These Cheeseburger Bowls are deconstructed burgers without the bun. They're absolutely delicious and the perfect lunch or dinner, ready in less than 30 minutes. High in protein, low in carbs, and loaded with big time flavor.
These Cheeseburger bowls are made up of seasoned beef, all the burger toppings you would ever want, then finished off with a drizzle of Chipotle Ranch Dressing.
Skip the fast food burger and fries and make these delicious bowls instead! These are great to prep on Sundays for the work/school week ahead too.
If you're looking for more low carb lunch options, try this Southwest Chicken Salad, Cucumber Tomato Salad, Stuffed Peppers without Rice, and Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- It's Quick & Easy. Ready to eat in just 30 minutes and the perfect easy lunch or dinner.
- Simple Prep. Only chopping and browning ground beef is required for simple prep work.
- Full of Flavor. Seasoned beef meets cheddar cheese and so many fresh veggies. Then, it's topped with a smoky ranch dressing for some serious flavor.
- Great for on a Budget. This recipe costs around $20 and makes 3-4 large bowls. Even fast food costs more than $5/meal, and this is much more healthy.
- Meal Prep Friendly. Prep on Sunday for easy lunches for the first half of the week.
For more budget friendly recipes, try this Gnocchi with marinara sauce, Cheesy hashbrown chicken casserole, and Dutch Oven Pulled BBQ Chicken.
Ingredients:
Ground Beef: Combined with simple seasoning and sautéed for the main protein in these bowls. I suggest using an 85/15 ratio of lean meat to fat. This will give you a cheeseburger like taste versus a lower fat ratio will be on the drier side. An 80/20 ground beef will produce a lot of grease in the pan.
Cheddar Cheese, Lettuce, Onion, Pickle, Tomato: Classic burger toppings for these deconstructed burger bowls.
Avocado: An extra topping that I like to use on burgers and it pairs nicely with the chipotle ranch to bring some cooler textures into these bowls.
Milk, Ranch Powder and Mayonnaise: Combined to make a simple Ranch dressing.
Adobo Sauce: Brings in a smoky flavor to the Ranch Dressing. This comes from a jar of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce. You can find it in the Mexican food isle or international section and it's usually near all the seasoning. Unless you're planning to immersion blend the dressing, use only the adobo liquid from the can.
*Full recipe ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
I prefer to shred the cheese for the best taste, but bagged or packaged cheese can be used for this recipe.
The Romaine hearts can be substituted with your favorite lettuce.
If you want a lower fat option, consider using 93/7 ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken.
Love Spicy? Add in a chipotle pepper to the ranch dressing and immersion blend until smooth. These can be really spicy, so be ready. If it gets too hot, you can double up the ranch ingredients to cool it down.
Not big on Chipotle Ranch? Try this Wingstop Ranch Dressing, Southwest Dressing, Avocado Cream Sauce or Smash Burger Sauce.
How to Make Cheeseburger Bowls:
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Here are the Step by Step Instructions for Burger Bowls.
Step 1: Make the Chipotle Ranch. In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and ranch dressing powder until combined. Pour in the milk and adobo sauce and whisk until smooth and combined. Place the dressing in the fridge until it's time to top the cheeseburger bowls.
Step 2: Cook Ground Beef. In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat on the stovetop, add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Sprinkle in the chili powder, cumin, salt, and garlic powder and stir to combine. Once it's fully cooked, turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
Step 3: Assemble the Burger Bowls. Using a large bowl or plate, place a bed of lettuce covering half the surface of the bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of ground beef on the other side. Organize the burger toppings of cheese, avocado, pickle, tomato, and onion around the bowl. Drizzle on the Chipotle Ranch dressing or serve on the side. Enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Make sure all of the veggies are nice and dry before adding them to the bowls, especially the lettuce, to avoid any soggy ingredients.
- When making the dressing, try to get just the adobo sauce without a lot of the chipotle peppers. We want a smooth sauce, since we are just whisking the ingredients.
- During assembly, keep the lettuce and cheese away from the warm beef so the cheese doesn't melt and the lettuce doesn't wilt.
For more easy weeknight meals with ground beef, try these Mini Meatballs, Cowboy Cornbread Casserole and Blackstone Smash Burgers.
Recipe FAQs:
Try these delicious cheeseburger bowls. The recipe is great for adding your favorite toppings and you can substitute the ground beef with ground turkey or ground chicken.
Instead of the typical burger with toppings between two slices of a bun, it's spread out on a plate or bowl. It includes all things burger including the burger and toppings along with sauce, but usually leaves out the bun.
There are a few options. You can build the bowls and serve already assembled or make it like taco night and place everything in separate bowls on the table for people to build their own. My family loves this because they can choose their own toppings.
Store the leftovers in separate containers if possible for the best freshness and to avoid soggy ingredients.
My favorite way to eat the ground beef is warm in the salad. It's nice and tender, but doesn't melt the cheese or wilt the lettuce. It also tastes delicious cold, which makes this a wonderful recipe for meal prepping for the week.
More Healthy Lunch Recipes You Will Like:
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Easy Cheeseburger Bowls (Deconstructed Burgers)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3 to 4 bowls 1x
Description
These Cheeseburger Bowls are deconstructed burgers without the bun. They're absolutely delicious and the perfect lunch or dinner, ready in less than 30 minutes. High in protein, low in carbs, and loaded with big time flavor.
Ingredients
Chipotle Ranch Dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dry ranch powder dressing mix
- 1 tablespoon Adobo Sauce from a small can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (The Goya brand is popular)
- ¼ cup milk (any milk works, I like whole milk for the fat)
Cheeseburger Bowls:
- 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 large head of Romaine hearts or 2 smaller ones (about 4 cups), washed, dried and chopped
- 4 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 cup grated)
- 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
- ½ cup dill pickle chips or 4 dill pickle spears, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1-2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
- 1 avocado, pit removed, peeled and diced
Instructions
- Make the Chipotle Ranch. In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and ranch dressing powder until combined. Pour in the milk and adobo sauce and whisk until smooth and combined. Place the dressing in the fridge until it's time to top the cheeseburger bowls.
- Cook Ground Beef. In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat on the stovetop, add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Sprinkle in the chili powder, cumin, salt, and garlic powder and stir to combine. Once it's fully cooked, turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
- Assemble the Burger Bowls. Using a large bowl or plate, place a bed of lettuce covering half the surface of the bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of ground beef on the other side. Organize the toppings of cheese, avocado, pickle, tomato, and onion around bowl. Drizzle over the Chipotle Ranch dressing or serve on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure all of the veggies are nice and dry before adding them to the bowls, especially the lettuce, to avoid any soggy ingredients.
- When making the dressing, try to get just the adobo sauce without a lot of the chipotle peppers. We want a smooth sauce, since we are just whisking the ingredients.
- During assembly, keep the lettuce and cheese away from the warm beef so the cheese doesn't melt and the lettuce doesn't wilt.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: lunch
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Holly
Love these & that chipotle ranch is so good!