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This easy homemade Hamburger Helper recipe has ground beef, macaroni, and a flavorful cheesy cheddar sauce! It’s total comfort food that’s inexpensive and ready in about 30 minutes.
Try my Simple Ground Beef Casserole or One Pot Cheesy Beef and Shells next.
Why you’ll love it
When I was little, my mom made everything from scratch. I do fondly remember a few boxed meals from visiting friends’ houses in the ’90s, though. One was Hamburger Helper, and that brings up all the nostalgia. Naturally, I had to recreate an even better Hamburger Helper from scratch! I like mine because you have total control over the seasonings and know exactly what goes into it.
This ground beef recipe is super simple to make with affordable pantry ingredients, doesn’t take much longer than the packaged kind, and it’s cooked all in one pot for fewer dishes. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with eating packaged foods every now and then, but a LOT of people crave homemade Hamburger Helper, so I am here to bring you the best version.
What you’ll need
- Ground beef – I like to use extra lean ground beef, at least 90%
- Onion – our kitchen prefers Vidalia (sweet) onions
- Tomato paste – it’s an easy, economical way to get concentrated tomato flavor
- Garlic powder and chili powder – our simple seasoning blend to infuse savory flavor, and they’re ingredients I always keep in my pantry
- Elbow macaroni – the classic pasta shape for this
- Beef broth – for a deeper, richer flavor to the sauce
- Sharp cheddar cheese – my version of Hamburger Helper has no milk to make it that much easier, and the cheddar makes the dish creamy enough all on its own!
Pro tip
One pot recipes can vary depending on your particular stove and ingredients, so if you seem to be running out of liquid with a lot of time still left, feel free to add in a bit more. Try 1/2 cup at a time.
How to make Hamburger Helper
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Start by browning the beef and onion in a large pot and draining any excess fat, then stir in the tomato paste, garlic powder, and chili powder. Add in the beef broth, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it’s boiling, stir in the uncooked macaroni.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid is soaked up. Grate the cheddar while it’s simmering away. Stir in the cheese, and season to taste with salt & pepper.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Always grate your cheese own for best taste and texture. I use this cheese grater.
- I like this Dutch oven for my one pot meals.
- These are the angled measuring cups I use.
Substitutions and variations
- Feel free to tweak seasonings to your tastes. You can always increase the chili powder, add some hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes, more garlic, and so on to make it perfect for your taste buds!
- Some readers like to sneak in a bit of spinach. Just add it in near the end of the cooking time until it wilts. Finely chopped bell peppers would work great as well.
- If you want to jazz it up, change up the cheese variety. Monterey Jack, smoked cheddar, etc. make some fun variations.
- You can use ground turkey or ground chicken instead if that’s more your thing.
- If you want to use another pasta shape (e.g. shells), you may need to adjust liquid measurements and/or cooking time (this has only been tested with macaroni).
What to serve with Hamburger Helper
- It’s definitely a meal in and of itself, but it would go great with a salad on the side. Try one with my Simple Homemade Ranch Dressing or Copycat Olive Garden Salad Dressing.
- Making Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread at home is another fantastic pairing everyone will devour.
- Want to serve it with some veggies? These Easy Roasted Green Beans are a cinch to make and caramelized to perfection.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftovers of this Hamburger Helper will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container, but keep in mind that the pasta will continue to absorb the broth over time. It’ll still be tasty, though.
- Reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat for best results, giving it the occasional stir, and warm it through. Add in a splash of beef broth to thin it if desired.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers. Cooked pasta doesn’t have the same texture once thawed.
More family friendly recipes
Let me know if you give this cheesy Hamburger Helper recipe a go! Questions? Made it? As always, I love it when you leave me comments.
Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
- 2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the beef and onions to a soup pot. Cook over medium-high heat until the beef has browned (about 7-10 minutes), breaking the meat up with your spoon as you go along. If there's a lot of excess fat, spoon most of it out.
- Stir in the tomato paste, garlic powder, and chili powder.
- Add in the beef broth and increase the heat to high. Once it starts boiling, add in the macaroni.
- Reduce the heat so it's not furiously boiling (a rapid simmer is good). I ended up cooking mine over medium heat. Let it cook uncovered until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (about 13-15 minutes). I stir it every couple of minutes.
- While it's cooking, grate the cheese (this saves prep time at the start of the recipe).
- Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese. Season with salt & pepper as needed. I let it sit for a couple minutes prior to serving (soaks up the sauce and flavors more), but you can serve it right away.
Notes
- Serves 4-6 depending on the portion size.
- As with any one pot meal, ingredients and stoves vary. If you’re running out of liquid (like it’s in danger of sticking and burning) when you still have a while to go before the pasta is done, feel free to add in more liquid, 1/2 cup at a time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on January 17, 2020. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Oh shoot! I put the cheese in too soon, way too much liquid left – what should I do?
FYI – I make this all the time and my whole family (picky 3 year old included) LOVE this dish. First time I’ve made this error.
Hi Sally! So glad it’s a hit. Just try cooking it down some more. 🙂
Let’s just say this has been added in my rotation of quick meals! I did tweak it a little I used 3lbs of beef and 2 Cups of Noodles & 2 Cups Cheese to make a bigger portion. My family loved it!
Awesome!! 🙂
I made exactly as stated and just added scallions on top at the end, perfect!!! So easy and delicious, will be in my rotation! I do agree with the comment below, as far as the serving size, for us it’s good for about 2-3. But maybe that’s because it’s so good!!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
It’s ok but lacks flavor.
Did you add enough salt?
Perfect taste! I did not even have to add salt!
🙂
This is a family favorite! Our son has celiac disease so we use gluten free elbow macaroni and it tastes great (though the noodles fall apart more, not the recipe’s fault). Usually we make a double batch which is perfect for a 12 oz. pack of the elbows we buy. Just in case someone else who cannot eat gluten reads this. Thanks so much for all your awesome recipes.
I’m so glad it’s a hit and you’re able to adapt it for your son’s needs!! Appreciate the gluten-free info – I am sure it will be helpful for other readers. 🙂
Excellent! Simple and quick for those nights that you didn’t really want to cook. Definitely adding to my round up!
Fantastic! 😀
I just made this for the first time and it is definitely going into rotation! So easy to make and very flavorful. I added extra garlic, and onion powder – and some milk to make it extra creamy.
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Heather!
Omg this was a win ! Deliciousness and even a hit with my picky children !
That’s so nice to hear, April!!
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for a few days & just made it tonight! I only click on the BEST, & I see why this has a 5 star rating. This is a perfect recipe! I’m also a sucker for a one pot dinner haha. I followed the instructions exactly & added a bit more meat with 1/2 cup more noddles. I also used seasoning salt instead of regular salt.
**PLEASE NOTE** that this recipe says “salt & pepper to taste”, meaning if it comes out bland it’s YOUR fault lol. This came out so perfect, my boyfriend and I loved it!! Thank you for taking the time to post this for us all. I will definitely be browsing more of your recipes Natasha, great job!!
I’m so happy you liked it!! And yes, you’re spot on with the salt & pepper to taste haha. 😉 Let me know if you try anything else! Thanks for your review, Micah!
Hi Natasha,
Can cavatappi macaroni be used for this?
Thank you
Hi! You could try, but you may want to keep an eye on liquid measurements (like add more liquid if needed). Let me know how it goes!
i made this whith my mom amazing
🙂