Mini Bun-less Cheeseburger Bites with Thousand Island Dip
Keto Mini cheeseburgers on a stick, you’ll never miss the bun! Low Carb, Gluten Free, and No Utensils required, perfect party food!
Low Carb Cheeseburger Bite Appetizers
The Super Bowl is the biggest and most festive party for finger foods and little bites. Whether you are the host of a home party, or the attendee at a friends party, appetizers rule on this night.
Maybe because finger foods and easy appetizers that don’t require utensils make for easy, comfortable gatherings, casual conversation and the ability to move around with ease and mingle.
After the holidays recipes that require lots of prep time and sit down entertaining, a Super Bowl party is a much anticipated relaxing night.
Little mini bites are always the hit at any party and these burger bites will surely please everyone, even the non low carb crowd!
Low Carb Cheeseburger Bites
These mini burger bites encompass all things wonderful. They’re bun-less so they’re low carb and keto without even trying. They’re tiny, so you can enjoy more per serving. They’re pretty and festive for company and especially helpful that everyone can just grab their own.
There’s really nothing NOT to love about these burger bites.
How to Customize Burger Bites
These cheeseburger bites are very easy to customize. You could have a table set up for building you own mini burger and leave out all the toppings so others can make it themselves.
If you make them ahead for a party they do require some time to cut and prep everything, but then it’s all assembly line style and your kiddies can help, like mine did.
Customize Toppings by swapping out the cheddar cheese for another melty type cheese you prefer. You could skip the pickle and add a jalapeno. You could swap out the tomato for a large green olive. You could also add some fresh red onion.
How to Make Keto Cheeseburger Bites
Ingredients
For the burgers, you really just need ground beef, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Ingredients for the assembling of the cheeseburgers bites are bacon, lettuce, cheddar cheese, pickles and cherry tomatoes.
For the Thousand Island Dressing, you need garlic, plain Greek yogurt, sugar free ketchup, extra virgin olive oil, dill pickles, salt, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, pepper and Tabasco sauce.
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl.Using about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture, make 48 mini meatballs.
Place them on a parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes.
Turn oven off and add a slice of cheese to each burger bite.
Place back in oven to melt cheese for 2-3 minutes.
Set aside to prepare remaining ingredients.
Cook the bacon in a skillet, but remove before crisp. If it’s too crisp, the bacon will crumble when inserting toothpick.
Drain on paper towel and break into 48 pieces.
To assemble burgers on toothpick start with a tomato half, a slice of pickle, a piece of bacon, lettuce, and cheeseburger bite.
Whisk the ingredients together for the dressing, taste and adjust spice if needed. Enjoy with Thousand Island dressing on the side.
Keto Thousand Island Dressing
You can use whatever dressing your really like with burgers, but I went for a change of pace and made my own thousand island style dressing to dip these bites in.
Be careful with Tabasco sauce, a little goes a long way. Taste and adjust before adding more. I think it’s spicy enough, but the hubby thought it was not spicy enough and would have preferred more. You be the judge.
More Low Carb Appetizer Finger Foods:
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
- Cheddar Cauliflower Bacon Bites
- Low Carb Cheesy Pepper Poppers
- Broccoli Cauliflower Quinoa Bites
- Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Dip
- Salt & Vinegar Zucchini Chips
- Sweet Candied Bourbon Pecans
- Oven Fried Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
Nutritional Information was calculated for 3 mini burgers on a stick with 1 tablespoon of dip.
Mini Bun-Less Cheeseburger Bites
Mini Bun-less Cheeseburger Bites with Thousand Island Dip
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese cut into 48 pieces
- 6 ounces bacon uncured, nitrate free
- 24 cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 cups red leaf lettuce chopped
- optional: pickles
Thousand Island Dip
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup Greek yogurt plain
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar free ketchup
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle chopped
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl.
- Using about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture, make 48 mini meatballs.
- Place them on a parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes. Turn oven off and add a slice of cheese to each burger bite. Place back in oven to melt cheese for 2-3 minutes. Set aside to prepare remaining ingredients.
- Cook the bacon in a skillet, but remove before crisp. Drain on paper towel and break into 48 pieces.
- To assemble burgers on toothpick start with a tomato half, pickle, bacon, lettuce, and cheeseburger. Whisk the ingredients together for the dressing, taste and adjust spice if needed. Enjoy with Thousand Island dressing on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Hello Brenda,
Quick question, photo shows a slice of cheese on the toothpick, but recipe says to melt the cheese before assembling. Do you do both?
Thank you
After cooking the meatballs add the slice of cheese then melt under the broiler for just a minute. My photos were prior to me realizing melting the cheese make for a better bite.
They look great. Are these served cold?
This is GENIUS!! We just finished our annual potluck Christmas lunch at work, and someone brought these. They were adorable and delicious, and everyone just loved them! I had to look them up right away. Thank you for the recipe!
Those cheeseburger bites would make great game day snacks! Thanks for the recipe.
These are great! I made a few with mushrooms instead of beef (vegan option) and were delicious!!
Great idea!
These look amazing! I was thinking of making them for an upcoming housewarming but am concerned that the beef may dry out. Any problems with this? The dip will help i’m sure but I just wanted to see any thoughts on this since I”ll be traveling a short way with the appetizer. Thanks so much for your time!
I served them room temp for a party and had prepped them quite a few hours before in the day.
I am thinking of trying your program as I’ve failed for over 40 years to control my weight due to sugar addiction and feelings of deprivation. Seeing this one picture and reading your words inspire me to try again. What are those tick picks holding the food together and can you buy them in stores or online?
Thank you!
I found them online through Amazon.
These are insanely cute and awesome.
Thank you Carrie!
I am always looking for an appetizer that looks good AND tastes good for large groups. These are filling too. We loved them
Brenda,
I made a 24 count batch for my family and I last night for dinner. Everyone absolutely loved them! I did not have any onion powder, so I diced up a purple onion and mixed it into the ground beef along with the other spices. It worked like a treat and they came out completely delicious.
Keep up the great work,
Kevin
Thanks Kevin!!! So happy you loved them! Keep up the good work!!
You are absolutely right: I would NOT miss the buns with these cute little burger bites. What a great idea for a party!
Love these little bites and yes, who needs a bun for these fun cheeseburger skewers.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful 2015!!!
These would be perfect for a New Years Eve party!
What a great gluten free appetizer option!
I just love “mini” anything! My brother will love these because thy are cheeseburgers he can actually eat (he’s gluten free).
Such a fun idea – these would be the hit of any party! I think I’m going to have to make them, because I don’t think I’ll be able to get them out of my mind until I do. 🙂