Cheeseburger Bowls

Cheeseburger bowls– A classic, melty cheeseburger, but deconstructed and served in a bowl. Ranch-seasoned beef, crispy sweet potato fries, burger sauce, and melty cheese sauce (and, of course, lettuce, tomato, & pickles). These cheeseburger bowls are a top-notch, easy weeknight dinner.

These cheeseburger bowls are super easy to make (just 45 minutes and you’re done!). The beef and sweet potato fries are baked in the oven together for a hands-off recipe. Whip up a simple, three ingredient burger sauce and these burger bowls are ready to assemble.

They’re kid-friendly and can be customized based on your family’s burger topping preferences. Try loading them up with bacon, onion, or avocado.

It’s the ranch-seasoned crumbled beef, crispy, caramelized sweet potato fries, crunchy shredded lettuce, fresh diced tomato, dollop of dill relish, simple homemade burger sauce, and last, but not least, the melty cheese sauce that will make your tastebuds sing.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• Tastes like a classic, hot, & melty cheeseburger in a bowl
• Easy weeknight recipe: 45 minutes start-to-finish
• Low effort + hands off – sweet potato fries and beef cook together in oven
• Kid-friendly & customizable build-your-own style
• Gluten-free

Ingredients

• Sweet potato fries: I’ve been making these frozen Alexia Sweet Potato Fries for so long. They’re so easy to pop in the oven and they crisp up so nicely. Nothing makes a cheeseburger meal complete like a side of fries. When testing this recipe, I felt like the sweetness of the sweet potatoes brought a nice balance to the very salty, savory factors coming from the beef and cheese.
• Ground beef: I generally use 80/20 ground beef. It has a little fat to keep the meet tender and moist, yet not too much that I have to blot or drain off a ton of excess.
• Ranch seasoning: Seasons and enhances the flavor of the beef. The ranch seasoning’s tangy, herby flavor goes so well with the rest of the cheeseburger bowl components.
• Dried onion: Helps season the meat, while adding the flavor of another classic burger topping. I like the convenience of dried minced onion over chopping a fresh onion. Plus, fresh onion can make the beef watery and prevent it from getting browned and crispy.
• Shredded lettuce: Shredded iceberg lettuce is crunchy and fresh in these cheesy burger bowls.
• Tomato: What’s a good, loaded cheeseburger without a slice of juicy tomato? The acidity compliments and lightens the salt and fat in the rest of the dish. I recommend using fresh tomato versus canned here. Cherry tomatoes work, too.
• Dill relish: Some more light, acidic flavor and crunch factor. Gives the bowls that tangy, pickle taste that goes so well with a cheeseburger.
• Cheese dip: The cheese dip is what makes these bowls taste like a classic cheeseburger. When I was testing this recipe I used processed cheese dip because I wanted it to mimic the taste of a slice of melty American cheese on a burger patty. This jar is the one that I used in recipe testing.

Equipment

• Large sheet pan – Nordic Ware sheet pans are high quality and my go-to. I use one of these for the sweet potatoes.
• Small sheet pan – I use these “quarter” sheet pans ALL the time. They’re so handy and much easier to clean! I use one of these for the ground beef.
• Medium-size mixing bowl – This set is so cute and has the perfect sizes–plus lids!
• Small mixing bowl – These are perfect for mixing and storing the burger sauce.
• Wooden spoon – A sturdy spoon like one of these is perfect for mixing the ground beef and seasonings together.
• Cutting board – This one is sturdy, non-plastic, and easy to store.
• Chef’s knife – A solid, affordable option.
• Gloves – If you don’t like handling the raw meat with your bare hands.

How to Make Cheeseburger Bowls

1. Season and mix the ground beef. Start by mixing together the ground beef with the ranch seasoning and minced onion. Crumble the beef onto a small sheet pan.
2. Bake the sweet potato fries and beef. Bake both at 450˚F (high temp to ensure crispiness) at the same time, on separate sheet pans and oven racks for about 25-30 minutes. They should be pulled out once the beef and fries are slightly browned and cripsy. Baking the ground beef simplifies the process and results in really nice, chunks of slightly crispy, craggy ground beef.
3. Make the burger sauce. Mix together the mayo, ketchup, and mustard to make a simple burger sauce.
4. Prep the remaining ingredients. Dice the tomato and warm the cheese dip.
5. Assemble the burger bowls. In each bowl, add lettuce, sweet potato fries, diced tomato, pickle relish, burger sauce, beef crumbles, and cheese sauce over the beef.

Notes & Tips

Substitutions

• If you don’t want to cook the meat in the oven, feel free to brown the ground beef in a skillet on the stove top. Before recipe testing I had doubts about whether the oven could brown ground beef well, but I was proven wrong. It browns it really nice and evenly with a slight bit of crisp, brown edges on the tops, which I really liked in these cheeseburger bowls.
• You can opt for a store-bought burger sauce if you prefer. I like making my own out of pantry/refrigerated condiment staples I know I’ll have on hand and be able to use for other things. Whenever I buy a very specific condiment, like burger sauce, I feel like it ends up just expiring and going to waste.
• Try swapping the ground beef for ground turkey or chicken. This would be really good, too! I would recommend using a higher fat percentage to mimic that of the beef, however.
• Mix up the type of fries! Try regular frozen fries, tater tots, curly fries, or waffle fries. Just keep in mind that the bake time may be slightly different. I would still bake at 450˚F for extra crispness. Also… cheese curds would be ridiculously good.
• Make your own homemade cheese sauce in place of the store-bought jar. I like the convenience of grabbing store-bought since it just needs to be warmed.
• Change up any of the veggie components. Sub the diced tomato for halved cherry tomatoes, pickle relish for dill pickle chips, or iceberg lettuce for spinach, kale, or romaine.

Additions

Try dressing up these burger bowls even more with any of the following:

• Avocado
• Bacon crumbles
• Pickled red onion
• Diced white onion
• Over-easy egg
• Chopped hard-boiled eggs
• Sautéed mushrooms
• Pickled jalapeno peppers
• Hot sauce
• Sesame seeds
• Cheese curds

What to Pair with Cheeseburger Bowls

Cheeseburger bowls are delicious and filling on their own, but if you want something else on the side, try these:

• Pretzel bites (to dip in the extra cheese sauce!)
• Grilled vegetables
• Corn on the cob or Mexican street corn salad
• Baked beans
• Cowboy caviar
• Mac and cheese
• Chips and guacamole
• Homemade hot fudge milkshakes

Storage and Reheating

I recommend storing the components of these cheeseburger bowls separately in the refrigerator so the lettuce and sweet potato fries don’t get soggy. When ready to enjoy leftovers, assemble the beef, fries, and cheese sauce in a bowl and microwave to reheat before topping with the lettuce, tomato, relish, and burger sauce.

Other Recipes You Might Like…

• Grilled cheese burgers (a delicious mash up of a grilled cheese sandwich + cheeseburger)
• Turkey & gouda smash burgers – thin, buttery, cripsy smash burger patties lightened up with turkey and topped with melty gouda cheese

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Cheeseburger Bowls

These cheeseburger bowls are a top-notch, easy weeknight dinner and taste like a classic, melty cheeseburger in a bowl. They're made with ranch-seasoned beef crumbles, crispy sweet potato fries, shredded lettuce, and fresh diced tomato, then topped with a simple homemade burger sauce, warm, melty nacho-style cheese, and pickle relish.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: burger bowl recipe, burger bowls, cheeseburger bowls, easy, ground beef recipes, sweet potato fries

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Kate Reeder

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 oz ranch seasoning packet ~3 tbsp
• 1 tbsp dried minced onion
• 20 bag frozen sweet potato fries
• 8 oz shredded iceberg lettuce ~3½-4 cups
• 1 medium tomato ~1 cup diced
• ½ cup dill pickle relish
• ¾ cup processed cheese dip warmed

Quick Burger Sauce

• ¼ cup mayo
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp mustard

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450˚F. Grease a small and large sheet pan with cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef with ranch seasoning and dried minced onion. With your hands, pinch off large "crumbles" and evenly distribute the beef onto the small sheet pan.
• Dump the sweet potato fries onto the larger sheet pan and spread out evenly. Place both the sweet potato fries and the beef into the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until both are slightly browned and crispy.
• While the fries and beef cook, work on prepping the rest of the ingredients. Dice the tomato and set aside.
• In a small bowl, warm the cheese in the microwave in 10-second increments until hot. Keep covered and set aside.
• Make the burger sauce. Mix together the mayo, ketchup, and mustard in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Once the fries and beef are done, assemble the bowls. Add the lettuce, sweet potato fries, beef crumbles, diced tomato, and relish. Top with a drizzle of burger sauce and a generous spoonful of cheese sauce over the beef.

Notes

Additional topping ideas: Bacon crumbles, pickled red onion, diced white onion, over-easy egg, chopped hard-boiled eggs, avocado, sautéed mushrooms, pickled jalapeño peppers, hot sauce, cheese curds, or sesame seeds.

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