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This easy Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe is the flavor packed, cheesy meal of your dreams! Pasta and ground beef are sautéed and covered in a creamy tomato & cheese sauce for a satisfying version of this classic dinner idea.
Easy Homemade Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper happens to hold a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first things I learned to make when I moved out on my own at 19. It was something we could afford and I loved finding ways to doctor it up and add more flavor to the boxed version.
These days, we make Homemade Hamburger Helper and my kiddos call it Cheeseburger Pasta! It’s so creamy, packed with flavor and filled with cheese pasta and bites of ground beef. We sometimes even add extra cheese on top and melt it under the broiler for a few minutes!
This homemade hamburger helper is one of our kids favorite weeknight dinners. It doesn’t hurt that that this recipe is budget friendly and so simple and easy to make.
Why make it homemade?
Boxed Hamburger helper is convenient on busy weeknights, but this homemade version is just as easy to make and filled with more flavor and freshness. By making it from scratch, you will also have more control over the seasonings and can skip all the extra preservatives.
Oh! And the from scratch way includes real cream and real cheese. You know that’s worth it alone! If you really want that classic hamburger helper taste with the artificial cheese, you can always add a little velveeta with the shredded cheddar cheese! I promise your secret is safe with me.
If you want to serve a comforting and delicious dinner, you might as well go all in with the real deal! My family can’t get enough of this homemade hamburger helper and I know you are going to love it too!
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground Beef: Feel free to substitute lean ground beef for another ground meat like chicken or turkey to change it up!
- Chopped Onion: I use a sweet yellow onion to balance out the savory flavors in this dish.
- Minced Garlic
- All Purpose Flour
- Beef Broth: You can also use another broth of choice.
- Tomato Sauce
- Italian Seasoning
- Seasoned Salt
- Smoked Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Pasta Shells: This recipe works with elbow pasta as well.
- Heavy Cream
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Salt & Pepper: At the end, season to your liking with salt and pepper.
What Kind of Pasta to Use
Shells or elbow pasta work best for this recipe. If you don’t have either or those, any small noodle will do. You could even make this hamburger helper with penne if you really wanted to. I like to use the shells because they’re good at absorbing the creamy tomato sauce.
How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper
Cook Beef: In a large sauté pan with a lid, brown the ground beef over medium high heat. Remove cooked ground beef from the pan and set aside, reserving 2 tablespoons of grease in the pan.
Sauté Onion & Garlic: Cook the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.
Add Flour & Broth: Add the flour and stir to cook for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in the beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil.
Cook Pasta: Add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and pasta, stirring to combine. Cover with the lid and sauté for 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked, stirring occasionally.
Add Cream & Cheese: Add in the cream and cheese and stir until all the cheese is melted. Add the ground beef back in and cook for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Tips for the Best Hamburger Helper
- Adjust Amount of Broth Used: This dish should be rich and creamy. If you need more liquid for your pasta, add a little water or beef broth. This is helpful if you’re using a larger noodle like penne.
- Use Freshly Shredded Cheddar: There are a lot of high quality shredded cheeses out there, but for the best flavor I always recommend shredding it fresh yourself.
- Season to Taste: You can add your favorite seasonings to this recipe or tweak the ones listed if you’d like! If it feels like it’s missing something, make sure it’s got enough salt. Sometimes you just need a pinch more salt to make a dish like this shine!
- Garnish: Throw some parsley, pickles (it is cheeseburger pasta after all!) or roasted red pepper flakes on your pasta as a garnish.
What to serve with it?
This cheesy homemade hamburger helper is really a one pot dish! You don’t have to serve anything on the side if you don’t want to, it’s filling enough on it’s own!
However, if you are like me, I like to have a little something green with every meal. So we often serve this recipe with a side salad or some steamed or roasted broccoli!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store your leftover beef pasta in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you want to freeze it, store it in an aluminum pan tightly covered with plastic wrap. It’ll stay fresh in the freezer for about 3 months!
You can reheat your hamburger helper on the stove or in the microwave. Add a splash or two of broth to bring back its creaminess. If you froze your leftovers, thaw them in the fridge before reheating.
Can I make this recipe ahead?
I would not recommend trying to make this homemade hamburger helper recipe ahead. This recipe is best served fresh right off the stove. When it sits and is allowed to cool, the pasta will soak up the extra liquid and it won’t be as wonderful as it is fresh. The leftovers are still good, just not AS good as they are fresh off the stove.
However, if you want to meal prep before a busy week, you can always sauté the ground beef and onion/garlic before hand. Store them in ziplock bags in the fridge and have them ready to go later in the week for an even quicker dinner!
I am excited for you to try this extra cheesy and flavorful Homemade Hamburger Helper and to hear your reviews! It’s a favorite easy weeknight dinner of ours and I am happy to finally be sharing it with all of you.
Looking for more quick and easy dinner ideas? Check out these other reader favorites:
- Easy Swedish Meatballs
- Easy Chicken and Dumplings
- Crockpot French Onion Chicken
- Instant Pot Beef Tips
- Best Baked Chicken Recipe
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Make the cheesy pasta dish of your cravings with this easy Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe! Pasta and ground beef are sautéed and covered in a creamy tomato & cheese sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups pasta shells (can also use elbow pasta)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan with a lid, brown the ground beef over medium high heat. Remove cooked ground beef from pan and set aside, reserving 2 tablespoons of grease in the pan.
- Cook the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and stir to cook for about 1 minute, slowly stir in the beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder and pasta, stirring to combine. Cover with lid and sauté for 12 to 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the cream and cheese and stir until all the cheese melted. Add back in ground beef, cook for 2 to 3 minutes more to re-heat ground beef and serve immediately!
Notes
This dish is rich. If you need more liquid for your pasta you can add a little water or beef broth. You could substitute another type of pasta but try to use a similar size for the liquid ratio to work out.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 590Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 152mgSodium: 870mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 42g
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So good! I used banza chickpea pasta, ground turkey and whole milk instead of cream. Turned out fantastic.
This was so soo good! I’ve made it twice now ! The whole family loves it & it was super easy to make. & this is waaaaaaaaay better than hamburger helper. If you haven’t had hamburger helper since you were a kid, don’t even bother, it’s not worth the convenience. This recipe though
This was so delicious! I haven’t had Hamburger Helper since I was a kid so I have no point of comparison. I just know it was tasty. I used mezzi rigatoni. My teenager had two helpings.
So tasty and easy! Love cheeseburger macaroni, so glad to have found this recipe to have a healthier version of a favorite!
I grew up in the Midwest and Hamburger Helper was in the regular rotation, making it one of my deep comfort foods as an adult. Made this the other day and it totally hit all the notes, without the processed tang that comes with the boxed one I enjoyed as a child. So delicious and a wonderful treat, thank you!
Thank you for this fabulous recipe! I made it tonight and we loved it! My husband said this one’s a keeper!!! I even messed it up, (I didn’t read the recipe completely and didn’t remove the meat before sautéing the onions). It still turned out and we loved it. Thanks again!
I used egg noodles. Really good. A little thick so maybe I wouldn’t use so much cheese next time.
This was good! I tweaked a few things based on what I had on hand (ground turkey instead of ground beef, tomato soup mix and a little more broth instead of tomato sauce) and it was good! You definitely need to season it to your family’s tastes but we had plenty for our family of three and there were leftovers for the next day.
So, for a dish on a website called the novice chef, it would be nice to have quantities of the ingredients listed somewhere. Maybe they are visible on a non-mobile device, but I couldn’t find them anywhere while viewing on my phone!
Hi Dadster, the recipe is right at the bottom of the post. In the post, I discuss the ingredients and method with photos, but at the bottom of the post you will find the full recipe shown in the recipe card, as well as a print the recipe button. You can also always click the “Jump to the recipe” button at the top of every post to see just the recipe…in case you do not care about the extra tips/tricks discussed in the post. Hope this helps!
Saw them both on phone and iPad.
This was absolutely fantastic and my family devoured it. Only feedback is that I doubled the recipe and it was barely enough for my family of 5. Granted I have big teenagers but I can’t think of any family that could all share the original recipe. But thank you for an amazing recipe!
OMG!!!!! So freaking good! I grew up on cheeseburger macaroni hamburger helper and this is just like it but so much better!
This was sooo good!
I’ve been on the hunt for a while for a cleaner version of hamburger helper and this is the best recipe I’ve tried. So flavorful and super simple!
I wasn’t sure if she meant 2 cups weighted or 2 cups measured of either the noodles or the cheese, so I went measured. I used 1, 8oz, block of cheese. I will likely use 3 cups of beef broth next time. I wound up adding an extra cup of water as my noodles were quite thirsty.
Man oh man I was so so pleased with this!
I don’t have any heavy cream would 2% milk work?
Yes, just not as creamy!
Can also use a little cream cheese
I’ve made this recipe 4 times now and it’s delicious. I don’t use paprika at all, but it’s still very tasty.
Could I use elbow pasta for this? I don’t have enough shells.
Yes!
This is an amazing dish! The flavor is rich, but so good. This will become a part of our regular rotation!
Even my pickest eaters loved this!! So happy to have another go-to recipe for family dinners. Yay!
Can this be made in a stock pot with a lid? I’m not sure my saute pan is big enough.
Yes!
I LOVE this recipe! This is the only “hamburger helper” recipe I’ve found that has you make a quick roux using the beef grease! Ends up making a super thick and super cheesy dish that has none of the watery problems other one-pan pasta recipes have. The heavy cream is also to die for. I totally love it, and so does my family! This one goes on my list for ones I’m going to be making regularly for weeknight dinners!
So glad to hear you and your family enjoy it as much as we do Taylor!
I needed something quick to make for my family after work before class started. Not only was this quick but it was delicious and easy to follow :). Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Hi, I would like to try this recipe but I was curious as to what size pasta Shells to use? Small or Medium sized?Thanks in advance for any help.
Small or medium sized both work great, use whichever one you have!