Easy Burger Bowls (with Meal Prep Instructions)
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This healthy burger bowl recipe is everyones favourite meal deconstructed. Take a burger & fries but make it healthy whilst still being delicious. We’ve got a special sauce, if you omit the fries it’s keto-friendly/low carb and most importantly, it’s SO tasty & satisfying.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Endless ways to customize: You can definitely build upon this burger bowls recipe and switch ingredients out. Feel free to raid your fridge and grill up some of the veggies that need using to reduce waste and add more colour.
- Multi-diet Friendly: The thing that makes this burger bowl so delicious is that it’s a cheeseburger bowl – with the other ingredients, you can substitute and adapt them to adjust to your dietary requirement, whether it’s keto, low carb, gluten free, grain free, whole30, and can even be made vegan, vegetarian.
- Quick and Easy: You may see that the cook time for this recipe is 30 minutes, but the actual prep time for these burger bowls is around 7 minutes. All you have to do is prep the potatoes to throw into the air fryer, brown the mince and combine all of the ingredients into your meal prep containers.
Looking for more bowl recipes? Try one of these: Greek Chicken Bowls, Vegetarian Burrito Bowl, Healthy Crustless Pizza Bowl
Ingredients
The main ingredients that make this Burger Bowl recipe fantastic are the following:
Gound/Minced Beef
I love to use between 12%-20% fat beef mince for my hamburger bowls for the best flavor and because we haven’t got the bun, we have more calories to play with. However if you want to reduce the calories further you can use 5% fat beef mince.
American Cheese
The obvious choice that never fails me. The way it melts into the beef is so indulgent and rich, providing the best end result. If you hate american cheese you can sub with cheddar slices.
Potatoes
I opt for baking potatoes which I then slice (skin left on) into chunky fries. I find that this makes the burger bowl recipe more of a balanced and complete meal. Feel free to sub with your fave kind of potato (eg. new potato, skinny fries, sweet potatoes etc)
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
Topping Variations: I went down more of a tex-mex route with my toppings being coriander, chilli flakes, pickled jalapenos and spices.
However you could definitely use gherkins, fresh dill, yogurt… think of all of your fave burger combinations, then incorporate the toppings into your deconstructed burger salad bowl!
Meat Variations: Cheese burger bowls don’t have to use beef! You could use chicken mince or turkey if you want to stick to white meat. Pork if you prefer the flavor, or if you’re a veggie you can sub with a meat-free mince.
How to make burger bowls
- First, slice your potatoes into fries and place them in a bowl with cold water. Stir to extract the excess starch (Image 1).
- Once rinsed, drain the potatoes and place in a tea towel to remove any excess water (Image 2).
3. Place the fries in the air fryer basket, coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and fry at 190°C/375°F for 30 minutes, shaking half way through the cook (Image 3).
4. Heat a large frying pan with oil over high heat then add the beef mince and brown for 5 minutes (Image 4).
5. Continue cooking and add the garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, salt and pepper, stirring to incorporate. Then, do the same with the American cheese (Image 5).
6. Create individual portions by adding lettuce, tomato, onion, fries, and beef mince to each container (Image 6).
Got a craving for burgers? Try these other yummy burger recipes this week: Ultimate Grilled Cheese Burger, Healthy Air Fryer Turkey Burgers, The Best Halloumi Burger
Tips for the best result
- Fry your mince over a high heat and leave undisturbed to achieve the best browning. You want good colour on the meat to achieve great flavor.
- Store your special sauce separately to your burger in a bowl to ensure that the salad and other ingredients don’t become soggy in the fridge.
- If you have time, air fry the fries in batches for the crispiest result.
- Be sure to add the special sauce so the burger bowl isn’t dry. I recommend some in the “Serving Suggestions” section below.
- Season your beef mince generously with salt and pepper, as this is the main element of the salad, we want it to be seasoned properly.
Meal Prep Instructions
The best thing about deconstructed burger bowls is that they make amazing meal prep dishes. They’re fresh, high in protein and delicious enough to have on repeat. This recipe can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Some people like to store the lettuce completely separately to avoid it from going soggy, however I find that when you use romaine lettuce/cos, it’s got enough of a crunch to it to be stored together. Here are some tips though
- Place the lettuce on one side of the container, then add the other salad elements in between the fries, then the cheeseburger mince.
- Allow the fries and mince to cool completely before putting them into the meal prep containers.
- When it’s time to eat, I like to reheat the fries in the airfryer for 5 minutes at 200°C to revive them slightly. However this isn’t necessary and you can enjoy the cheeseburger bowl as is if you don’t mind! The same goes for the mince but I actually prefer to beef cold stirred into the salad.
- Add your special sauce/dressing just before you eat to ensure everything stays vibrant and crisp.
Serving Suggestions
Sauces to Try: Thousand Island Dressing, Ranch Dressing, Caramelized Onion Aioli, Caesar Dressing , Easy Tzatziki Dip, Whipped Feta Dip with Harissa
Try adding one of these sides to your burger bowl:
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
Refrigerator: Store these burger bowls in the fridge for up to 3 days in sealed air-tight containers. That’s why this recipe serves four, as you can eat one portion when you make it, then store the rest in the fridge for meals throughout the week.
Freezer: Sadly due to the fresh element of the salad ingredients, this recipe is not freezable.
Reheat: Please see the information above on meal prep instructions.
FAQs
Ensure you cook the beef mince over a high heat to get the best colour and flavor. This means you don’t want to stir constantly as this will prevent browning.
This is a matter of preference, I like to enjoy this cheese burger bowl both hot and cold but if you have an aversion to hot foods with cold lettuce, I’d stick to serving the beef cold.
Yes! Please find the instructions above on how to meal prep.
This is because the mince was too hot, causing the lettuce to become wilted and sad. If you want the lettuce to remain crisp, you’ll want to allow time for the burger to cool down a bit or completely.
Looking for more of your fast food favorites at home? Check out some of my fakeaway recipes: Crispy Chilli Chicken (Healthy Fakeaway Chinese), Easy Beef and Broccoli Recipe {Chinese Fakeaway Recipe}, Easy Sweet Chilli Chicken {Chinese Fakeaway!}
Explore More Recipes
If you tried this Burger Bowl Recipe, it would mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Easy Burger Bowls
Ingredients
- 500 g beef mince (£2.50)
- 4 slices of American cheese (£1)
- 2 heads of romaine lettuce (£1.09)
- 4 baking potatoes (£0.79)
- 300 g cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (£0.69)
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (£0.33)
- 4 tbsp sliced pickled jalapenos (£1.25)
- Fresh coriander, chopped to serve (£0.52)
Cupboard Essentials
- ½ tbsp + 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Start by slicing your potatoes into fries. Place into a bowl with cold water, then stir to remove the excess starch. Drain and pour onto a tea towel and pat dry, then add into your airfryer basket.
- Coat in 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Fry at 190°C/ xx °F for 30 minutes. Shaking halfway through.
- To a large frying pan, add ½ tbsp olive oil and place over a high heat. Allow the pan to heat through, then add the beef mince and evenly distribute across the pan. Leave to brown for 5 minutes.
- Next, add the garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate and continue to fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add the American cheese into the pan, allowing it to melt before stirring and incorporating.
- To meal prep containers or bowls, add a portion of lettuce, tomatoes, onion, fries and beef mince.
- For each individual serve, combine 1 tbsp light mayo, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp jalapeno brine, salt and pepper for the dressing. Drizzle over the top and finish with fresh coriander.
Notes
- Cook your mince over high heat and leave it undisturbed for the best browning. This will give the meat a rich color, enhancing the flavor.
- To prevent your salad and other ingredients from getting soggy, store your special sauce separately from the burger in a bowl in the fridge.
- If you have time, air fry the fries in batches to get the crispiest texture.
- Be generous with seasoning your beef mince with salt and pepper, as this is the key flavor element in the dish and should be properly seasoned.
- Don’t forget to add the special sauce to keep the burger bowl moist. I’ve included some serving suggestions in the related section above.
Nutrition
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