Cheeseburger bowls

I love Taco Salad, and make it at home regularly. One day I saw an IG video by Food Dolls and assumed they were making a slightly different version of a Taco Salad with Fritos Corn Chips thrown in. I followed the link for the recipe and was surprised to find out it was instead a Cheeseburger Bowl. Interesting. It could also be called a Cheeseburger Salad, unless you switched the lettuce for a rice or potato base.

The meat is seasoned like you would for a burger, then cooked like you would for a Taco Salad. The sauce is a mayonnaise based version of a burger sauce - a little like Thousand Island dressing. In the bowl you layer salad greens, meat and burger toppings. In the reel they tossed in Fritos Corn Chips which would give it a nice salty crunchy note. In the recipe they offer alternatives such as roasted potatoes, cooked rice or French fries, but I think the corn chips are the most fun of the choices as I love the salty crunch.

This recipe says it serves 4 (or 3 if you want bigger servings), but it would be easy to increase the recipe to serve more.  While I still love Taco Salads the most, and probably always will, this is a really fun alternative. And they can be easily customized for taste preferences and food allergies by letting your guests assemble their own.  There are also lots of other recipes for Burger Bowls you can check out to see other options.  

Enjoy!  And be sure to check out the Food Dolls website and follow them on Instagram!

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Cheeseburger Bowls
Serves 4

Bowl -

1 lb                    Extra lean ground beef
½ tsp                 Salt
¼ tsp                 Back pepper
½ tsp                 Garlic powder
½ tsp                 Onion powder
1 T                    Ketchup optional, for flavor depth
1 C                    Shredded cheddar cheese
4 - 5 C               Chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce (can have rice or potato base instead)
1 C                    Cherry or grape tomatoes (halved or quartered)
½ C                   Diced pickles (I prefer dill, especially Bics Polskie Ogórkie)

½ C                   Diced onions white or red (I used green onion for a milder onion taste)
9 oz                   Fritos Corn Chips for topping (and/or crumbled bacon, air-fried fries, crispy potatoes) 

Sauce - 

½ C                   Mayonnaise
2 T                    Ketchup
1 T                    Yellow mustard (or Dijon)
1 T                    Sweet pickle relish
½ tsp                White vinegar
¼ tsp                Paprika
¼ tsp                Onion powder
¼ tsp                Garlic powder
Pinch of salt
 
Instructions -

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until creamy and combined. Refrigerate the sauce while you cook the beef — it gets thicker and more flavorful as it chills.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and ketchup. Break up the meat as it cooks until browned and slightly crispy. Drain any excess fat. (note - I cooked the meat and drained it of fat, seasonings and ketchup and let it cook a few minutes on low.)

Divide lettuce into 4 bowls (or 1 large bowl). Top with cooked beef, shredded cheddar, tomatoes, pickles, and diced onions. Drizzle with Big Mac Sauce — or serve it on the side for dipping. Add toppings.  You could also give your guests bowls with the lettuce and meat in them, and let them add the toppings they like.