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These loaded burger bowls are made with seasoned ground beef that’s cooked in a skillet, all your favorite hamburger toppings, burger sauce, and oven baked sweet potato fries instead of a bun! This family-friendly dinner that’s fun to assemble and a great way to change up burger night!
Need more burger ideas? How about making these chicken fajita burgers or peach caprese burgers! If you’re in the mood for soup, make my cheeseburger soup.
Who doesn’t love a juicy burger? Growing up Saturdays were burger night in our house. I wish these burger bowls would have been around then, because sometimes you want something a little different. Not only are they a tasty way to change up burger night and ready in 30-minutes, they’re also a great lower carb alternative to traditional hamburgers.
Everything in these healthy burger bowls can be prepped ahead of time and will keep for 4-5 days. They’re one of my favorites for meal prep! After testing the recipe, I recommend storing everything separately to keep it fresh and make reheating easy. You can also customize hamburger bowls with your favorite burger toppings and you can even swap what kind of ground meat you use. Sometimes I like to make turkey burger bowls with regular french fries instead of sweet potato fries.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef – Use whatever fat percentage you like for making classic hamburgers. I used 93/7% lean ground beef, which is what’s represented in the nutritional info in the recipe card. Since there is less fat in lean ground beef, be extra careful not to overcook it or it will be dry.
Worcestershire sauce – Add a savory umami flavor to the ground beef.
Dijon mustard – Tangy and used to flavor both the ground beef and the burger sauce.
Garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika – The spice mixture used to season the hamburger meat.
Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, dill pickles, red onion – The toppings for the burger bowls. See other burger bowl topping ideas below.
Sweet potato fries – You can make your own (try my chili lime sweet potato fries) or save time and use a bag of frozen sweet potato fries. I used the Alexia brand.
Burger sauce – This sweet and savory burger sauce is a must make for the bowls! It’s also healthier compared to some burger sauce recipes. My burger sauce uses a combination of mayo and Greek yogurt, which makes it lower in fat and calories. I recommend tasting the sauce before serving and adjusting it to your liking. For a sweeter sauce use extra ketchup and for less tang cut back on the Greek yogurt and increase the mayo.
Tips for Making Burger Bowls
Below are some of my best tips and tricks that guarantee you’ll end up with the ultimate burger bowls!
- Prep ahead of time. Get all of your toppings ready the night before and make the burger sauce. This will make dinnertime a breeze!
- Use a hot skillet. You want the ground beef to get browned and a little crispy. This gives it extra flavor.
- Don’t skip the burger sauce! You might be tempted to just squeeze ketchup and mustard on top, but they don’t compare to the sweet and tangy flavors of the burger sauce. It has a creamy consistency that’s perfect for drizzling all over the ground beef and toppings. It reminds me of a copycat Big Mac sauce!
- Serve the bowls immediately so that the fries stay crisp and the lettuce and toppings don’t get soggy.
Substitutions and Variations
One of the things I love about making burger bowls is that they can easily be customized to use ingredients you have on hand or ones that you and your family like.
- Swap sweet potato fries with regular french fries.
- If you don’t like raw onions, sauté them in a skillet for a few minutes with olive oil, salt, and pepper until they’re caramelized.
- Instead of ground beef use ground turkey or ground chicken and make turkey burger bowls. You can also used a plant based meat substitute.
- Swap the burger sauce with my healthy ranch dressing or avocado ranch dressing.
Burger Bowl Toppings
Toppings are essential when creating an epic burger bowl. The options are endless! Stick with the classics or try something new and unique.
- Add cheddar cheese or your favorite kind of cheese and make cheeseburger bowls.
- Sweet pickles, dill pickles, or pickle relish.
- Spice it up and add pickled jalapenos
- Guacamole or slices of avocado.
- Caramelized onions or pickled red onions
- Mushrooms
- Bacon
Storage and Reheating
Ground beef – Store the ground beef separately so you can reheat it in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove. It will keep for 4-5 days. You can also freeze the ground beef mixture for up to 3 months.
Sweet potato fries – The sweet potato fries taste best when they are reheated in the oven so they get crisp. Reheat at 400° F. for 5-10 minutes until hot and crispy. You can also put them in an air fryer for 2-5 minutes, shaking them halfway through the cooking time.
Burger sauce and toppings – The burger sauce will keep for 4-5 days. I recommend storing the burger toppings and lettuce in separate containers so they stay fresh and crisp.
More Bowl Recipes
If you love meals served in bowls that are balanced, full of flavor, and great for meal prep, here are some of my favorites!
Burger Bowls Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Burger Meat
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Burger Sauce
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt any fat content
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill pickles
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dill pickle juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Burger Bowl Toppings
- 15 ounce bag frozen sweet potato fries
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup dill pickle chips
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
- Prep the burger bowl toppings.
- Make the burger sauce. Whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl or jar then taste for seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Bake the sweet potato fries according to package instructions.
- While the fries bake make the burger meat. Cook and crumble the beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper then add in the Worcestershire, dijon, and dried spices. Stir until everything is combined and cooked through.
- To assemble the bowls, divide the lettuce, burger meat, fries, tomatoes, onions, and pickles into bowls. Top with the burger sauce and serve immediately.
Notes
- The burger bowls will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator when the ingredients are stored in separate containers.
- Reheat the ground beef in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were SO GOOD! I appreciated how straightforward the ingredients and prep was. Easy, delicious, and satisfying is my favorite. I subbed ground turkey for beef, and it was still fab! Always appreciate your no nonsense meals.