I encourage you to get creative with it!
- Different veggies: Spinach and kale work great and are so nutritious. Simply cut up any vegetable leftovers you have and throw them in your bowl.
- Potatoes: can be in the form of fries, tater tots, hash browns, roasted potatoes. Cook them from scratch or use frozen (probably much easier!)
- Sweet Potatoes: a lower carb alternative to potato.
- Bacon bits: I mean, how can you go wrong with bacon? I love the additional layer of flavors it brings to the burger bowl.
- Egg: Top your bowl with a fried egg (sunny side up, over easy, your choice!) for some extra protein and flavor.
- Avocado: Want more protein? Or just simply love avocados in your burgers? This is a great add to your burger bowl as well.
- Cheese: Want to make it a cheeseburger? Add some shredded cheese of your choice to the bowl!
- Use different sauces: Feel free to combine other sauces you like to my sauce recipe, add additional spices or use your favorite bottled sauces. BBQ sauces, mayo, mustard, and even spicy sauces such Sriracha or chili paste, work great to add a kick to your cheeseburger bowl.
Tips and Tricks
- Season Well: Season your meat evenly so every bite is flavorful. It’s the primary protein and flavor driver for your hamburger bowl.
- Caramelizing Onions: Avoid rushing this step. Caramelize onions on low/medium heat to avoid burning them.
- Avoid Overcooking Beef: Overcooked ground beef is dry and tough, so remove skillet from heat promptly once beef is cooked. Transfer to a bowl so that it doesn’t continue to cook if you are not topping beef onto burger bowls immediately.
- Pat Dry Veggies: To avoid sogginess, pat dry lettuce and cheery tomatoes before adding to the bowl.
- Store Veggies Separately: If meal prepping, store your veggies separately from the meat and heavier toppings. This prevents the veggies from getting soggy and wilted.
- Make the Sauce Ahead: Prepare your sauce a day in advance, if possible. This gives the flavors in the sauce a chance to really meld together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bacon, mushrooms, spinach, kale, pickled red onions are great add-on’s as well!
Yes you can! I will say that ground beef is more flavorful, but chicken and turkey are definitely healthier choices.
A few things can create moisture: grease from the ground meat, and leftover moisture from washing the vegetable. Make sure to avoid dumping grease into the bowl and to pat dry veggies.
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
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Burger Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- cooking oil
Burger Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 cloves garlic minced finely
- 1/4 tsp paprika
Bowls
- 8-10 oz frozen french fries
- 4 cups lettuce shredded
- 1 cup pickles
- 1 onions diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium low heat. Add cooking oil. Saute diced onions until they are caramelized. Stir occasionally. This will take at least 5-10 minutes. When it it is done, onions should be soft and slightly brown in color. I typically proceed to the next step(s) while waiting for the onions to be fully caramelized.
- Air fry French fries in the air fryer according to package instructions
- Heat another skillet over medium heat. Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika together in a small bowl.
- Using half of the seasoning mix, generously season the top of the ground beef. Once the skillet is hot, drizzle some cooking oil and place the beef in the skillet seasoned side down. Do your best to keep the beef in one piece. Use your turner to slightly flatten the beef.
- Season the other side of the beef with the remaining seasoning mix. Cook until the bottoms are slightly browned, avoid moving beef around too much.
- Flip the ground beef over. Break up the beef into large chunks. Continue cooking until the beef is cooked through. Remove from heat promptly once beef is done.
- Mix together the burger sauce ingredients in a ramekin.
- Once everything is ready, make the bowl. Layer lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, french fries, and burger meat. Drizzle with the burger sauce and sprinkle on caramelized onions.
- Serve and enjoy!
In my bowl era and totally into this. I used to do lettuce wrap burgers (not into buns and carbs) but this is even better, AND I add so much other stuff – quinoa, mushrooms … your caramelized onions are GENIUS.
Happy to hear you are enjoying this as much as we are! 😀