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 Pepperoni French Bread Pizza 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, so it's an easy ground beef recipe you can feel good about serving your family.
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 around that's still budget friendly.
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! Always grate your own for best taste and texture. I use this cheese grater.
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 or Dutch oven 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.
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
- 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
- 3 cups beef broth
- 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.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
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!
Erika says
This recipe, as is, is now part of our meal rotation! It is DELICIOUS. Tastes just like the “real” hamburger helper but love that it’s homemade and made with real ingredients! Our whole family, baby and toddler and all, LOVE this recipe. Thank you for sharing!!
Natasha says
Aww I'm so happy to hear that!! 🙂 That's so nice to hear.
Brittney says
This has become a family favorite!
Natasha says
Wonderful!
Steve says
Good recipe, was a big hit. I made some mods based on my pantry inventory, but the main one was to add some peas and green beans.
Natasha says
Excellent!! So glad you enjoyed it, Steve!
Jazz says
Great recipe, threw in 2 1/2 cups of noodles 3 cups of beef broth, 1 cup half and half and 3 1/2 cups of shredded cheese to make extra helpings.
Natasha says
Excellent! 🙂
Veronica says
This was delicious and super easy. We doubled the recipe and added a touch more seasoning. Also we did a total of 3 cups of noodles and a total of 4 cups of broth instead just doubling those. Turned out perfect. When we cook again I’ll leave cheese out as I preferred the consistency before it was mixed in but my husband thought it was better with the cheese. We served it with a side salad.
Natasha says
So glad you liked it!
David says
Great little recipe. I had some ground beef and egg noodles and went looking for a hamburger helper recipe and this was the first to pop up. I made a few tweaks. I added a teaspoon of already chopped garlic from jar and two teaspoons of onion powder. I also used the better than bouillon for the beef broth. I find it adds an extra kick. I only used 2 1/2 cups of broth. Didn’t need up with too much liquid. Nice little recipe and it’s way better than from the box.
Natasha says
Thanks, David! Happy new year!
Jessica Whicker says
I hardly leave reviews on recipes but I enjoyed this one quite a bit! I would say if you need to stir this often and take off the burner when you add the cheese. If you don’t do that, then you probably would ruined your pan, just like in any other recipe. Otherwise I added one tablespoon of onion instead of a real onion and I used sweet Italian sausage cause that’s all I had and it was very good! Definitely not the same as my favorite childhood hamburger helper but it was so close!
Natasha says
I appreciate it! Yes, definitely important to take the pan off the heat for that step. Thanks for your review, Jessica!
Dizzy Z says
I made this tonight for my husband and I and it was really good. I added some frozen corn to try and it was a subtle addition and also some steak seasoning instead of the salt and pepper as the recipe says. Definitely something I will make again. Thank you.
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
You're very welcome! Happy it was a hit for you both. 🙂
Jacob says
Well, if it ruined your pot, you probably shouldn’t be cooking in the first place, sorry making a comment to another one recently.. followed the directions to a T, not a fan, my daughter and I ate it, but won’t make again, just lacks flavor..wish I could pinpoint what’s missing, it has the right texture, everything turned out as expected, idk, just my opinion
LILO and stitch says
This recipe is absolute [edited for profanity], two [edited for profanity] cups of cheddar. Completely ruined my pot, and it tasted like watered down hamburger helper. Wish I could give you 0 stars
Natasha says
Clearly you did something wrong. It's a very highly rated recipe. Happy holidays to you, and may next year bring you some self awareness. 🙂
Sally says
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.
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Hi Sally! So glad it's a hit. Just try cooking it down some more. 🙂
India says
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!
Natasha says
Awesome!! 🙂
Steph says
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!!
Natasha says
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Francois says
It's ok but lacks flavor.
Natasha says
Did you add enough salt?
Peter B. says
Perfect taste! I did not even have to add salt!
Natasha says
🙂
Emily says
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.
Natasha says
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. 🙂
Raelynn says
Excellent! Simple and quick for those nights that you didn’t really want to cook. Definitely adding to my round up!
Natasha says
Fantastic! 😀
Heather says
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.
Natasha says
That's awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Heather!
April says
Omg this was a win ! Deliciousness and even a hit with my picky children !
Natasha says
That's so nice to hear, April!!
Micah says
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!!
Natasha says
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!
Mia says
Hi Natasha,
Can cavatappi macaroni be used for this?
Thank you
Natasha says
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!
maverickbazin says
i made this whith my mom amazing
Natasha says
🙂
maverickbazin says
very good
Natasha says
Thank you!!
Alisa says
Thank you it was sooo delicious 😋 I doubled the pasta and added dried parsley 🌿
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
You're very welcome!! So happy it was a hit, Alisa. 🙂
Jamie says
Made this for a second time tonight and I had forgotten how tasty it is and how easy to make. Definitely a keeper
Natasha says
That's awesome!! 🙂
Jennifer Brennan says
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe
Natasha says
Yay!! Thanks for your review, Jennifer! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!
Jessika French says
Made this tonight and the amount of all ingredients are perfect! I used ground turkey as a substitute and still very delicious! Thank you for this recipe! My husband and I loved it!
Natasha says
That's great to hear!! Thanks for your review!
Stephanie Wesson says
Do you think this would be good if I used ground turkey instead of ground beef and use vegetable broth versus beef broth? We don’t eat red meat but I really miss hamburger helper. Thank you!
Natasha says
Hi! I think others have tried it - you may want to read thru the comments. 🙂 I think it would be ok, but definitely a departure from the original.
Natalie says
This was a easy recipe to follow and make your own. I used a whole can of tomato paste and add a little more pasta. I also added some cream cheese at the end. I wish I had read the idea about carrots because I love carrots. It is a keeper.
Natasha says
So glad you liked it! 🙂
Tim S says
This recipe is outstanding! Great weeknight dinner. Flavor is wonderful, and it is so quick and easy to make! We basically inhaled it. Leftovers? Nope. Ate it all. Readily available ingredients, too, which is great. The last time I made it, I used a mix of Tillamook Cheddar Cheese and gruyére cheese. So good! Thank you for this recipe!
Natasha says
I'm so happy it was a hit!! 😀
Katie says
We really, really loved this, than you!!
Natasha says
You're very welcome! 😀
Kathy D says
I thought this was good, but I'm not sure I loved the cheese addition. I really loved the ease of the recipe and the noodles cooking with the rest of the ingredients. It made for an easy weeknight meal. Thank you!
Natasha says
Hi Kathy! You're welcome! 🙂 Yup, you could definitely skip the cheese next time. I actually prefer it without the cheese myself but it's not as true to the original recipe.
Arlis Miles says
Hilarious that you think this serves 4-6! Just the man and me and we ate a bunch of it with one leftover portion. (🐷) 5 of 5 stars but double the recipe! It was so delicious
Natasha says
Hehehehe well... when you're hungry, you're hungry. 😀 Thanks for your review!
Kim says
Made this on the fly yesterday for the first time. Didn’t change a thing and don’t need to. It was so good! Super easy and everyone in my family loved it. Thank you for your recipes…they are always delicious!!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
That's so nice to hear, Kim! We're thrilled you're enjoying the recipes!!
Esther says
I added carrots as well. My husband and children devoured this. A true winner!
Natasha says
Wonderful!! Thanks for your review, Esther!
Jaclyn says
WOW! It's absoltely amazing!! great recipe thanks for the dinner idea, the kids love it too. Added a bit of Greek yogurt.
Natasha says
I'm so pleased everyone enjoyed it, Jaclyn! 😀
Lynnbug says
Love this recipe. Quick, easy, 1 pot delicious. I used mild Italian sausage. Took it out of the casing. Yummy 😋
Natasha says
Fantastic!!
Mark says
Just made this. Very easy and super tasty.
I added sauteed mushrooms with the beef broth since I had some left in the fridge, and thought it worked well. I also added Tapatio at the table. Probably will add Jalapeno's next time. Definitely a recipe to add to the family's dinner rotation. Thank you!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
You're welcome, Mark! Love those creative additions! 🙂
Emily says
This was so delicious and easy! I haven’t used a recipe of yours that I didn’t love!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Aww that makes us so happy to hear, Emily! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. It's really appreciated. 🙂
Kaley says
So easy to make and super delicious! Definitely better than the box.
Melanie says
Can I use velveeta cheese instead? I’m afraid it might be too runny! Help 🙂
Natasha says
Hi! You could give it a try for sure, but I haven't personally tested it. Let me know how it goes!
Rhonda says
I added a can of cheese soup (just because I had it on hand) and it was BOMB!
Kathleen says
Every one of your recipes is a hit! This one was no different. So good. Thanks for a fast and delicious meal for the whole family.
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
So happy you enjoyed this recipe and others, Kathleen! Really appreciate your review 🙂
Katie says
Wanted something that reminded me of childhood. This was the perfect comfort food! Thank you! Followed the recipe to a t and we all loved it.
Natasha says
That's great!! Thanks for giving it a try. 🙂
Lisa says
I live in England and decided to try something new. My husband loved it and even my fussy toddlers ate it without any complaints. I would 100% make this again. Thank you
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
That's so nice to hear, Lisa!! Glad this recipe made its way across the pond! 🙂
Brenda S. says
Made this tonigh and I want to keep eating it! I added creole seasoning at the end, before the cheese when I decided it needed more salt. Thank you for the recipe! Yum
Natasha says
Ooh I love that idea!! You're welcome! 🙂
Tracey says
This is delicious!!! I tried a couple of other recipes but this is by far the best. Reminiscent of the original but better. I modified it a little to what I had stocked in my pantry. I used mexican three cheese blend and seasonings with sazon which had chili powder in it. Thanks! Will definitely make again!!
Natasha says
I'm so happy it was a hit!! Thanks for your 5-star review, Tracey!
Tracey says
I love tgat no milk is needed
Natasha says
🙂
Megan says
This recipe is amazing!! It tastes so delicious!!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you liked it!!
Debbie says
OMGOSH lllllloooooovvvvvvveeeeee it
So easy so good
Natasha says
Thank you!!
Bea says
I wad wondering if you could add chopped spinach to this recipe?
Natasha says
Sure! I'd stir it in towards the end of cooking time... just to warm thru/wilt. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Jennifer says
Awesome and easy to make! I used 4 cups of beef broth and minced garlic along with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. I added a little bit of beef broth to the leftover and it was excellent. My husband loved it with tostada scoops!
Natasha says
Yay! So glad it was a hit! 🙂
Cynthia says
So much healthier and tastier than the box stuff! Love how easy it is!!
Natasha says
Thank you!! 😀
Jason says
Great flavor, better than hamburger helper in the box.
Natasha says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Jason!!
Sissy Dixon says
Love this quick recipe! I didn't have tomato paste. I drained the liquid from a can of diced tomatoes and pureed the tomatoes. Worked just fine. Also, used wide egg noodles (didn't have elbows). Yum!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you were able to tweak it!! Thanks for your review!
Nina Shano says
I don't have tomato paste either but I do have tomato sauce , so I will be using that instead, so glad I read your comment . Making this now , can't wait to eat it !!!