Homemade Hamburger Helper- Cheeseburger Macaroni
I wasn’t introduced to Hamburger Helper until I got married. It was part of my husband’s bachelor meal rotation which consisted of 3 meals; Hamburger Helper, spaghetti with Ragu sauce, and Clusters cereal. Seriously, that was his diet. Bless his heart.
I grew up with a meal very similar to Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper but it was homemade and called cheesy beef and macaroni. It was a quick, cheap, wholesome, weekday meal that my mother made often on PTA nights or whenever we were really pressed for time/money.
I thought I was done with boxed Hamburger Helper and then I had my son. Kids LOVE Hamburger Helper! We ended up getting a box one day when we were out of town and he loved it. I didn’t mind though. It was easy to make, made him happy and that little glove is adorable. Well, one day when I was making his favorite kind, Cheeseburger Macaroni I decided to look at the ingredients, and what the heck!
I’m not normally an ingredient snob but why the long list of ingredients, dyes, msg, and weird stuff just to make a pot of macaroni, beef, and cheese? I ended up throwing it away and making a pot of homemade hamburger helper. We’ve been doing it this way ever since.
This homemade Hamburger Helper uses real ingredients: macaroni, meat, milk, water, cheese, and spices, THAT’S IT! It tastes fresh, comforting, cheesy, meaty, and filling, just like it should. And best of all it’s just as quick as the boxed version. I use ground turkey in place of beef simply because we don’t eat much red meat. For the cheese, I use a mixture of shredded cheddars. Hamburger Helper uses ricotta as well and sometimes I’ll mix a little of that in for creaminess but only if I have some on hand which I usually don’t.
If you’re a true, die-hard Hamburger Helper fan you may find that it doesn’t taste EXACTLY like hamburger helper. I think it tastes waaay better and Isaac doesn’t even know the difference, but if you’re trying to ween your addicted, older kids off of it then you may want to throw in a little processed cheese for a familiar taste.
Watch me make this Homemade Hamburger Helper from start to finish!
Get the Recipe: Homemade Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey, sometimes I use only 1/2 lb
- 1/2 cup onions, diced
- 1 tablespoon butter, optional
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt or seasoning salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon parsley
- 3/4 garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Brown ground meat in a skillet over medium heat until almost done.
- Add in onions and cook until tender.
- Drain fat from pan.
- Add remaining ingredients except for the cheese.
- Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, cover and cook until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- * Do not over cook pasta. I usually taste check it at 9 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in cheese. The sauce may be thin.
- Let pasta sit to thicken the sauce, meanwhile adjust seasonings if needed.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Use various cheeses if desired.
Add taco seasonings for a chili mac.
Chopped tomatoes are good in this as well.
Want veggies? Peas or broccoli works great!
Hot sauce anyone?
I came across this website just by searching homemade hamburger helper and I did put it with the box Mac and cheese but boy did I get an instant hit with my family. My two year old even did the “mm mm mhmm” with a mouthful of the stuff. Definitely a repeat recipe! Thank you!
I made this last night and it was great, a hit with my husband, who refuses to even look at the boxed Hamburger Helper. Every recipe I have made from you is great! So glad I found your site! Keep up the good work, you’re helping me out! 🙂
I loved hamburger helper as a kid but never bought it for my kids because of the high sodium content and other not so good ingredients. I was excited to try this and it was a big hit for my boys and husband. I think it tastes waaaay better than the boxed stuff. Keep the awesome recipes coming 🙂
This was yummy! However, it was bland with the amount of spices indicated in the recipe. I kept adding more to make it more flavorful- next time I might double or triple some of them at the start. Also, I don’t eat cheese, so it wasn’t creamy enough. Next time I think I’ll add a little half and half or heavy cream to make it richer. This totally hit the spot though!!
Wait, Melinda… you don’t eat cheese, yet searched for homemade Hamburger Helper? And gave this 2 stars as a review? This recipe was fine. I tweaked it, too. Your desire to write a review and give it 2 stars “because you don’t eat cheese” is like going to a vegan restaurant and giving them a 1 star rating because THEY DON’T SERVE MEAT.” You’re the worst and you clog the internet.
This was really good! I was very pleasantly surprised. We used 3 cups pasta and an extra cup each of water and cheese. I also used 1/2 ground beef, 1/2 lentils.
My daughter loves Hamburger Helper, but I stopped buying it. One day I put some hamburger and boxed mac and cheese together and hey homemade Hamburger Helper. I went on line to find a recipe for homemade hamburger helper and came across this recipe. I did not have cheddar, so I used Velveeta and Parmesan cheese and this was fantastic. My daughter has yet to taste it but I know she will love it. This is a keeper and I will be trying more of Diva’s can cook recipes.