How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet
If you're looking for a delicious and easy-to-make dinner that your whole family will love, then you've come to the right place. My homemade hamburger helper cheeseburger pasta skillet is the perfect meal for any night of the week. Not only is it tasty and filling, but it's also a great way to use up any ingredients you have on hand.
What ingredients do you need for homemade hamburger helper?
Ground beef, onion, garlic, beef broth, diced tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, elbow macaroni, cheddar cheese, and a variety of seasonings. This hamburger helper recipe is simple and most of the of these ingredients should already be in your pantry, so you have an easy weeknight dinner to throw together.
I would recommend using as fresh of ingredients as possible because that will translate into a tastier dish, but if you have canned goods you need to get rid of or powdered cheese, by all means use what you have! This recipe could totally be a pantry-dump type meal.
Why Make Your Own Hamburger Helper?
While there's nothing wrong with using boxed mixes for dinner, making your own hamburger helper has a lot of benefits. For one, you have complete control over the ingredients you use. You can adjust the seasoning to your liking and use fresh, high-quality ingredients for a healthier and more flavorful meal. Plus, making your own hamburger helper is often cheaper than buying the boxed version.
With the increase of prices at the grocery store, it has become more crucial now than ever to learn how to bake from scratch. Utilize the ingredients that are sitting around your pantry and learn how to make them into ready to eat meals! Cooking from your pantry doesn’t have to be difficult. Get 3-5 favorite dinner recipes and put those on repeat until you have mastered them. Once you have, add in a few more dishes and watch as your culinary skills increase.
Another benefit of this kid-friendly dinner recipe is that it is easy to cleanup.
It is a one-pot skillet meal, so it doesn’t leave you with a hoard of dishes to clean up afterwards. You can make this dish in about 20 minutes, so it doesn’t require a lot of your time either.
How do you make hamburger helper creamier?
The base of the cheese sauce for the hamburger helper is milk. If you use heavy cream instead of the milk, you will have a creamier sauce. You can adjust the ratio of milk and heavy cream to your preferred thickness and creaminess preference. I love to use all heavy cream in cheese sauces occasionally, but I don’t always have it on hand. Milk, on the other hand, I always have in my fridge, so it is easy to use in recipes.
Tips for Making the Best Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet
- If you don't have beef broth, you can use chicken or vegetable broth instead.
- If you don't have elbow macaroni, you can use any pasta shape, such as shells or rotini. I used cavatappi.
- Top with additional shredded cheddar cheese and chopped fresh parsley for extra flavor and color.
- You can use heavy cream in place of milk to create a thicker and creamier cheese sauce
- Bake the pasta in the oven for 10-12 minutes for a crispier top
- Allow the dish to rest for 5 minutes, so the noodles can absorb the sauce.
You can use ground pork sausage in place of ground beef.
My favorite discovery since eating meat again is that ground pork oftentimes makes a dish tastier when you use it in place of ground burger. To me, ground burger is a bit bland, but ground pork adds another depth of flavor. You can season the meats to your liking. I love to spice up my ground pork. For some reason, I feel ground pork takes on spices better than ground beef. If you want a spicier dish, I would suggest using ground pork and spicing it up as the spices pair better than with ground beef.
This homemade hamburger helper cheeseburger pasta skillet is a delicious and easy-to-make dinner that your whole family will love. By following this recipe and tips, you'll have a tasty and satisfying meal that's sure to become a new family favorite. I hope you enjoy making and eating this delicious dish as much as I do!
Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup katchup
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 8 oz. elbow macaroni
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.
- Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the beef broth, diced tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, paprika, salt, and black pepper to the skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
- Add the elbow macaroni to the skillet and stir to combine. Cover the skillet and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the macaroni is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until it's melted and well combined.
- (Optional) Pre-heat the oven to 425F and bake for 10-12 minutes until the top is crispy.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
