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Delicious and easy Bacon Cheeseburger Bowls filled with fresh veggies, tangy dill pickles, lean ground beef, shredded cheese, crunchy lettuce, pickled onions, tomatoes, and homemade Big Mac burger sauce! All the flavors of a burger, without the burger buns!
Why You'll Love These Cheeseburger Bowls
My whole family loves “build your own” meals, and bunless options are a gluten-free bonus for me! This Cheeseburger Bowls Recipe is not only a hit with my kids but also a convenient, bun-free way for me to savor a cheeseburger!
When assembled, these bowls include a vibrant array of your favorite burger toppings, along with juicy ground beef, crispy bacon, pickled onions, and a generous drizzle of my homemade Big Mac Sauce!
Each bowl delivers 36 grams of protein and just 8 grams of net carbs, offering a low carb, protein-rich, and veggie-packed meal option. They take just 20 minutes to make and are an easy dinner for busy weeknights.
Recipe Highlights
- 36 Grams of Protein per Bowl
- Low-carb, Keto-Friendly, and Gluten-Free
- Easy make-ahead or meal-prep recipe
- Ready in 20 minutes or less!
Ingredient Notes
- lean ground beef: You can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for a leaner alternative.
- salt
- black pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
Pickled Onions
- red onion
- water
- distilled vinegar
- maple syrup
- salt
For The Bowls
- Big Mac Sauce: My Big Mac sauce recipe is made with Greek yogurt or mayo, yellow mustard, pickle relish, ketchup, coconut aminos, salt, and paprika. Click for the recipe!
- romaine lettuce: Sub iceberg lettuce if preferred.
- cherry tomatoes
- shredded cheddar cheese
- bacon
- dill pickle slices
How To Make The Best Cheeseburger Bowls
Step 1
If making the bacon, cook it in the oven on a sheet pan at 400 for 15-20 minutes until crispy.
Step 2
Make the pickled onions: Heat the water, vinegar, maple syrup, and salt in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high until just boiling. Add the thinly sliced onions to a bowl and pour the liquid on top so they are submerged. Push down with a fork and let them sit for 30+ minutes on the counter.
Step 3
Make the Big Mac sauce: combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Step 4
Add the ground beef to a large skillet and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder as it cooks. Drain fat and set aside.
Step 5
Assemble your bowls: Add some romaine lettuce, ground meat mixture, cheese, tomatoes, pickles, bacon, and pickled onions to a bowl. Top with a drizzle of the Big Mac sauce. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Optional toppings: In addition to what I've listed above, feel free to add your own favorite toppings to the mix: avocado, jalapeños, additional veggies, or salad- whatever suits you!
- Serving: Serve assembled or let everyone build their own cheeseburger bowls according to their preferences. You can include a side of french fries, sweet potato fries, or tater tots, or serve the bowls alone.
Storage Tips
Store leftovers in separate airtight containers to keep ingredients fresh. When ready to eat, reheat the ground beef and build your bowl.
For meal prep, prepare your individual bowls by assembling the veggies and toppings into individual meal prep containers, leaving out the sauce and beef. Store the ground beef burger meat in a separate airtight container and the Big Mac sauce in a small jar. When ready to eat, reheat the beef, combine it with the veggies and toppings, and finish with a drizzle of sauce.
Recipe FAQs
There are 450 calories, 8 net carbs, and 36 g protein in each of these cheeseburger bowls. Keep in mind that this does not include the Big Mac sauce.
Bacon Cheeseburger Bowls (with Big Mac Sauce)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
Pickled Onions
- 1 red onion, sliced thin
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup distilled vinegar
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp salt
For The Bowls:
- 1 batch Big Mac Sauce
- 2 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Pickles
Instructions
- If making the bacon, cook it in the oven on a sheet pan at 400 for 15-20 minutes until crispy.
- Make the pickled onions: Heat the water, vinegar, maple syrup and salt in a sauce pan. Heat over medium high until just boiling. Add the thinly sliced onions to a bowl and pour the liquid on top so they are submerged. Push down with a fork and let them sit for 30+ minutes on the counter.
- Make the Big Mac sauce: combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Add the ground beef to a pan and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder as it cooks. Drain fat and set aside.
- Assemble your bowls: Add some romaine lettuce, ground beef mixture, cheese, tomatoes, pickles, bacon and pickled onions to a bowl. Top with a drizzle of the big mac sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Optional toppings: In addition to what I've listen above, feel free to add your own favorite toppings to the mix: avocado, jalapeños, additional veggies or salad- whatever suits you!
- Serving: Serve assembled or let everyone build their own cheeseburger bowls according to their preferences. You can include a side of french fries, sweet potato fries, or tater tots, or serve the bowls alone.
Storage Tips
Store leftovers in separate airtight containers to keep ingredients fresh. When ready to eat, reheat the ground beef and build your bowl. For meal prep, prepare your individual bowls by assembling the veggies and toppings into individual meal prep containers, leaving out the sauce and beef. Store the ground beef burger meat in a separate airtight container and the Big Mac sauce in a small jar. When ready to eat, reheat the beef, combine it with the veggies and toppings, and finish with a drizzle of sauce.Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
My whole family loves this! We almost never find something that all of us really like, especially a recipe that’s healthy. I make this frequently.
This is in my weekly rotation- I love it!! I add caramelized onions instead of pickled, but it’s so good.
Delicious! I used the greek yogurt for the sauce and it was SO good 🙂
Thank you Danielle!
My family loved this!
So glad to hear it, thanks Theresa!
Authentic flavors! Yum! I’m into bowls now so this will definitely be on repeat!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Go to summer rotation dish – been making it weekly at our house. Everyone loves it – super easy and few ingredients. It’s a winner with busy nights!
Thanks Melissa!