Burger in a Bowl with Special Sauce (Cheeseburger Salad)

Burger in a bowl aka cheeseburger salad,  is everything you want in a burger but in bowl without bun. This low carb burger salad is so good you won’t even miss the hamburger buns. Use a sugar free ketchup to make it ketogenic. If you like this bowl recipes be sure to check out this Spicy Tuna Bowl Recipe.

If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you’ve made, if they don’t realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go.” ~ Steve Maraboli

BURGER IN A BOWL   

Guys, I’m sharing one of my go-to easy dinner recipes again. Love cheeseburgers? Then this burger in a bowl is for you! It’s hearty, fulfilling but not heavy and you won’t get hungry an hour after eating it. 

Vegetable salads are tasty and all but sometimes you just want a heartier protein filled salad. This is perfect for people who dislike salads.  

My sister made this for her husband and daughter last week. She said they were literally scraping their bowls clean. They loved it just as much as they loved these beef tacos. 

Her hubby is a huge fan of cheeseburgers but he’s on a low carb diet which means no bread for him. 

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Lightly seasoned ground beef with special sauce, pickles, green salad, juicy grape tomatoes, fresh onions and cheese in a bowl. What’s not to love? 

This salad a great choice if you you’re trying to eat healthier or on a low carb diet, love heartier salads, or maybe you don’t have any bread but you got them burger cravings. 

This is a super quick prep recipe. While the juicy ground beef is cooking, you can prep the salad first then cook the beef or cook the beef first.

I prefer to prep the salad first then make the ground beef. By doing so, I’m able to serve my salad a bit warm. Just my personal preference.  

HOW TO MAKE BURGER IN A BOWL

I’ve made this recipe a couple times just to test out other seasonings but I think simple ingredients works best. Saute the onion rounds first if you don’t like them raw or dice them and cook with the ground beef.

This recipe is very forgiving. You can add whatever you like in your salad. I added some options below for ya. 

Ground Beef:
ground beef 
salt for taste
pepper for taste
onion powder
garlic powder
red pepper (just a tiny bit)

Salad 
head of Romaine lettuce chopped or your choice (I used a combo of lettuce, spinach and butter lettuce). 
cup pearl tomatoes sliced in half
cup shredded cheddar cheese 
medium red onions sliced thin. 
pickles
crumbled bacon ( I used turkey bacon)

Special Sauce 
cup ketchup
cup mayonnaise
white vinegar
pepper for taste ( This cheeseburger salad dressing tastes so much better with pepper so don’t skimp on the pepper. It makes the dressing really tasty) 
tablespoons olive oil
pinch of cayenne pepper

Cook the ground beef until browned,  drain if necessary. Put the skillet with the beef back on the stove and add the seasoning. 

To a small bowl, add the ketchup, mayonnaise, vinegar and olive oil, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Mix well.

Drizzle a some of the dressing around the inside of the salad bowl so you’ll get special sauce on all of the salad. 

Add the lettuce, pickles, onions, grape tomatoes, bacon and ground beef to the bowl and give it a good toss. Drizzle more dressing on top of the salad and serve. 

MAKE AHEAD SALAD

To make burger in a bowl ahead of time. Put each ingredient into separate containers. For instance, put the greens in one container, the onions and beef in another container (or separate depending on how you want to do things), pickles in another container and so on.

You should keep the lettuce away from the other ingredients that way the salad will stay nice and crisp.  Add the special sauce to an air tight container.

Put the salad together as soon as you’re ready to serve it. 

VARIATIONS 

• Use ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken. Use chicken breasts if you don’t have any ground meat.
• Make grilled onions instead of sautéed or raw ones. 
• Grilled hamburgers on the grill or stovetop.Top the patties with melted cheese and bacon.
• Make a blue cheese burger salad. Add crumbled blue cheese and blue cheese dressing
• Use ranch dressing or whatever dressing you like
• Add mounds of different greens like spinach, butter lettuce, arugula, kale. Use what you have in your fridge. 
• Add different vegetables like shredded carrots, cucumbers instead of pickles are different but tasty. 

Get creative and use whatever you have in your refrigerator. It’s a super easy burger bowl recipe that anyone whether dieting or not can enjoy! 

5 from 6 votes

Print

Cheeseburger Salad

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

7 mins

Total Time

12 mins

 

Burger in a bowl is a fun and healthier way to get the flavor of a cheeseburger but in a salad minus the bun. 

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: burger bowl, burger in a bowl, burger salad, cheeseburger salad

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 430 kcal

Author: April Wright

Ingredients

Ground Beef

• 16 oz ground beef
• salt for taste
• pepper for taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder plus additional 1/8 tsp
• 1/4 tsp onion powder plus additional 1/8 tsp
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Salad

• 12 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon
• 1 head of Romaine lettuce sliced I used a combo of different lettuces
• 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced in half
• 1 medium red onions sliced thin
• 1/2 cup pickles
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Special Sauce

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp pepper add more for taste if you like

Instructions

1. Cook the ground beef until browned,  drain if necessary. Put the skillet with the beef back on the stove and add the seasoning. 
   

2. To a small bowl, add the ketchup, mayonnaise, vinegar and olive oil, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Mix well.
   

3. Drizzle a some of the dressing around the inside of the salad bowl. This will help coat the salad with the sauce. 
   

4. Add the lettuce, pickles, onions, grape tomatoes, bacon and ground beef to the bowl and give it a good toss. Drizzle more dressing on top of the salad and serve immediately. 

Recipe Notes

TIPS AND TRICKS TO MAKE THIS 

 

Make ahead:

Put each ingredient into separate containers. For instance, put the greens in one container, the onions and beef in another container (or separate depending on how you want to do things), pickles in another container and so on.

 

You should keep the lettuce away from the other ingredients that way the salad will stay crisp.  Add the special sauce to an air tight container. Put the salad together as soon as you're ready to serve it. 

 

 

VARIATIONS AND IDEAS 

• Use ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken to make this salad. Don't have any ground beef? Make grilled chicken breast instead.
• Make grilled onions instead of sautéed or raw ones. 
• Grilled patties on the grill or stovetop. Top the burgers with melted cheese and bacon. 
• Make it a blue cheese burger salad. Add crumbled blue cheese and blue cheese dressing.
• Add different greens like spinach, butter lettuce, arugula, kale. Get creative and use what you have in your fridge. 
• Add different vegetables like shredded carrots, cucumbers instead of pickles.

 

Originally posted on 6/22/2017 updated 4/26/2019

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