There is just something about biting into a classic burger: the ooey-gooey cheese, drippy sauce, and the crunch of the toasty bun. Now, there’s a time and a place for lettuce-wrapped, perhaps a substitution for grilled chicken, but sometimes it needs to be an ordinary cheeseburger wrapped in gluten. (Okay, full disclosure, I did use turkey for this recipe, but still.) Given how delicious this recipe is, you are never going to believe that this is a macro-friendly dinner. But it is.

This bacon cheeseburger with secret sauce is macro-friendly. www.lillieeatsandtells.com

Patties and Caramelized Onions Ingredients:

  •  Ground turkey (I use organic Fulton Farms*), or lean ground beef
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • White onion, sliced thin
  • Olive oil spray

Burger Sauce Ingredients:

  • Non-fat Greek yogurt
  • Pickle juice
  • Sweet relish (or dill if you hate it!)
  • Honey mustard (feel free to use yellow mustard instead)
  • Ketchup 

Burger Ingredients:

  • Brioche hamburger bun
  • Burger sauce 
  • Cooked turkey burger
  • Thin slice of cheddar
  • Caramelized onions
  • A piece of bacon, cooked
  • Lettuce
  • Tomato slices
  • Sliced pickles 
Try this comforting bacon cheeseburger with secret sauce. www.lillieeatsandtells.com

How To Make a Bacon Cheeseburger with Secret Sauce:

Weigh meat into 4 oz balls and place them all on a plate or sheet pan. By the way, if you are looking for an excellent food scale, the My Weigh KD-8000 scale is the way to go. I’ve had mine for years and only have had to replace the batteries a handful of times. It can handle my big pots and weigh out little toppings for things like my nightly shake

Once you have your meat portioned out, season the meat liberally with a thick pinch of kosher salt, a good sprinkle of garlic powder, and a few cracks of pepper. I go heavy on salt and garlic here. You’ve always got the tomato and lettuce to mellow it out later! Ha. Bland ground turkey is BLEH.  I used the organic Fulton Farms 93/7 lean ground turkey from Costco which is labeled at just 4.5 fat/4 oz. It’s my favorite, but it still needs plenty of seasoning. Don’t skimp. Macro meals should not taste like health food. They are meant to be satisfying and delicious.

Try this almost classic bacon cheeseburger with secret sauce. www.lillieeatsandtell.com

Then, heat a heavy-bottomed pan to high heat. I love using my HUGE cast iron so I can fit several burgers at once. Next, spray your pan with a light mist of avocado oil spray and let it get nice and hot.  

Standing next to your stove, pick up a ball and carefully smash it as flat as you can in your hands. Then throw it in the pan to sizzle, seasoned-side down. Repeat the process with as many burgers as can fit. Season the uncooked tops while they cook for about two to three minutes, then flip. If you are adding cheese, slap it on top and cook the other side for a couple of minutes.

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Time to Make The Toppings

To caramelize the onions, just add sliced onion to a hot pan, and spray with a mist of olive oil spray. Don’t forget to sprinkle with kosher salt because not only is it delicious, but it helps break down the onions. Let your onions cook hot for a minute or two and then turn it down to medium heat. The onions should cook for 15-20 minutes at medium heat. Stir them occasionally until they are soft and sweet. If I’m in a hurry, I just cook hotter for more charred or grilled onions. They’re still good! 

Try this macro-friendly recipe for a bacon cheeseburger with secret sauce. www.lillieetasandtells.com

Sauce, Sauce, Baby

Make the sauce by simply stirring together your Greek yogurt (reduced-fat mayo is great too, containing just a few more fat macros), pickle juice, relish, honey mustard, and ketchup. If you hate sweet relish or just only want to buy one jar of pickles, you can use dill relish or finely chop pickles! I just love the sweet factor of sweet relish. I also love honey mustard and always have it on hand. If you aren’t a fan, feel free to use yellow mustard instead. Both the relish and honey mustard add or take away 1 carb, so I say just go with your preference. Once you mix up the secret sauce, set it aside. 

I love this bacon cheeseburger on a brioche bun. FYI, my favorite brioche buns are labeled at 3 fat and 23 carbs, in case you’d like to find a bun with similar or better macros. I also love to get large round Kaizer rolls from the bakery section of the grocery store. To save a few carbs, I slice the bottom very thin and hollow out the top. If you go this route, try and get your bread weight to 46 grams to match the 23 carbs. 

Don't miss this macro-friendly bacon cheeseburger with secret sauce. www.lillieeatsandtells.com

Spray buns with olive oil spray and toast on a skillet.  Top-bottom bun with 2 Tbsp of the burger sauce, and then build your burger! How delicious is this: a cheesy turkey burger with caramelized onions, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pickles? Eat immediately! Duh.

Serving Suggestions:

This burger is almost like a classic greasy cheeseburger, but not. Haha. It goes without saying that it’s lighter and macro-friendly. Pair it with a simple salad, a side of parmesan carrot fries, or loaded smashed potatoes!

This is my macro-friendly recipe for a bacon cheeseburger with secret sauce. www.lillieeatsandtells.com

Similar Recipes: 

My Favorite Burger

Pineapple Pork Jalepeño Sandwich

Greek Turkey Burger

Green Goddess Turkey Burger on Ciabatta

Easy Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

I honestly love a good burger, piled high with toppings. This almost classic bacon cheeseburger tackles the craving but leaves you feeling good. You would probably never have guessed that this is a macro-friendly recipe. If you’re looking for more recipes, check out my cookbooks. They’re full of tasty recipes that have the macros figured out for you before you even start cooking. I also love sharing the new recipes I am trying on Instagram @lillieeatsandtells so come join me there as well!

*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read full privacy policy here.

Try this almost classic bacon cheeseburger with secret sauce. www.lillieeatsandtell.com

Bacon Cheeseburger with Secret Sauce

Think old classic turned macro-friendly.
5 from 2 votes
Course Burgers, dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Protein, sauce
Cuisine American, California Fresh, Classic American, Comfort, comfort food
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 402 kcal

Ingredients

For the patties and the caramelized onions: (serves 4- with leftover caramelized onions for later!)

  • 1 lb 93/7 ground turkey (I use organic Fulton Farms*)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Powder
  • 1 White onion, sliced thin
  • Olive oil spray

For the burger sauce: (serves 4)

  • 3 Tbsp Non-fat Greek yogurt (45 g)
  • 3 Tbsp Pickle juice (45 g)
  • 2 Tbsp Sweet relish (30g, or dill if you hate it!)*
  • 1/2 Tbsp Honey mustard (7 g, feel free to use yellow mustard instead*)
  • 1/2 Tbsp Ketchup (7 g)

For one burger: (serves 1)

  • 1 Brioche hamburger bun*
  • 2 Tbsp burger sauce (30g)
  • 1 Cooked turkey burger
  • 1 Thin slice of cheddar (14 g)
  • 1 Tbsp Caramelized onions (15 g)
  • 1 Piece of bacon, cooked*
  • Lettuce
  • 2-3 Tomato slices (50 g)
  • Sliced pickles

Instructions

  • Weigh meat into 4 oz balls and place them all on a plate or sheet pan. Season balls liberally with a thick pinch of kosher salt, a good sprinkle of garlic powder, and a few cracks of pepper. You’ve always got the tomato and lettuce to mellow it out later! Ha. I go heavy on salt and garlic here. Bland ground turkey is BLEH.
  • Heat a heavy-bottomed pan to high heat. (I love my HUGE cast iron so I can fit several burgers at once.) Spray with a light mist of avocado oil spray and let it get nice and hot. Standing next to your stove, pick up a ball and carefully smash it as flat as you can in your hands, then throw it in the pan to sizzle, seasoned-side down. Repeat with as many burgers as can fit. Season the uncooked tops while they cook for about two to three minutes, then flip, add sliced cheese if using, and cook the other side for a couple of minutes.
  • To caramelize the onions, just add sliced onion to a hot pan, and spray with a mist of olive oil spray and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let it cook hot for a minute or two and then turn it down to medium and cook for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally until soft and sweet. If I’m in a hurry, I just cook hotter for more of a charred or grilled onion. Still good!
  • Make the sauce by simply stirring together your Greek yogurt (reduced fat mayo is great too for just a few more fat if you’d rather), pickle juice, relish, honey mustard, and ketchup. Set aside.
  • Spray buns with olive oil spray and toast on a skillet. Top the bottom bun with 2 Tbsp of the burger sauce, then build your burger! Cheesy turkey burger, caramelized onion, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Eat immediately! Duh.

Notes

Ground turkey: I used the organic Fulton Farms 93/7 lean ground turkey from Costco which is labeled at just 4.5 fat/4 oz. It’s my favorite.
Relish: If you hate sweet relish, or just only want to buy one jar of pickles, you can use dill relish or finely chop pickles! I just love the sweet factor. If you skip the sweet relish, you’ll save a little over 1 carb per serving.
Mustard: I love honey mustard and always have it on hand but feel free to use yellow mustard instead. The honey mustard only adds 1 carb to the whole recipe so it’s pretty much negligible either way.
Buns: My brioche buns are labeled at 3 fat and 23 carbs if you’d like to find a bun with similar or better macros. I also love to get large round Kaizer rolls from the bakery section of the grocery store, slice the bottom very thin and hollow out the top to save a few carbs. If you go this route, try and get your bread weight to 46 grams to match the 23 carbs. Don’t forget to pan-toast still!
Bacon: I use and love the precooked bacon from Costco. Makes it so easy to throw one piece on a meal to take it up a notch. It’s the only precooked bacon I’ve found that gets nice and crispy in the microwave. Not AS good as cooking your own. But good.
MFP Lillie Eats and Tells Bacon Cheeseburger with Special Sauce

Nutrition

Serving: 1Decked out BurgerCalories: 402kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 36.4gFat: 15.3gFiber: 2g
Keywords bacon, brioche, burgers, caramelized onion, cheeseburger, macro-friendly, secret sauce

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About the Author

Hello. My name is Lillie. I’m not a registered dietitian, or a macro coach, or a public figure or culinary genius. I’m a mommy of four who FOUND macro-counting and fell in love with this balanced approach to food...

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Oh. My. Word. Everything I’ve ever made of yours is amazing, but this burger blew my mind. Perfect macros and yet more then satisfied my burger craving. This sauce is absolutely incredible. After I mixed it up I licked the spoon and then immediately called my mom and sister to tell them about it and give them the recipe haha. Oh Lillie, what would I do without you?

  2. This looks amazing! Making it for dinner tonight — FYI there isn’t any protein listen in MFP. Comes up as C29 F15.3 P0

    1. Shoot! I just edited the title in there– I was having a problem so search “bacon cheeseburger with special sauce”. Hope that works!

    1. Yes! Sorry i’m so late to this– but I’ve been using Forager plant based sour cream or So Delicious unsweetened plain yogurt!

  3. 5 stars
    After making the burger sauce I tried a little and automatically said aloud in my kitchen, “I love you Lillie.” 😂 What can I say, my taste buds just understand you. Every time I make one of your recipes my hubby asks, “Are you sure these are the right Macros for all this food? It must be a Lillie something or other recipe.” Yet another winner!