Burger Bowl

At a glance

What stands out: This burger bowl has all the flavors of your favorite cheeseburger, with juicy ground beef, creamy Big Mac sauce, and all the toppings you love, PLUS it even has the fries! Instead of a bun, it’s layered into a satisfying meal bowl.

How long it takes: 1 hour 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, skillet
Servings: 4

Build-Your-Own Burger Bowls

We're a huge fan of bowls. They’re fully customizable, so everyone can do their own thing and create their reliable meal.

These burger bowls start with crispy roasted potatoes, then get topped with seasoned ground beef and all the classic burger toppings: cheese, pickles, onions, tomatoes, plus a creamy, Big Mac-style dressing that ties everything together.

It’s everything you love about a burger, just a little more interesting (and way easier to pile high).

• No bun needed! Let’s be real, the bun is the least exciting part of a burger. Crispy roasted potatoes form the base of this burger bowl.
• Balanced meal: With protein, carbs, and veggies, this meal bowl isn’t just fun, it’s also a proper balanced meal. (For more meal bowls that check all these boxes, try our salmon bowl recipe and BBQ chicken bowl.)
• Great for meal prep: The potatoes, beef, and sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for later. Heat the beef and potatoes, add the cold toppings, and enjoy a lunch or dinner that’s MUCH more satisfying than takeout!

What goes in

Like most meal bowl recipes, this burger bowl is assembled with different components. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need for each, with a full ingredient list in the printable recipe card below.

• Big Mac sauce: Mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, ketchup, yellow mustard, white vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Roasted potatoes: Baby potatoes, olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper. For a shortcut, you can use frozen French fries or tater tots.
• Ground beef: Lean ground beef, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
• For serving: Tomato, cheddar cheese, red onion, dill pickles, lettuce, and sesame seeds.

Recipe Tip

Shred your own cheese for meltiness. We've found that using fresh finely shredded cheddar means the cheese will melt from the warmth of the ground beef. Packaged cheese shreds don’t melt as easily or quickly but they’ll still work in a pinch.

How it comes together

Make the sauce. Stir together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate. (we often do this a day ahead of time to get a head start.)

Roast the potatoes. Cut the baby potatoes into uniformly-sized pieces and toss them with the olive oil and seasonings. Roast on a sheet pan at 425ºF for 25 to 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cooking time.

Make the ground beef. While the potatoes are roasting, add the ground beef and seasonings to a warm skillet over medium-high heat. Break it into crumbles as it cooks and continue to cook until it’s no longer pink. Remove the pan from the heat.

Assemble the bowls. Divide the potatoes into the bowls, followed by the beef and toppings. Drizzle with the Big Mac sauce—we like to use a generous amount. It’s good stuff!

Variation Ideas

• Use sweet potatoes. Swap the roasted potatoes for oven roasted sweet potatoes. They would add a touch of sweetness and more nutrition.
• Make it low carb. Skip the potatoes and serve everything over chopped romaine or shredded iceberg lettuce. It would be similar to our Big Mac salad.
• Model it after your favorite burger. Love a BBQ bacon burger? Use BBQ sauce instead of Big Mac sauce and add crispy bacon crumbles to the bowl. Are you craving a mushroom Swiss burger? Add sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and shredded Swiss cheese! You can truly make any burger in bowl form!
• Switch up the protein. Try ground turkey, crumbled veggie burgers, or plant-based beef crumbles for a lighter option.
• Buy the sauce. We've tested this recipe with Thousand Island dressing when we didn’t have all the ingredients for the Big Mac sauce, and we can attest to the fact that it works. You can also simply add ketchup and mustard to your salad, or pretty much anything you like.

Keeping leftovers

For meal prep: Store the beef, potatoes, and sauce separately in airtight containers. Toppings should be refrigerated separately, too, or prep them right before serving. The sauce can be made up to a week ahead; the beef and potatoes will keep for 3 to 4 days. Warm up the beef and potatoes in the microwave, then assemble the bowls. If you want to crisp up the potatoes, reheat them in an air fryer or toaster oven.

For leftovers: Once assembled, the bowls are best eaten immediately.

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For Big Mac Sauce (see note #1)

• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish (drain excess juice)
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

For Roasted Potatoes (see note #2)

• 1 ½ pounds baby potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

For Ground Beef (see note #3)

• 16 ounces lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

For Serving

• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
• ½ cup chopped dill pickles (cut them into thin strips for pretty presentation)
• shredded lettuce (optional)
• sesame seeds (optional)

Method

1. In a small bowl, stir together sauce ingredients until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. The dressing can be made up to a week ahead.
2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut the baby potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on how large they are. Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper on a sheet pan. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and crispy. Set aside if the rest of the bowl isn’t ready yet.
3. While the potatoes roast, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and seasonings. Cook the beef, breaking it into smaller crumbles with a spatula. When beef is completely cooked (no pink remaining), remove the pan from heat.
4. To assemble the bowls, start with a scoop of roasted potatoes in each bowl. Evenly divide the seasoned ground beef, chopped tomatoes, cheddar cheese, onions, and pickles between each bowl. Add shredded lettuce if desired.
5. Drizzle each bowl generously with Big Mac sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

Shortcut sauce: Purchase Thousand Island dressing to use in place of the from-scratch dressing. You could top the salad with a drizzle of ketchup and mustard instead of the sauce.

Potatoes: If desired, use frozen French fries instead of roasted potatoes. Prepare the fries according to package instructions. You can also use roasted sweet potatoes or sweet potato fries. If you prefer to air fry potatoes instead of roasting them, that works great, too.

Meat: If desired, use ground turkey or plant-based “meat” crumbles.

Rich additions: Add sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, crumbled cooked bacon, BBQ sauce (instead of Big Mac sauce), shredded Swiss cheese, or pretty much anything you like on a burger!

Low carb option: For a lower carb option, skip the potatoes and put the beef and toppings on a bowl of chopped romaine instead.