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!
The sauce is OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD and can be used for other dishes as well!
So glad you enjoyed it, JT!
Easy and delicious! I will 100% make this for food prep. Put the meat in mini containers by serving so I can heat it up and throw it on a salad quick. The sauce was so good too!
Thanks for sharing, Shannon! So glad you loved it!
This is a family favorite in our house! I have to double everything up, bc my kids actually have seconds. We used Beyond Meat last time we made it and it was awesome. And we always add lots of random veggies we have on hand.
Love that, Mary! Thanks for sharing!
This has become our Monday night standby. It’s so easy and just takes one stress out of the day. I also make 4x batches of sauce and seasoning to get us through the month. Thank you for making Mondays easier! Also, we’ve now used ground turkey and it’s just as delicious!
I’m so happy you’ve made this recipe work for you and that it’s become a staple for y’all! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Mary!
I love this so much!!! The special sauce is amazing and I use it with regular burgers as well. I love having this for lunch I feel full and healthy
So glad y’all loved it, Anna!
So good! My husband asked if we could have it weekly.
So glad you both loved it!
This recipe is super easy to make! It’s very delicious and one that I’ve made several times. It’s also easily customizable. You can have a different burger bowl every time. Definitely a must try!
I’m so glad you loved it, Mallory! Thank you for sharing!
This is the very first recipe I made from your site and wow wow wow. I love to keep it handy for when I crave a tangy picky burger but want something healthier and more nutritious. I usually keep these ingredients on hand so it’s a great last minute meal, and it keeps well if you wanted to prep it in advance.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Camille!
Quick and delicious! Love this healthier option to eating a burger. Can’t wait to make this again!
Glad you enjoyed it, Aby!
Our new family favorite! Everyone could add what they wanted. Even my teenage son ate it, which was amazing considering he doesn’t eat salads! I will define adding this to my rotation. Thank you!
Glad everyone could enjoy the recipe, Kathy! Thanks for sharing!
I found this blog over the summer and have made this recipe countless times since. It has become a weeknight staple. I love that unlike other blogs, not only does this recipe say that it’s quick to make, but it is actually quick and easy to make. Plus, I pretty much always have all the ingredients on hand so I don’t have to plan ahead, and the special sauce is to die for! I always make extra!
I’m so happy you love the recipe, Emily! Thank you for sharing!
THESE ARE EXCELLENT. My husband is not normally a fan of ground beef (too much hamburger helper as a kid!) and this is a favorite for him too. We have made multiple times and enjoyed every bite. Thanks for an excellent recipe, Ashlea!
Yay! So happy everyone loves this!
This is a weeknight staple in my house! All the flavors of your favorite cheeseburger but so much healthier than eating it on a roll. Quick, easy, delicious.
So glad you love the recipe, Kristin! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
This recipe did not disappoint! My mom is diabetic and has been struggling with her levels lately. She loves a good burger. I made this for her and it hit the spot! Easily customizable and of course I added bacon.
Love adding bacon to this, Katie! So happy you loved the recipe!
Love this!!! Make it at least once a week. Honestly so much better without a bun!
I totally agree, Linda! So glad you love the recipe!
I cannot recommend this recipe enough! It’s such a great and easy go to recipe on a busy night. My husband loves it when I make it.
So happy to hear that, Emily! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I made this for my husband and me thinking we’d have leftovers for lunch the next day..and we did not! I almost wish I had doubled the recipe because now I have to go to the store to get more ingredients to make it again…in the same week! So fun and really yummy.
That’s the best problem to have, haha! I’m so glad y’all loved the recipe, Zoe!