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Smash Burger Bowl

Smash burger bowl with crispy-edged, lacy smashed beef and melty American cheese over shredded lettuce. Drizzled with quick special sauce and topped with dill pickles, diced onion, and cherry tomatoes for a deconstructed smash burger bowl.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 740
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Beef
  • 1.5 lb ground beef 80/20 for best browning
  • 1 Salt and black pepper Season to taste
  • 4 American cheese Slices
Bowl toppings
  • 4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes Halved
  • 0.5 cup dill pickle chips
  • 0.5 cup white onion Finely diced
Special sauce
  • 0.5 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp pickle relish
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp white vinegar

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Make the special sauce
  1. Whisk mayonnaise, ketchup, yellow mustard, pickle relish, garlic powder, and white vinegar until smooth. Refrigerate while you prep the beef and toppings.
Smash and cook the beef
  1. Divide ground beef into 8 loose balls and season with salt and black pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking.
  2. Add the beef balls to the hot skillet and smash flat immediately with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes, until the edges are lacy and brown.
  3. Flip the patties and cook briefly until ready to finish. Add a slice of American cheese to 4 patties, then stack two patties per serving.
Assemble the bowls
  1. Divide shredded iceberg lettuce among four bowls. Top each bowl with the stacked smashed beef patties.
  2. Add cherry tomatoes, dill pickle chips, and diced white onion over the beef. Drizzle generously with special sauce and serve immediately.

Notes

For maximum lacy edges, smash the patties right after they hit the skillet and don’t move them for the first 2 minutes. Refrigerate leftover special sauce up to 5 days; leftovers can be refrigerated up to 2 days, but assemble fresh for best texture. Freezing the cooked beef is okay up to 2 months, though lettuce and toppings should not be frozen. For a lower-calorie swap, use leaner ground beef (90/10) while keeping the same seasoning and smash method.