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Cooked ground beef, pickles, lettuce, pickled red onions, tomatoes, fries and creamy sauce in white bowl.

Loaded Burger Bowls with Special House Sauce

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Special House Sauce:

  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup or BBQ sauce
  • 1 tablespoon yellow or Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon pickle juice brine from the pickle jar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
  • Cayenne pepper, to taste, optional for a spicy sauce

Bowl Ingredients:

  • 4 to 6 cups chopped or shredded lettuce
  • 1 to 2 cups sliced or diced pickles
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1 to 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup thinly sliced red onions (or caramelized or pickled onions - see note)
  • 1 cup diced avocados
  • Optional: French fries or tater tots (grab from the frozen foods aisle and cook in air fryer or oven)

Beef:

  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 to 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef

Instructions 

  • For the sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients together until well-combined and creamy. The sauce can be made several days ahead of time and refrigerated.
  • For the bowl ingredients, prep and chop all the bowl ingredients and set aside (or refrigerate if prepping ahead of time). If cooking fries, get those started in the oven or air fryer per package directions.
  • For the beef, add the beef to a medium bowl. Sprinkle in the seasonings and mix until evenly combined. Pat the beef mixture into a thick patty, about 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick.
  • Heat a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. If the ground beef is extra lean, add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan.
  • Place the beef patty in the hot skillet and let cook, undisturbed, for 1 to 2 minutes until well-browned (we're wanting the beef to get yummy little crispy bits on the outside).
  • Carefully flip and cook for another minute on the other side. Once both sides are browned, break the meat into 1-inch (more or less) pieces - a bit larger than when cooking and crumbling ground beef for recipes like tacos. Continue cooking until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
  • Serve the beef in bowls (or on plates) with prepped, chopped bowl ingredients and drizzle special house sauce on top.

Notes

Onions: These burger bowls are really delicious with these easy pickled onions or caramelized onions. If you want to serve them with raw, sliced onions, you can soak the onion slices in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes to take some of the pungent bite out of the onions (drain and pat dry before using).
Pickles: Use dill pickles or sweet pickles - whatever you like. You can also use hamburger pickle chips or slice whole pickles. 
Fries: We love the Alexia brand of fries - the sweet potato waffle fries are our favorites. The fries or tater tots are completely optional. The burger bowls are delicious with or without them.