Homemade Hamburger Helper or Cheesy Hamburger Pasta Skillet is a hearty, satisfying 25-minute meal made with wholesome ingredients you’ll love! Don’t you love a one pot meal?!
Originally published October 2016; updated October 2018
Comfort food is often defined by childhood favorite recipes. Hamburger Helper was a staple in our house. It really was the birth of the one pot meal in my opinion and appealed to something relatable to all: it is easy to prepare.
What if I shared you could make homemade hamburger helper? Just as easy, with wholesome ingredients, rave reviews from your diners? It can be made with gluten-free or regular pasta and is ready in 30 minutes.
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What is Homemade Hamburger Helper?
For those who may have not experienced hamburger helper, it’s a combination of ground beef and other ingredients to create a filling one skillet meal.
Today’s recipe was a favorite of mine: cheesy hamburger pasta skillet! Irresistible comfort food flavors all combined for a fast, fabulous dinner idea!
What Ingredients are in Homemade Hamburger Helper?
This recipe includes lean ground beef, onions, garlic, sweet paprika with elbow pasta (gluten-free pasta or regular pasta) all in a creamy homemade tomato cheese sauce.
What I love is that same easy, convenience of the original pre-packaged dish is found in this homemade hamburger helper IN 30 minutes!
Make it Gluten-Free!
Just use your favorite gluten-free elbow pasta (I’m partial to Tinkyada loving it’s end texture; I use it in all my mac and cheese recipes)!
How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is starting to become transluscent (3-4 minutes)
- Add the ground beef and cook until no pink remains. Break up into small pieces while cooking. Drain any excess fat.
- Sprinkle spices over the meat.
- Add the chicken broth, milk, tomato sauce and pasta to the skillet.
- Bring the homemade hamburger helper to a boil then simmer with a lid on for 15 minutes (or until pasta is tender and almost done); stirring periodically to prevent sticking.
- Stir in the cheese and allow to sit for 5 minutes for the sauce to thicken.
So easy, right?!
Homemade Hamburger Helper is a simple, homey dish of ground meat, onions, spices and real cheesy cheese. It’s a fast meal and one that is filling!
Looking for MORE Easy Dinner Recipes? Check out our Easy Dinner Recipes collection!
If you’ve tried this Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe please RATE THE RECIPE below!
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Recipe
Cheesy Hamburger and Pasta Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
- ½ medium Yellow Onion , peeled and chopped
- 2 medium Garlic Cloves , peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoons Sweet Paprika
- 2 teaspoons Cornstarch
- .5 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- A grind of fresh Black Pepper
- 1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Milk
- 1 15-ounce can Tomato Sauce
- 2 cups Elbow Pasta (I used gluten-free Brown Rice Tinkyada pasta; see note for gluten options)
- 2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese , shredded
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (with lid) over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering on the surface add the onion and garlic; sauté until the onion begins to become translucent (3-4 minutes).
- Add the ground beef and cook until no pink color remains; break up into small pieces as it cooks. Drain and excess fat.
- Sprinkle the spices over the meat and add the chicken broth, milk, tomato sauce and pasta. Bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Once at a boil, lower heat to medium-low (simmering) and cover with the lid. Allow to cook 15 minutes, (stirring periodically to prevent sticking) or until the pasta is tender and almost done.
- Stir in the cheese, and allow to sit for 5 minutes for the sauce to thicken before serving.
Ourfamilyworld says
Wow, that looks delicious! Can’t wait to cook it and serve to the whole family!
Kiwi says
Looks like a real easy dish! Great for when you want to feed many!
aziel morte says
Absolutely looks amazing! I should try these on our lunch. Glad you share this recipe
Jeanine says
This looks so delicious. Much better than the store bought packages. I would love and feel proud to serve this to my family!
Kita Bryant says
This looks much tastier than the boxed stuff! Looks so delicious!
Annemarie LeBlanc says
Looks so yummy! I love one pot meals like these. So yummy and saves me a lot of time preparing and cooking. I’m going to include this in our meal plan this week.
Lisa says
My husband is allergic to MSG and Hamburger Helper, which did not have MSG in it years ago, now does. His heart was completely broken as he loved this for a quick dinner in a pinch. I cannot wait to make this for him. He is going to flip. Thank you for this recipe!
Janell Poulette says
This looks amazing, my family loves anything with cheese! It definitely looks easy and I will make making it this weekend!
Theresa says
My mom was big on Hamburger Helper too and I remember making it years after I moved out of her house thinking it was so good back then. Nope. Ickiest stuff I ever had. We try to avoid processed foods as much as possible now and this sounds like a really great alternative to that nasty boxed junk they try to pass off as food.
Dawn McAlexander says
Hamburger Helper is pretty much a staple around our house. With our busy schedules, cooking from scratch is tough. I admire your ability to whip up these recipes for us.