Homemade Hamburger Helper

Easy Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe. Made with ground beef and macaroni, this tastes way better than the stuff you get from the box.

This might be the recipe that I make the most often. Whenever I have a pound of ground beef in my fridge waiting to be used, I almost immediately turn to this recipe.

It’s simple, doesn’t use any fancy ingredients, and is SO GOOD. Plus, there are leftovers for days!

I didn’t grow up eating hamburger helper. In fact, it wasn’t until I started dating my current husband when we were in high school did I finally taste it for the first time. It was one of his childhood favorites, so he made sure I tried it.

We weren’t really too big on cooking back in the day. John barely even knew how to turn on his oven. So believe me when I tell you, we were eating a lot of the store-bought version of Hamburger Helpers in our early years together.

Fast forward 11 years later, and we are still craving Hamburger Helper. Only now, we don’t buy the boxed stuff. We make this Homemade Hamburger Helper. I think we both make this recipe pretty often. Even though I am typically the one making dinner, John will surprise me by making this recipe every once in a while. It’s just such an easy recipe with such easy cleanup,  we can’t resist a good one-pot meal on busy nights.

Homemade Hamburger Helper Ingredients

You just need a couple of simple ingredients to make this easy hamburger helper recipe. All you need is:

• lean ground beef
• chopped onion
• minced garlic
• salt
• Italian seasoning
• red pepper flakes
• baby spinach
• milk
• beef broth
• macaroni noodles
• pasta sauce (or tomato sauce)
• cheddar cheese

Tips

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up 3-4 days. To me, this actually might taste better the next day than it does the night that you make it.

What to serve with this homemade version of hamburger helper: I love a good side salad with this hamburger helper, but some green beans also pair well.

Variations

Use a different dry pasta. I have had success with cavatappi pasta, small elbow macaroni and egg noodles. Just make sure you change the cooking time according to the type of pasta you use. For example, if you use egg noodles and follow the recipe as is in the recipe card, your cooked pasta will be very mushy. You will need to reduce the cooking time, keep the stove at low heat and take test bites along the way. You want to cook the pasta until it is al dente.

Don’t have fresh vegetables? ​Replace the fresh onion with some onion powder and the minced garlic for garlic powder. 

Switch up the ground meat. ​Don’t have ground beef? Ground chicken or ground turkey work very well instead.

More Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes

Like this Homemade Hamburger Helper? Then you will love these family favorite easy dinner ideas for busy weeknights:

• Bacon Stovetop Mac and Cheese
• Instant Pot Pork Chops and Gravy
• Corn and Jalapeno Chicken

If you try this recipe, let me know! Rate it, leave a comment and tag me with #atasteofmadness on Instagram! I always love seeing what you are creating!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Easy Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe. Made with ground beef and macaroni, this tastes way better than the stuff you get from the box.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 23 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 1/2 cups dry macaroni
• 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

• In a large saucepan, cook the ground beef, onion and garlic until the beef is browned.
• Mix in the salt, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and spinach. Add in the milk, beef broth, macaroni and pasta sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 12-15 minutes, stirring often.
• Mix in the cheese until melted. Allow to sit for around 5 minutes, then serve immediately.

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