These Big Mac bites have everything we love about the classic fast food sandwich in a little appetizer. These little big mac bowls are loaded with beef, cheese, sauce, and it’s all in a little bun cup made inside a muffin tin.
I’ve always loved the classic Big Mac, and I’ve tried my hand at making my own. It was a total success, but after years of making that, I decided I wanted to try something different. That’s how I ended up making these little tasty little Big Mac bites.
Big Mac Bowl in a Muffin Tin
This was definitely inspired by my copycat Big Mac recipe on this site, and pairs well with these roasted baby potatoes. They’re the perfect bite-sized match!
Ingredients
It only takes a few basic ingredients to create this recipe. They’re all the things you’d normally buy for making traditional hamburgers, so there’s nothing fancy.
- hamburger buns
- ground beef
- onion
- worcestershire sauce
- American cheese
- sesame seeds
- dill pickle chips
- thousand island dressing
You’ll find complete amounts and times in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Instructions
Making these Big Mac bites is almost the same as making regular hamburgers. You’ll be familiar with all the steps here, so you should have no problem putting it all together.
Step 1: Prep for Cooking
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and a spray a regular-size muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Press half of a bun, cut side up, into each muffin cup, pressing down to thin out the buns slightly.
Step 2: Prepare the Beef
Brown and crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Remove the skillet from the heat and add Worcestershire sauce, onion, salt, and pepper to the beef.
Step 3: Make the Big Mac Cups
Place a quarter of a slice of cheese on the bottom of each bun cup. Divide the beef evenly among the buns.
Step 4: Bake
Bake until the buns are lightly toasted.
Step 5: Serve
Remove the Big Mac bites from the oven and immediately top them with another small slice of cheese, a drizzle of thousand island dressing, and a pickle. Enjoy!
Hint: Cut your cheese slices to the correct size ahead of time so you can immediately place them on the cooked bites. They’ll get extra melty and delicious.
Substitutions
Don’t have the correct ingredients on hand? Or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this little Big Mac bowl.
- Cheese – Use a different kind or skip it altogether.
- Bun – Use gluten free buns instead of white bread buns to make this gluten free.
- Vegetarian – The beef hamburger can be replaced with a plant-based burger to make this vegetarian.
- Beef – Use lamb or chicken, instead.
- Onion – Use a sweet red or purple onion.
- Pickles – If you don’t like dill pickles, use sweet or bread and butter pickles instead.
Variations
Want to personalize this Big Mac bites recipe? Here are some of my tried and true tips for changing up this recipe up whenever you want.
- Spicy – Add chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue heat into the dish or add sliced jalapeno or banana peppers at the end.
- Deluxe – Add guacamole, crispy onions, or an egg.
- Kid friendly – Leave off the onions and Thousand Island dressing and just use ketchup or Russian Dressing.
- Bacon – Make it a bacon Big Mac.
- Cheese – Add an extra slice of cheese.
- Tomato – Add tomato to make a BLT Big Mac just as you would on a classic burger.
- Iceberg lettuce – Add a little pinch of shredded lettuce just like a real Big Mac.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy our bacon cheeseburger muffins. They’re another perfect example of meaty goodness in bite-size form.
Equipment
You don’t need any special equipment to make these delicious mini Big Mac bowls. You only need what you already have in your kitchen.
- 12-count muffin tin
- cooking spray
- large skillet
Storage
You can store these Big Mac bites in the refrigerator for up to three days. We don’t recommend freezing them.
Tips
This recipe is so simple, there aren’t many tips for it. You just need to remember a couple of things to make sure you create the best little burger cups possible.
- Evenly coat the entire muffin tin interior so the buns don’t stick.
- Finely chop the onions so you get all the flavor without huge onion chunks.
More Ground Beef Recipes
Do you like ground beef? Here are some recipes you may also like to try
FAQ
Do you have questions about Big Mac bites? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about these Big Mac bites.
These will be good for about three days in the refrigerator, although they’re best the day they’re made.
We don’t recommend freezing them. The texture of the bread changes after freezing and reheating.
Absolutely! Just shred your lettuce into strips and add a pinch on top, just like the original.
Big Mac Bites
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Big Mac Bites
Equipment
- muffin pan (12 holes)
Ingredients
- 6 hamburger buns split
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon worcheshire sauce
- 6 slices American cheese each cut in four pieces
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed
- 12 dill pickle chips
- ¼ cup thousand island dressing
Instructions
- Get out and measure your ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 12 count regular-size muffin cup with cooking spray.
- In a large skillet brown and crumble your ground beef and drain. Remove from heat. To the meat add your worcestershire sauce, onion and salt and pepper to taste.
- Press half of a bun, cut side up, into each muffin cup, pressing to thin out the bun some.
- Place a quarter of each slice of cheese into each cup.
- Divide meat mixture evenly among muffin cups.
- Bake 10-12 minutes until the buns are lightly toasted.
- Remove from the oven and immediately top each cup with another quarter of the cheese slices.
- After 5 minutes remove from pan and place on platter or cutting board.
- Sprinkle each one with sesame seeds, a drizzle of the thousand island
- And a pickle chip.
- Serve and enjoy every bite!
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