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!
What kind of pickle juice?
Hi, Jacquie! I like to use dill pickle juice.
In love with these bowls! On the menu again this week!!
I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Lynn! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
So good! My husband and I both love the sauce!!
I”m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kylie! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
An absolute family favorite! So delicious and easy to make. And the sauce is gold! Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! Happy to hear that, Melody! So glad everyone loved the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Super easy and delicious! Made a delicious dinner that was easy to customize for the whole family 🙂
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Alli!
The sauce makes this recipe! Love the whole thing, but that sauce…I may make that to put on regular burgers too! Delicious, thanks so much for this recipe!
You’re so welcome, Deena! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
So yummy and satisfying! I added romaine, pickles and grilled onions and served with some leftover roasted sweet potatoes. Definitely making this again!
The addition of the sweet potatoes sounds wonderful, Robin! Thanks for sharing!
Love this recipe! So much lighter than a burger. The sauce is so good 🔥🔥🔥
I’m so glad you liked it, Kendall! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
So good!! I served over roasted potatoes. Love that the sauce tastes so similar to big Mac sauce without all the garbage. Thanks for the recipe ❤️
You’re so welcome, Emily! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent recipe! I honestly enjoy these more than a burger on a bun because I can fill it with more toppings. My favorite add ins are roasted beets, pickled onions, and avocado chunks. Fantastic sauce! Also amazing with cajun sweet potato oven fries. Thank you!
Cajun sweet potato fries sound amazing! I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Kristy! Thanks for sharing!!
So yummy! To make it easier I used frozen burger patties. Melted cheese on top and added sautéed mushrooms. The special sauce is so good especially with the dill. Easy to make salad bowls for me and burgers with bread buns for my partner.
I’m so happy you made this recipe work for you, Eunice! This idea is so smart! Thanks for sharing!
Delicious!
Thank you for sharing, Randi!
This recipe is on repeat in my house. It’s SO good and perfect as written.
I’m so glad this has become a regular favorite for y’all, Amanda! Thank you for sharing!
I don’t have regular mustard. Can I sub Dijon? Or mustard powder?
Hi Erin! you could sub dijon if that’s all you have!
Omg, this was so good! That sauce is amazing. This paired with some oven baked fries was the best dinner.
That sounds amazing, Katelyn! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve made these three times now, it’s so good!!!
I’m so glad this has become a regular favorite for you, Erin! Thank you for sharing!
Loved how quick this recipe came together, perfect for a busy weeknight! Can we talk about that sauce though? So good, I could eat it by itself straight out of the bowl!
Haha! It’s so good! I’m glad you loved it, Danielle! Thank you for sharing!