These healthy burger bowls with special sauce are the perfect way to get your burger fix with even more fresh veggies and flavor. These bowls are so easy to make, use only real food ingredients, and the delicious “special sauce” dressing pulls everything together. This recipe is Whole30 compliant, Paleo-friendly, and low carb.
Healthy Burger Bowls with Special Sauce
Burger bowls or “burger salads” were one of the first meals that I regularly made when I switched to a Paleo lifestyle. Years later they are still my absolute favorite thing. Honestly, the burger bun just gets in the way at this point.
These healthy burger bowls with special sauce are packed with all the classic burger toppings and can easily be customized to add even more veggies and toppings. A delicious creamy special sauce ties everything together so you get that perfect burger bite.
Serve your healthy burger bowls with a side of crispy homemade air fryer to French fries or roasted potato wedges with chipotle lime aioli for the ultimate weeknight meal that is Paleo friendly, Whole30 compliant, and so GOOD.
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Flavorful Ground Beef for Delicious Burger Bowls
When it comes to the ground beef in these burger bowls you have a few options. You can go the traditional route and serve your burger bowl with a burger patty or crumble the ground beef as shown here. Both are great options and there is really no “wrong” way. With either option you are going to get perfectly seasoned and flavorful ground beef.
Here are a couple of tips and tricks:
- If you decide to make burger patties you can easily melt sliced or shredded cheese on each patty like you would with a traditional burger.
- Making burger patties is a great option if not everyone wants to go the burger bowl route. You can make both traditional burgers and burger bowls with the patties.
- If you crumble the beef, be sure to drain any excess fat from the meat or use a slotted spoon to remove it from the pan before adding it to the bowls.
- Don’t overcook your beef! There’s nothing worse than dry, tough hamburger meat.
- Don’t love ground beef? You could easily make this recipe with ground turkey!
The Best Burger Bowl Toppings
Next to the juicy ground beef, the toppings are really the best part of any burger. These burger bowls keep things a bit classic and use delicious toppings like:
- Fresh tomato
- Tangy pickles
- Red onion
- Herby dill
Of course, you can get even more creative with your toppings! What is great about burger bowls is that there is plenty of room for even more fresh toppings.
Here are a few more topping ideas to try:
- Crispy bacon
- Grilled veggies like zucchini, peppers, and onions
- Creamy avocado
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded cabbage
- Fresh or pickled hot peppers like jalapeños or pepperoncinis
- Mushrooms
- Shredded cheese
- A fried egg
- Fresh herbs like dill or parsley
- Sliced green onion
How to Make the “Special Sauce”
Since these are burger bowls, there is no place to spread on your favorite condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup, or mustard. So instead, this recipe using a special sauce, that includes all three, as the “dressing” for the burger bowls.
Special Sauce Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Yellow mustard
- Pickle juice
- Dill relish
- Spices and seasonings
To make the sauce, add all of the ingredients to a small mixing bowl and stir until they are well combined. Remember, you can always adjust a recipe to fit your tastebuds! If you want a little more tang in the dressing add more pickle juice. Want more mustard flavor? Add a little more. Do not be afraid to get in there and make this your own!
If you are concerned about making sure this recipe stays Whole30 compliant, be sure to check the labels on your ingredients before using them to make the sauce. You will want to use a Whole30 compliant mayonnaise, ketchup, and dill relish in this recipe to keep it Whole30 friendly.
More Delicious Recipes to Love
- Chicken Bacon Avocado Chopped Salad
- Greek Turkey Burgers
- Homemade Honey Mustard Sauce
- Healthy Homemade Chicken Nuggets
- Whole30 Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Burrito Bowls
I hope you give these Healthy Burger Bowls a try! This makes a quick and easy dinner that everyone will love!
If you do give this recipe a try, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love.
Print
Healthy Burger Bowls with Special Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Lunch + Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Healthy burger bowls with special sauce are the perfect way to get your burger fix with even more fresh veggies and flavor. These bowls are so easy to make, use only real food ingredients, and the delicious “special sauce” dressing pulls everything together. This recipe is Whole30 compliant, Paleo-friendly, and low carb.
Ingredients
For the Burger Meat
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the Salad
- Romaine lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Pickles
- Red onion
Special Sauce
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon dill relish
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and spices. Brown the beef, breaking it up as it cooks, until it is fully cooked through.
- While the beef is browning, make the special sauce. Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until well combined.
- Assemble your burger bowls. Start with romaine lettuce then add the toppings and cooked ground beef. Drizzle the special sauce over everything and then enjoy!
This burger bowl has become a regular dish in our house – it’s so simple to whip up and SO DELICIOUS! The special sauce takes it to the next level, and it 1000% fills my craving for a burger. Absolutely a must-try!
So happy you love it, Aislynn! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Hi!
Made this tonight for dinner and everyone loved it! Followed the directions exactly as written with each person doing the favorite burger fixin’s. This is definitely be on the regular rotation menu for summer!
Thanks for another great recipe!!
So happy everyone loved it, Brooke! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
We had these bowls for dinner tonight and loved them! We all agreed that the sauce tastes like the fry sauce at our favorite burger place, and my kids asked me to make this recipe again! Score! Thanks for a great and healthy recipe!
Yay! You know it’s a win when the kids love it! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, Coby!
This recipe is quickly becoming a weekly staple in our household! Can’t get enough of that burger sauce… I could ‘put that sh*t on everything’!
Haha! So glad y’all are loving it, Haley!
Yum! Super easy, delicious and filling! I didn’t miss the burger buns at all. Great recipe!
So happy you love the recipe, Jillian!
So delicious! This special sauce is out of this world and will become a regular in my house!
So happy you love it, Lauren! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
So delicious! Easy to make. The sauce was so good!
So happy you loved it, Julie!
Made this at the beginning of the week to have for lunch all week. It was sooo good! The special sauce was the highlight for sure. This one’s a keeper!
This is such a great meal prep recipe! So happy you loved it, Marla!
So easy and delicious! I like to use this at the end of the week so all my toppings are delicious leftovers! Love the extra suggestions!
Such a great idea, Molly! What a great way to cut down on food waste, too! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. It’s so appreciated!
Made this one day when the hamburger buns I bought happened to be moldy. This was AMAZING. The recipe is written in a way that made me confident that I could do some substitutes or leave somethings out and still have it be good. This was important because I was making this in a pinch so flexibility was key. I may never go back to eating a burger the classic way again. Such a great recipe!
I’m so happy you loved the recipe, Amy! thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful review!
We ate this for dinner tonight & it was terrific! Definitely going in our meal rotation!
Woohoo! So happy everyone loved it, Rachel!
This recipe will get you through your whole30!! We’ve kept it on the menu even past whole30 because it’s so yummy and filling!
So happy you loved it, Jenessa!
Made this tonight and served over greens with carrot fries and roasted Brussels. Epic dinner. Will be having this often for sure!
Such a great idea, Kristine! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
This bowl is so good, so easy, so versatile! Definitely adding this to our regular meal prep rotation. Thank you Ashlea!
You’re so welcome, Amanda! Happy to hear that you love the recipe!
My husband and I loved this recipe – especially the special sauce! I really liked that we got the taste of a burger while keeping it healthier!
So happy y’all loved it, Katherine!
Quick, easy, had all the ingredients on hand – subbed beef for turkey. Even the kids loved it and said it was a “keeper”!
Yes! So happy you loved the recipe and made it your own!