Easy Big Mac Rice Bowls

These Easy Big Mac Rice Bowls have all the cozy, craveable flavors of a Big Mac, but served over warm rice instead of tucked into a bun. With seasoned beef, crisp toppings, and that familiar creamy sauce, they come together into an easy dinner that feels fun, filling, and comforting. It’s the kind of simple meal that hits the spot on busy nights when you want something homemade and healthy without a lot of extra effort.

If you’ve seen any of my other rice bowls recipes, you’ve probably heard me talk about the fact that I hate salads. Well okay, I don’t hate them, but I will for sure order anything else on the menu over a salad. Most of them are pretty boring, I don’t find them filling, and I find I often only want to eat all of the toppings off of them and leave the filler (lettuce, spinach, kale) behind.

I was pleasantly surprise to discover that rice bowls solve all of those issues for me.

And this Big Mac Rice Bowls recipe? I don’t think I can honestly put it in writing how delicious it is. I’ve made it several times now over the years, but this last time I made it in order to share it with you guys… oh my gosh. Here I was thinking that I was going to do what I usually do, make a big bowl of it for the pictures, eat about half of it, get full and put the rest of it in the fridge for lunch the next day. Nope. I wasn’t even that hungry when I started eating and I literally devoured the entire bowl.

My hubby also went back for seconds and thirds and basically finished everything else off.

You have to try it and let me know what you think.

Make this Easy Big Mac Rice Bowls recipe when…

• You are craving something crisp yet filling
• You want something that is quick and easy but still healthy
• You want a crowd pleasing recipe that even your husband and kids will eat

Ingredient notes…

Here is what you’ll need to make this Easy Big Mac Rice Bowls recipe. Please be sure to check the recipe card for the exact ingredients and measurements.

• Cooked Ground Beef: The staple ingredient in these bowls. Normally I would say use whatever protein you want, and you can, but it won’t really taste like a Big Mac without the hamburger.
• Cooked Rice: I just used instant white rice, but you can use any kind of rice that you desire. You could also substitute for something else like potatoes, pasta, or lettuce if you want to be even healthier.
• Tomatoes: I used cherry tomatoes, but you can use any kind that you want.
• Pickles: I used sliced garlic dill pickles.
• Shredded cheese: I used a mix of mozza cheddar because it’s what I had on hand, but cheddar would probably be the closest to a real Big Mac.
• Rehydrated onions: Hear me out… this literally is the secret to making this Big Mac Rice Bowl taste super close to the original. You know those little onions they use on their burgers? Rehydrated. They have this bigger container of chopped dried onion from Costco that is usually with all the other seasonings (see my video to see what it looks like) and all I did was add some of those to a bit of water and let them rehydrate for a little bit. I didn’t think they would make that much of a difference but when I mixed the bowl up and would get a bite of that onion… magic. Obviously if you don’t have access to these you could use something else like a red onion… or maybe even cooked white or yellow onion. It would still likely taste good, just not the same.
• Big mac sauce: So delicious and adds that little something something to really throw the whole bowl over the edge. [Find exact ingredients and measurements in recipe card below]
• Optional: Shredded lettuce. I would have added this as well but the lettuce I had in the fridge was no longer good so I went without.

Equipment I swear by…

• A good sharp knife, or
• A veggie chopper
• A ground beef meat masher
• A good non-stick skillet

How to make it…

See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

1. Brown your hamburger in a non-stick skillet and cook your rice according to instructions.
2. While the rice and hamburger are cooking, chop and prep your veggies. Add some water to dehydrate the onions. Make your sauce.
3. Add some cooked rice, cooked hamburger, veggies and cheese to a bowl and top with your sauce.
4. Enjoy

My tips and tricks to make this Easy Big Mac Bowls recipe…

As close to the real thing: Use the ingredients listed above and do not skip or substitute the rehydrated onions or the big mac sauce. I really feel like they make this entire recipe.

Spicy: Want to add a little kick to this recipe? Add some diced jalapenos or some red pepper flakes.

Variations: Rice bowls are extremely customizable. If you don’t care about it tasting like a Big Mac you could use any type of protein like ground beef, shrimp, steak, or pork. You can also switch up/add any veggies that you want.

Storage notes:

Refrigerate: This recipe keeps the best if you store the ingredients in separate airtight containers. I put my rice in one container, my ground beef in another, my sauce in another, and my veggies in another, or a few separate containers and then I assemble when needed. Enjoy within 3 to 4 days.

Freeze: This recipe doesn’t freeze well. You could always freeze the hamburger and the rice, but the veggies won’t thaw the best. I recommend buying fresh veggies for it.

Are you struggling right now?

• If you have any precooked hamburger meat use that to save time (If I know I’m going to make lots of recipes with hamburger I will often brown a ton of it at once before I freeze it)
• Use microwavable rice
• Use canned diced tomatoes

Thank your for stopping by Comfort In a Bowl. If you create this recipe or any other from our site, we would greatly appreciate you taking the time to share, comment and rate the recipe! Take care of yourself.

For more easy ground beef recipes…

• Crockpot Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
• Easy One Pan Hamburger Mushroom Pasta

My burnout situation…

I started this platform to yes share easy and comforting recipes but also to share my burnout and healing journey along the way. And in doing so I know I need to be completely honest.

I’m really struggling today. I have a coworker who couldn’t take the work environment and the stress anymore and two years she just completely quit to be at home and spend more time with her family. I found out today that a month ago her brother that she was really close to passed away, and a week after that her husband passed away. They have three young kids together.

It’s just really making me reflect on how short life is, and how much time I have wasted working in a job that has been making me miserable for so long. I’m trying not to feel guilty, because in a way I have just been trying to do what I’ve been taught and make a life for myself and a lot of things that happened to make my workplace so negative were completely out of my control and I could not have seen them coming. But there is something to be said about the fact that the only one who can change my situation is me.

If I don’t like something, I need to change it. And I know sitting around feeling sorry for myself and mourning the amount of time I have lost that I can never get back isn’t going to do anything… but just for today I am going to give myself the time to feel those feelings and just be sad.

But then tomorrow is a new day.

Conclusion…

Life is short.

Spend it doing more things that bring you joy!

Take care of yourself.

-Caitlin