Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Skillet
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Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Skillet is an easy peasy low carb weeknight dinner is full of delicious cheeseburger taste without the extra carbs. Perfect weeknight dinner because it takes less than 25 minutes to make!
When you’re in the mood for a big ol’ greasy cheeseburger, but need to keep it a little more healthy? This Cheeseburger Cauliflower Skillet is a super yummy stand in! It’s full of ALL the good ol’ cheeseburger taste, but much lower on carbs, fat.. grease… and extra credit for cauliflower, right? We just love this one!
I keep it extra easy by using frozen cauliflower so this can truly be a super quick meal, you can use leftover cooked bacon (is there even such a thing?) or even crumbled already cooked bacon (I won’t judge ya I swear it).
I know cauliflower sometimes gets a bad rep because it tries to be everything, but you know what my favorite thing about cauliflower is? It’s like sponge for flavor. It really does take on so much taste, but it really is just completely bland alone. I’m not telling you this is a replacement for pasta or potatoes. That’s just silly and really cannot stand when people do that, but I am telling you this is a totally delicious meal and leftovers (unfortunately) don’t last long in the fridge so that’s when I know its really good!
Fun fact: Did you know the cauliflower actually contains a little of almost every vitamin and mineral you need? It’s high in fiber, choline, and antioxidants. So there’s actually a ton of reasons to eat cauliflower, It’s really not just to replace carbs on a low carb diet. =)
This meal is meant to be delicious cauliflower with bacon cheeseburger vibes. That’s all. No more or less, it’s absolutely delicious! Because I don’t follow a low carb diet I like to add some of those crispy onions on top for a topping. I’ve also made fries as a side dish, don’t judge me. Haha!
Gather your ingredients
The ingredients in this Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Skillet are incredibly simple and are things I almost always have on hand in the fridge and freezer. This skillet can be made in under 25 minutes which is so awesome. It would totally take me longer to drive to a restaurant and get a cheeseburger.
- Frozen cauliflower– look for plain frozen cauliflower florets. You don’t want anything with seasoning or riced cauliflower.
- Center cut bacon– You can also use already cooked and crumbled bacon if you want to skip frying bacon (or make your bacon in the oven!)
- Ground beef– I stick to extra lean ground beef (usually 96/4).
- Red onion-
- Minced garlic– I’m using the stuff from the refrigerator section in the jar for ease, but you can mince 3-5 cloves of your own if you want!
- red onion– yellow or white onion would work fine too
- Ketchup– I use no sugar added ketchup, but you can use regular
- Yellow mustard
- Dill relish- sweet relish will work fine too, but just know it has added sugars, you can also finely dice dill pickles
- Better Than Bouillon- you can find this super easily in the grocery store right next to where you find the broth and stock, if you don’t want to use this you can simply use beef broth in place of the better than bouillon and water
- water
- olive oil
How to make Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Skillet
- Cut cauliflower into small bite size pieces if they are large pieces. On the cutting board press the cauliflower down with a paper towel. This will just remove extra water and allow them to cook up and get golden brown much easier.
- In a large skillet cook bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside on a paper towel to soak extra grease. Dab out the extra grease in pan with a paper towel.
- Add two teaspoons olive oil. Add cauliflower to the skillet and season with a pinch of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (optional), and smoked paprika.
- Cook cauliflower until softened and there’s some yummy golden caramelized bits. When it’s finished remove from skillet and set aside.
Tip #1: You can skip the first step which is cooking bacon if you have leftover bacon, already cooked bacon, or want to use the already cooked and crumbed bacon.
Tip #2: I’m using my huge cast iron skillet for this one, you don’t have to use that big of a skillet or a cast iron skillet. I do recommend using a large skillet/frying pan, at least 12 inches- here’s another option for a large non-stick skillet. I got it at Costco a few months ago and it’s been great so far.
- Next up, throw ground beef into a hot skillet along with chopped red onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the ground beef is browned and onions are softened.
- Sprinkle beef with one tablespoon of flour and stir it around to coat. Cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add in ketchup, relish, mustard, water, better than bouillon, and water. Stir together to combine everything. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat to simmer for a few minutes.
Note: if you don’t have better than bouillon, you can use beef broth.
- After you’ve simmered the cheeseburger beef mixture for a bit add cauliflower back into the skillet and warm it up a bit.
- Cover the entire thing with cheese. If you want you can just put a cover on and let it melt or you can pop it into the oven and let it melt for a few minutes IF your pan is oven safe.
- Top with pickles and crispy crumbled bacon. I also love throwing on some of those crispy onions (you know like the ones you use for green bean casserole?) to add some yummy crunch!
Oh yeah! Doesn’t that just look like the best? It’s so good, y’all. Eric says the only thing it’s missing is some carbs (haha!), but he loves it just as much as I do. The man just likes his meat and his carbs (with his vegetables!).
Storage and reheating
Store in an air tight container for 4-5 days. Reheat in the microwave or a skillet until warm.
More Cheeseburger recipes to love
- Bacon Cheeseburger Bowls
- One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta
- Bacon Cheeseburger Chili
- Big Mac Tacos (from In Krista’s Kitchen)
Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Skillet
Ingredients
- 5 slices center cut bacon
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 5 cups frozen cauliflower florets (about 1½ lbs frozen)
- 1 medium diced onion (red, yellow, or white is fine)
- 1 lb uncooked extra lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/4 cup no sugar added ketchup
- 3 tbsp dill relish
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp beef better than bouillon *if you don't have better than bouillon you can use 1 cup beef broth in place of the bouillon and water*
- 1 cup water
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
- 3/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese 2% American cheese slices also works!
- dill pickle slices (about 1/4 cup or as many as you'd like!)
Instructions
- If needed, cut cauliflower into small bite size pieces if they are large pieces. On the cutting board press the cauliflower down with a paper towel. This will just remove extra water and allow them to cook up and get golden brown much easier.
- In a large skillet cook bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside. Dab out the extra grease in the pan with a paper towel.
- Add two teaspoons olive oil. Then, add cauliflower to the skillet and season with a pinch of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes (optional, Cook cauliflower until softened and there's some yummy golden caramelized bits. When its finished remove from skillet and set aside.
- Next up, throw ground beef into a hot skillet along with chopped onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the ground beef is browned and onions are softened. Add garlic in and cook for about 30 more seconds.
- Sprinkle beef with one tablespoon of flour and stir it around to coat. Cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add in ketchup, relish, mustard, water, better than bouillon, and water. Stir together to combine everything. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat to simmer for a few minutes.
- Now, add cauliflower back into the skillet and cover it with the cheese. If you want you can just put a lid on and let it melt or you can pop it into a 425 degree oven and let it melt for a few minutes IF your pan is oven safe.
- Top with pickles and crispy crumbled bacon. I also love throwing on some of those crispy onions (you know like the ones you use for green bean casserole?) to add some yummy crunch!
Notes
240 calories8g fat, 2g saturated fat, 450g sodium,3g fiber, 5g sugar(0 added sugar, 0 sugar alcohol), 12g carb, 10g net carbs, 29g protein
This was the best idea! We could honestly eat this weekly and probably will! So good!!
Goodness gracious this was delicious! My husband was a bit apprehensive but he loved it too! Your recipes are always the best!
I was so excited to make this that I forgot to add the bacon (the first ingredient lol!)!
Even without the bacon it was AMAZING. Super flavor, tasted like I just had a burger. If you don’t like cauliflower you will not even notice it. I served it over a bed of iceberg lettuce…chef’s kiss!
Thanks Star…another fave!
Yay!! I’m so so glad you enjoyed ! Next time will even be better with this bacon too. =) Thanks for stopping back to comment and let me know how it went. Appreciate it!
You mentioned if you don’t use the bouillon you can use beef broth and water. How much water and is that in addition to the 1 cup of water you already are adding?
Just use 1 cup of beef broth in place of the 1 tsp bouillon and 1 cup water. I’ll try to make that more clear in the instructions. Hope that makes sense!
Would love to try this, but how much mustard did you use? You mention adding it but it does not show up on the ingredient list.
Hi Lisa! I am so sorry- It’s 2 tbsp of mustard!
Looks so good! Unless I missed it, uncertain as to how much cheese you added?
I’m sorry! I just updated it. I left that out accidentally. I put 3/4 cup all over it. =)