Burger Bowls

These loaded burger bowls have all the juicy flavor you crave, but none of the bun. This low-carb dish is keto-friendly, but delicious to enjoy on any diet. Even kids will enjoy loading their own burger bowls with their favorite toppings.

What are they?

Burger bowls are not a burger-style salad served in a bowl, like my Big Mac salad recipe. Instead, what we are doing is forming the raw hamburger patty into a bowl shape, then piling in all of your favorite toppings and baking it to juicy perfection!

How to make the bowl

I find the easiest way to form your bowls is to use a muffin pan. The wells in the pan will help the hamburger hold its shape without falling apart, and you can expect the meat to shrink while cooking, which makes it easier to remove from the pan.

When making traditional burger patties I constantly am reminding people not to overwork the meat, or you will have a tough and dry burger. However, working the meat is unavoidable when crafting these bowls, and actually preferred because you want the meat to hold together well. This gives a chance to add additional flavor to the meat, so I add Worcestershire, garlic powder, salt, and pepper prior to forming.

Burger Toppings

The bowls can be filled with any of your favorite burger toppings. This is only limited to your imagination. Here are some ideas:

• Onion - Raw, sauteed, or caramelized onion are all great options.
• Pickles - Bread and butter, or dill pickles are both delicious.
• Tomatoes - These will not bake well, so I recommend adding them prior to serving.
• Mushrooms - Make sure to saute them first to release their juices.
• Crumbled bacon - I prefer regular cut rather than thick-cut for this dish.
• Jalapeno - Lightly sauteing chopped jalapeno is better than using fresh pepper.
• Cheese - Any of your favorite cheeses will work well.

Condiments

Without a bun soaking up any rogue juices, I find condiments are not needed to enjoy these. However, there is nothing wrong with using them! I recommend drizzling the condiments prior to serving. Any of these suggestions would work great.

• Ketchup
• Mustard - Yellow is the classic choice, or go with Dijon for more of a gourmet flare.
• Burger sauce - Make your own custom sauce designed for burgers!
• Big Mac Sauce
• Ranch dressing

Burger Bowl Ideas

Not sure where to being? Try out any of these flavor combinations to make a great tasting burger bowl!

• Bacon cheeseburger - Crumbled bacon, sautéed onion, chopped pickles, sharp cheddar cheese.
• Mushroom and Swiss - Sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onion, shredded Swiss cheese.
• Jalapeno popper burger - Chopped and sautéed jalapenos, a dollop of cream cheese, Monterey Jack cheese.
• Bacon and Blue - Crumbled bacon, blue cheese, sautéed red onion.

Expert tips and tricks

• Use ground beef anywhere between 80/20 to 90/10. The leaner the beef, the less it will shrink while cooking. 80/20 is typically best for burgers, but 85/15 is the sweet spot for these bowls.
• Use can use wild game, or any other meat you would enjoy crafting a burger with.
• Most veggies should be sautéed prior to adding into these bowls. You don't want them expelling liquid while baking and filling up your burger bowl with pooling water.

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