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?
Have made this a number of times and tweeked the seasonings to taste. The first time was the only time I did not have issues with the meat clumping together once I began adding the cheese. I really can’t figure out why. Any thoughts? Otherwise, the dish is awesome. Great flavors, great meal. Much better than anything in a box.
Absolutely delicious
I am so excited to share this recipe with loved ones
Thank you for this post.
Yayy!! So glad you enjoyed!
This recipe is in my rotation thank you so much the boxed hamburger helper doesnt stand a chance with this homemade recipe. Thanks Monique.
Outstanding. For some reason I got in the mood for Hamburger Helper after years of not having it. Since I did not have the box mix I wondered how hard it would be to cook from scratch. As I suspected making homemade hamburger helper is very easy – as easy as making it from the packaged box made by General Mills. It has to be one of the easiest meals in general to prepare, and making it from scratch without the MSG and other sketchy ingredients in the packaged box version results in a far better tasting and better for you meal. My four boys and a few of their friends devoured it in record time. Even the pickier eaters gobbled it up.
I used egg noodles because we did not have elbow macaroni and improvised on the spices using garlic powder, salt, pepper, Cookies flavor enhancer (amazing rub if you have never tried it) and oregano to flavor the meet along with a generous amount of diced onions cooked with the meat. It turned out phenomenal. I highly recommend this recipe!
I don’t usually comment, but wanted ya’ll to know that this is awesome and so simple! I added frozen mix veggies and it was delicious and satisfying! My husband LOVES boxed hamburger helper and wants this recipe over it any day! Thanks so much ma’am for giving me something simple and healthy to feed my family!!!
ps… it truly is as versatile as she mentions, I’ve used egg noodles, macaroni, ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, broth instead of water, veggies… you get the point 🙂 LOVE LOVE LOVE this!
I took out some ground beef this morning, with the intention of making Hamburger Helper for dinner. I discovered we were out of Hamburger Helper, and then I thought about how simple of a meal it really is, so I turned to Google for some recipes. I am so glad I discovered yours, it turned out really good, and was super easy too! Thanks!
Yayy!!! So glad you guys enjoyed!
I’m making your recipe right now. Smells amazing!! I’m sure it will taste just as good as it smells.