Fully Loaded Burger Bowl with "Special Sauce"

Loaded burger bowls with pickles, bacon, a quick guacamole, and a "special sauce"! An easy and satisfying alternative to lettuce wrapped burgers.

Prep: 20

Cook: 15

Total: 35

Yield:4 burger bowls

½ cup mayonnaise see Notes
2 tablespoons ketchup see Notes
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup or 1 tablespoon coconut aminos if on Whole30, see Notes
1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
1 pinch salt more or less to taste

1 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 small heads romaine lettuce leaves only, roughly chopped; approximately 8-9 cups total
1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes halved; or grape tomatoes, halved
½ cup pickle chips plus more to taste
8-10 slices thick-cut bacon cooked, crumbled

Add 1 pound lean ground beef, 4 teaspoons garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon salt to medium mixing bowl. Use hands or wooden spoon to mix ingredients together until well combined. Set bowl aside.
Heat large skillet over medium heat. When pan is warm, add 1 teaspoon avocado oil and swirl or tilt pan to distribute oil across surface. Continue heating pan until oil is hot and shimmery.
When oil is ready, add ground beef mixture to skillet. Cook beef, stirring frequently, until browned and crumbled. While ground beef cooks, prepare guacamole and special sauce.

Add ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (see Notes), 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish, 2 teaspoons dried minced onion, 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, and 1 pinch salt to second medium mixing bowl.
Whisk ingredients together until fully combined. Taste and adjust quantities as needed. When satisfied with flavor, set sauce aside until ready to serve.

Add 2 medium avocados, ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon salt to small mixing bowl. Use fork to mash ingredients together until fully combined. When desired consistency is achieved, set bowl aside until ready to serve guacamole.

When ground beef is fully cooked and crumbled, transfer beef to medium bowl or plate and set aside. Return skillet to medium heat.
Add 1 cup thinly sliced red onion to skillet in single layer. Work in batches as needed to avoid layering onions or overcrowding pan. Cook onion slices until lightly charred on underside, then flip onions over and cook until charred on other side.
Transfer sautéed red onions to second medium bowl or plate and set aside. Repeat with any remaining onions until all onions have been sautéed.

Divide 2 small heads romaine lettuce evenly between serving bowls.
Divide ground beef mixture into 4 equal portions. Place one portion in center of each serving bowl, on top of lettuce layer.
Arrange equal portions of 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, ½ cup pickle chips, 8-10 slices thick-cut bacon, sautéed red onions, prepared guacamole, and other preferred toppings around ground beef in each bowl.
Drizzle plenty of special sauce over top of burger bowls and serve immediately with additional sauce if desired.

Maple Syrup: If you're on a Whole30 round, do NOT use maple syrup! Replace the maple syrup with 1 tablespoon coconut aminos. If you're not on a Whole30 round, use maple syrup as instructed, and don't use coconut aminos.
Coconut Aminos: If you're not following a Whole30 diet, use maple syrup instead of coconut aminos. If you are on a Whole30 round, replace the maple syrup with 1 tablespoon coconut aminos.
Lemon Juice: Replace the lemon juice in the guac with lime juice for more of a Tex-Mex flavor.
Make it Whole30: Use a Whole30-compatible mayo (store-bought or make your own), a Whole30-compatible ketchup (store-bought or make your own), and do NOT use maple syrup in the sauce! Instead, replace the maple syrup with 1 tablespoon coconut aminos. Make sure your bacon is Whole30-compatible, too.
Make it Keto: Replace the maple syrup with a maple-flavored keto sweetener, like Lakanto's Sugar-Free Maple Syrup. Use a keto ketchup (store-bought or make your own). Use a sugar-free bacon. Omit the guacamole, tomatoes, and red onions to lower the carb count even more.