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A simple weeknight-friendly Burger Bowl recipe with homemade Mac Sauce, minus the bun. We elevate the house fries with a smoked paprika seasoning. Top with whatever you like on your burger! A family winner dinner!
I’m here to tell you that dinner doesn’t always have to be complicated
Sometimes a deconstructed burger bowl is all you need to make your kids, an adult, or yourself perfectly happy.
And you know the best part?
The fam gets to make their own burger bowl.
That’s right, these burger bowls may start with a seasoned smashed burger patty and some delicious smoked paprika house fries, a house sauce, but that’s about as much as you need to do.
The toppings are where the fam gets in on the action – add pickled jalapenos, pickled onions, cheese, homemade pickles, avocado, lettuce, cooked bacon, cherry tomatoes, and basically anything else that you want on your loaded burger bowl!
Ingredients for a smashed burger bowl
- Ground Beef: I highly recommend using a lb. of 85:15 ground beef for your burger bowl. I’ve made this with 80:20 and it was simply too greasy, plus it throws the seasoning off. And anything too lean just simply won’t cook the same.
- Seasonings: You’ll need umami seasoning for both the burger bowl patty and the fries. This adds a delicious flavor to the ground beef. But feel free to use burger seasoning or Lowry’s seasoning salt as well here. I made my own fry seasoning (totally optional, but why wouldn’t you!) You’ll need onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika. cayenne, and some black pepper.
- House cut Fries: I like to use Alexia brand of fries. They don’t have much fluff and are plain and simple enough to season!
- Mayo: As always, I use my favorite mayo here.
- Pickle Relish: the sweetness from the relish gives the Mac sauce this best flavor.
- Grated Onions: I like to grate the onions and squeeze out the water for the homemade sauce. A little old, but trust, it’s literally the best homemade burger sauce.
- Ketchup: I use spicy ketchup for this special sauce, and all my ketchup needs.
- Mustard: I use this jalapeño mustard on everything! Good on a tuna salad too!
- White vinegar: pickle juice works too! You just need a bit of acid.
- Burger Ingredients: basically anything you like on a traditional burger, works for a burger bowl. Want caramelized onions? Do it. Like sautéed jalapeños, that totally delish. And the list goes on and on. I prefer just some pickled red onion, shredded romaine lettuce, tomatoes, dill pickles, and maybe a little sharp cheddar to round it out.
Tips for Making Healthy Burger Bowls
- Get the pan screaming hot before you drop in the meat. This will allow the smash patty to sear and almost start frying as the fat renders off the meat.
- Make the sauce in advance if time permits. Like, if this is a midweek recipe, don’t be afraid to make the sauce on Sunday. Keep the sauce in an airtight container until ready to use on the burger bowls.
- Air fry the fries in batches. You don’t want to overcrowd the air fryer, so if it looks full, do it in two batches.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Banh Mi Burgers
- White Cheddar Chicken Burgers
- Homemade Beef Shawarma
- Crispy Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Sauce
- Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich
Loaded Burger Bowl with Mac Sauce
A simple weeknight-friendly Burger Bowl recipe with homemade Mac Sauce, minus the bun. We elevate the house fries with a smoked paprika seasoning. Top with whatever you like on your burger! A family winner dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Ground beef 85:15 works best
- 3 teaspoons umami seasoning
- toppings 5 cups shredded lettuce, 2 tomatoes, diced, 5-6 diced pickles, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- pickled red onions
- refrigerator pickles
Fries
- 14 ounce house cut fries
- Cooking spray for spraying
- ½ teaspoon umami seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- SAUCE: In a bowl, stir together the ingredients for the Mac sauce until combined. Taste and adjust with more ketchup, salt, or relish as desired.
- FRY SEASONING: In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the fry seasoning.
- AIR FRYER: Preheat the air fryer to the directions listed on the fries packaging. Once hot, add the fries and cook according to package directions.
- GROUND BEEF: Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once hot Add the ground beef and spread it out into a layer. Now let it cook for 3-4 minutes UNDISTURBED before attempting to flip! You want the crust to form on one side. Season the top side with 1½ teaspoon of umami seasoning. Then flip, season the other side with another 1½ teaspoon of umami seasoning. Flip one last time to caramelize the new seasonings Make sure the meat it cooked all the way through, break any large chunks. Then remove from heat.
- SEASON FRIES: Once prepared, place the fries in a bowl, spray with cooking spray or drizzle with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Then sprinkle with ½ of the prepared seasoning. Taste and adjust with more fry seasoning as desired.
- BOWLS: Load each bowl with 1-2 cups of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, red onions, and cheddar cheese.
- SERVE: Add the ground beef to the bowls then top with the prepared fries and lots of Mac sauce! Enjoy!
Notes
- toppings: play around with the toppings based on what you typically like on a burger! I like to do sautéed jalapenos, and caramelized onions, so I’m going to give that a go next!
Nutrition
Calories: 644kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 49g | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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