This Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole is made low carb secretly using cauliflower as the base and no one will know! It's low carb, keto, gluten free, nut free and grain free! My New & Improved Method makes this a much easier casserole to get on the table fast even on a busy weeknight! Just 4 grams of net carbs per serving, perfect for those on a low carb diet or keto diet!
WHAT IS A CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE?
A cheeseburger casserole is essentially a deconstructed cheeseburger! All the flavors of a cheeseburger made into a layered casserole dish with the secret vegetable ingredient as the base! This recipe was first published in March of 2015 and has been updated with a new & improved method and video.
I do love a cheeseburger every once in a while, but I always skip the hamburger bun. I'm gluten free and keto, buns at burger joints are not. But isn't the best thing about a cheeseburger is all the toppings? Now don't get me wrong, I like keto rolls and keto bread like everyone, but sometimes I don't have time to make them for a burger.
I highly doubt it's the bun that makes the burger. So I give you the inside out burger made into a layered dish! The perfect cheesy keto bacon cheeseburger casserole!
NEW & IMPROVED CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE
Impress your whole family or friends when you make this cheeseburger casserole recipe. This amazing recipe requires a little bit of work, but the results are well worth the effort.
Bring it to a pot luck and WOW everyone there when you tell them they just ate cauliflower! Cheese and bacon make everything right in my world. Even if you are watching your calories this dish will fill you up with one small serving so the calories will be completely worth it since this is a complete meal!!
The previous method for making this low carb cheeseburger casserole when I first published it in 2015, required steaming a fresh head of cauliflower. You see back in 2015 there were not many options as you see today for cauliflower already in rice form.
The other change I made to make this easier is to bake the bacon instead of watching it in a skillet. This way you don't have to babysit the bacon and can get on with the rest of the recipe.
HOW TO MAKE CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE
Ingredients- see exact amounts below
- Bacon
- Avocado oil or olive oil
- Ground Beef
- Seasonings
- Frozen Cauliflower Rice
- Coconut Flour
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Mustard
- Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Add your bacon in an even layer on a large baking sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes or until crisp. You could fry your bacon in a skillet but baking the bacon save time to make the rest of the recipe much faster.
Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium- high heat and add ground beef. You could use any oil you prefer. You could also swap ground beef with ground turkey or chicken if you like. Cook until browned. Stir in the onion powder, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl to keep warm and set aside.
Place frozen cauliflower rice in a microwavable bowl and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coconut flour and salt and mix well. Set aside. SEE NOTES BELOW IF USING FRESH CAULIFLOWER.
Once bacon is crisp, remove to a paper towel lined pan. Once cool chop into pieces.
Make the sauce: Add the butter to the skillet and stir in the coconut flour. Reduce to low heat and stir until the flour has absorbed the butter. Pour in the heavy cream and mustard and continue to stir until it thickens.
Assembly
- Place ½ cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish.
- Spread the cauliflower mixture on top of the sauce as evenly as possible.
- Place 4 ounces of cheddar over the cauliflower rice.
- Spread the ground beef over the cheddar evenly.
- Pour half of the remaining sauce over the beef.
- Place the remaining cheddar over the sauce.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with chopped bacon.
- Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool out of the oven for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Top with fresh, chopped scallions if desired. Enjoy with a nice crispy green salad and some dill pickles.
- Store any left overs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
CAN I USE FRESH CAULIFLOWER?
You can definitely use fresh cauliflower for this recipe, but you will have to cook it prior to using it in this keto casserole which takes a bit more time.
In 2015, I steamed 6 cups of cauliflower florets then used the food processor to turn it into rice, a lot more time involved as well as having to clean two kitchen appliances.
You could also use fresh cauliflower rice. I've don't that as well, BUT you still must cook the cauliflower rice or it won't get nice and soft in the base of this casserole.
Buying frozen cauliflower rice is the quickest method since it's already cooked and you just need to heat it up about 5 minutes. See my new video below.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE
I think this keto cheeseburger casserole needs no sides, but if you wanted to these Keto Air Fryer Rolls would be easy to add or a simple salad like my Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad or my Cucumber Dill Salad.
But to enjoy this inside out burger without a bun and be completely satisfied, there is not defeat in that. It's called winning!
MORE KETO RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
- Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
- Bacon Cheddar Cauliflower Bites
- Philly Cheese steak Stuffed Mushrooms
- Mini Bunless Cheeseburger Bites with Thousand Island Dip
- Chicken enchilada Cauliflower Casserole
- Beef Stroganoff Cauliflower Casserole
Low-Carb Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
This low carb bacon cheeseburger casserole has all the flavors of a bacon cheeseburger, but with only 7 total grams of carbs per serving. It's a great option for a meal prep on a weekend, as well as adding to your freezer meals. My entire family loves all of my low carb meals, but this is one of their favorites.
Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 ounces bacon
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 20 ounces frozen cauliflower rice (see notes above for fresh cauliflower)
- ⅓ cup coconut flour 40 grams
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Add your bacon in an even layer on a large baking sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes or until crisp.
- Add avocado oil to a large skillet and add ground beef. Cook until browned. Stir in the onion powder, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl to keep warm and set aside.
- Place frozen cauliflower rice in a microwavable bowl and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coconut flour and salt and mix well. Set aside.
- Once bacon is crisp, remove to a paper towel lined pan. Once cool chop into pieces.
Make the Sauce
- Add the butter to the skillet and stir in the coconut flour. Reduce to low heat and stir until the flour has absorbed the butter. Pour in the heavy cream and mustard and continue to stir until it thickens.
Assembly
- Place ½ cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish.
- Spread the cauliflower mixture on top of the sauce as evenly as possible.
- Place 4 ounces of cheddar over the cauliflower rice.
- Spread the ground beef over the cheddar evenly.
- Pour half of the remaining sauce over the beef.
- Place the remaining cheddar over the sauce.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with chopped bacon.
- Cover and bake 30 minutes.
- Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool out of the oven for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Kelly
Could you use coconut flour and eggs for the crust, like your chicken enchilada recipe crust?
Ashleigh
I made this last night and O-M-G! It even SMELLS like a cheeseburger! My only issue is I don't own a food processor so I had to pulsate it through a blender and it still turned our mushy. The dish was still amazing but would be even better with texture. Saving this recipe and making it AGAIN!
PS. Husband and I are fighting over leftovers. Wish me luck 😉
Brenda
YAH!!!
Tara Pantera
I know this was posted a long time ago, but I thought if you make it again, you can try what I did. I HATE messing with my food processor, so I just put the cauliflower in a giant bowl after it was steamed, let it cool, then used my kitchen shears on it until it was in semi-small pieces. I actually liked having it in slightly bigger chunks, but not huge florets...
Angir
If you just cut up the cauliflower into small pieces do you still use the coconut flour?
Brenda
no you can skip it
Justine
If you add water to your blender (cauliflower, fill with water, then blend) it should work a lot better. I found this out when I made cauliflower pizza crust and didn't have a food processor. I even found a video on YouTube!
Britta
Made this last night for my husband and I for dinner. Substituted heavy cream with almond milk (my stomach doesn't handle cream well) and only used 3/4 cup to prevent it from getting runny, also used soy flour and omitted mustard. Also used shredded cheese instead of slices. Turned out great and my picky husband went back for seconds. Next time I will try with beef to appease the husband, but for sure plan to make this again! I have a sugar beet allergy and LOVE this site because I feel like I can still make traditional family meals and don't feel guilty about the ingredients!
Brenda
Thanks for sharing!
Valerie
I made this a few days ago, and it's SO GOOD, thank you! I made it with ground beef, and since it had a higher fat content than turkey I just didn't add extra butter/oil. Also, I used 1 Tbs tapioca flour to thicken the sauce and it worked beautifully! It re-heats really well too, I love having left-over to pull out quickly.
Lisa Candanedo
in the past I could have sworn this was 8 servings. I just want to make sure it is, in fact, 10 servings so I portion it out correctly.
Brenda Bennett
No I didn't change the serving size, it's always been 10. I only changed the fresh cauliflower to using cauliflower rice.
Gail Jensen
Hi Brenda, I divided this into two dishes before putting in the oven. It's just my husband and I here. Can I freeze the second dish or should I bake it first?
Brenda
I think you can freeze it then thaw and bake when ready to have again.
Sandy Harr
I would love to get more recipes after seeing this one. I will definitely try this--as I love cauliflower.
Angela
One more question, can this be made and assembled in the pan and then freeze for a future dinner (without baking first)? What about the chicken enchilada one?
Brenda
Yes I think both can be prepared but not baked and frozen then just thaw when you are ready to bake it. I've not don this yet as we usually eat it up once it's made.
Angela
After I steamed the cauliflower and put it in the food processor, it just turned to mash. It was not riced. Will it still work?
Brenda
Yes it's ok, it will be mushy but ti all works just fine in the casserole.
Valerie
In our grocery store they have "riced" cauliflower in the freezer section, would this possibly work OK?
Brenda
Absolutely!
Patti
So how much riced cauliflower do you think to equal what the recipe calls for?
Brenda
It's about 4 cups riced cauliflower.
Jamie
I made this casserole tonight. It was a huge hit with my hubby and two kids. We have really enjoyed making the transitions from a carb loving family to eating more meats and veggies. I was shocked at how much the cauliflower looked and tasted like rice after being put in the food processor. I also made your chocolate chip pie the other day. I can't make it often though because I could have ate the whole thing by myself. Thanks for the motivation and recipes. The best part is we are eating really good while not being deprived.
Brenda
That makes me so happy, love to here!
Kim Beaulieu
I love the idea of an inside out cheeseburger. Casseroles are just comfort food at its finest. I think this would disappear quickly in my house.
Kelly M
This looks so good and moist!
There is one thing missing though ... the sesame seeds from the not necessary bun.
Flbirdy
Aw......about the derby. I had to help my son with his car because my husband travels and was not home to help. We kept it simple and painted it and glued some coins to the bottom. His was the fastest in every category!
Flbirdy
I'm vegan so always have to substitute ingredients, which is fine, but haven't found a good substitute for cream. Any ideas?
Honeybee
In a recipe like this, Tofutti vegan sour cream would work well, maybe thinned with a little almond milk or water. Some Daiya cheese substitute and "veggie crumbles" for the turkey and I bet it will be great!
Amanda @ The Kitcheneer
I NEED this in my life ASAP! I use cauliflower in just about everything now ever since going low carb! And I needed a good cheeseburger substitute!
Anita
I am allergic to mustard. Is there anything I can substitute with or can I just omit it?
Brenda
I'm sure it would be just as tasty if you omit it.
Jmj
Thnks, I'm not sure if it is dry mustard (I make my own) powder or mustard as used on dogs, etc..
Brenda
I used regular yellow mustard, liquid.
Nancy P.@thebittersideofsweet
A colleague of mine made something the other day with a cauliflower crust and it was amazing! I know I would love this!
Martha @ A Family Feast
Oh yum - This looks amazing! I think even my picky-eater would enjoy this (and I'd enjoy seeing her eat some cauliflower!)
Anita
This is such a crowd-pleaser of a dish! Looks great for a party!
Stephanie @ Back for Seconds
Awww your poor boy. It's so hard seeing our kids upset.
This dish looks so cheesy and delicious. I know it would be a hit in my house!
Debbie Caraballo
This will definitely be going on our table soon - pinned! Thanks for a great recipe.
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes
I actually prefer burgers without the buns!! So I get what you're saying - they can be just as delicious without. This looks great!
Patty
I love to use cabbage leaves instead of bread for my burger “buns”! SO yummy!
Pam
I am lactose intolerant. I CAN "treat" heavy cream" with powdered lactase, but it's a bit of a pain. Is there anything else that you've tried to substitute for the cream? Whole milk maybe?
I can't WAIT to try this! I would caution everyone to make SURE that they steam the cauliflower and don't try boiling it - will make it very soupy and mushy...tried that with the "mock mashed potatoes" and it was a major failure.... 🙁
Michelle
I have tried this with coconut milk before with no problem. There was only a very very slight coconut taste to it that was barely detectable. We also added dill relish and some raw minced onion on top. The stronger flavors counter any coconut.
Cookin Canuck
It's so hard to watch our kids experience disappointment. I know that feeling of wanting to make everything right for them! Filling this casserole with cauliflower is such a great idea. This would be a hit at any get-together.
P.J. Stietz
We always do the unless bacon cheeseburger, but this looks like an awesome variation...can't wait to try it!
I realize your point about you son was how we can learn to deal with tough situations, but I had the exact same thing happen with my Cub Scout. His last year I was determined to do everything I could to insure a better outcome. I found on the Internet several tips on making derby cars faster while staying within the rules, all easy enough for a single parent with few tools. He came in first! If you haven't tried this, I'd highly suggest it.
Devon
I do not consume flour. Can I substitute almond meal/flour or coconut flour in its place? Which substitution would be best? How much would be needed?
Thanks!
Brenda
I would not recommend using coconut flour in here, but almond flour would work,same amount.
Tammi
what would be the net carbs using the almond flour? They would be less if you aren't using a grain flour right?
Jessica
I am new to almond and coconut flour. So far i seem to like almond flour better but i didnt have any left so i used coconut flour and it still turned out awesome! No coconutty flavor. Just used a little less coconut flour because it absorbs so much more than almond flour. I also used shredded cheddar and accidentally added it to the sauce before i read the instructions fully!! Oops, but i layered the sauce as directed and just added a little more cheese on top with the bacon and it was a delicious mistake the whole family even my picky eaters loved it.
Janet
So so happy to see I'm not the only one that misses the directions sometimes and adds stuff at the wrong time thanks.
Shelley
I am a little confused that you put that you don't recommend coconut flour when that is what the recipe calls for?
Brenda
Well if you look at the date of that comment I made it was in March 2015, and then I have an update to the recipe above the recipe in black bold letters APRIL 2017 I switched out the orginial flour I used and used coconut.
Meredith
I loved this but when I entered the ingredients into MyFitnessPal, the carbs were way higher and seemed the coconut flour was the culprit? Thoughts?
Kelly M Easterbrook
I made this with coconut flour and was amazed at how well it turned out. And, I had no idea that coconut flour makes an easy and delicious and gravy for this casserole!
Kristina
HI Brenda what sides can I serve with this? Or just to put other things on the plate thanks
Brenda
It's a whole meal in and of itself but just a simple salad would be nice and fresh to go with!
Ally
the recipe calls for coconut flour or your choice...so yes u can use coconut but almond would be much better taste wise for a casserole.