Meal Prep Bacon Cheeseburger Bowls

Meal prep bacon cheeseburger bowls offer all those flavors you crave, in a convenient container, including meaty beef and bacon, cheese, pickles, and crisp salad veggies.

You might also like bacon-wrapped cheeseburger bites, bacon cheeseburger sliders, bacon cheeseburger meatloaf, or these fusion cheeseburger tacos.

Why You’ll Love It           

Easy to make: Once you’ve cooked the beef, you simply have to divide everything between meal prep containers.
A speedy meal: It takes half an hour or less to prepare this simple yet satisfying dish.
Very flavorful: All the classic cheeseburger flavors are in this meal prep bowl recipe, including beef, bacon, cheese, pickles, and salad veggies, along with some pickled jalapeno if you want a little spice.
A portable treat: Bring one of these to work with you, or make them for a picnic or friendly gathering. As they can be enjoyed cold or with the beef warmed back up, you can take them anywhere as long as you remember to bring a fork too!

Bacon Cheeseburger Bowls Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Ground beef: I used lean ground beef but you can use whichever kind you prefer.
Bacon: Chopped or crumbled bacon adds more meatiness to the dish.
Cheddar cheese: A cheeseburger must-have.
Salad veggies: Lettuce and tomatoes add nutrients and contrasting flavors.
Pickles: The ready-sliced dill pickles save time slicing your own.
Jalapeno slices: These are optional but tasty if you want to add a little heat.
Dressing: Take your pick from burger sauce or thousand island dressing. You can find at least one of those in most grocery stores.

How to Make Meal Prep Cheeseburger Bowls

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.

Cook beef: Cook the ground beef in olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Drain excess fat and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Let it cool a bit.
Assemble the burger bowls: Divide the lettuce, cooked ground beef, tomatoes, cheese, red onions, pickles, crispy bacon and jalapenos (if using) between meal prep containers. Pour the dressing into little dressing containers and add one to each meal prep container.   

Substitutions and Variations

Ground beef: You can use any kind of ground beef you like in these burger bowls, perhaps ground chuck or ground sirloin steak. Alternatively, use another ground meat like ground chicken or ground turkey for a leaner option. You can also combine more than one type of juicy burger meat.
Beef seasonings: You can season the meat simply with salt and pepper, or add other seasonings like onion powder, garlic powder, steak seasoning, or any other herbs or spices you enjoy to make seasoned ground beef your way.
Cherry tomatoes: Chopped tomatoes would also work. You can leave the cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes whole if you don’t want to risk the juice making the lettuce soggy, or omit the tomatoes if you’re not a fan.
Shredded cheddar cheese: Use a different shredded cheese, such as a Mexican or Italian blend, shredded Swiss cheese or Colby Jack. Or try some blue cheese crumbles.
Butter lettuce: Substitute romaine lettuce, baby spinach leaves, iceberg lettuce, or a salad leaf mix. You can use whole leaves or shredded lettuce.
Burger sauce: Add Sriracha mayonnaise or spicy mayo instead of classic burger sauce for a kick of heat, or use ranch dressing instead.
Rodeo burger style: Add crispy onion strings, shredded pepper jack cheese, and BBQ sauce.
Optional add-ins: Diced avocado is good but add it just before serving to prevent browning.
Burger bowl toppings: Fried egg, caramelized onions, pickled red onions, sautéed mushrooms, or grilled pineapple would be good. Go ahead and add your favorite burger toppings to make it your own.
Keto (low carb) version: Swap the burger sauce for a keto-friendly dressing like mayonnaise or sour cream, or combine mayonnaise with sugar-free ketchup and yellow mustard to make a low carb dressing.

Serving Suggestions

With soup: Enjoy Italian inspired French onion soup or baked feta tomato soup on the side.
Other options: Pair your burger bowls with French fries or steak fries, sweet potato wedges, potato salad, or perhaps smoked elote (Mexican street corn).

How to Store Bacon Cheeseburger Bowls

Store: Store the filled meal-prep containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Because of the salad vegetables, burger bowls aren’t good for freezing, unless you freeze the meat only and add the other components of the dish after thawing.
Reheat: Enjoy burger bowls cold or reheat only the ground beef in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes.