Cheeseburger Bowls
These delicious cheeseburger bowls are loaded with fresh vegetables, lean ground beef, and melty cheddar cheese. Drizzled in a tasty smash burger sauce, these healthy bowls will make you want to have family burger night every night!
One thing about me is that I'm always game for a cheeseburger. Not a hamburger.. no, no. A cheeseburger with the perfect amount of melty cheese on top.
Since cheeseburgers always sound like a good idea, it’s only natural to find all of the different ways that you can serve the classic cheeseburger flavors but in new and creative ways. Smash burger tacos are one idea but these classic cheeseburger bowls will always be my weeknight go to!
Cheeseburger bowls are a family friendly dinner that gives you all of the burger flavors and toppings but in a light and refreshing way. Served over a bed of lettuce and topped with burger toppings, lean ground beef, and melty cheese, you’ll feel just like you are biting into a protein style burger!
What sets these cheeseburger bowls apart from the others? It’s the addition of grilled onions (a cheeseburger must!) and my tasty smash burger sauce that acts as the dressing of your bowl and completes your burger bite just right.
You’ll love having family burger night everynight when it means you get to build up these delicious cheeseburger bowls. Let’s get to the recipe!
Why you’ll love this cheeseburger bowl recipe:
You and your family will love these cheeseburger bowls because they are:
Like a protein style burger: These cheeseburger bowls are like a chopped up protein style cheeseburger. The base of your bowls is a mix of your preferred salad greens and all of your salad mix in’s are your favorite burger toppings.
Nutritious: These cheeseburger bowls are full of vegetables and protein rich with ground beef. Beyond its protein content, beef is also rich in heme iron, zinc, Vitamin B12, and many others that promote health within our body
Customizable: Add all of your favorite burger toppings to your bowl like tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, jalapeños, onion rings, sweet potato fries, and more! With their customization options, cheeseburger bowls are the perfect crowd friendly options for people to build their own bowl.
Topped with smash burger sauce: If you make these cheeseburger bowls then you absolutely need to make the smash burger sauce that goes with it! The sauce is only 4 ingredients and pulls your whole bowl together, making it taste just like you are biting into a real smash burger.
Family friendly: Start with your salad base, add your beef with cheese, and then allow your kids to add their own favorite burger toppings like french fries, pickles, or keep it simple with a drizzle of ketchup.
Perfect for summer: Cheeseburger bowls are the perfect summer dinner recipe because they are light, fresh, and come together quickly with minimal ingredients. These burger bowls are also fantastic for a build your own burger bar with friends!
Delicious with fries: My favorite order for a burger is a protein style burger with a side of fries. Want to replicate that exactly? Add french fries directly into your burger bowl for a fun twist!
You’re going to love these cheeseburger bowls with smash burger sauce! Now let’s get into the simple burger ingredients you will need to make them:
Smash Burger Sauce
If you love In-N-Out burgers, then you’re going to love this copycat in-n-out sauce! This classic smash burger sauce recipe has only 4 ingredients and is the perfect sauce for burgers or dip for fries.
Ingredients you’ll need:
These cheeseburger bowls are made with all of the classic cheeseburger ingredients like::
Lean ground beef: Ground beef cooks quickly and is a great way to add protein, zinc, heme iron, and Vitamin B12 to your dinner. I recommend choosing lean ground beef like 90% or leaner to cut down on saturated fat and calorie content!
Cheddar cheese: You can also use Colby jack, american, or add some spice with pepper jack cheese.
Grilled onions: A key ingredient for these delicious cheeseburger bowls are the simple grilled onions that are sprinkled on top. Simply dice a yellow onion and brown it in butter with salt and pepper until caramelized and soft.
Salad greens: I used chopped romaine but you can build the base of your bowl with the salad greens that you prefer. Other options are iceberg lettuce, butter leaf lettuce, spinach, or kale if you prefer that flavor!
Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes pair perfectly with these cheeseburger bowls.
Bacon bits: I baked my bacon until crispy and then chopped them into crispy bacon bits. You could save time by buying pre-made bacon bits!
Pickles: A cheeseburger must!
4 Ingredient Smash Burger Sauce: Mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, and a sprinkle of sugar mixed together give you a delicious smash burger sauce that pairs perfectly with these cheeseburger bowls or slathered onto a classic smash burger!
Seasonings: I used simple seasonings like onion powder, garlic salt, and pepper for my ground beef but you can use whatever flavors you prefer on your ground beef.
That’s it!
Step by Step Instructions:
1) Add your ground beef and seasonings to a large sauce pan and brown over medium heat until cooked through. About 15 minutes.
In another smaller sauce pan, add your diced onions, butter, salt, and pepper. Brown over medium heat, stirring often, until your onions are golden and soft. About 15 minutes.
If needed, this would be the time to also cook your bacon until crispy and chop into crispy bacon bits. You can also buy pre-made bacon bits of preferred.
2) Once your ground beef is cooked, sprinkle on your cheddar cheese then cover the pot with the lid and allow your cheese to fully melt.
3) While your meat and onions cook, chop all of your vegetables and prep your toppings. Assemble your bowls by adding your leafy greens, tomatoes, pickles, and bacon bits. Add any other burger toppings you prefer!
4) Add your cheesy ground beef and a sprinkle of grilled onions to each bowl
5) Finally, mix together your smash burger sauce by combining mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle relish, and a sprinkle of sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle each cheeseburger bowl with your smash burger sauce to taste and enjoy!
Want to make a healthy smash burger sauce? Swap the mayonnaise for blended cottage cheese for a high protein twist!
Swaps, substitutions, and serving suggestions:
These easy cheeseburger bowls are one of my favorite weeknight dinner recipes because they are fully customizable. Get inspired by other burger flavors and serve up a different burger bowl each week like:
Western bacon cheeseburger bowl: Top your cheeseburger bowl salad base with ground beef, onion rings, grilled onions, and swap the smash burger sauce for bbq sauce instead.
Cheeseburger bowls with french fries: Serve this classic cheeseburger bowls with fries mixed in for a fun change in texture and flavor!
Hamburger bowls: Skip the cheese and make this a hamburger bowl instead.
Mushroom and blue cheese burger bowls: Top your ground beef with provolone cheese, sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions, and a sprinkle of blue cheese. Serve over a bed of lettuce.
And more! Make this recipe your own and tag me on instagram with any fun ideas you come up with!
Recipe FAQ:
Can I make these cheeseburger bowls with ground turkey?
Absolutely! While the classic protein choice for cheeseburger bowls is ground beef, you can also use seasoned ground turkey or even ground chicken if you want to skip the beef.
How can I make a healthy smash burger sauce?
My classic smash burger sauce is only 4 ingredients with mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, and sugar. If you want to make it lighter, I would swap the mayonnaise for blended cottage cheese instead! This will keep the texture and flavor of mayonnaise but add more protein.
How can I meal prep these cheeseburger bowls?
If you want to enjoy these cheeseburger bowls as your weekly meal prep, I would simply chop all of your vegetables, prep your toppings, cook your ground beef, and brown your onions. You can also prep your burger sauce and store in a container.
Keeping all ingredients prepped but separate would be the best approach to keep your salad greens crispy and fresh. If you want to assemble your salads, layer in your greens, toppings, cooled ground beef with cheese, and grilled onions. Top with burger sauce when you are ready to eat.
Other easy summer recipes will love:
Looking for other summer recipe ideas? I have a few on my blog that I think you will love:
Grinder Salad Wrap
One Pot Sausage Tortellini with Spinach
Crispy Ground Chicken Tacos
Sweet Potato Ground Beef Bowl
Smash Burger Tacos
Cheeseburger Bowls
These delicious cheeseburger bowls are loaded with fresh vegetables, lean ground beef, and melty cheddar cheese. Drizzled in a tasty smash burger sauce, these healthy bowls will make you feel like you are having family burger night everynight!
Ingredients
Instructions
- If needed, cook your bacon until crispy then chop into bacon bits.
- Add your ground beef to a large sauce pan and season with onion powder, garlic salt, and pepper. Brown over medium heat until fully cooked through (about 15 mintes). Once your meat is fully cooked then remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle on your cheddar cheese then cover and allow your cheese to melt.
- Finely dice your onion and then add it to another sauce pan with butter. Cook until your onions are soft and caramelized (about 15-20 minutes).
- While your beef and onions cook, chop all of your vegetables and mix together your burger sauce.
- Add your lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, bacon bits, and any other mix ins you want to a dinner bowl. Top with with your cheesey ground beef, grilled onions, and drizzle with burger sauce. Enjoy!
*These blogs may contain affiliate links. Any purchase made through my links gives me a small commission and supports Lauren Twigge Nutrition
Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a Registered Dietitian and busy toddler mom committed to bringing you delicious, nutritious, and easy-to-make recipes!