Hawaiian Chicken Burger Bowl

Loaded Hawaiian Chicken Burger Bowls with juicy chicken patties, charred pineapple, veggies, lettuce, and a homemade teriyaki sauce & mayo! These healthy burger bowls are dairy-free, Whole30 and paleo-approved, too.

Burgers - the ultimate comfort food. Not only are they delicious but also wonderfully bad for us :-)! I don't know about you, ladies, but every time I eat a burger I am left feeling so full that any other emotion pales in comparison. Talking about food that drowns out our feelings....

But honestly, I am usually a pretty happy gal and therefore pretty content just getting those burger flavors I love WITHOUT feeling as stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey. This is why I gladly ditch the bun and opt for a healthy burger bowl instead.

What is a burger bowl?

Think of burger bowls as the burger equivalent of a burrito bowl. We take all the best parts of a burger (the bun not being one of them - sorry) and combine them into a colorful, healthy and nutritious bowl.

All the flavors we love about burgers and none of the empty calories! Another bonus? It's way less messy to eat than a chicken burger. You get the perfect bite of everything with every forkful and your clothes stay clean.

What is a Hawaiian Chicken Burger?

A Hawaiian chicken burger, also known as Aloha Burger, is a popular restaurant order at many American fast-food restaurants and diners. It is basically a chicken burger with added charred pineapple and teriyaki sauce.  So summery, you guys!

How can you not fall in love with a burger that is packed with lean ground chicken, and bursting with exotic sweet charred pineapple? That sweet and sticky teriyaki glaze we brush on our burger patties and pineapple takes the whole bowl to the next level! Drool Central!

How to make Hawaiian Chicken Burger Bowls:

Make the Teriyaki Sauce:

Step 1 & 2 - Prepare the sauce. Place all the sauce ingredients except arrowroot in your blender and blend until smooth. The mixture will be brown when just blended, it’s normal.

Step 3 - Pour the mixture into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir in the arrowroot slurry and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens. Set aside Note: The teriyaki sauce will thicken further as it cools down and will get more slimy. Reheat it for a few seconds if it becomes difficult to spread.

Step 4 & 5 - Prepare the chicken patties. In a bowl, add ground chicken, grated zucchini, grated carrot, scallion, egg, ginger, coconut aminos, and salt. Using a fork, mix until thoroughly combined.

Step 6 - Heat some avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Using your wet hands, form small balls (I used a standard ice cream scoop and got about 14 mini-patties). Add them to the hot skillet, making sure you don't overcrowd the skillet and have plenty of room to flip them.

Step 7 - Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Flip patties and cook for another 2-3 minutes, flattening them a bit with a spatula. You want to cook them gently, so they are brown on the outside and cooked all the way through inside.

Step 8 & 9- Remove from the skillet and set aside. Repeat with remaining patties, wiping the burnt pieces of chicken with a paper towel and adding avocado oil as needed between batches. Wipe the pan with a paper towel and cook the pineapple rings until just golden, flip and cook the other side.

Prep & make the Teriyaki Mayo

Chop and prepare all the bowl’s ingredients (romaine, onion, pineapple if using fresh and bell peppers). Set aside. Prepare the teriyaki mayo. In a small bowl, mix all the mayo ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.

Assemble the burger bowls:

In four large bowls, arrange lettuce, bell peppers, and onion slices. Brush chicken burgers and pineapple rings generously with teriyaki sauce and place 2-3 pieces per bowl. Top with sesame seeds and scallions,  and drizzle with the burger sauce. Enjoy!

Patties vs crumbled - how shall I make my burger patty bowl?

I like whole chicken patties on top of my burger bowls, but you can also top your bowl with fried crumbled meat. With crumbled meat, you’re more likely to get chicken in every bite. Plus, if you're not a very experienced cook, it’s easier to properly cook ground chicken than to cook a chicken burger patty just right.

Can I make this burger bowl recipe with ground beef or turkey? 

Yes, you should be able to swap meats without any issues here.

Tips and Variations for making these burger bowls:

• Feel free to mix things up. Other veggie options include julienned carrots and edamame.

• If you are rushed, you can use store-bought teriyaki sauce. I like this one because it's paleo and Whole30 approved.

• Swap the ground chicken for any other type of ground meat: turkey, beef, bison, or pork - they would all work!

• If you don't want to make patties, you can cook the meat as meat crumbles in a pan, skipping the egg and grated veggies. Just heat some avocado oil in a pan on medium-high heat and cook the minced meat until browned. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the ginger towards the end. You can of course also add int the zucchini and carrots along with the scallions.

• For a Mexican burger bowl, top these bowls with my Mexican Chicken Patties and feel free to add some guacamole while you're at it. Fiesta time!

• If you're not a fan of mayo, stir the teriyaki sauce into some homemade cashew cream and drizzle this mixture on top of your bowls.

5 from 4 votes

Print

Hawaiian Chicken Burger Bowls

Loaded Hawaiian Chicken Burger bowls with juicy chicken patties, charred pineapple, veggies, lettuce, and a homemade teriyaki sauce & mayo! These healthy burger bowls are dairy-free, Whole30 and paleo-approved, too.

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword burger bowl recipe, chicken burger bowls, hawaiian chicken burger

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 576 kcal

Author Marie

Ingredients

Bowl

• 8  cup  romaine lettuce shredded about two medium heads
• 1  small red onion thinly sliced
• 8 pineapple rings fresh or from a can
• 2 red bell peppers cored, cut into strips and cut in half again
• sesame seeds to serve
• scallions chopped - to serve

Teriyaki Mayo

• ⅓ cup mayo
• 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce see recipe below
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp pineapple juice from the same can/pineapple you will use for the teriyaki sauce
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Teriyaki Sauce

• ½ cup coconut aminos not the same as liquid aminos
• ¼ cup pineapple juice either fresh or from a can of pineapple pieces/rings
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp arrowroot dissolved in 2 tsp water

Chicken Burgers

• 1  lb ground chicken breast  450 - 500 g
• ½ cup  zucchini peeled and finely grated (one small zucchini)
• ½ cup finely shredded carrot packed (about one medium carrot)
• 2 tbsp scallion green and white parts, finely chopped (about 1 large scallion)
• 1  egg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp coconut aminos
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2  tsp  avocado oil or another neutral tasting oil + more if needed

Instructions

Teriyaki Sauce (Skip this part if using store-bought teriyaki sauce)

1. Prepare the sauce. Place all the sauce ingredients except arrowroot in your blender and blend until smooth.
2. The mixture will be brown when just blended, it’s normal.
3. Pour the mixture into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stir in the arrowroot slurry and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens. Set aside
4. Note: The sauce will thicken further as it cools down and will get more slimy. Reheat it for a few seconds if it becomes difficult to spread.

Prep and Mayo

1. Chop and prepare all the bowl’s ingredients (romaine, onion, pineapple if using fresh and bell peppers). Set aside.
2. Prepare the teriyaki mayo. In a small bowl, mix all the mayo ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.

Chicken Burgers & Pineapple

1. Prepare the chicken patties. In a bowl, add ground chicken, grated zucchini, grated carrot, scallion, egg, ginger, coconut aminos and salt. Using a fork, mix until thoroughly combined.
2. Heat some avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Using your wet hands, form small balls (I used a standard ice cream scoop and got about 14 mini-patties). Add them to the hot skillet, making sure you don’t overcrowd the skillet and have plenty of room to flip them.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Flip patties and cook for another 2-3 minutes, flattening them a bit with a spatula. You want to cook them gently, so they are brown on the outside and cooked all the way through inside.
4. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Repeat with remaining patties, wiping the burnt pieces of chicken with paper towel and adding avocado oil as needed between batches.
5. Wipe the pan with paper towel and cook the pineapple rings until just golden, flip and cook the other side.

Assemble

1. In four large bowls, arrange lettuce, bell peppers and onion slices.
2. Brush chicken burgers and pineapple rings generously with teriyaki sauce and place 2-3 pieces per bowl.
3. Top with sesame seeds, scallions, drizzle with sauce and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• You can also use a store-bought Whole30 compliant teriyaki sauce like this one. 

• Feel free to mix things up. Other veggie options include julienned carrots and edamame.

• Swap the ground chicken for any other type of ground meat: turkey, beef, bison, or pork - they would all work!

• If you don't want to make patties, you can cook the meat as meat crumbles in a pan, skipping the egg and grated veggies. Just heat some avocado oil in a pan on medium-high heat and cook the minced meat until browned. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the ginger towards the end. You can of course also add int the zucchini and carrots along with the scallions.

• Feel free to add some guacamole to this.

• If you're not a fan of mayo, stir the teriyaki sauce into some homemade cashew cream and drizzle this mixture on top of your bowls.

Nutrition Facts

Hawaiian Chicken Burger Bowls

Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)

Calories 576 Calories from Fat 288

% Daily Value*

Fat 32g49%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Cholesterol 146mg49%

Sodium 1284mg56%

Potassium 2182mg62%

Carbohydrates 47g16%

Fiber 13g54%

Sugar 23g26%

Protein 29g58%

Vitamin A 45980IU920%

Vitamin C 114.3mg139%

Calcium 202mg20%

Iron 6.5mg36%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you tried this Burger Bowls Recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

More healthy bowl recipes you will love:

• Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl
• Thai Chicken Patties & Veggie Bowl 
• Glazed Salmon Soba Noodle Bowls
• Chicken Shawarma Bowls
• Breakfast Berry Quinoa Bowls