Dig into this low-carb and keto-friendly burger recipe, complete with a spicy and tangy homemade chipotle mayo, and thick-cut bacon.
If you are following a Keto-diet, you can still enjoy a delicious hamburger for lunch or dinner; the secret is to substitute the carbohydrate-dense buns for low-carb alternatives like lettuce leaves (or your favorite keto bun).
There are endless combinations when it comes to building a delicious burger, you can break down the components of a good burger into 3 parts: the bun, the patty, and the toppings/condiments.
Traditional white hamburger buns can contain anywhere between 21-30 grams of carbohydrates per bun (1), so they aren't the most keto-friendly option.
Luckily, you have a lot of options when it comes to building a burger without hamburger buns and you get the bonus of added micronutrients from using whole foods-based bun options! Honestly, you could just eat the burger without a bun substitute as well!
Here are 10 Low-carb, Keto-friendly, and gluten-free alternatives to Hamburger Buns:
We utilized Trifecta meal prep in this recipe by preparing the keto burger with Trifecta Beef, speeding up the process. Alternatively, you could also use Trifecta turkey or Beyond Beef patties, it all depends on your personal preference.
If you decide to use raw beef, turkey, bison, or chicken burgers to build your low-carb keto burger, we have a few tips on purchasing high-quality meats:
Choosing your burger toppings is a great way to add variety and flavor to your keto meal prep and burger recipes!
We went for a combo of bacon, carmelized onion, avocado, and chipotle mayo but there are endless toppings and flavor combinations to choose from. Also, most condiments are keto-friendly as long as you use them in small amounts.
Delicious keto burger combinations:
If you are following or starting a keto diet, then you know the key to success is tracking your macros to ensure you aren’t eating too many carbohydrates.
The goal of any keto diet is to limit your carbohydrate intake to anywhere below 50 grams per day or so (this can vary depending on your size and weight). Limiting your carb intake and increasing your intake of healthy dietary fats will shift your body to enter a metabolic state called ketosis and to utilize more fat substrate for fuel.
If you are unsure of what carb range you need to follow for a keto diet, use this keto carb calculator:
How To Prepare a Low Carb Keto Burger
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3 each
Ingredients:
For the Chiptole Mayo:
Gather all of your ingredients for your keto burger:
If you are using freshly ground meat, form your burger patties if needed, or remove the pre-made patties from your package and season them with salt and pepper.
To bake the bacon, preheat the oven to 400F and line a sheet pan with foil. Set however many bacon strips you'd like on the sheet pan and bake for 7-10 minutes as your onions are cooking.
For the caramelized onions, preheat your saute pan over medium-high heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of avocado oil along with your sliced onions.
Traditionally caramelizing onions can be a long process, as though slowly cooking the onions down you draw out the water and natural sugars present, caramelizing the sugars and cooking the onions.
But there is a chef-hack to caramelizing onions quickly by cooking them over medium-high heat and adding small amounts of liquids throughout the process when you see them start to brown and brown bits (aka 'fond') begin to build up in your pan.
Saute your onions over medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes until they begin brown.
When you start to see small brown bits start to build upon the bottom of the pan and your onions begin to brown add 1-2 tablespoons of liquid (we used stock in this recipe but you could always use water or vinegar) and stir vigorously.
Adding water or stock will help caramelize the onions and cook them more quickly. Repeat this process as needed to prevent the onions from burning.
Once deep in caramel color, season with kosher salt, transfer to a bowl and hold warm until needed, or cool down completely if meal prepping. Only season the onions with salt afterwards, as the salt removes moisture from the onions and inhibits a deep caramelization.
While your onions are caramelizing you can prepare the chipotle mayo by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. If you bought your chipotle peppers canned in adobo like the picture below, you can blend the entire can in a blender and store them in a separate container. Use the blended chipotle mix as needed for this recipe and other creations!
If you are using Trifecta Meal Prep, you can reheat your bison or beef burgers via:
We opted to sear our Trifecta burgers in a skillet.
If you are cooking your burgers from scratch: Follow the steps as explained above. Cook your patties on your preferred cooking method - whether grilled, seared, or baked, until the internal temperature reaches 135F to 140F for a nice medium-rare burger, approximately 4-6 minutes.
While cooking your burger be sure to gather all of your toppings and buns.
To build your burger first place a Boston bib lettuce leaf as the bottom 'bun'. Then add 2 slices of tomatoes, add your cooked burger patty, 1 tablespoon of chipotle aioli, add 1/4 cup caramelized onions, and 1/4 sliced avocado. Serve immediately or meal prep in containers and refrigerate.
This recipe can be served with other keto-friendly recipes. Here are a few examples:
Following a keto or low-carb diet has its challenges, so we've put together plenty of resources to support you in your wellness journey:
Want to get more out of your weekly meal prep efforts? Stick to your calorie goals and budget with our A la Carte Ingredients. Pre-cooked and ready to heat, these ingredients are organic, sustainably sourced, and minimally seasoned to maximize your meal prep.