This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This one-pot Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe is cheesy, comforting, and so easy to make! Made with elbow macaroni, ground beef, sour cream, simple seasonings, and cheddar cheese, it’s so much better than the boxed version and is ready in just 30 minutes!
Table of Contents
Easy Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe
Hamburger helper is delicious. It just is.
If this is your first time trying hamburger helper, imagine if beef stroganoff, baked mac and cheese, and your favorite juicy cheeseburger all combined into one wildly fantastic comfort food.
Today we’re making our own homemade hamburger helper recipe.
Made with simple ingredients, this homemade version is just as easy to make as the store-bought boxed hamburger helper but tastes soooo much better. Ready in about 30 minutes, this delicious one-pot meal is the perfect yummy weeknight dinner.
Serve with a side of veggies like peas or a small green salad, and be amazed as your picky eaters and hubby (or wife!) devour their entire plate (and quite possibly even ask for seconds!)
How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper
1. Brown the ground beef: Using your favorite large pot or Dutch oven, brown the ground beef with salt, black pepper, and paprika in olive oil until it is no longer pink in the middle.
2. Cook the onions and season: Reduce the heat to medium and add in the onions. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, then add the chili powder and garlic powder (optional seasonings include onion powder, cumin, or Italian seasoning). Cook until the onions are tender.
3. Cook the pasta: Add the ketchup, mustard, noodles, and broth (beef broth, vegetable broth, or even homemade chicken stock). Cover and simmer until the macaroni is cooked, around 12-15 minutes.
4. Finish: Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream (perfect for extra creaminess) and shredded cheddar cheese.
Serving Suggestions
This one-pot hamburger helper is a fantastic all-in-one dinner. Feel free to sneak in some extra veggies like chopped zucchini, bell peppers, peas, or carrots, or serve it with a salad on the side.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of ground beef to cut down on the total amount of fat. You may also enjoy my Ground Turkey Pasta.
- I used elbow macaroni. Feel free to use a different small pasta shape like ditalini, shells, orecchiette, etc.
- As written, this recipe is mild. To add a little heat, add one-half to one teaspoon of cayenne powder at the same time as the other seasonings.
- If possible, shred your own cheese. It melts better.
- If halfway through cooking the pasta, it seems that you need a bit more broth, don’t be afraid to add a little more, about a half cup at a time.
- Swap regular pasta for your favorite gluten-free macaroni to make this recipe gluten-free.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Note: This homemade hamburger helper is best just after cooking.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Allow any leftovers to cool before transferring them to a freezer-safe air-tight container in the freezer for up to three months.
Reheating: When reheating leftover homemade hamburger helper, you may need to add a splash of milk or broth as the pasta most likely absorbed any remaining liquid as it cooled. Reheat in the microwave or the stovetop. To reheat from frozen, thaw in the refrigerator first, then reheat as instructed.
More Delicious Ground Beef Recipes
- Hamburger Stroganoff Recipe (Ground Beef Stroganoff)
- 20-Minute Ground Beef Tacos Recipe
- Hamburger Soup Recipe (Beef and Macaroni Soup)
- The Best Chili Recipe
- American Goulash Recipe
If you try making this Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
One-Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- ½ teaspoon mustard
- 1½ cups elbow macaroni
- 3½ cups low sodium beef broth
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- fresh parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Cook the ground beef until no longer pink and use a wooden spoon or spatula to break it into smaller pieces.
- Stir in the diced onion and mix well to combine with the ground beef. Reduce heat to medium and season with chili powder and garlic powder. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring often, until onions are tender.
- Add the ketchup, mustard, macaroni noodles, and beef broth. Stir well to combine.
- Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until noodles are cooked to al dente.
- Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Slowly add the cheddar cheese, stirring continuously to prevent the cheese from clumping together.
- Serve garnished with minced parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Use freshly shredded cheese rather than pre-shredded bagged cheese. It tastes better and blends better, too.
- You may need to add a little extra beef broth or water, especially if you use larger noodles like penne or large shells.
- Speaking of pasta, use whatever you have on hand, except for maybe long stringy noodles like angel hair or spaghetti noodles.
- Add some heat. Season with a pinch (or two) or cayenne powder or a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. You could also season with a dash or two of hot sauce.
- Keep leftovers stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop with a splash of broth or water over low heat, stirring often. Or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am 70 years old and this sounds good but in trying to duplicate this I would have cooked the macaroni first and then added the spices and meat
Me too! I cooked low carb macaroni noodles first, drained and added to the cooked meat, onions and spices. Worked well.
Thank you for sharing your tip! Using low carb macaroni noodles is a great idea, and I’m glad to hear it worked well for you. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
The soupiness- think I figured it out. If you use large noodles like Penne, you need to increase to 2-3 cups of pasta. If you use smaller like macaroni, then ~1.5 cups should soak up the broth.
If it’s soupy I add (just a very little) dried mashed potato powder 🙂
Great tip—thanks for sharing your insights! You’re exactly right: larger noodles like penne usually need a bit more pasta to soak up the liquid, while smaller ones like macaroni require less. Adding a small amount of dried mashed potato powder is a clever trick for thickening up the sauce without affecting flavor. I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
This is my favorite hamburger helper recipe as far as the flavor goes but I think there is a mistake in the recipe because every time I make it, there’s WAY too much liquid left over in the pot after the pasta is done cooking. The hamburger helper is more like a soup than anything else. Great flavor but way too runny. I have to remember to tweak water to pasta ratio but I usually forget until after it’s already done cooking. I can’t be the only one experiencing this?
Hi Ira,
Sorry for getting back to you late; I had to cook this recipe again to double-check by cooking it again.
I got a great result following the recipe as written, with beef broth, not water.
You can try letting some of the broth evaporate uncovered during the simmering time if you are finding it too runny 🙂