A burger in a bowl! Ranch-seasoned fries topped with a burger patty and all the fixings, with a drizzle of house sauce to take it over the top!
Burger Bowls with House Sauce and Ranch Fries
It’s Not Fancy, But My Family Loves Me For This.
In my life as a mom, I have different reasons to pull out different recipes.
- Need more protein? This chicken.
- Want fast flavor? These tacos.
- In a bad mood? This pasta.
- Prepping for the week? These bowls.
- Feeding a crowd? These meatballs.
Then there is the elusive category of “Need Something My Whole Family Will Love.” When I need to feel confident that all kids and adults in the house will enjoy a meal, that’s when I pull these burger bowls out.
Burger bowls aren’t really new concept, but these are the things I’ve been doing over the last few months that make me love them so much:
- The method for cooking the beef (bigger, juicier chunks! thanks to my friend Amanda for introducing me to this idea)
- Ranch fries. (Waffle fries = more fork friendly, and the ranch coating needs no explanation. YUM.)
- House sauce. (Creamy, bitey, delicious.)
Technically the house sauce puts the ingredient list at the higher end of an SOS level, but I wouldn’t be doing right by anyone to not include it. It’s luscious but also kind of sharp and delicious. And, if the homemade sauce is just not doable (been there), grab a store-bought burger sauce!
Hope you love these!
PS. If you love easy dinner recipes, don’t miss these ones!
Video To Make These Burger Bowls
Burger Bowls with House Sauce and Ranch Fries
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A burger in a bowl! Ranch-seasoned fries topped with juicy burger chunks and all the fixings, with a drizzle of house sauce to take it over the top!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Burger Bowls:
- 1 lb. ground beef (85/15 for the juiciest)
- 2 teaspoons burger seasoning (one teaspoon per side)
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced tomatoes
- Diced burger pickles
Ranch Fries:
- 1 22–ounce bag frozen waffle fries
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 1-ounce packet ranch seasoning mix (or 3 tablespoons)
House Sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon horseradish
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 clove grated garlic
Instructions
- For the ranch fries: Bake the fries according to package directions. Add butter to the sheet pan and toss to get the fries kinda juicy. Then toss those juicy fries with ranch seasoning, adding more or less depending on how many fries you make, and your level of ranch obsession. Yummy.
- For the sauce: Whisk your sauce. Taste and season with salt. Or, use a store-bought burger sauce!
- For the beef: Heat a cast iron over high heat with no oil (use a well-seasoned pan). You want that pan to be very hot so it’ll sear the beef. Season one side of the ground beef with 1 teaspoon burger seasoning. Add the ground beef to the hot pan, seasoning side down (see video for how I did this straight from package). Resist the urge to break it up immediately – leave it undisturbed for several minutes to get a nice browned crust. The fat will start to render and it should start to develop some browning.
- To finish the beef: Sprinkle the exposed side with the other teaspoon of seasoning. After a few minutes, flip the beef in large chunks – you want to break it up into fork-sized bits, but not too small – this just keeps it juicy and makes it more pleasant to eat with a fork. Once it’s well-browned, remove from heat.
- Assemble: Put it all together! The juicy burger crumbles, the ranch fries, the toppings, the house sauce. It’s SO yum.
Notes
Burger Seasoning: This is the one I’ve been using! (affiliate link) But there are many options we’ve tried from the grocery store and they’ve honestly all been pretty good. Hard to go wrong. If you don’t have a burger seasoning and want to use just salt and pepper, I would use 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt per side on the beef.
About the beef: The goal is juicy, medium-big chunks with a nice golden brown crust. Using a very high heat to get the sear helps do this quickly so the beef doesn’t get dried out. I will even pull the beef off the heat when the insides are still a little pink, if I’ve gotten that nice crust on the outside. Kind of the same way you would do for a regular burger.
About the pan: You can use a different type of pan; the reason I recommend cast iron is because it gets very hot and will be easiest to give you that nice sear. But I’ve also made the beef in a nonstick pan and it still does okay! Not a big deal if you don’t have a cast iron.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: burger bowls, burger in a bowl, burger salad
Three More Really Fun Bowls
Filed Under: All Recipes Bowls Dinner Gluten-Free Kid-Friendly Meat and Chicken Quick and Easy Recipes SOS Series Stovetop Summer
May 13, 2025
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Can I sub the mayo for something else? I have an egg allergy unfortunately
Thanks!
Hellman’s makes an egg free mayo that tastes pretty close to real mayo! It’s really good!
Hey Annmarie, as a great sub for mayo I’ve found sour cream to work very well!
I make sure it’s not low fat and I use it as a replacement for mayo in sauces. I personally find it a great alternative
These were so delicious!! Adding into the meal rotation for sure!
Can you air fry the hamburger instead of a pan?
We haven’t tested that; let us know if you do!
LOVE this meal. We are a Pinch of Yum obsessed household and once again, you added a staple to our meal rotation. Thank you!!!!
So glad to hear this was enjoyed!
Would this work ok with ground turkey?
Turkey is leaner so it will be less juicy and not get the nice crispy edges, but you can certainly make it that way if you’d like.
I used ground turkey because it was staring me in the fridge. Worked just fine.
The beef and waffle fry hacks…ohhhh my goodness!!
These were a winner in our house! I could only find seasoned waffle fries, so I skipped the ranch seasoning step, but the bowls were delicious regardless. Thank you!
Forgot to rate! 5 stars!
Oh, and I also made the smores bars. Wow. Unreal!!! I appreciate the fact that POY includes a 1/2 recipe scale – since it’s just me and my husband, it makes sense to use that scale when it comes to desserts and sweets. Still….ate half the pan so I guess goodbye diet 👋
Okay, listen-this burger bowl? It slaps. The beef is juicy, the ranch fries are crispy and packed with flavor, and that house sauce? I could drink it. It’s the kind of meal you make once and then crave every week. My picky eaters were quiet the whole meal. That’s how you know it’s a win.
A total win. Yay!
So delicious! I’ve been reluctant to jump on the burger bowl trend but when I saw POY had a recipe I knew I had to try it. It was so good we are having it twice in one week! Just a great combo of flavors (especially love the sauce) and very easy. Can’t thank you enough for yet another fantastic recipe!
Twice in one week, love it!
What sort of witchery goes into this meal?!? My insanely picky eater ate two bowls and said multiple times while eating “you have to make this again”
I gave my younger one “deconstructed” bowls because he prefers his food not to touch haha!
Hubby and I both agreed these bowls just work and that zippy sauce!! Yum!!
So glad that it was enjoyed by the whole family!
Burger bowls were a huge hit! A super fun take on something classic. The burger sauce is delicious. The ranch fries … OMG! Ready and on the table in under 30 minutes. Kid approved meal that is now in regular rotation. Another POY win!
This was a hit in our household. Delicious and super easy to throw together!
Made these burger bowls tonight and they were a hit! I used turkey meat instead of beef and added avocado and mushrooms. Huuggge success! Thanks for a new summer favorite!