This Ultimate Cheeseburger Loaf is cheeseburger heaven on a plate. It’s like one enormous cheeseburger! The filling is ground beef seasoned with onions, garlic, and a bit of Worcestershire sauce. Traditional cheeseburger toppings like yellow mustard, tangy dill pickles and red onion are layered over the ground beef filling. The whole thing is smothered with mounds of cheddar cheese, then wrapped up in a delicious and filling pastry to create mouthwatering perfection. Yep, this recipe is a cheeseburger lover’s dream.
This cheeseburger recipe was born out of a craving for mustard and pickles. Then that catchy “Cheeseburger in Paradise” tune started going through my head. That made me think about having a cheeseburger without a bun, but with lots of pickles and mustard. Now, I love eating cheeseburgers without a bun, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not quite the same thing as one with a bit of bready goodness. So, my minded tooled around with these ideas and the recipe for the Ultimate Cheeseburger Loaf was born.
One thing I love about this recipe is that it’s easy to customize. Don’t like pickles? Take them out. Prefer blue cheese? Substitute it for the cheddar. Avocado or cooked bacon bits would be fantastic additions and add a bit more fat. Just be sure to change the nutritional information when making additions or substitutions.
The bread wrap around the cheeseburger filling is made of mozzarella dough, so it satisfies the appetite as well as the taste buds. Mozzarella dough makes a tasty low-carb alternative to bread. It’s easy to work with, but be sure to work quickly when you roll out this dough as it rolls out much easier when it is warm. Another trick to working with this dough is to use part-skim mozzarella cheese. Part-skim mozzarella provides a bit more stretch for the dough than full-fat mozzarella.
This Ultimate Cheeseburger Loaf makes a great low-key dinner. Add a bit of salad and you’ll have a full meal. It could also be used as a party dish. You don’t need to go to paradise to enjoy this cheeseburger. This cheeseburger loaf is paradise.
Yields 8 servings of Ultimate Cheeseburger Loaf
The Preparation
Ground Beef Filling:
- 12 ounces ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dough:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Toppings:
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1/4 medium red onion, sliced
- 65 grams dill pickle, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
The Execution
For the ground beef filling:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Have two pieces of parchment paper that are about 18 inches long, a rolling pin, and a baking sheet set aside. An insulated baking sheet works best for this recipe, but other baking sheets will work as well. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef and break up into small pieces using a spoon. Cook beef, stirring occasionally until browned throughout.
2. Remove beef from pan and place onto a plate using a slotted spoon. Set beef aside for later. Discard all but about a tablespoon of the grease from the skillet.
3. Place skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook onion, stirring occasionally until soft and edges are brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the beef back into the skillet with the onions and the garlic. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and cook until most of the sauce has evaporated. Stir in the salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
For the dough:
5. Simmer about 2 inches of water in the lower part of a double boiler using high heat. Turn heat to low.
6. In the top part of the double boiler (while not over the water), whisk together the almond flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Stir in egg. Mixture will be very thick. Stir in the mozzarella cheese.
7. Place the top part of the double boiler containing the almond flour and mozzarella mixture over the bottom part with the simmering water. Heat the mixture, stirring frequently, until the cheese melts and the mixture becomes a dough-like ball. Be careful not to burn yourself with the hot bowl or the steam escaping from the bottom part of the double boiler. I use a silicone mitt to hold the bowl while I stir.
8. Transfer the mozzarella dough to a piece of parchment paper. Knead it several times to incorporate any stray almond flour into the dough and completely mix the cheese and the almond flour. Pat the dough into an oval shape. Cover the dough with a second piece of parchment and roll out into an oblong shape about 12 inches by 15 inches. While rolling the dough out, you may need to straighten the top parchment, then flip the dough over and straighten the bottom parchment. This prevents wrinkles in the dough.
For the assembly:
9. Spread the ground beef mixture along the middle third of the dough lengthwise, being careful to leave about one third of the dough on both sides. Squirt a few tablespoons of mustard over the ground beef. Layer the red onions and dill pickle slices over the mustard. Top the mixture with the cheddar cheese.
10. Fold the sides of the dough over the filling and seal together with your fingers. If desired crimp the seal with your fingers as you would the edge of a pie. Pinch the ends of the pastry together. If desired, decorate the ends but pushing down with a fork. Using a sharp knife, pierce the dough in several places to create holes for the steam to release during baking.
11. Using the parchment paper under the loaf to assist you, slide the loaf onto a baking sheet. Place the loaf in the oven. Bake in preheated oven for 25- 30 minutes or until it is golden brown. Let loaf cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer it to a cutting board using the parchment.
12. Gently remove parchment from underneath, if desired. Tearing the parchment will make this process easier. Slice crosswise into 8 pieces and serve hot.
This makes a total of 8 servings of Ultimate Cheeseburger Loaf. Each serving comes out to be 407 calories, 32.1g fats, 5.1g net carbs, and 22.8g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 12 ounce ground beef | 864 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58.4 |
| 1 medium onion | 38 | 0.1 | 8.8 | 1.6 | 7.2 | 1.3 |
| 1 teaspoon fresh garlic | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| 2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce | 9 | 0 | 2.2 | 0 | 2.2 | 0 |
| 1/2 teaspoon salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/4 teaspoon black pepper | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1 1/2 cup almond flour | 973 | 84 | 37 | 21.8 | 15.1 | 35.3 |
| 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum | 8 | 0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder | 4 | 0 | 1.9 | 0 | 1.9 | 0 |
| 1 large egg | 79 | 5.2 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 6.9 |
| 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese | 504 | 37.6 | 3.7 | 0 | 3.7 | 37.3 |
| 2 tablespoon yellow mustard | 19 | 1 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| 1/4 medium red onion | 10 | 0 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 |
| 65 gram dill pickle | 8 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese | 742 | 61.2 | 5.7 | 0 | 5.7 | 42 |
| Totals | 3262 | 257.4 | 68.5 | 27.7 | 40.8 | 183.2 |
| Per Serving (/8) | 408 | 32.2 | 8.6 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 22.9 |
Ultimate Cheeseburger Loaf
Ingredients
Ground Beef Filling:
- 12 ounce ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic crushed
- 2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Dough:
- 1 ½ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Toppings:
- 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
- ¼ medium red onion sliced
- 65 gram dill pickle sliced
- 1 ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces using a spoon. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer the beef to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside for later. Drain off most of the grease from the skillet, leaving enough to keep it greased.
- Reheat the skillet over medium heat and add in the onion. Cook until soft and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Add the beef back to the skillet. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and cook until most of the sauce has evaporated. Stir in the salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
- Bring about 2 inches of water to a simmer over high heat in the lower part of a double boiler. Once simmering, turn the heat to low.
- In the top part of the double boiler (not over the heat), whisk together the almond flour, xanthan gum, and baking powder. Stir in the egg — the mixture should be very thick. Stir in the mozzarella cheese.
- Place the top part of the double boiler over the bottom part with the simmering water. Heat the mixture, stirring frequently, until the cheese begins to melt and the mixture forms a dough. Use a silicone mitt to avoid being burned by steam.
- Transfer the mozzarella dough to a piece of parchment paper. Knead it several times to incorporate any stray almond flour into the dough. Pat the dough into an oval shape. Cover with a second piece of parchment and roll out into an oblong shape. If the dough begins to wrinkle, flip it over to straighten out both pieces of parchment paper.
- Spread the ground beef mixture lengthwise along the middle third of the dough, leaving about one-third of the dough on both sides. Squirt the mustard over the ground beef. Layer the red onions and sliced pickles over the mustard. Top with the cheddar cheese.
- Fold the sides of the dough over the filling and seal together, crimping the edges if desired. Pinch the ends of the pastry together and decorate with a fork if desired. Using a sharp knife, pierce the dough in several places to create holes for the steam to release during baking.
- Carefully slide the loaf onto a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until it is golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cutting board.
- Slice crosswise and serve hot.
