This is the best Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe. Easy, healthy and delicious – this is a quick meal your family will love! This post is sponsored by our friends at ButcherBox.
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If you love easy one pan dinners – this Healthy Homemade Hamburger Helper is for you!
Many of us grew up eating the delicious cheesy pasta dish but I’m here to tell you it’s so much better when you make it from scratch!
Done in under a half hour, this cheesy hamburger helper is the perfect quick dinner that everyone will love! For more quick recipes, check out these Quick Healthy Dinners!
One pan, 30 minutes, simple ingredients.. there’s a lot to love about this easy hamburger helper recipe- but you might be wondering.. what’s the difference between store bought and this homemade hamburger helper recipe?
What is the difference between store bought and homemade hamburger helper recipes?
Homemade hamburger helper is so much better than store bought hamburger helper. Here’s why we love it:
- Way less sodium– 1 cup of cooked hamburger helper has over 1200 mg of sodium. Our homemade hamburger helper has under 400 mg of sodium for a 1.5 cup serving
- No preservatives- Hamburger helper is loaded with preservatives, added colors, and anti-caking agents. While these aren’t bad in small quantities, they’re totally unnecessary
- Better for you – Our homemade hamburger helper recipe is made with real ground beef, dry pasta, some spices and cheese – unlike the packaged kind that is made with dried cheese and preservatives
Ingredients
To make healthy homemade hamburger helper you’ll need:
- ButcherBox ground beef
- onions
- rotini pasta
- Worcestershire sauce
- salt, pepper
- chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika
- beef broth, water
- cheddar cheese
Substitutions
Pasta: For pasta you can use rotini, penne or medium shells (cook time is all similar). We don’t recommend gluten free pasta for this recipe. This recipe is a one pan pasta recipe and gluten free pasta can get very mushy. Use at your own risk!
Ground Beef: We highly recommend using ButcherBox ground beef in this recipe. You can use ground turkey in this recipe if you’d like, but we really recommend ground beef! (ButcherBox also has an amazing free-range ground turkey)
Worcestershire sauce: Worcestershire sauce isn’t easy to substitute. If you don’t have it, use 1/2 a tablespoon of soy sauce.
Salt: You can cut the amount of salt in half if you’d like and add to taste.
Beef Broth: We recommend using homemade bone broth in this recipe but any broth will work. Chicken or vegetable broth/stock can be used interchangeably. We recommend using a low or no salt broth.
Cheddar Cheese: You can omit the cheese from this recipe to make it dairy free if you’d like. We haven’t tried this recipe with other types of cheeses. We recommend using a block of cheddar cheese and grating it yourself as pre-shredded cheeses don’t melt as well.
ButcherBox‘s grass fed, grass finished ground beef is seriously what makes this recipe so great.
Their beef is an 85/15 mix, which is in our opinion- the perfect amount of fat to give recipes flavor!
We’ve been ButcherBox customers for years and absolutely love the convenience of it, along with the super high quality meat!
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 pounds of ground beef for free!
You can learn more about ButcherBox in this ButcherBox Reviews post!
How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper
Making hamburger helper is easy! Here’s how we made it:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Spray the pan with cooking spray. Brown ground beef and onion in the pan until cooked through-about 10 minutes.
- Add in the seasonings, pasta, broth and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally for 12-14 minutes.
- Move the pan off the heat and add in shredded cheese.
- Once combined, serve and enjoy!
What is the best pasta to use?
Pretty much any pasta will work in homemade hamburger helper but rotini, penne or medium shells are recommended as cook time is all similar.
We don’t recommend gluten free pasta for this recipe. This recipe is a one pan pasta recipe and gluten free pasta can get very mushy. Use at your own risk!
Searching for the best pan for your one pan meals? We LOVE this pan! It’s non toxic, non stick, and cleans up in seconds with just a little soap and water (seriously, food does NOT stick to it!)
What to serve with easy Homemade Hamburger Helper?
This homemade hamburger helper is a complete meal in itself. We recommend serving it with some bread on the side and parmesan cheese on top!
If you’re looking for some veggies you can serve this recipe alongside:
- Spinach Strawberry Salad
- Buffalo Brussels Sprouts
- Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Green Beans Almondine
- Roasted Asparagus
What can you add to Hamburger Helper?
This hamburger helper is delicious on it’s own but you can add other things to it. Here are our suggestions:
- Pickles: Pickles are delicious when stirred into hamburger helper!
- Extra Veggies: You can add sautéed veggies to this recipe. Zucchini, mushrooms, and bell peppers are all great additions to this recipe
- Cheese: Extra cheese is always a good addition to this recipe.
Storage Options
How long can homemade hamburger helper be stored? You can store homemade hamburger helper in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
We haven’t tried freezing this recipe, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Freezing pasta can lead to a mushy mess!
Is Hamburger Helper healthy to eat?
Yes, hamburger helper is healthy to eat when you make it from scratch! Regular hamburger helper has a lot of sodium and preservatives. Making it from scratch is a much healthier option.
How to reheat hamburger helper?
Microwave: You can reheat this hamburger helper in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Stove: You can heat this hamburger helper on the stove in a sauce pan. We recommend adding a little bit of broth if you’re going to heat it over the stove as it might get dry.
Other healthy one pan recipes:
Here are some of our favorite dinners that only require one pan. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 pounds of ground beef for free!
Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ButcherBox Ground Beef
- 1/2 onion chopped finely
- 3 cups rotini pasta sub penne or medium shells (10 oz)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Spray the pan with olive oil cooking spray.
- Brown ground beef and onion in the pan until cooked through- about 10 minutes.
- Add in the seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, raw uncooked pasta, broth, tomato paste and water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, remove cover and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally for 12-14 minutes or until pasta is done and liquid is reduced by 3/4.
- Move the pan off the heat and add in shredded cheese.
- Stir until combined, taste for salt and pepper and add more as desired.
katie hartman says
This dish is one of favorite meals. It is so flavorful, quick and easy. Easy to sub out ingredients if you don’t have the exact item. The whole family loves it, we probably eat it once a week. So so good !!
Liz Marino says
That makes me so happy to hear, Katie! Thank you so much!
Heather says
My husband and stepson both LOVE this! They were used to the brand name, which I refuse to make. I am happy to make this one, though. Thank you!
Liz Marino says
I’m so glad everyone enjoys it, Heather! thank you!!
Jessica says
So tasty and easy to make! Both my husband and toddler enjoyed it.
Brenda says
This did NOT thicken for me at all – even after the pasta was done (I waited for 30 minutes). I’ll try less liquid next time – I feel like 4 cups total (2 each of broth and water) was a bit much.
Liz Marino says
I’m wondering if you possibly added more liquid? This recipe has over 125 5 star reviews and we make this almost weekly and have never had this issue. Did you use a different pasta shape? Or gluten free pasta?
Brenda says
I was very careful and measured out exactly two cups each of the broth and water. I used farfalle pasta, which I believe has the same cooking time as the other options. I’m aware that this recipe had a perfect rating, so maybe I did mess up something along the way, but I thought I’d share my experience just in case.
Liz Marino says
Rotini cook in a little less time than farfalle. I’m wondering if that could’ve been the issue? Very weird!
Meagan Northrup says
It was a very quick easy recipe to make. I used it for a meal prep so I had lunch ready for the next few days.
Natasha Agate says
I have celiac disease so we substituted regular pasta with Jovial GF and it was AMAZING. Even my actual hamburger helper eating husband loved it. Sooooo easy and delicious.
Windsor nevitt says
Easy, healthy and delicious dinner with 40 grams of protein per serving. It’s on my rotation list
K says
This recipe is super easy and absolutely delicious! My family loved it!
Jenny M. says
This recipe is so delicious and easy to prepare. My family absolutely loved it. I will definitely be adding this into my meal rotation.
Patti says
This is seriously the easiest and tastiest quick meal I’ve ever made from your site! My picky 2 year old doesn’t eat much healthy foods but he devoured this and had a helping of seconds each time! This single recipe lasted me several days and I’m so grateful to not have to cook each day. Thank you!!
Elizabeth says
My family loves when I make this. I have to substitute some things due to food allergies but it still comes out fantastic. I use chickpea shells pasta, coconut aminos instead of Worcestershire sauce, vegan cheese (viola brand), and some ground turkey. Thanks for the great easy recipe!
Nancy Parkinson says
This is hands down a favourite in our household , easy , healthy , and fast !
Hayley Lea says
Super good! I added red pepper flakes to my bowl for an extra kick!
Monique R. says
Top of the line recipe.
Danielle M says
Love this easy to make and tasty recipe and so do my picky teenagers. It’s a go to meal that everyone in the family enjoys.
Jeanne says
This is the best Hamburger Helper recipe on the internet ! Delicious 😋