Homemade Hamburger Helper- Cheeseburger Macaroni
I wasn’t introduced to Hamburger Helper until I got married. Â 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. Â
 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 made this using meatless Morningstar Crumbles. It was absolutely delicious. It will be a go to meal in my house. I added mushrooms and broccoli. Thank you for sharing!
I made this tonight and was pleasantly surprised! It was delish! Hubby & 8 yr old had seconds & my 6 & 4 year old cleaned their plates…bravo!
I just made this recipe for a late dinner and I must say it was better than the box version. Thank you diva for keep my belly full. You are a blessing
OMG! AMAZING!! I was whimsically looking up Hamburger helper copycat recipes and found this. My 5 yr old son saw the pic and said he wanted it for lunch. This recipe was super easy. I even had both my kids (5,2) help with mixing everything in. (I pre-mesured everything, so it was all quick dump and stir) I try to keep 1lb packs of frozen cooked ground beef on hand, because, let’s face it, some days we all have that one day that started with it’s tail lit on fire and you drop into bed at night, trying to silence the voices telling you about the shower you missed… but I digress. I also happened to have extra chopped onion from a previous meal. This tossed together so quickly! And DELICIOUS! BOTH kids asked for seconds! After I finished lunch, I turned right around and made up two mix pouches of the spices, and added some powdered milk I have on hand. All I’ll need to do for those is warm a ground beef, toss in the spice packet, and add 3 Cups of water! Top with cheese and tada. Even faster! YUM
I made this as per the recipe. Only difference was I had a little bit more of the beef on hand than the recipe called for so I also added a half more cup of the pasta (cavatappi was all I had that was similar to macaroni) and a pinch more of each spice and it was deeeelicious!
Adults and toddler all raved over it so it will be a family keeper. It’s filling (without being heavy), quick and simple to make too! Thank you for this great weeknight meal idea! 🙂
Made this tonight for dinner it was SO easy and SO GOOD! I added diced green peppers and tomatoes in addition to the diced onions. Being that I had 1.5lbs of ground beef, I had to double the recipe (only the spices, with the addition of 1/2c milk, 1/2c water and 4c of cheese instead of the 2c the recipe calls for) with these minor adjustments this dish came out PERFECT! I just ate the last bite in my plate as I’m typing this message! I’m going to try the Chili Salmon with Pineapple, Mango Salsa next! can’t wait to come back to the site and leave a review! Thanks Diva for the recipe! keep em’ coming!! 🙂