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.
Susan Brown
Oh my goodness I’ve had fun with this recipe. I doctored up the sauce with lots of garlic, oregano, little salt and pepper and some red chili flakes. Yum. I don’t have a food processor so I just used my mixer on the cauliflower
Sara
I'm using thawed cauliflower rice do you cook the rice following the instructions on the bag or does it cook in the oven?
Brenda
no need to cook it prior to following this recipe
Rod
Brenda, I can't seem to find the serving size for this recipe. How many servings in this recipe please?
Brenda
In the recipe box directly under the title, servings: 10
Mary Beth
My boyfriend and I agree that this tasted better than any cheeseburger! I didn't have enough white cheddar slices but I had smoked gouda slices (which tastes similar to the cheddar...I don't know why) so I finished it off with that. Excellent recipe!!
Lisa C
I didn't have enough riced cauliflower so I used equal parts of riced cauliflower/broccoli. The broccoli/cheese combination was delicious.
Jenna Lake
This recipe is AHHHHHMAZING!
I’ve changed a few things and want to share a slightly different version:
*2lbs ground sausage meat-spicy or mild
*Spinach sautéd with sausage meat
*Onions sauted in butter and cauliflower rice added to butter/onion mix
*Add more grated cheese than original recipe
*Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top when aluminum foil is removed and turn oven to broil to brown
I could eat this all day/every day and so can my family!
Thank you!!!
Mike Berkey
Finally got around to making this and just wanted to let you know that my family loved it. I only do the cooking once per week, but if I keep making dishes like this, they're gonna try to increase me to 5 days per week...lol
Brenda
Awesome and sorry!
Crystal Roe
Made this tonight, without reading all comments... should have drained but didn't kill the meal. I also chopped up an onion, cooking it with meat, and omitted the powder. At the end of sauce making a chopped a dill pickle put half in the sauce and half mixed with meat.
Delicious! Thank you for inspiration.
Lori
It doesn’t sound like you drain the fat from the bacon and hamburger. Is that correct?
Brenda
It's up to you. If you have 80% you might need to, but if your beef is 90% lean you may not. If there's more than a couple of tablespoons in the pan, drain.
Laura Dunn
I’m super confused about the coconut flour. It calls for 1/3 of a cup and then later another tbl for the sauce. What are you doing with the first 1/3 cup? Also, would this freeze ok?
Brenda
Step 3, add the 1/3 cup coconut flour to the processed cauliflower. Sauce has 1 tbsp coconut flour.
Julie
Made this last night and one daughter ate it for breakfast this morning again and the other daughter just texted me “don’t eat the cassorole i like it and want some after school” ? I guess they both liked it! I had good luck with bags of frozen riced cauliflower that I sauteed in a large skillet until warm and some of icy moisture cooked off. Then I used that skillet for the beef while the ready cook bacon slices that I chopped were getting crispy in a smaller skillet. Yes, this recipe require pans/bowls and a little extra time but the final yummy result is well worth it in my opinion!
Kathy Brereton
Made this tinight and it was delicious ... thank you. Cut the recipe in half, as there are only two of us, and got 3 servings from it. A couple of changes: I always mash cauliflower, and it was fine. Increased the beef a bit as what I had was frozen in pounds. I’m a fan of coconut flour and it worked perfectly in this recipe. Thanks, again.
Belinda Carlisle
Great timesuck! This is a recipe for moms who work at the local library from 10-2 and who can come home and start this at 3! Total standing in the kitchen time, 1.5 hours. Just got it in the oven, starting at 5:45 PM nonstop, and it's 7:15 PM now. Suck it, lady.
Holly
Have you ever prepped the entire casserole the night before you cooked/served it? Does it hold up well?
Brenda
I haven't done that but I think it would be fine.
Ruth
Can you microwave the bacon?
Brenda
I've not tried sorry.
Joanna Nganda
I've made this a few times now. I loved having this dish, it made my keto days SO nice! I remember baking this once and my fiancé who is not keto took a bite and came back for 2nds and 3rds!
He asked me today if I could make it!
Now, the first time I made it I thought I was using almond flour, but turned out I was actually using coconut flour. It was DELICIOUS! I always use coconut flour now; it really adds a touch of je ne sais quoi that is really pleasant.
Thank you for this recipe! Household favourite!
Rebekah
Very good! How many servings does the recipe make?
Brenda
10
Deborah
I love looking at new recipes to incorporate into my repertoire. Having been recently told my AC1 is almost 6 i needed to find something, lots of things, low carb. Been looking at lots of sites and saw yours.
This cauliflower cheesy hamburger recipe looked so good I had to make it today.
But...first I look at recipes as guidelines, not written in stone, so I made a few tweaks.
1. I roasted the cauliflower with evoo, garlic powder, a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes and some sea salt (I didn't put any other salt in the rest of the re ipe).
2. Once cooled i put all but the small crumbly bits into food processor with 1/4 cup almond flour and went to full mashed stage.
3. I sauted half of a chopped white onion in bacon drippings before Browning the meat.
4. I used a can of drained diced tomatoes during the layering.
5. I didn't make cream sauce in meat drippings.
6. I followed layering directions but with onions and tons added, and the rest of the cauliflower crumbly bits on top with bacon and cheese. And baked per instructions.
Y
I must say it turned out very well. My hubby liked it and so did my neighbor. So did i.
Thank you.
Tina Scroggie
I make this recipe regularly because it is one of my husband's favorites!
Gilly
This was delicious! I cooked a 24oz package of bacon so when it was time to cook the beef I discarded a little of the drippings. Now I'm wondering if I should have kept it all for more of that delicious sauce! Great recipe! Will definitely make it again!
Brenda
Yeah I love the sauce too! Glad you liked the recipe!
Hope
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Lauren
We love this recipe, thank you! I'm getting ready for summer and hoping to make some casseroles to freeze. Have you frozen this dish before, do you think it will thaw and bake well? Any tips?
Katie T
I made this today and it was perfect. It was flavorful and filling! Thank you!
Valerie Yancey
Thank you for this recipe! It is delicious!
Melissa
I am going to attempt this but how many servings will this make?
Gwynn
I tried the recipe and it is super yummy. This one packs all of the needed fat and is low carb. My husband is not going to believe how good it is because it has cauliflower. He does not love cauliflower. He will like this I am certain.
Thank you.
Gwynn
Mike
I just tried this as i recently started Keto (3 weeks ago). I made it to the letter and it came out even better than i had planned. It tasted great and everyone in the family enjoyed it. The bad news is, now, my wife who is an exceptional cook, now knows that i can cook, or at lease follow a good receipe so I’m doomed lol.
Thanks,
Mike
Brenda
LOL! Glad you all liked it!