Easy Big Mac Burger Bowls (with House Special Sauce)

Big mac burger bowls are the perfect easy meal to make when you need dinner in a hurry or just want a simple fuss-free meal, any time. It's kind of like a deconstructed Big Mac. And the house sauce is amazing, don't skip it!

Quick & Easy Dinner Recipe: Burger Bowls

Hey everyone, I've got another comfort food recipe for you! And I think this one is perfect for warmer days. I'm dreaming of making these burger bowls and topping them with fresh tomatoes and onion from the garden... MMM!

Big Mac Burger Bowls bring all the nostalgia of the iconic fast food burger into your kitchen, minus the bun and with way more control over what goes in. Juicy seasoned beef, waffle fries, crispy lettuce, tomatoes, crunchy pickles, onions and all other favorite burger toppings, in one bowl topped with a homemade special sauce. I guess you could actually call it a big mac salad bowl, instead. Anyways. I don't know if you'd necessarily call these healthy burger bowls, but I will say they're most likely better than the traditional Big Mac.

Also, if you're someone who likes to meal prep, this would be a perfect meal prep option! Make the sauce, prep the toppings, (and store each thing in separate meal prep containers) then all that's left on the day you want to serve burger bowls is frying the beef and baking the fries! (And honestly, you could fry the hamburger meat on ahead, too. I do recommend freshly baked fries, though!)

And hey, we've got a whole list of 30 Comfort Food Dinner Ideas, if you're interested:)

Here's why we love this recipe:

• Quick - you can have burger bowls on the table in about 30 minutes, start to finish ⏲️
  
• Easy - there's not too much prep involved, especially if you use store-bought fries ✨
  
• Customizable - add as many or as few burger toppings as you like! 🥑

Ingredients for the Big Mac Bowl Recipe

• Ground beef - we usually go for the juiciest, which is hmmm, let's see, 70/30? 80/20 is great, too.
  
• Burger seasoning - any seasoning that's labeled for burgers should be delish! Plain old salt and pepper works too for seasoning the beef, but a seasoning blend specifically for burgers just adds something special.
  
• French fries - actually, I often take the shortcut here. Normally I like to make everything from scratch, but waffle fries are fun for burger bowls! Though making homemade fries is great, too.
  
• Butter & garlic salt - totally optional, but I like to toss the fries in butter and a little bit of garlic salt before baking, just to zhuzh them up a little.

Special Burger Sauce:

(Use your favorite brand of each of these ingredients!)

• BBQ sauce
  
• Mayonnaise
  
• Pickle juice (or vinegar if you don't have a jar of pickles around)
  
• Yellow mustard

Toppings:

• Lettuce - typically I use romaine or iceberg lettuce
  
• Tomatoes - cherry tomatoes are super handy for this recipe!
  
• Onions - diced or sliced onions
  
• Dill pickles - or whatever pickle you prefer (and if that's no pickles at all, that's ok too!)

Find the full recipe on the printable recipe card below!

Supplies You'll Need (and what we used!)

• Sheet pan - for baking the fries
  
• Small bowl or saucepan - for melting the butter
  
• Frying pan - for cooking the ground beef
  
• Mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons and a whisk - to make the special sauce
  
• Cutting board and kitchen knife - to prep the toppings

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How to make Easy Big Mac Burger Bowls

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

Melt the butter, then toss the fries in melted butter and give them a sprinkle of garlic salt. Spread them out evenly on the sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes or so. (Or bake according to package instructions.)

Heat the frying pan on the stovetop until it's good and hot. Then place the ground beef in there and sear it! Flip over and sear the other side. Reduce the burner to medium-high heat and let the beef finish cooking through to your liking, chopping it into bite-sized pieces. You can add the seasoning to the beef before searing or while it's cooking.

While the meat cooks, prep the special sauce. Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a mixing bowl and give it a taste!

Wash and chop the lettuce and tomatoes and onions.

Assemble your burger bowls! Lettuce, waffle fries, burger bites, tomato chunks, a dill pickle or three, and a drizzle of that lovely sauce. Serve and enjoy.

How to Store Leftover Burger Bowl Ingredients

Store any leftover ingredients each in a separate airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

Tips, Tricks and Notes 

• Taste the sauce! Then you can customize it just perfectly for your family. If you really want it to taste like actual Big Mac sauce, you can substitute the BBQ sauce with ketchup.
  
• A Blackstone griddle (or a cast iron pan) works perfectly for getting that lovely brown crust on the ground beef.

More topping ideas for Big Mac Burger Bowls

There are lots of burger topping ideas for burger bowls... here are a few suggestions!

• Chopped onions - bonus points if they're sauteed! 
  
• Cheese - either shredded cheese, or just before serving, you can also lay sliced cheese on top of the cooked ground beef pieces and let it melt a little
  
• Bacon bits
  
• Fried egg
  
• Avocado 

And more sauce ideas:

• Homemade buttermilk Ranch dressing
  
• Ketchup
  
• ​BBQ sauce
  
• Mustard

If you like this post...

...you might also like:

• Sweet and Sour Chicken
  
• Loaded Chicken & Vegetable Bake
  
• Spanish Rice Skillet Dinner

Pin this easy recipe for Big Mac Burger Bowls for later!

As always...

Thanks so much for being here. You're welcome to stay awhile and explore!

'til next time, we love you and we'll be praying for you,

-Julie