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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.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
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!
Natasha, this has been our favorite homemade hamburger helper ever for a few years now. Never make any other. I have a dumb question though. So, my 20 year old son made an absolutely terrific homemade and cheese and I have leftovers! Meanwhile, though, I am now out of cheese. Lol. Soooooo, I’m thinking of adding his mac and cheese at the end instead of cooking new elbows and cheese. Do you think it’ll work? I so DON’T want to go to the store…We love your recipes AND I HOPE YOU SEE THIS BEFORE I TONIGHT. LOL thank you for all your sharing of wonderful meals!
Hi Theresa! I’m thrilled this is a favorite! 😀 Since the pasta cooks in here and releases starch to thicken the sauce, I’m kinda worried that you’ll end up with a watery mess if you follow this recipe. I have an idea, though… maybe make this sauce instead and then serve it with the warmed up mac & cheese: https://www.saltandlavender.com/ground-beef-pasta/ and you could always add in some chili powder to better mimic the flavor of HH.
Thank you so much, Girl! You’re the best!
XOXO
I was so grateful for this recipe as it is so nostalgic! I too grabbed a box and was shocked at how much I used to love it as a kid. Ewwwww. I knew some had to have made a better version without powdered cheese.
This recipe is originally how I found salt & lavender and am so happy I did.
This recipe feels healthier without sacrificing taste. It also helped me from getting the dreaded soggy noodles. It would seem intuitive but I was cooking to al denté instead of putting them in the liquid to cook. They get the flavor infused instead of tasting like noodles added to a sauce (which is what I was doing obvs)
Huge benefit: My kids like it too!
I need to leave more reviews for all of the great recipes that are now in my rotation and have made my tried and true dishes a bit better!
Aww your comment made my morning, Leilani! Thank you so much! I really appreciate the reviews! XO
I just made this for supper tonight and it was delicious!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Michelle!
What is the portion size?
Hi Keagan! 1/4 of the recipe. Nutrition info is calculated automatically from a database of ingredients and is just an estimate. You’d have to weigh your own ingredients and plug it into something like My Fitness Pal for info beyond that.
I am making freezer meals for my son and his family. Would this recipe work? Maybe add the pasta when ready to serve after removing it the freezer?
Hi Rebecca! You could try making it as-is and freezing the leftovers and see how well it thaws and reheats. I am a bit picky with freezing most cooked pasta and cheese, so that is why I don’t recommend it (see “leftovers & storage” in the blog post). Since it’s a one pot meal, adding cooked pasta won’t work unless you reduce the liquid quantities, and it might just end up too complicated for an easy freezer meal. One thing you could try that’s similar is just making this sauce and he can boil up the fresh pasta when reheating the sauce: https://www.saltandlavender.com/ground-beef-pasta/
This recipe is just ok. I’m not sure if it needs more flavor or if it just needs less broth. We let it sit for 20 mins before eating and it was still in a pool of juices.
Same ! Too much liquid , flavor is good overall, next time I’ll use less broth and add heavy whipping cream when stirring in cheese to thicken . Recipe is much healthier than boxed hamburger helper
Love this easy recipe! All my kids enjoy too!
Thanks, Stacey!
I only had boxed hamburger helper a few times as a kid, but it was secretly delicious (kinda like the mac and cheese in the blue box…!). A friend shared this a few years ago and it’s become a family staple. Even though my kids haven’t ever had the fake stuff, they love this. It’s finally cool enough today to make it I. The summer. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re very welcome, Nicole! 😀
This is a quick and very tasty dinner. Perfect for a week night and easy enough for my hubby to make. I do like to add some frozen peas and corn to the pot 5-6 min before done. I have also put in precooked fresh carrots or fresh broccoli. No need for a side dish when I add the veges. Thank you! This is definitely a staple in our home
Thank you, Laura!
I discovered this recipe a few months ago. The first time I made it, I was skeptical around step 4 and didn’t think this could possibly be good.
This is delicious! I’ve made it multiple times and my whole family enjoys it.
Thank you, Laura!