In today’s fast food-driven world, it can be tough to eat healthily. Fortunately, this Big Mac bowl can help you manage your burger cravings!
It has all the classic Big Mac flavors with its seasoned ground beef and tangy sauce. There’s also cheese, lettuce, and pickles.
The only thing missing is the carb-heavy bun, making it keto-friendly!
You can also use extra-lean ground beef and lighten up the sauce. It’s an excellent way to indulge without overindulging.
Why You’ll Love This Big Mac Bowl
Nostalgic Delight: Bring back fond childhood memories with this drive-thru classic taste. It’s everything you love about McDonald’s iconic sandwich without any of the guilt.
Effortlessly Customizable: You can easily adapt the recipe to suit your dietary needs and taste preferences. Add more or less sauce, adjust the toppings, or leave things out.
Time-Saving & Convenient: You can prepare and eat this Big Mac bowl in less time than it would take to drive to the restaurant.
Totally Trendy: This recipe first made the rounds on popular social media platforms like TikTok. So if you like to photograph and show off your food, it’s great for that.
Ingredients
- Lean Ground Beef: The bowl’s hearty, protein-packed base. Opt for a high lean-to-fat ratio to keep things healthy, and season it to suit your tastes.
- Seasonings: A simple blend of garlic and onion powders, salt, and black pepper. They enhance the beef’s natural flavor without overpowering it.
- Onion: Its savory, earthy sweet flavor pairs perfectly with the beef. You’ll add some in with the meat and more as a topping when assembling the bowls.
- Yellow Mustard: For that classic, tangy Big Mac taste. I like French’s, but any brand will do.
- Big Mac Sauce: It’s made with light mayo, ketchup, dill pickles, pickle juice, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. (Or check out this recipe for a slightly different Big Mac sauce.)
- Iceberg Lettuce: For a refreshing, crispy crunch and a lighter balance between the heavy beef and cheese.
- Cheddar Cheese: Add it to the warm beef so it melts slightly. It’s gooey, creamy, and totally delicious.
- Dill Pickles: Because who DOESN’T love pickles on their Big Mac? Or in their Big Mac bowl.
- Tomatoes: Store-bought tomatoes will work fine. But if they’re in season, pick them up from someone’s garden or farmer’s market. It makes a world of difference in the flavor and juiciness.
How to Make a Big Mac Bowl
Personally, I think making a burger bowl is much easier than making an actual burger. Just follow these steps.
1. Brown & season. Add the beef to a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until browned. Then, add the chopped onion, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking until the onions are translucent. Then, drain and set aside.
2. Prepare the sauce. Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until well-mixed. Set aside.
3. Assemble the bowls. Divide the shredded lettuce evenly between four bowls. Top each bowl of lettuce with the ground beef mixture. Then, add the cheese, pickles, tomatoes, and onion.
4. Sauce & serve. Drizzle each assembled bowl generously with the Big Mac sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Big Mac Bowl
Here are a few tips and variations before you get to the recipe card:
- Don’t forget to drain. Draining excess fat will make the dish lighter and healthier. It’ll also prevent the grease from making the toppings soggy.
- Chill the sauce! I like to make the sauce ahead of time and pop it in the fridge. Letting it chill for at least 30 minutes gives the flavors time to blend together.
- Put in some elbow grease. Shred the cheese yourself. Avoid using bagged shredded cheese. The anti-caking agent in it makes it less likely to melt into the hot beef and get all nice and gooey.
- Keep things even. Having similarly sized veggies just looks nicer. It also gives the dish a more consistent texture.
- Switch up the meat. You can substitute whatever ground meat you like best. Chicken, turkey, and plant-based alternatives offer more nutritious bowls.
- Swap out the sauce. While Big Mac sauce is standard, there are plenty of other condiments out there. Use spicy chipotle sauce or a dressing like Thousand Island or ranch.
- Add fun toppings. I always crumble some crispy baked bacon into mine. Other options include sliced avocado, peppers, mushrooms, a fried egg, etc. Also, try the bowl with some of these McDonald’s copycat recipes for a complete meal.
How to Store
Once you’ve mixed everything together, this bowl doesn’t store well. It gets soggy pretty quickly. You can, however, store the components separately.
To Store: Store each Big Mac bowl component in its own air-tight container in the fridge. Keeping things separate prevents sogginess and maintains freshness. Everything should keep for up to 3 days.
To Reheat: Immediately before serving, reheat the meat in a microwave-safe container. Microwave on high in 20-second intervals, stirring between each. Once warm, assemble the bowls and enjoy!
Big Mac Bowl
4
servings25
minutes10
minutes510
kcalThis low-carb Big Mac bowl is the answer to your fast-food cravings! With beef, lettuce, pickles, cheese, and special sauce, it’s too good to pass up.
Ingredients
- For the Beef
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and black pepper, to taste
- For the Big Mac Sauce
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dill pickles, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons pickle juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
- For Assembling the Bowls
8 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup dill pickles, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef until browned.
- Add the chopped onion, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Continue cooking until the onions are translucent and the beef is fully cooked. Drain any excess fat and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, ketchup, chopped dill pickles, pickle juice, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Mix until well combined. Set aside.
- Divide the shredded iceberg lettuce evenly among four bowls. Top each bowl with a portion of the cooked ground beef mixture.
- Add shredded cheese, chopped dill pickles, tomatoes, and red onion to each bowl. Drizzle the Big Mac sauce over the top.
- Serve immediately and enjoy your homemade Big Mac Bowls!
Notes
- If desired, you can prep these bowls ahead of time. Chop, cook, and store the ingredients separately in airtight containers. Assemble just before eating.
- Substitute the ground beef with ground turkey or chicken for a different flavor.
- Feel free to experiment with different dressings like Thousand Island or ranch. You can also use a homemade yogurt-based dressing for a lighter option.
- Customize your bowls with additional toppings such as crumbled bacon, avocado slices, etc. Remember to cut the toppings and any extras into uniformly sized pieces.
