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’m cutting right now and tried this recipe with ground turkey breast and Banza chickpea shells for noodles and only 4oz of cheese. Holy crap it was good and for 40g of protein a serving it can’t be beat for the flavor. The spice mix was perfect. If I can make that much substitution and it still tastes bomb, the recipe as written must be amazing. It tasted better than the boxed meals by a mile. Please continue your magic in the kitchen.
Please seek help if you feel the need to harm yourself. You’re not alone.
Holy crap God bless your sweet soul, Sly! But I *think* she means “cutting” in the bodybuilding sense of the word. Kind of you to offer support though.
I would have searched the comments for an answer to this question, but I don’t have all day to argue with your site, it only loads 2-3 comments at a time! Lol
Have you tried freezing this as a make-ahead meal? How was it?
LOL@arguing with my site. I’m going to fix that right now! Oh and I’ve never frozen this before.
I made this and it was really good. I didn’t add the sugar because I thought that was strange. I also didn’t put in the oregano or paprika because I didn’t have any.
How hard would this be to do in the Crock-Pot?
We LOVE this recipe. I have this book March and hand written in my deck of recipe cards. Have made it so many times! So much better than the Box version and so easy to make. I always add a can of diced tomatoes in it for extra flavor and veggie representation. A red bell pepper is also delicious diced up and cooked with the onion in this.
Just made it using beef broth instead of plain water. Also used half Velveeta and half cheddar (all I had)…..’It was awesome. 5 Stars